ACCESSION 


SHELF  NO. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  present  series,  entitled  "Smithsonian  Miscellaneous  Collec- 
tions,"1 is  intended  to  embrace  all  the  publications  issued  directly  by 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  octavo  form;  those  in  quarto  constitut- 
ing the  "Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge.1'  The  quarto 
series  includes  memoirs,  embracing  the  records  of  extended  original 
investigations  and  researches,  resulting  in  what  are  believed  to  be  new 
truths,  and  constituting  positive  additions  to  the  sum  of  human  knowl- 
edge.  The  octavo  series  is  designed  to  contain  reports  on  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge  of  particular  branches  of  science;  instructions 
for  collecting  and  digesting  facts  and  materials  for  research;  lists  and 
synopses  of  species  of  the  organic  and  inorganic  world;  museum  cata- 
logues; reports  of  explorations;  aids  to  bibliographical  investigations, 
etc.,  generally  prepared  at  the  express  request  of  the  Institution,  and 
at  its  expense. 

In  the  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  as  wrell  as  in  the 
present  series,  each  article  is  separately  paged  and  indexed,  and  the 
actual  date  of  its  publication  is  that  given  on  its  special  title-page,  and 
not  that  of  the  volume  in  which  it  is  placed.  In  many  cases  works 
•have  been  published  and  largely  distributed,  years  before  their  com- 
bination into  volumes. 

S.  P.  LANGLEY, 

S, -notary  S.  L 
in 


THE 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION 


DOCUMENTS  RELATIVE  TO  ITS  ORIGIN 
AND  HISTORY. 


1835-1899. 


COMPILED    AND    EDITED    BY 

JOHSTES 


IN     TWO     VOLUMES. 

Yol.  1—1835-1887. 

TWENTY-FOURTH   CONGRESS   TO   FORTY-NINTH   CONGRESS. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1901. 


Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  Home  of  Representative*  concurring],  That 
there  be  printed  of  "The  Smithsonian  Institution:  Documents  Rela- 
tive to  its  Origin  and  History,"  7,000  copies,  of  which  1,500  copies 
shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  3,000  copies  for  the  use  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  2,500  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

Passed  the  Senate  April  26,  1900. 

Passed  the  House  May  11,  1900. 

(Stat.,  XXXI,  concurrent  resolutions,  p.  10.) 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  Smithsonian  Institution  is  an  establishment  based  upon  the  pri- 
vate foundation  of  James  Smithson,  a  British  subject,  which  was 
accepted  by  the  United  States  in  trust.  This  establishment  was  created 
by  an  act  of  Congress,  under  which  act,  with  one  or  two  unimportant 
modifications,  it  has  since  been  governed.  The  United  States  Govern- 
ment has,  from  time  to  time,  assigned  to  it  important  functions,  and 
Congress  has  passed  laws  and  made  appropriations  in  support  of  these. 
While,  therefore,  it  is  a  private  foundation,  of  which  the  Government 
is  trustee,  it  has  in  itself  an  extensive  legislative  history. 

The  Board  of  Regents  in  January,  1878,  requested  the  Secretary  to 
prepare  and  publish  a  history  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  insti- 
tution, and,  in  accordance  with  this,  a  volume  was  published  in  1879 
under  the  title  "The  Smithsonian  Institution:  Documents  Relative  to 
its  Origin  and  History,"  in  which  were  contained  the  will  of  James 
Smithson,  the  proceedings  in  Congress  relative  to  the  acceptance  of  the 
bequest,  the  organization  of  the  Institution,  and  various  matters  rela- 
tive to  its  operations  from  1835  to  1877. 

A  second  volume  relating  to  the  history  of  the  Institution  was  pub- 
lished in  1879,  under  the  title  "The  Smithsonian  Institution:  Journals 
of  the  Board  of  Regents,  Reports  of  Committees,  Statistics,  etc.," 
edited  by  William  J.  Rhees. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  first  half  century  of  the  Institution,  in  1896, 
a  volume  was  published  under  the  editorial  supervision  of  the  late 
Dr.  G.  Brown  Goode,  giving  an  account  of  the  history,  achievements, 
and  present  condition  of  the  Institution,  prepared  by  the  Secretary  and 
members  of  the  staff  of  the  Institution,  to  which  were  added  chapters 
in  appreciation  of  the  work  of  the  Institution  in  the  several  branches 
of  knowledge. 

The  present  volume  has  been  undertaken  to  bring  down  to  date  the 
first  historical  volume  mentioned,  namely,  the  relations  of  the  Institu- 
tion to  Congress,  debates  on  its  management,  appropriations  neces- 
sary for  operations  intrusted  to  its  care,  etc. ,  which  can  be  found  only 
in  the  volumes  of  the  Congressional  Globe  and  Congressional  Record, 
the  journals  of  the  Senate  and  House,  and  the  Statutes  at  Large. 

The  compilation  and  editing  of  the  present  work  has  been  performed 
under  my  direction  by  Mr.  William  J.  Rhees,  the  keeper  of  archives, 
and  for  many  years  chief  clerk  of  the  Institution. 

S.  P.  LANGLEY, 
Secretary,  Smithsonian  Institution, 


PREFACE. 


The  present  volume  is  undertaken  in  continuation  of  a  volume  bear- 
ing the  title  "The  Smithsonian  Institution:  Documents  Relative  to  its 
Origin  and  History,"  prepared  by  the  editor  of  the  present  volume, 
which,  besides  other  matters,  gives  the  legislative  history  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  to  1877.  Prefixed  to  this  will  be  found  a  selection 
of  the  documents  which  passed  between  the  United  States  and  the 
attorneys  in  England,  antecedent  to  the  actual  reception  of  the  bequest 
of  James  Smithson,  a  British  subject,  who  gave  his  fortune  to  the 
United  States  of  America  "to  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 

This  fact  was  communicated  through  the  United  States  legation  at 
London  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  was  made  the  subject  of  a» 
special  message  to  Congress  by  President  Tyler  on  December  17, 1835. 
The  message  was  referred  to  committees,  and  it  was  at  last  agreed 
that,  although  there  was  some  doubt  as  to  the  propriety  of  accepting 
it,  the  bequest  should  be  obtained,  if  possible,  and  the  Honorable 
Richard  Rush  was  sent  to  England  in  July,  1836,  as  a  special  agent  of 
the  United  States,  with  power  of  attorney  from  the  President  to  prose- 
cute the  claim  in  the  chancery  court.  The  fund  was  brought  to  this 
country  in  1838,  and  after  eight  years  of  debate,  including  consul- 
tation with  all  the  leading  educators  of  the  United  States  at  that 
time,  a  law  was  finally  framed  on  August  10,  1846,  "to  establish  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men."  Under  this  act.  with  a  few  amendments,  the  operations 
of  the  Institution  have  been  carried  on  to  the  present  time,  and  a 
detailed  account  of  the  legislation  by  Congress,  as  well  as  of  proposed 
action,  from  1835  to  March  3,  1899,  is  given  in  this  work.  The  leg- 
islation fulry  accomplished  is  shown  by  acts  and  joint  resolutions, 
followed  in  all  cases  by  references  to  the  volumes  and  pages  of  the 
Statutes  at  Large  from  which  they  were  quoted. 

Concurrent  resolutions  of  the  Senate  and  House  and  separate  reso- 
lutions of  either  branch  of  Congress  are  referred  to  by  the  dates  of 
action. 

An  account  is  also  given  of  action  or  discussion  relative  to  objects 
intrusted  by  Congress  to  the  care  of  the  Institution,  and  of  some  of 


VT  PREFACE. 

the  operations  of  the  Government  with  which  it  has  had  direct  or  inci- 
dental connection. 

The  proceedings  of  each  Congress  are  given  successively,  the  first 
volume  containing  those  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Congress  to  the  Forty- 
ninth  and  the  second  volume  those  of  the  Fiftieth  to  the  Fifty-fifth 
Congress. 

Under  each  Congress  the  subjects  are  arranged  according  to  the 
date  of  their  introduction,  all  action  in  that  Congress  on  each  subject 
following  in  chronological  order,  excepting  that  estimates  and  appro- 
priations are  placed  at  the  end  of  each  subject. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work  an  examination  was  made  of  every 
page  of  the  Congressional  Globe  and  Congressional  Record,  of  the 
journals  of  the  Senate  and  House,  the  Statutes  at  Large,  the  Con- 
gressional documents  and  reports  from  1835  to  1899,  together  with 
other  printed  and  manuscript  material  in  the  Institution  and  elsewhere; 
and  the  table  of  contents  and  index  are  as  comprehensive  and  minute 
as  possible  the  latter  being  alphabetical,  analytical,  and  chronological. 

The  formal  details  of  legislation  in  most  cases  are  abbreviated,  and 
the  quotations  from  the  statutes  giving  dates  and  amounts  appropri- 
ated are  always  given  in  figures  and  not  in  words. 

Thanks  are  due  to  the  intelligent  and  efficient  aid  of  Miss  Helen 
.Munroe  and  Mr.  Edward  L.  Springer,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

WILLIAM  J.  RHEES. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May,  1901. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUMES  I  AND  II. 


VOLUME  I. 

Page. 

Resolution  to  print n 

Advertisement in 

Preface v 

Contents vn 

Act  of  organization  of  the  Institution  and  amendments,  etc.  to  March  3,  1899. .  xxi 

Acts  and  joint  resolutions  of  Congress  referred  to  in  this  work xxvn 

PART  I. 

Will  of  James  Smithson  (made  October  23,  1826;  proved  June  27,  1829) 5 

Correspondence  l)etween  attorneys  in   England,  the  Department  of  State, 
ilichard  Rush,  etc.,  relative  to  the  bequest  of  Smithson  (July  21,  1835- 

December  3,  1838 ) 7-111 

The  case  of  the  United  States  Government  against  the  English  Government  in 

the  court  of  chancery  to  obtain  the  bequest ,  13 

Opinion  of  the  English  counsel 14 

Decree  in  chancery  awarding  Smithson's  bequest  to  the  United  States,  May 

12, 1 838 56 

Account  of  costs  of  the  suit • " ',     70 

Account  of  expenses  of  Richard  Rush 96 

Schedule  of  the  personal  effects  of  Smithson 98 

Smithson  bequest  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States 109 

Residuary  bequest  of  Smithson  (May  16,  1861-February  22,  1867) 112 

Increase  of  the  Smithson  fund: 

Hamilton  fund  (February  24,  1874) 120 

Habelfund  (March  15,  1880) 120 

Hodgkins  fund  (October  22,  1891-May  19,  1894) 120 

Other  bequests  and  gifts  to  the  Institution: 

Avery  fund  ( 1894) 121 

Kidder  bequest  (1889) 121 

Bell  gift  ( 1891 ) 121 

PART  II. 

Legislation  relative  to  the  establishment  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  1835- 

1847 '. 123 

Twenty-fourth  Congress,  1835-1837: 

Message  of  President  Jackson,  December  17,  1835 125 

Report  of  Senate  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  (Leigh) 135 

Report  of  House  select  committee  (Adams) 130 

Debates  on  acceptance  of  the  bequest 136 

Act  to  authorize  and  enable  the  President  to  prosecute  the  claim  for  the 

Smithson  bequest 142 


VIII  CONTKNTS. 

Twenty-fifth  Congress,  1 837-1 839:  pftge. 

Bequest  considered 143 

Mea«age  of  President  Van  Buren,  Decemln-r  6,  1 888 145 

Memorial  of  Prof.  Walter  R.  Johnson 146 

Memorial  of  Charles  Lewis  Fleischmann 155 

Speeches  on  application  of  the  l>equest 163, 173 

Bill  for  disposition  of  the  l>equest  (Robbins) 171 

Debate  on  establishment  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 173 

Twenty-sixth  Congress,  1839-1841: 

Bill  offered  for  disposition  of  the  Inquest  (Adams) 184 

Estimates  of  cost  of  an  astronomical  observatory 206 

Statement  of  investment  of  Smithson  bequest  in  State  stocks :  215 

Bill  for  disposition  of  the  bequest  (Linn) 215 

Incorporation  of  the  National  Institution 217 

Bill  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  ( Preston ) 219 

Care  of  Government  collections 219 

International  exchanges 220 

Twenty-seventh  Congress,  1841-1843: 

Repeal  of  act  to  invest  Smithson  fund  in  State  stocks 220 

Message  of  President  Tyler,  December  7,  1 841 225 

Report  of  House  select  committee  (Adams) 226 

Copies  of  State  bonds  procured  from  Smithson  fund 229 

Statement  of  stocks  in  which  the  fund  was  invested 235 

Bill  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  (Adams) 235 

United  States  exploring  expedition 239 

Twenty-eighth  Congress,  1843-1845: 

Message  of  President  Tyler,  December  5,  1 843 241 

Condition  of  the  Smithson  fund,  January,  1844 243 

Bonds  and  stocks  purchased  from  Smithsonian  Institution 245 

Interest  on  stocks 246 

Correspondence  relative  to  purchase  of  stocks 250 

Bill  to  establish  the  Institution  (Tappan) 266 

Report  from  House  select  committee  (Adams) «. 268 

Bill  to  establish  the  Institution  (Adams) 273 

Bill  to  establish  the  Institution  (Tappan) 276 

Debate  on  bills  to  establish  the  Institution 280 

Exploring  expedition .' 320 

Twenty-ninth  Congress,  1845-1847: 

Bill  to  establish  the  Institution  (Owen) 321 

Debate  in  House  on  establishment  of  Institution 333 

Bill  to  establish  the  Institution  (Morse)  388 

Bill  to  establish  the  Institution  (Hough),  passed 423 

Act  to  establish  the  Institution,  approved  August  1 0,  1 846 429 

International  exchanges 434 

Exploring  expedition 435 

Catlin  Indian  gallery 435 

Appointment  of  Regents 436 

Purchase  of  city  hall  for  Smithsonian  Institution  (proposed) 438 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 439 

PART  III. 

Legislation  relative  to  the  Institution  and  its  dependencies,  1847-1899 441 

Thirtieth  Congress,  1847-1849: 

Committee  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution  . .  443 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Thirtieth  Congress,  1847-1849— Continued.  Page. 

Appointment  of  Regents 463 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 464 

Amendment  to  act  of  organization 466 

International  exchanges 466 

Exploring  expedition 467 

Thirty-first  Congress,  1849-1851 : 

Exploring  expedition 468 

Care  of  Government  collections 470 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 477 

International  exchanges 480 

Increase  of  Smithson  fund 481 

Appointment  of  Regents 482, 1838 

Thirty-second  Congress,  1851-1853: 

Appropriations  for  Smithsonian  grounds 484 

Increase  of  Smithson  fund 484 

Free  postage 485 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 485 

Appointment  of  Regents 486 

Documents  ." 487 

Exploring  expedition 487 

International  exchanges 487 

Meteorology,  James  P.  Espy 487 

Thirty-third  Congress,  1853-1855: 

Smithson  fund 488 

Free  postage , 500 

Appointment  of  Regents 502 

Documents 503 

International  exchanges 503 

Care  of  Government  collections 503 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 505 

Meteorology,  James  P.  Espy 507 

Exploring  expedition 511 

Resignation  of  Rufus  Choate  as  Regent  .  _. 511 

Policy  of  the  Institution 511 

Investigation  511 

Armory  Building 599 

Thirty-fourth  Congress,  1855-1857: 

Operations  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 599 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 600 

Appointment  of  Regents 601 

International  exchanges 603 

Exploring  expedition 603 

Care  of  Government  collections 603 

Meteorology,  James  P.  Espy 603 

Thirty-fifth  Congress,  1857-1859: 

Appointment  of  Regents 604 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 604 

Care  of  Government  collections 607 

Meteorology,  James  P.  Espy 608 

Exploring  expedition 608 

Act  of  organization  amended.     Copyrights 608 

Thirty-sixth  Congress,  1859-1861 : 

Appointment  of  Regents 609 


X  CONTENTS. 

Thirty-sixth  Congress,  1859-1861— Continued.  FaKe- 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 610 

Free  use  of  telegraph  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution 610 

Care  of  Government  collections 611 

Exploring  expedition 627 

Thirty-seventh  Congress,  1861-1863: 

Appointment  of  Regents 627 

Care  of  Government  collections 633 

Exploring  expedition '. 637 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 637 

Expositions,  London 1838 

Thirty -eighth  Congress,  1863-1865: 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 638 

Care  of  Government  col  lections 639 

Amendment  to  act  of  organization  of  Smithsonian  Institution 639 

Fire  at  Smithsonian  Institution 641 

Interest  on  Smithson  fund 645 

Appointment  of  Regents 657 

Thirty-ninth  Congress,  1865-1867: 

Paris  Exposition 658 

Transfer  of  Smithsonian  library 660 

Care  of  Government  collections 662 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 663 

Exploring  expedition 664 

Amendment  to  act  of  organization  of  Smithsonian  Institution 664 

International  exchanges 668 

Appointment  of  Regents 667, 1838 

Fortieth  Congress,  1867-1869: 

Expositions,  Paris 667 

Havre 668 

Appointment  of  Regents 669, 1839 

Care  of  Government  collections 670 

Exploring  expedftion ^ 678 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 678 

Powell's  exploration ^ 679 

Washington  canal 680 

Smithson  fund 680 

International  exchanges 680 

Forty-first  Congress,  1869-1871: 

Appointment  of  Regents 681 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 682 

International  exchanges 683 

Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art 684 

Zoological  Society 685 

Stanley  Indian  paintings 686 

Powell's  exploration 686 

Care  of  Government  collections 686 

Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition 687 

Forty-second  Congress,  1871-1873: 

Amendment  to  act  of  organization  of  Smithsonian  Institution 688 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 689 

Decoration  for  Prof,  Joseph  Henry 692 

Exploring  expedition 692 

International  exchanges 692 

Care  of  Government  collections  . .  693 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Forty-second  Congress,  1871-1873— Continued.  Page. 

Expositions,  Philadelphia  Centennial 694 

Vienna .' 698 

Free  postage 699 

Powell's  exploration 699 

Appointment  of  Regents 699 

Forty-third  Congress,  1873-1875: 

Expositions,  Philadelphia  Centennial   700 

Vienna 705 

Appointment  of  Regents 705 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 718 

International  exchanges .. 724 

Documents 724 

Act  of  organization  of  Smithsonian  Institution.     Revised  Statutes 724 

Public  printing 728 

Polaris  expedition 728 

National  Museum,  estimates 728 

appropriations 729 

Regents  to  have  use  of  Library  of  Congress 730 

Forty-fourth  Congress,  1875-1877: 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 1839 

Restoration  of  the  original  Declaration  of  Independence. 730 

International  exchanges  . : 731 

Indian  statistics  and  history 731 

National  Museum,  building 731 

estimates , 739 

appropriations 742 

Philadelphia  Centennial 743 

Government  exhibit 746 

Act  of  organization  of  Smithsonian  Institution  amended 767 

Free  postage , 767 

Appointment  of  Regents 1839 

Forty-fifth  Congress,  1877-1879: 

National  Museum,  building  required  for  Government  collections 768 

Government  collections  to  be  deposited  in 779 

estimates 779 

appropriations 782 

Appointment  of  Regents 783 

Fire  protection  for  public  buildings 784 

Order  of  Saint  Olaf  for  S.  F.  Baird 788 

Woodruff  Scientific  Expedition 789 

Plates  of  fractional  currency 790 

Documents 791 

Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  reports 791 

Expositions,  Paris j. 792 

Philadelphia  Centennial 794 

Howgate  Arctic  expedition 795 

Ventilation  of  Hall  of  House  of  Representatives 796 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 799 

International  exchanges,  appropriations 799 

The  Smithsonian  Institution,  a  corporation  ? 800 

Joseph  Henry,  death  and  memorial  services  of 801 

memorial  volume 805 

services  of,  to  the  Government 806 

Acting  Secretary  of  Smithsonian  Institution 809 


XII  CONTENTS. 

Forty-fifth  Congress,  1877-1879— Continued.  Pag«. 

Protection  of  public  libraries 810 

Scientific  surveys'. 810 

Ethnology,  contributions 811 

Land  Office  Museum 811 

Glover  entomological  plates 812 

Ethnology,  estimates 818 

appropriations 818 

Free  postage 818 

Forty-sixth  Congress,  1879-1881: 

Appointment  of  Regents 819 

Joseph  Henry,  portrait  for  memorial  volume 820 

statue 821 

portrait  for  the  Institution 823 

Land  Office  Museum 823 

Expositions,  Sydney  and  Melbourne 823 

Philadelphia  Centennial 824 

Berlin  Fishery 824 

Berlin  Fishery,  Baird  prize 825 

Philadelphia  Sheep  and  Wool 827 

New  York 827 

National  Museum,  transportation 828 

use  of  building 828 

Sunday  and  night  opening 829 

building 830 

street  railroad  to 835 

estimates 835 

appropriations 840 

Library  of  Congress,  new  building 842 

Standard  weights  and  measures 843 

Ethnology,  contributions *-. 843 

report 844 

Smithson  fund ' 845 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 845 

International  exchanges 851 

French  exchanges 854 

International  exchanges,  estimates 855 

appropriations 855 

Smithsonian  Institution  a  corporation  ? 856 

Ethnology,  estimates 857 

appropriations 859 

Emil  Bessels'  scientific  report 865 

reimbursement  of 866 

Documents 869 

Forty-seventh  Congress,  1881-1883: 

Appointment  of  Regents 869 

Ethnology,  estimates 870 

appropriations 870 

Thomson  Siamese  deposit 871 

Expositions,  Atlanta 872 

Denver 872 

London  Fishery 872 

Boston .' 883 

Philadelphia  Centennial 883 


CONTENTS.  XIII 

Forty-seventh  Congress,  1881-1883— Continued.  Page. 

Expositions,  New  Orleans 887 

Philadelphia  Electrical 890 

Louisville 890 

Fireproofing  Smithsonian  building 891 

Lectures 893 

Geological  Survey  building 895 

International  exchanges 895 

estimates 905 

appropriations 906 

Forest  preservation 907 

Glover  entomological  plates 907 

Ethnology,  contributions  and  reports 908 

bulletins 909 

National  Museum,  employees 909 

estimates 910 

appropriations '. 913 

Documents 917 

Statue  of  Joseph  Henry 918 

Turner's  and  Nelson's  reports  on  Alaska 923 

Reports  of  Smithsonian  Institution  and  National  Museum 924 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 928 

Illustrations  of  the  reports 929 

Army  Medical  Library  and  Museum 929 

Forty-eighth  Congress,  1883-1885: 

Smithsonian  building,  estimates 930 

appropriations 932 

Ethnology,  estimates 932 

appropriations 932 

International  exchanges,  estimates 933 

appropriations 933 

Army  Medical  Library  and  Museum 934 

Appointment  of  Regents 938 

University  of  Medicine 939 

Ethnology,  reports 940 

National  Museum,  Sunday  opening 944 

transportation 944 

report 944 

estimates 944 

appropriations 947 

Bureau  of  Fine  Arts 949 

Privilege  of  floor  of  Senate 949 

Acting  Secretary  of  Smithsonian  Institution 952 

Neumann's  silk  flag 953 

Expositions,  New  Orleans 953 

Cincinnati 957 

Louisville 957 

London  Fishery 957 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 957 

.    Ventilation  of  Hall  of  House  of  Representatives 959 

Free  postage 961 

Public  printing  and  binding 962 

Henry  statue 962 

Grant  relics...  962 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

Forty-eighth  Congress,  1883-1885— Continued.  Page. 

Documents '. 968 

Department  of  Agriculture,  entomology,  ornithology 968 

Forty-ninth  Congress,  1885-1887: 

Appointment  of  Regents 970 

International  exchanges 974, 1840 

estimates 978 

appropriations 979 

Smithsonian  building,  estimates 980 

appropriations 981 

Bureau  of  Ethnology,  estimates 981 

appropriations 981 

Bureau  of  Fine  Arts 981 

Nelson's  report  on  Alaska 982 

Turner's  report  on  Alaska - 983 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 986 

Capron  Japanese  collection 988 

Ethnology,  bulletins 1002 

Grant  relics 1009 

National  Museum,  Government  collections 1011 

Sunday  opening , 1014 

section  of  transportation 1014 

estimates 1018 

appropriations 1022 

Manuscripts  commission 1032 

Expositions,  Centennial  celebration  of  the  Constitution 1033 

Minneapolis 1039 

Rock  Creek  Park 1040 

Neumann's  silk  flag 1041 

Smithsonian  fund 1042 

Public  printing  and  binding 1042 

Smithsonian  grounds 1043 

School  of  Research  and  Medicine 1043 

Army  Medical  Museum  and  Library 1043 

Reid's  sword 1044 

VOLUME  II. 

Fiftieth  Congress,  1887-1889: 

Bureau  of  Ethnology,  estimates 1045 

appropriations 1045 

Spencer  F.  Baird,  services  of 1045 

statue  of 1104 

Bureau  of  Fine  Arts 1105 

G.  Brown  Goode,  Fish  Commissioner 1106 

Rock  Creek  National  Park 1106 

Appointment  of  Regents 1109 

Capron  Japanese  collection 1110 

Army  Medical  Museum  and  Library 111'? 

Semon  Bache  &  Co 1112 

Expositions,  Washington 1113 

Melbourne 1113 

Barcelona 1114 

Paris 1114 

Brussels 1119 

Cincinnati 1119 

Marietta...                                                                                     .  1122 


CONTENTS.  XV 

Fiftieth  Congress,  1887-1889— Continued.  Page- 
Ethnology,  bulletins 1122 

reports 1 1124 

Gen.  James  Shields'  swords 1124 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 1129 

National  art  commission 1 131 

Neumann's  silk  flag 1132 

Privilege  of  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives 1 132 

Stanley  Indian  paintings 1132 

Methods  of  Government  work '. .1133 

Statue  of  Robert  Dale  Owen 1136 

International  exchanges 1137 

estimates 1145 

appropriations 1146 

National  Zoological  Park 1149 

American  Historical  Association 1219 

Fireproofing  Smithsonian  building .* 1224 

Vail  telegraph  ic  instrument : 1225 

Documents 1225 

National  Museum,  new  building 1226 

Armory  building 1231 

classified  service .- 1238 

living  animals 1242 

estimates 1247 

appropriations 1249 

Military  and  Naval  Museum 1259 

Detailed  statement  of  expenditures  required 1267 

Government  publications  restricted  to  public  business 1268 

Geological  Survey  building 1268 

Astrophysical  Observatory 1271 

Fifty-first  Congress,  1889-1891 : 

Appointments  of  Regents 1272 

Fireproofing  Smithsonian  building 1274 

Bureau  of  Fine  Arts 1279 

Vail  original  telegraphic  receiver 1279 

Capron  Japanese  collection .- 1279 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 1291 

Rock  Creek  Park 1292 

Statue  of  Christopher  Columbus 1307 

National  Military  and  Naval  Museum 1307 

Geological  Survey  building 1308 

National  Museum,  evening  opening 1309 

armory  building 1310 

new  building 1311 

basement 1321 

estimates 1321 

appropriations 1325 

Report  on  expenditures 1328 

Reid's  sword 1328 

Baird  statue 1332 

National  Zoological  Park,  appropriations 1333 

report  of  commission 1333 

organization 1343 

estimates...                                                           .  1488 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

Fifty-First  Congress,  1889-1891— Continued.  Page. 

International  exchanges 1492 

estimates 1496 

appropriations 1497 

Stanley  Indian  paintings 1500 

Christopher  Columbus  memorial 1501 

Expositions,  Chicago 1501 

St.  Louis 1514 

Louisville 1514 

Heirs  of  Joseph  Henry .  1514 

Society  of  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution 1527 

University  of  the  United  States 1530 

American  University 1531 

American  Historical  Association  Report 1534 

Owen  statue 1537 

Bureau  of  Ethnology 1539 

estimates 1541 

appropriations 1541 

Perkins  collection  of  copper  implements 1543 

Printing  reports  from  Executive  Department* 1544 

Astrophysical  Observatory,  estimates 1544 

appropriations 1545 

Ethnology,  report 1546 

Fifty-second  Congress,  1891-1893: 

Smithsonian  building,  estimates 1547 

appropriations 1547 

International  exchanges,  estimates 1548 

appropriations 1549 

Ethnology,  estimates 1551 

appropriation^ 1551 

Astrophysical  Observatory,  estimates 1551 

appropriations 1552 

Owen  statue 1552 

Appointment  of  Regents 1553 

Statue  of  Spencer  F.  Baird 1557 

Geographic  names 1557 

Report  on  expenditures 1558 

Vail  original  telegraphic  receiver 1559 

Ethnology,  reports 1559 

Colonial  Dames  of  America. 1560 

National  Zoological  Park,  Zoo  street  railway 1561 

report  on  expenditures 1562 

estimates 1562 

appropriations 1567 

National  Museum,  night  opening 1574 

new  building 1575 

estimates 1575 

appropriations 1581 

Expositions,  Madrid 1582 

Chicago 1584,  1840 

Philadelphia  Centennial 1595 

Use  of  Government  collections  in  Washington  by  students,  etc 1595 

List  of  employees 1596 

Astrophysical  Observatory 1597 


CONTENTS.  XVII 

Fifty-second  Congress,  1891-1893— Continued.  Page. 

List  of  employees,  International  exchanges 1597 

National  Zoological  Park 1597 

National  Museum 1598 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 1600 

Select  committee  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution 1600 

Perkins  collection  of  copper  implements 1600 

Appropriations  discussed 1601 

National  Society  of  Colonial  Dames  of  America 1623 

American  Historical  Association  Report 1624 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 1625 

Public  printing  and  binding 1628 

University  of  the  United  States 1629 

National  Historical  Society 1632 

Public  buildings 1632 

Fifty-third  Congress,  1893-1895: 

Appointment  of  Regents 1632 

Free  exchange  of  documents 1635 

Expositions,  San  Francisco 1635 

Chicago 1636 

Antwerp 1639 

Tacoma 1639 

Atlanta 1640 

Paris ' 1643 

Portland 1643 

Barcelona 1644 

Ethnology,  report 1644 

University  of  the  United  States 1654 

National  Historical  Society 1661 

National  Museum,  armory  building 1661 

new  building 1661 

Sunday  and  evening  opening 1662 

estimates 1662 

appropriations 1668 

Documents  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution 1670 

Contracts  for  supplies 1670 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 1672 

Report  on  expenditures 1672 

International  exchanges,  estimates 1673 

appropriations 1674 

Bureau  of  Ethnology,  estimates 1675 

appropriations 1676 

Astrophysieal  Observatory,  estimates 1676 

appropriations 1677 

Objects  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     Letter  to  President  of  the  United 

States : 1677 

Amendment  to  act  of  organization  of  Smithsonian  Institution 1680 

Deposit  of  securities  in  the  Treasury  vaults _* 1685 

Permanent  appropriations,  Smithsonian  fund 1687 

American  Historical  Association 1687 

Owen  statue 1688 

Objects  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     Circular  by  Secretary  Langley ..  1688 

H.  Doc.  732 ii 


International  exchanges,  estimates   

appropriations 

Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  estimates 


appropriations 


Astrophysical  Observatory,  estimates 

appropriations  . 
Smithsonian  deposit  in  Library  of  Congress 

Owen  statue 

University  of  America 

National  Museum,  new  building 


Nicaraguan  collection  of  pottery 

estimates 

appropriations 


XVIII  CONTENTS. 

Fifty-third  Congress,  1893-1895— Continued.  Pa«c- 

National  Zoological  Park,  entrance 1690 

report  on  expenses. . . 

estimates 1692 

appropriations 1694 

Act  for  public  printing  and  binding  and  distribution  of  public  documents.     1695 

Appropriations  debated 1697 

Weighing  coal  and  measuring  wood  for  public  service. . .  1698 

Arrears  of  business  in  public  offices 1699 

Bonds  of  disbursing  officers 1700 

Fifty-fourth  Congress,  1895-1897: 

700 
707 
709 
709 
709 
710 
710 
710 
710 
711 
726 
727 
732 

Appointment  of  Regents 1 736 

National  Zoological  Park,  improvement  of  thoroughfare  near  park 1738 

Mount  Pleasant  and  Zoo  Gravity  Railway  Com- 
pany       1738 

*•  estimates 1738 

appropriations 1739 

International  Permanent  Exhibition  Company,  New  York 1739 

National  Society  of  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 1740 

Anacostia  statue  of  George  Washington 1 745 

Report  on  expenditures 1 746 

Smithsonian  mail  matter  not  limited 1 746 

Expositions,  Chicago 1746 

Nashville 1748 

Atlanta 1751 

Omaha 1751 

Brussels 1754 

New  York  Gas  Apparatus 1 754 

Settlement  between  the  United  States  and  State  of  Arkansas 1755 

Sociological  I  nstitution 1761 

National  Society  of  Colonial  Dames  of  America  and  Society  of  Colonial 

Dames  of  America 1763 

Fur-seal  investigation 1766 

Smithsonian  bureaus  under  civil  service 1767 

International  catalogue  of  scientific  literature 1769 

Government  of  Library  of  Congress 1773 

Fifty-fifth  Congress,  1897-1899: 

Appointment  of  Regents 1775 

Settlement  between  the  United  States  and  State  of  Arkansas 1779 

Astrophysical  Observatory,  annals 1 787 

estimates 1787 

appropriations 1788 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

Fifty-fifth  Congress,  1897-1899— Continued.  Page. 

Expositions,  Omaha . . . ! ,. 1789, 1841 

Paris 1792 

Bergen  Fisheries 1795 

Cayuga  Island  or  Buffalo 1796 

Toledo 1801 

Chicago 1841 

Philadelphia  Export 1842, 1844 

Owen  statue 1805 

International  catalogue  of  scientific  literature 1806 

Kock  Creek  Park ; 1807 

International  exchanges,  estimates 1809 

appropriations 1810 

Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  estimates 1812 

appropriations 1813 

Report  on  expenditures 1813 

National  Museum,  Sunday  opening 1814 

printing  bulletins  and  proceedings 1814 

estimates 1814 

appropriations 1820 

University  of  the  United  States 1823 

Leaves  of  absence  to  public  employees 1825 

Steiner  Indian  collection 1826 

Preservation  of  game  in  the  District  of  Columbia 1826 

Purchase  of  books  to  be  specifically  provided  for 1829 

Quarterly  reports  on  condition  of  business -. 1829 

National  Zoological  Park,  exchange  of  lands 1829 

studio  for  artists 1831 

readjustment  of  boundaries 1832 

grading  street 1834 

estimates 1835 

appropriations 1836 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 1837 

Report  of  salaries  of  officers  and  employees  required 1837 

ADDENDA 1838 

PART  IV. 

List  of  members  of  the  "  Establishment"  of  the  Institution 1847 

Presidents  of  the  United  States 1847 

Vice-Presidents 1847 

Secretaries  of  State 1847 

Secretaries  of  the  Treasury 1847 

Secretaries  of  War 1848 

Secretaries  of  the  Navy 1848 

Postmasters-General 1848 

Attorneys-General 1849 

Chief  Justices 1849 

Commissioners  of  the  Patent  Office 1849 

Commissioners  of  Patents 1849 

Mayors  of  the  city  of  Washington 1849 

Governors  of  the  District  of  Columbia 1850 

Secretaries  of  the  Interior 1850 

Secretaries  of  Agriculture 1850 

Honorary  members 1850 

List  of  members  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Institution 1851 

Vice-Presidents  of  the  United  States...  .  1851 


XX  CONTENTS. 

List  of  members  of  the  Board  of  Uegents  of  the  Institution — Continued.  Page. 

Presidents  pro  teinpore  of  the  Senate 1852 

Chief  Justices 1852 

Mayors  of  the  city  of  Washington 1852 

Governors  of  the  District  of  Columbia 1852 

Senators 1852 

Representatives 1853 

Citizens  from  States 1 853 

Citizens  from  Washington  City 1854 

List  of  Regents  according  to  residence 1854 

List  of  officers  of  the  Institution 1856 

CORRIGENDA...                                                                                                             .  1857 


ACT   OF   ORGANIZATION    OF   THE   SMITHSONIAN 

INSTITUTION. 

Ii7^«         X 

August  10,  1846,  with  amendments  to  March  3,  1899. 

PREAMBLE.  James  Smithson,  esquire,  of  London,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Great  Britain,  having  by  his  last  will  and  testament  given  the 
whole  of  his  property  to  the  United  States  of  America,  to  found, 
at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institution," 
an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men;  and  the  United  States  having,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  received 
said  property  and  accepted  said  trust;  therefore,  for  the  faithful 
execution  of  said  trust,  according  to  the  will  of  the  liberal  and 
enlightened  donor, 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled: 

SEC.  5579.  That  the  President,  the  Vice-President,  the  Chief 
Justice,  and  the  heads  of  Executive  Departments  are  herebjT  consti- 
tuted an  establishment  by  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  and  by  that  name 
shall  be  known  and  have  perpetual  succession  with  the  powers,  limi- 
tations, and  restrictions  hereinafter  contained,  and  no  other. 

SEC.  5580.  .The  business  of  the  Institution  shall  be  conducted  at  the 
city  of  Washington  by  a  Board  of  Regents,  named  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  be  composed  of  the  Vice-President, 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  three  members  of  the 
Senate  and  three  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives;  together 
with  six  other  persons,  other  than  members  of  Congress,  two  of  whom 
shall  be  resident  in  the  city  of  Washington;  and  the  other  four  shall 
be  inhabitants  of  some  State,  but  no  two  of  them  of  the  same  State. 

SEC.  5581.  The  regents  to  be  selected  shall  be  appointed  as  follows: 
The  members  of  the  Senate  by  the  President  thereof:  the  members  of 
the  House  by  the  Speaker  thereof;  and  the  six  other  persons  by  joint 


XXII       ORGANIZATION    OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

resolution  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  The  members 
of  the  House  so  appointed  shall  serve  for  the  term  of  two  years;  and 
on  every  alternate  fourth  Wednesday  of  December  a  like  number  shall 
be  appointed  in  the  same  manner,  to  serve  until  the  fourth  Wednes- 
day in  December,  in  the  second  year  succeeding  their  appointment. 
The  Senators  so  appointed  shall  serve  during  the  term  for  which  they 
shall  hold,  without  re-election,  their  office  as  Senators.  Vacancies, 
occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or.  otherwise,  shall  be  filled  as  vacan- 
cies in  committees  are  filled.  The  regular  term  of  service  for  the 
other  six  members  shall  be  six  years;  and  new  elections  thereof  shall 
be  made  by  joint  resolutions  of  Congress.  Vacancies  occasioned  by 
death,  resignation,  or  otherwise  may  be  filled  in  like  manner  by  joint 
resolution  of  Congress. 

SEC.  5582.  The  regents  shall  meet  in  the  city  of  Washington  and 
elect  one  of  their  number  as  chancellor,  who  shall  be  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  and  called  the  chancellor  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  and  a  suitable  person  as  Secretary  of  the  Institu- 
tion,* who  shall  also  be  the  secretar}^  of  the  Board  of  Regents.  The 
board  shall  also  elect  three  of  their  own  body  as  an  executive  commit- 
tee, and  the  regents  shall  fix  on  the  time  for  the  regular  meetings  of 
the  board;  and,  on  application  of  any  three  of  the  regents  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  institution,  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  appoint  a  special  meet- 
ing of  the  Board  of  Regents,  of  which  he  shall  give  notice,  by  letter, 
to  each  of  the  members;  and,  at  any  meeting  of  the  board,  five  shall 
constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business.  Each  member  of  the  board  shall 
be  paid  his  necessary  traveling  and  other  actual  expenses,  in  attending 
meetings  of  the  board,  which  shall  be  audited  by  the  executive  com- 
mittee, and  recorded  by  the  Secretary  of  the  board;  bin;  his  service  as 
regent  shall  be  gratuitous. 

SEC.  5583.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents  shall  take  charge 
of  the  building  and  property  of  the  institution,  and  shall,  under  their 
direction,  make  a  fair  and  accurate  record  of  all  their  proceedings,  to 

*  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  "Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  ThattheChari- 
cellor  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  may,  by  an  instrument  in  writing  filed  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  thereof,  designate  and  appoint  a  suitable  person  to  act  as  Sec- 
retary of  the  Institution  when  there  shall  be  a  vacancy  in  said  office,  and  whenever 
the  Secretary  shall  be  unable  from  illness,  absence,  or  other  cause  to  perform  the 
duties  of  his  office;  and  in  such  case  the  person  so  appointed  may  perform  all  the 
duties  imposed  on  the  Secretary  by  law  until  the  vacancy  shall  be  filled  or  such 
inability  shall  cease.  The  said  Chancellor  may  change  such  designation  and  appoint- 
ment from  time  to  time  as  the  interests  of  the  Institution  may  in  his  judgment 
require."— (May  13,  1884.  Statutes,  XXIII,  21.) 


ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION.       XXIII 

be  preserved  in  the  institution;  and  shall  also  discharge  the  duties  of 
librarian  and  of  keeper  of  the  museum,  and  may,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Board  of  Regents,  employ  assistants. 

SEC.  558-i.  The  Secretary  and  his  assistants  shall,  respectively, 
receive  for  their  services  such  sum  as  may  be  allowed  by  the  Board  of 
Regents,  to  be  paid  semi-annually  on  the  first  day  of  January  and 
July;  and  shall  be  removable  by  the  Board  of  Regents  whenever,  in 
their  judgment,  the  interests  of  the  institution  require  such  removal. 

SEC.  5585.  The  members  and  honorary  members  of  the  institution 
may  hold  stated  and  special  meetings,  for  the  supervision  of  the  affairs 
of  the  institution  and  the  advice  and  instruction  of  the  Board  of 
Regents,  to  be  called  in  the  manner  provided  for  in  the  by-laws  of  the 
institution,  at  which  the  President,  and  in  his  absence  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent,  shall  preside. 

SEC.  5586.  Whenever  suitable  arrangements  can  be  made  from  time 
to  time  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious 
research,  and  all  objects  of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and 
mineralogical  specimens  belonging  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody  they  may  be,  shall 
be  delivered  to  such  persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  Board  of 
Regents  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be  so  arranged  and  classified  in  the 
building  erected  for  the  institution  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination 
and  study  of  them;  and  whenever  new  specimens  in  natural  history, 
geology,  or  mineralogy  are  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  institu- 
tion, by  exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens,  which  the  regents  may 
in  their  discretion  make,  or  by  donation,  which  they  may  receive,  or 
otherwise,  the  regents  shall  cause  such  new  specimens  to  be  appro- 
priately classed  and  arranged.  The  minerals,  books,  manuscripts,  and 
other  property  of  James  Smithson,  which  have  been  received  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  preserved  separate  and 
apart  from  other  property  of  the  institution. 

SEC.  5587.  The  regents  shall  make,  from  the  interest  of  the  fund, 
an  appropriation,  not  exceeding  an  average  of  twenty  five  thousand 
dollars  annually,  for  the  gradual  formation  of  a  library  composed  of 
valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  departments  of  human  knowledge.* 

*  The  Smithsonian  library  was  transferred  to  the  Library  of  Congress  under  act  of 
April  5,  1866: 

"Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  library  collected  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  under 
the  provisions  of  an  act  approved,  August  10,  1846,  shall  be  removed  from  the  build- 
ing of  said  Institution,  with  the  consent  of  the  Regents  thereof,  to  the  new  fireproof 


XXIV       ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

SEC.  5588.  The  site  and  lands  selected  for  buildings  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  shall  be  deemed  appropriated  to  the  institution,  and 
the  record  of  the  description  of  such  site  and  lands,  or  a  copy  thereof, 
certified  by  the  chancellor  and  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents, 
shall  be  received  as  evidence  in  all  courts  of  the  extent  and  boundaries 
of  the  lands  appropriated  to  the  institution. 

SEC.  5589.  All  laws  for  the  protection  of  public  property  in  the  city 
of  Washington  shall  apply  to,  and  be  in  force  for,  the  protection  of 
the  lands,  buildings,  and  other  property  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion. All  moneys  recovered  by  or  accruing  to,  the  institution  shall  be 
paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  to  the  credit  of  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest,  and  separately  accounted  for. 

SEC.  5590.  So  much  of  the  propert}T  of  James  Smithson  as  has  been 
received  in  money,  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States, 
being  the  sum  of  five  hundred  and  forty-one  thousand  three  hundred 
and  seventy-nine  dollars  and  sixty-three  cents,  shall  be  lent  to  the 
United  States  Treasury,  at  six  per  centum  per  annum  interest;  and 
six  per  centum  interest  on  the  trust-fund  and  residuaiT  legacy  received 
into  the  United  States  Treasury,  payable  in  half-yearl}  payments,  on 
the  first  of  January  and  July  in  each  year,  is  hereby  appropriated  for 
the  perpetual  maintenance  and  support  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution; 
and  all  expenditures  and  appropriations  to  be  made,  from  time  to  time, 
to  the  purposes  of  the  institution  shall  be  exclusively  from  the  accru- 
ing interest,  and  not  from  the  principal  of  the  fund.  All  the  moneys 

extension  of  the  Library  of  Congress,  upon  completion  of  a  sufficient  portion  thereof 
for  its  accommodation,  and  shall,  while  there  deposited,  be  subject  to  the  same  regu- 
lations as  the  Library  of  Congress,  except  as  hereinafter  provided. 

"Ssc.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  through  its 
Secretary,  shall  have  the  use  of  the  library  of  Congress,  subject  to  the  same  regula- 
tions as  Senators  or  Representatives." — (Statutes,  XIV,  13.) 

By  act  of  April  5,  1866,  as  given  in  Revised  Statutes,  1875: 

"  SEC.  99.  The  library  collected  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  under  the  provi- 
sions of  the  act  of  August  10,  184(5,  chapter  25,  and  removed  from  the  building  of  that 
Institution,  with  the  consent  of  the  Regents  thereof,  to  the  Library  of  Congress,  shall, 
while  there  deposited,  be  subject  to  the  same  regulations  as  the  Library  of  Congress, 
except  as  hereinafter  provided. 

"SEC.  100.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  have  the  use  thereof  in  like  manner 
as  before  its  removal,  and  the  public;  shall  have  access  thereto  for  purposes  of  con- 
sultation on  every  ordinary  week-day,  except  during  one  month  of  each  year,  in  the 
recess  of  Congress,  when  it  may  be  closed  for  renovation.  All  the  books,  maps,  and 
charts  of  the  Smithsonian  Library  shall  be  properly  cared  for  and  preserved  in  like 
manner  as  are  those  of  the  Congressional  Library;  from  which  the  Smithsonian  library 
shall  not  l>e  removed  except  on  reimbursement  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  of  expenses  incurred  in  binding  and  in  taking  care  of 
the  same,  or  upon  such  terms  and  conditions  as  shall  be  mutually  agreed  upon  by 
Congress  and  the  Regents  of  the  Institution."— (Statutes,  XVIII,  pt.  1,  1875,  16.) 


ORGANIZATION    OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION.       XXV 

and  stocks  which  have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be,  received  into  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States,  on  account  of  the  fund  bequeathed  by 
James  Smithson,  are  hereby  pledged  to  refund  to  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  the  sums  hereby  appropriated. 

SEC.  5591.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  authorized  and  directed 
to  receive  into  the  Treasury,  on  the  same  terms  as  the  original  bequest 
of  James  Smithson,  such  sums  as  the  regents  may,  from  time  to  time, 
see  fit  to  deposit,  not  exceeding,  with  the  original  bequest,  the  sum  of 
one  million  dollars. 

Provided,  That  this  shall  not  operate  as  a  limitation  on  the  power 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  receive  monej'  or  other  property  by 
gift,  bequest,  or  devise,  and  to  hold  and  dispose  of  the  same  in  promo- 
tion of  the  purposes  thereof. 

SEC.  5592.  The  regents  are  authorized  to  make  such  disposal  of  any 
other  moneys  which  have  accrued,  or  shall  hereafter  accrue,  as  interest 
upon  the  Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein  appropriated,  or  not  required 
for  the  purposes  herein  provided,  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for 
the  promotion  of  the  purposes  of  the  testator. 

SEC.  5593.  Whenever  money  is  required  for  the  payment  of  the  debts 
or  performance  of  the  contracts  of  the  institution,  incurred  or  entered 
into  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  Title,  or  for  making  the 
purchases  and  executing  the  objects  authorized  by  this  Title,  the  Board 
of  Regents,  or  the  executive  committee  thereof,  ma}T  certify  to  the 
chancellor  and  Secretary  of  the  board  that  such  sum  of  money  is 
required,  whereupon  they  shall  examine  the  same,  and,  if  they  shall 
approve  thereof,  shall  certif y  the  same  to  the  proper  officer  of  the 
Treasury  for  payment.  The  board  shall  submit  to  Congress,*  at  each 
session  thereof,  a  report  of  the  operations,  expenditures,  and  condition 
of  the  Institution. 

*"  The  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  submit  to  Congress  at  its 
next  session  a  detailed  statement  of  the  expenditures  of  the  fiscal  year,  under  appro- 
priations for  '  International  Exchanges,'  '  North  American  Ethnology,'  and  the 
'  National  Museum,'  and  annually  thereafter  a  detailed  statement  of  expenditures 
under  said  appropriations  shall  be  submitted  to  Congress  at  the  beginning  of  each 
regular  session  thereof."— (October  2,  1888.  Statutes,  XXV,  529.) 

"A  report  in  detail  of  the  expenses  on  account  of  the  National  Zoological  Park 
shall  be  made  to  Congress  at  the  beginning  of  each  regular  session."— (August  5, 
1892.  Statutes,  XXVII,  360. ) 

"The  annual  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  be  hereafter  printed  at 
the  Government  Printing  Office,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  annual  reports  of  the 
heads  of  Departments  are  now  printed,  for  submission  in  print  to  the  two  Houses  of 
Congress."— (March  3, 1885.  Statutes,  XXIII,  520. ) 


FULL  TITLES  OF  ACTS  AND  JOINT  RESOLUTIONS  OF  CON- 
GRESS, 1835-1899,  REFERRED  TO  IN  THIS  WORK. 


July  1,  1836:  Page. 

An  act  to  authorize  and  enable  the  President  to  assert  and  prosecute  with 
effect  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy  bequeathed  to  them 
by  James  Smithson,  late  of  London,  deceased,  to  found  at  Washington, 
under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an  establishment  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  (Stat.,  V,  64) ...  142 
October  16,  1837: 

An  act  making  further  appropriations  for  the  year  1837.     (Stat.,  V,  207) .       144 
July  7,  1838: 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United 

States  for  the  year  1838,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat. ,  V,  264) 145 

March  3,  1839: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 

Government  for  the  year  1839.     (Stat.,  V,  339) 182 

July  20,  1840: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  Army  for  the  year 

1840.     (Stat.,  V,  404) '. 2iy 

July  20,  1840: 

Joint  resolution  for  the  exchange  of  books  and  public  documents  for  for- 
eign publications.  (Stat.,  V,  409) 220 

March  3,  1841: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  1841. 

(Stat.,  V,  419) 220 

September  4,  1841: 

An  act  to  appropriate  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  public  lands,  and  to  grant 

preemption  rights.     (Stat.,  V,  453) 221 

September  11,  1841: 

An  act  to  repeal  a  part  of  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  entitled  "An  act  to 
provide.for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United  States 
for  the  year  1838,  and  for  other  purposes,"  passed  July  7, 1838.  (Stat., 

V,  465) 224 

August  4,  1842: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  1842. 

(Stat.,  V,  500) 239 

August  26,  1842: 

An  act  to  provide  for  publishing  an  account  of  the  discoveries  made  by 
the  Exploring  Expedition,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Wilkes, 

of  the  United  States  Navy.     (Stat.,  V,  534) 240 

December  24,  1842: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  half  calendar  year  ending  the  30th  day  of  June, 
1843.  (Stat.,  V,586) 240 


XXX       ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899. 

March  3,  1843:  Page. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 

Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  the  30th  day  of  June,   1844. 

( Stat, V,  630)...  240 

March  3,  1843: 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  Richard  Rush.     (Stat.,  VI,  892) 239 

June  17,  1844: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  the  30th  day  of  June,  1845.  and 

for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  V,  681 ) 320 

February  20,  1845: 

A   resolution    for   distributing  the  work  on  the  exploring  expedition. 

(Stat,,  V,  797) 320 

March  3,  1845: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of  the 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  June,  1846,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses. (Stat.,  V,  752) 321 

March  3,  1845: 

A  joint  resolution  directing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  whenever  any 
State  shall  have  been  or  may  be  in  default  for  the  payment  of  interest 
or  principal  on  investments  in  its  stocks  or  bonds  held  by  the  United 
States  in  trust,  to  retain  certain  moneys  to  which  such  State  is  entitled 

for  the  purposes  therein  named.     (Stat.,  V,  801) 319 

March  4,  1846: 

A  resolution  to  authorize  the  transmission  and  presentation  of  books  to 
the  minister  of  justice  of  France,  in  exchange  for  books  received  from 

him.     (Stat,,  IX,  109) 434 

July  15,  1846: 

A  resolution,  supplementary  to  the  resolution  of  February  20,  1845,  for 

distributing  the  works  of  the  exploring  expedition.     (Stat.,  IX,  111)  ..       435 
August  10,  184-6: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  day  of  June,  1847,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  IX,  85) 435 

August  10,  1846: 

An  act  to  establish  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  for  the  increase  and 

diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.     (Stat.,  IX,  102) 429 

August  10,  1846: 

A  resolution  appointing  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat, 

IX,  1 15) 438 

March  3,  1847: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  day  of  June,  1848,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat,  IX,  155) 435 

June  26,  1848: 

An  act  to  regulate  the  exchange  of  certain  documents  and  other  publica- 
tions of  Congress.  (Stat.,  IX,  240) 466 

June  30,  1848: 

A  resolution  authorizing  the  presentation  to  the  Government  of  France  of 
a  series  of  the  standard  weights  and  measures  of  the  United  States,  and 

for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  IX,  336) 467 

Augus-t  12,  1848: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  day  of  June,  1849,  and  for 
other  purposes.  ( Stat, ,  IX,  284) 467 


ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899.       XXXI 

December  19,  1848:  Page. 
A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  in  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution.    (Stat.,  IX,  417) 464 

February  1,  1849: 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  forward  officers  of  the  late  Exploring  Expedi- 
tion. (Stat,,  IX,  344) -----  467 

March  2,  1849: 

Joint  resolution  directing  that  the  Government  of  Russia  be  supplied  with 
certain  volumes  of  the  narrative  of  the  Exploring  Expedition,  in  lieu  of 
those  which  were  lost  at  sea,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  IX,  418).       468 
March  3,  1849: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1850,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat.,  IX,  354) 468 

February  20,  1850: 

Joint  resolution  to  supply  the  Territories  of  Oregon  and  Minnesota  with 

the  narrative  of  the  Exploring  Expedition.     (Stat.,  IX,  561) 468 

September  30,  1850: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1851,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat.,  IX,  523) 468,480 

December  24,  1850: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion. (Stat.,  IX,  646) 483 

February  27,  1851 : 

A  resolution  directing  the  distribution  of  the  works  of  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  IX,  646) 480 

March  3,  1851: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1852,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat,  IX;  598) 470, 480 

March  3,  1851: 

An  art  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  ending 

the  30th  of  June,  1852.     (Stat.,  IX,  621) 470 

August  31,  1852: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of  the 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1853,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat.,  X,  76) 487 

August  31,  1852: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  ending 

the  30th  of  June,  1853.     (Stat.,  X,  100) ; 487 

January  13,  1853: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  in  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion. (Stat,  X,  261) 486 

March  3,  1853: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 

Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1854.     (Stat.,  X,  189) .       487 
March  3,  1853: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  ending 

the  30th  of  June,  1854.     (Stat,  X,  220) 487 

July  20,  1854: 

A  resolution  providing  for  the  distribution  of  the  works  of  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son. (Stat,  X,  594) 503 

August  4,  1854: 

An  act  making  apppropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1855,  and  for  other 
purposes.  (Stat,  X,~546) 505,511 


XXXII       ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899. 

August  5,  1864:  PERC. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  ending 

the  30th  of  June,  1855.     (Stat.,  X,  583) 510 

December  27,  1854: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  in  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion.    (Stat.,  X,  722) 503 

March  3,  1855: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1856,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat.,  X,  643) 511, 599 

March  3,  1855: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  ending  the 

30th  of  June,  1856.     (Stat.,  X,  675) 511 

March  3,  1855: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  service  of  the  Post-Office  Depart- 
ment during  the  fiscal   year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1856.     (Stat., 

X,  683 ) 501 

February  27,  1856: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  regents  to  fill  the  vacancies  in  the 

Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XI,  142) 602 

August  18,  1856: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  certain  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 

for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1857.     (Stat.,  XI,  81) 603 

August  18,  1856: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1857. 

(Stat.,  XI,  102) 603 

January  28,  1857: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion.    (Stat.,  XI,  253) 602 

March  3,  1857: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1858. 

(Stat,,  XI,  206) 603,  604 

June  2,  1858: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1859. 

(Stat,  XI,  295) ." 607 

June  12,  1858: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  ending  the 

30th  of  June,  1859.     (Stat.,  XI,  314) 608 

January  17,  1859: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  two  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution.    (Stat.,  XI,  440) 604 

February  5,  1859: 

An  act  providing  for   keeping  and  distributing  all   public  documents. 

(Stat.,  XI,  379) 608 

March  3,  1859: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 

for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1860.     (Stat.,  XI,  425) 607,  608 

June  15,  1860: 

A  resolution  in  relation  to  the  works  of  the  Exploring  Expedition.     (Stat., 

XII,  116) 627 

June  16,  1860: 

An  act  to  facilitate  communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  States 
by  electric  telegraph.     (Stat.,  XII,  41 ) 610 


ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899.       XXXIII 

June  25,  1860:  Page. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 

for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  Jane,  1861.     (Stat.,  XII,  104) 611 

February  20,  1861: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June, 

1862.     (Stat,  XII,  133) 627 

March  2,  1861: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 

for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1862.     (Stat.,  XII,214) 627 

March  2,  1861: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

(Stat. ,  XII,  251 ) 610 

July  27,  1861: 

A  resolution  relative  to  the  exhibition  of  the  industry  of  all  nations,  to  be 

holden  in  London  in  the  year  1862.     ( Stat. ,  XII,  328) 1838 

March  1,  1862: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 
for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1863,  and  additional  appropria- 
tions for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1862.     (Stat,  XII,  348) ....      636 
March  15,  1862: 

A  resolution  providing  for  the  custody  of  the  letter  and  gifts  from  the 

King  of  Siam.     (Stat,  XII,  616) 636 

April  2,  1862: 

Joint  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Theodore  D.  Woolsey,  of  Connecti- 
cut, a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  place  of  Cornelius  C. 

Felton,  deceased.     (Stat.,  XII,  617) 630 

April  24,  1862: 

Joint  resolution  to  supply  the  Smithsonian  Institutiofn  with  volumes  of 

Wilkes's  Exploring  Expedition.     (Stat.,  XII,  618) 637 

February  21,  1863: 

A  resolution  expelling  George  E.  Badger  from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian   Institution,  and  appointing  Louis  Agassiz  in  his  place. 

(Stat,  XII,  825) 632 

March  3,  1863: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1864,  and  for  the  year  ending  the 

30[th]  of  June,  1863,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XII,  744) 636 

July  2,  1864: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June  1865,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,  XIII,  344) 639 

January  10,  1865: 

An  act  to  repeal  the  provision  of  law  requiring  certain  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  to  be  members  of  the  National  Institute.    (Stat., 

XIII,  420) 640 

February  14,  1865: 

A  resolution  appointing  General  Richard  Delafield  to  be  a  Regent  of  the 

Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat. ,  XIII,  569) 658 

January  15,  1866: 

Joint  resolution  in  relation  to  the  Industrial  Exposition  at  Paris,  France. 

( Stat. ,  XIV,  347 ) 658 

April  5,  1866: 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  transfer  of  the  custody  of  the  library  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institute  to  the  Library  of  Congress.     (Stat,  XI V,  13) 661 

H.  Doc.  732 in 


XXXIV       ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899. 

April  7,  1866:  Page. 

An  act  making  additional  appropriations,  and  to  supply  the  deficiencies 
in  the  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government  for 
the  fiscal  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  186(5,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,  XIV,  14) 062 

July  5,  1866: 

Joint  resolution  to  enable  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  participate 
in  the  advantages  of  the  Universal  Exhibition  at  Paris  in  1867.  (Stat., 

XIV,  362) 658 

July  26,  1866: 

A  resolution  to  authorize  the  use  of  certain  plates  of  the  United  States 

Exploring  Expedition  by  the  Navy  Department.     (Stat.,  XIV,  366) 664 

July  28,  1866: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expense*  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  year  ending  June  30, 1867,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat., 

XIV,  310) 662 

January  11,  1867: 

A  resolution  to  provide  for  the  exhibition  of  the  cereal  productions  of  the 

United  States  at  the  Paris  Exposition  in  April  next,     (Stat,  XIV,  563) .       660 
February  8,  1867: 

An  act  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  receive  into  the  Treas- 
ury the  residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson,  to  authorize  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  apply  the  income  of  the  said  legacy,  and 

for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XIV,  391) 866 

March  2,  1867: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1868, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XIV,  440) 663 

March  2,  1867: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  year  ending  June  30, 1868,  and 'for  other  purposes.  (Stat., 

XIV,  457) 663 

March  2,  1867: 

A  resolution  to  provide  for  the  exchange  of  certain  public  document?. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  573) 667 

March  12,  1867: 

A  resolution  supplementary  to  other  joint  resolutions  to  enable  the  people 
of  the  United  States  to  participate  in  the  advantages  of  the  Universal 

Exhibition  at  Paris  in  1867.     (Stat.,  XV,  19) 667 

January  11,  1868: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion. (Stat,  XV,  246) '. 669 

February  28,  1868: 

A  resolution  directing  that  the  Government  of  Great  Britain  be  supplied 
with  certain  volumes  of  the  narrative  of  the  exploring  expedition. 

(Stat.,  XV,  248) 678 

March  12,  1868: 

A  resolution  providing  for  the  representation  of  the  United  States  at  the 
International  Maritime  Exhibition,  to  be  held  at  Havre.  (Stat,  XV, 

249) 668 

June  11,  1868: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  War  to  furnish  supplies  to  an 
exploring  expedition.  (Stat.,  XV,  253) 679 


ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899.       XXXV 

July  20,  1868:  Page. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1869,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XV, ' 

110) 674 

July  20,  1868: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1869.  (Stat., 

XV,  92) 680 

July  25,  1868: 

A  resolution  to  carry  into  effect  the  resolution  approved  March  2,  1867, 

providing  for  the  exchange  of  certain  public  documents.     ( Stat. ,  X  V,  260)       680 
March  3,  1869: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1870. 

(Stat.,  XV,  283) 681 

March  3,  1869: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1870,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat., 

XV,  301) 678 

March  3,  1869: 

A  resolution  reappointing  Louis  Agassiz  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. (Stat,  XV,  349) 670 

May  5,  1870: 

A  resolution  for  the  transfer  of  an  unexpended  balance  of  appropriation  to 

the  book  fund  of  the  Library  of  Congress.     ( Stat. ,  XVI,  375) ,       683 

May  24,  1870: 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XVI,  139) 684 

June  21,  1870: 

An  act  to  incorporate  a  Zoological  Society  in  the  city  of  Washington,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.  (Stat.,  XVI,  157) 685 

June  23,  1870: 

A  resolution  to  admit  free  of  duty  certain  printed  chromos.     (Stat.,  XVI, 

668) 686 

July  12,  1870: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  of  June,  1871. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  230) 683,686 

July  15,  1870: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat., 

XVI,  291) 686 

February  2,  1871: 

A  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  General  William  T.  Sherman  a  Regent 

of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XVI,  593) 682 

March  3,  1871: 

An  act  to  provide  for  celebrating  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  Ameri- 
can independence  by  holding  an  international  exhibition  of  arts,  manu- 
factures, and  products  of  the  soil  and  mine,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 

and  State  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1876.     (Stat.,  XVI,  470) 687 

March  3,  1871: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1872.  (Stat., 
XVI,  475) .__......,,...._ 684 


XXXVI       ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899, 

March  3,  1871:  .  Page. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 

for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1872,  and  for  other  purposes.      (Stat., 

XVI,  495) 686,687 

March  20,  1871: 

An  act  to  amend  "An  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  approved  August  10, 

184(5.     (Stat.,  XVII,  1) 689 

April  20,  1871: 

Joint  resolution  giving  the  consent  of  Congress  to  Professor  Joseph  Henry, 
secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  accept  the  title  and  regalia 
of  a  Commander  of  the  Royal  Norwegian  Order  of  St.  Olaf,  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  grand  master  of  said 

order.     (Stat,,  XVII,  643) 692 

March  2,  1872: 

An  act  granting  to  James  D.  Dana  the  use  of  certain  plates.     (Stat.,  XVII, 

646) 692 

May  8,  1872: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1873,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XVII,  61) 692 

May  18,  1872: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  service  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1872,  and  for  former  years,  and  for  other  purposes.    (Stat.,  XVII,  122) . .       693 
May  23,  1872: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  year  ending 

June  30,  1873,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XVII,  145) 692 

June  1,  1872: 

An  act  relative  to  the  Centennial  International  Exhibition,  to  be  held  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  State  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1876.  (Stat., 

XVII,  203) 694 

June  8,  1872: 

An  act  to  revise,  consolidate,  and  amend  the  statutes  relating  to  the  Post- 

Office  Department.     (Stat.,  XVII,  283) 699 

June  10,  1872: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1873,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat., 

XVII,  347 ) 692,  693,  699 

February  14,  1873: 

Joint  resolution  to  enable  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  participate 
in  the  advantages  of  the  International  Exposition  to  be  held  at  Vienna 

in  1873.     (Stat.,  XVII,  637) 698 

March  3,  1873: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1874,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XVII,  485) 693 

March  3,  1873: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1874,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XVII,  510) , 694,699 

January  19,  1874: 

Joint  resolution  filling  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 

Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  285) 717 

June  5,  1874: 

An  act  in  relation  to  the  Centennial  Exhibition.    (Stat,  XVIII,  pt.  3, 53) .       703 


ACTS  AND  JOINT  RESOLUTIONS  OF  CONGRESS,   1835-1899.       XXXVII 

June  16,  1874:  Page. 
An  act  to  authorize  medals  commemorating  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  first  meeting  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.     (Stat.,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  76) 703 

June  18,  1874: 

An  act  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  intended  for  the  International  Exhi- 
bition of  1876.  (Stat.,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  82) 703 

June  20,  1874: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1875,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  85) 724,729 

June  20,  1874: 

An  act  providing  for  publication  of  the  Revised  Statutes  and  the  laws 

of  the  United  States.     (Stat.,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  113) 724 

June  22,  1874: 

Title  LXXIII.    The  Smithsonian  Institution.     (Revised  Stat.  1875,  1088).       724 
June  22,  1874: 

Title    IV.     Provisions    applicable  to  all    the    Executive    Departments. 

(Revised  Stat.,  2d  ed.,  1878,  26) 728 

June  23,  1874: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1875,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  204) 729 

June  23,  1874: 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  Mercy  Ann  Hall,  widow  of  Captain  Charles  F. 

Hall.     (Stat.,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  614) 728 

December  28,  1874: 

Joint  resolution  filling  an  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 

Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  523) 718 

March  3,  1875: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1876,  and  for 

other  purposes..   (Stat,XVIII,  pt.  3,343) 724,729 

March  3,  1875: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1876,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  pt.  3,  371) 704,729 

March  3.  1875: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  fiscal  years  ending  June  30,  1875,  and  prior  years,  and  for  other  pur- 

N  poses.     ( Stat,  XVIII,  pt.  3,402) 705,728 

March  3,  1875: 

An  act  extending  the  privilege  of  the  Library  of  Congress  to  the  Regents 

of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XVIII,  pt  3,  512) 730 

February  16,  1876: 

An  act  relating  to  the  centennial  celebration  of  American  independence. 

(Stat,  XIX,  3) 743 

April  17,  1876: 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  admission  of  foreign  goods  to  the 

centennial  exhibition  at  Philadelphia.     ( Stat. ,  XIX,  34 ) 745 

May  1,  1876: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  years  ending  June  30,  1876,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 
other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XIX,  41) 745 


XXXVIII       ACTS  AND  JOINT  RESOLUTIONS  OF  CONGRESS,    1835-1899. 

July  20,  1870:  Page. 

Joint  resolution  to  amend  the  act  approved  June  18,  1874,  relating  to  the 

admission  of  articles  intended  for  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876. 

(Stat,  XIX,  214) 745 

July  31,  1876: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1877,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  102) 742 

August  3,  1876: 

Joint  resolution  providing  for  the  restoration  of  the  original  Declaration  of 

Independence.     (Stat.,  XIX,  216) 730 

August  15,  1876: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1877,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XIX,  143) 731,  742 

August  15,  1876: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  current  and  contingent  expenses  of 
the  Indian  Department  and  for  fulfilling  treaty  stipulations  with  various 
Indian  tribes  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1877,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,,  XIX,  176) 731 

March  3,  1877: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1878,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat. ,  XIX,  294) 731 

March  3,  1877: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1878,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat. ,  XIX,  344) 743 

March  3,  1877: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1877,  and  prior  years,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat.,  XIX,  363) 743 

December  15,  1877: 

An  act  providing  for  the  printing  and  distribution  of  the  Biennial  Regis- 
ter. (Stat. ,  XX,  13) 791 

December  15,  1877: 

Joint  resolution  in  relation  to  the  International  Industrial  Exposition  to 

be  held  in  Paris  in  1878.     (Stat. ,  XX,  245 ) 792 

January  26,  1878: 

Joint  resolution  filling  an  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 

Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat,  XX,  247) 783 

March  23,  1878: 

An  act  to  authorize  the  granting  of  an  American  register  to  a  foreign-built 
ship,  for  the  purpose  of  the  Woodruff  Scientific  Expedition  around  the 

world.     (Stat.,  XX,  31) 789 

March  25,  1878: 

Joint  resolution  filling  an  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 

Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XX,  249) 784 

May  22,  1878: 

Joint  resolution  providing  for  the  distribution  and  sale  of  the  new  edition 

of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States.     (Stat. ,  XX,  251 ) 791 

June  14,  1878: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1878,  and  prior  years,  and  for  those 
heretofore  treated  as  permanent,  for  reappropriations,  and  for  other  pur- 

(Stat.,  XX,  115) 800 


ACTS  AND  JOINT  RESOLUTIONS  OF  CONGRESS,   1835-1899.        XXXIX 

June  19,  1878:  Page. 

An  act  to  protect  public  libraries  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XX,  171) .* 810 

June  19,  1878: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1879, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XX,  178) 800 

June  20.  1878: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1879,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XX,  206) 782,  794, 809,  810 

June  20,  1878: 

An  act  to  authorize  Spencer  F.  Baird,  assistant  secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  to  receive  from  the  King  of  Sweden  a  diploma  and 
medal  constituting  him  a  member  of  the  Norwegian  order  of  St.  Olaf, 
the  same  being  a  literary  and  scientific  organization.     (Stat. ,  XX,  584) .       789 
December  13,  1878: 

An  act  to  aid  in  the  protection  of  the  public  buildings  and  property  against 

loss  and  damage  by  fire.     (Stat.,  XX,  257) 788 

January  24,  1879: 

An  act  authorizing  the  Chancellor  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to 

appoint  an  Acting  Secretary  in  certain  cases.     (Stat, ,  XX,  264) 810 

March  3,  1879: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  service  of  the  Post-Office  Depart- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1880,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,  XX,  355) 818 

March  3,  1879: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1880,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XX,  377) •...  778,779,783,788,818 

March  3,  1879: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1879,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 
those  heretofore  treated  as  permanent,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat., 

XX,  410) 783 

April  18,  1879: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  printing  of  a  portrait  of  the  late  Joseph 
Henry,  to  accompany  the  memorial  volume  heretofore  ordered.  (Stat., 

XXI,  48) 821 

June  10,  1879: 

Joint  resolution  in  relation  to  the  international  exhibitions  to  be  held  at 

Sydney  and  Melbourne,  Australia,  in  1879  and  1880.     (Stat,  XXI,  49) .       823 
June  20,  1879: 

Joint  resolution  to  print  5,000  copies  of  the  final  reports  of  the  United 
States  Centennial  Commission  upon  the  International  Exhibition  and 

Centennial  Celebration  of  1876.     (Stat,  XXI,  50) 824 

June  21,  1879: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and- judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1880, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat,  XXI,  23) 855 

June  27,  1879: 

Joint  resolution  to  provide  for  the  purchase  of  the  stereotype  plates  of  the 
final  reports  of  the  Centennial  Commission  upon  the  Centennial  Exhibi- 
tion of  1876.  (Stat.,  XXI,  53) 824 


XL          AOT8  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899. 

December  19,  1879:  Page. 

Joint  resolution  filling  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 

Smithsonian  Institution.      (Stat,  XXI,  299) 820 

February  16,  1880: 

Joint  resolution  concerning  an  international  fishery  exhibition  to  be  held 

in  Berlin,  Germany,  in  April,  1880.     (Stat.,  XXI,  301) 824 

April  1,  1880: 

An  act  to  authorize  and  direct  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  to  attend, 
in  person  or  by  deputy,  the  international  sheep  and  wool  show  to  be 
held  in  the  Centennial  buildings,  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia,  in  Sep- 
tember, A.  D.  1880,  and  to  make  a  full  and  complete  report  of  the  same, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXI,  70) 827 

April  23,  1880: 

An  act  to  provide  for  celebrating  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  and  the  recognition  of  American  Independence  by  hold- 
ing an  international  exhibition  of  arts,  manufactures,  and  the  products 
of  the  soil  and  mine  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  State  of  New  York, 

in  the  year  1883.      (Stat.,  XXI,  77) 827 

May  3,  1880: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  fiscal  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1881,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XXI,  82) 856 

June  1,  1880: 

An  act  for  the  erection  of  a  bronze  statue  of  Joseph  Henry,  late  Secretary 

of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XXI,  154) 823 

June  7,  1880: 

Joint  resolution  to  provide  for  the  publication  and  distribution  of  a  sup- 
plement to  the  Revised  Statutes.  (Stat. ,  XXI,  308) 869 

June  15,  1880: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1881, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXI,  210) 856 

June  16,  1880: 

ATI  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1880,  and  prior  years,  and  for  those 
certified  as  due  by  the  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  in  accordance 
with  section  4  of  the  act  of  June  14,  1878,  heretofore  paid  from  per- 
manent appropriations,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XXI,,  238) . . .  823, 866 
June  16,  1880: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1881,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXI.,  259) 824,  841, 856,  863 

June  16,  1880: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  Gov- 
ernment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1881,  and  for  other. purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  292) 827 

February  9,  1881: 

An  act  making  an  appropriation  for  the  flooring  of  the  National  Museum. 

(Stat,  XXI,  324) 834 

February  21,  1881: 

An  act  to  provide  for  remitting  the  duties  on  the  object  of  art  awarded  by 
the  Berlin  International  Fishery  Commission  to  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird. 

(Stat,  XXI,  608) 827 

February  23,  1881: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  fiscal  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1882,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat,  XXI,  331)  856 


ACTS  AND    JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,    1835-1899.         XLI 

March  1,  1881:  Page. 

Joint  resolution  in  relation  to  the  international  exhibition  of  1883.     (Stat., 

XXI,  520) 1 . 828 

.March  3,  1881: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  Gov- 
ernment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1882,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses. (Stat.,  XXI,  381) 827 

March  3,  1881: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1882, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXI,  385) 856 

March  3,  1881: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1881,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for  those 
certified  as  due  by  the  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  in  accordance 
with  section  4  of  the  act  of  June  14,  1878,  heretofore  paid  from  perma- 
nent appropriations,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XXI,  414)  . .  824,  842,  868 
March  3,  1881: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1882,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  435) 842, 856,  865 

March  3,  1881: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  furnish  States, 
for  the  use  of  agricultural  colleges,  one  set  of  standard  weights  and 

measures,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat. ,  XXI,  521 ) 843 

February  13,  1882: 

An  act  to  appropriate  $5,000  for  packing,  transporting,  and  arranging  cer- 
tain agricultural  and  mineral  specimens.  (Stat.,  XXII,  3) 872 

March  6,  1882: 

An  act  to  provide  for  certain  of  the  most  urgent  deficiencies  in  the  appro- 
priations for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1882,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,  XXII,  7) 913 

April  7,  1882: 

An  act  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  intended  for  exhibition  at  the  national 
mining  and  industrial  exposition  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Denver  in 

the  year  1882.     (Stat.,  XXII,  41 ) 872 

June  28,  1882: 

An  act  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  intended  for  the  exhibition  of  art  and 
industry  to  be  held  at  Boston,  Mass.,  during  the  year  1883.  (Stat., 

XXII,  116) 883 

July  18,  1882: 

Joint  resolution  concerning  an  International  Fishery  Exhibition  to  be  held 

at  London  in  May,  1883.      (Stat.,  XXII,  387) 881 

Augusts,  1882: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1883,  and 

for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXII,  219) t .906 

August  5,  1882: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1882,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 
those  certified  as  due  by  the  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  in 
accordance  with  section  4  of  the  act  of  June  14,  1878,  heretofore. paid 
from  permanent  appropriations,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XXII, 
257) 915 


XLIT       ACTS  AND    JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,,  1835-1899. 

August  7,  1882:  Page. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 

for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1883,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat., 

XXII.302).. 871,900,908,915 

August  8,  1882: 

An  a<-t  for  the  relief  of  Mary  E.  Thomson.      (Stat.,  XXII,  738) 871 

February  10,  1883: 

An  act  to  encourage  the  holding  of  a  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Cen- 
tennial Exposition  in  the  year  1884.  (Stat.,  XXII,  413) 887 

February  24,  1883: 

Joint  resolution  accepting  the  invitation  of  the  regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institute  to  attend  the  inauguration  of  the  statue  of  Joseph  Henry. 

(Stat,,  XXII,  639) i 920 

February  26,  1883: 

Joint  resolution  to  provide  for  admission  free  of  duty  of  articles  intended 
for  a  special  exhibition  of  machinery,  tools,  implements,  apparatus,  and 
so  forth,  for  the  generation  and  application  of  electricity,  to  be  held  at 

Philadelphia,  by  the  Franklin  Institute.      (Stat.,  XXII,  639) 890 

March  3,  1883: 

An  act  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  intended  for  the  National  Mining  and 
Industrial  Exposition  to  be  held  at  Denver,  in  the  State  of  Colorado, 

during  the  year  1883.      (Stat.,  XXII,  481) 872 

March  3,  1883: 

An  act  relative  to  the  Southern  Exposition  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Louis- 
ville, State  of  Kentucky,  in  the  year  1883.  (Stat,,  XXII,  481) 890 

March  3,  1883: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1884, 

and  for  other  purposes.      (Stat. ,  XXII,  531 ) 907 

March  3,  1883: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1883,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for  those 
certified  an  due  by  the  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  in  accordance 
with  section  4  of  the  act  of  June  14,  1878,  heretofore  paid  from  perma- 
nent appropriations,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XXII,  582) 917 

March  3,  1883: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1884,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,,  XXII,  603) 871,  883,  893,  907,  916 

March  3,  1883: 

Joint  resolution  to  print  5,000  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Board  on  behalf 
of  the  United  States  Executive  Departments  at  the  International  Exhi- 
bition of  1876.  (Stat.,  XXII,  640) 887 

March  3,  1884: 

Joint  resolution  filling  an  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 

Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XXIII,  269) 939 

May  13,  1884: 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  an  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  (Stat.,  XXIII,  21) 952 

May  13,  1884: 

Joint  resolution  filling  an  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 

Smithsonian  Institution.      (Stat. ,  XXIII,  272) 939 

May  21,  1884: 

An  act  to  make  a  loan  to  aid  in  the  celebration  of  the  World's  Industrial 
and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition.  (Stat. ,  XXIII,  28) 953 


ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,    1835-1899.       XLTII 

June  26,  1884:  Page. 
Joint  resolution  for  printing  the  annual  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnol- 
ogy.    (Stat.,  XXIII,  275) 942 

July  5,  1884: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  Army  for  the  fiscal 

year  ending  June  30, 1885,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat. ,  XXIII,  107 )..      944 
July  5,  1884: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  service  of  the  Post-Office  Depart- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1885,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  156) 961 

July  7,  1884: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1885, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXIII,  159) 933 

July  7,  1884: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1885,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  194) 932, 933, 944, 947, 955, 957, 962 

July  7,  1884: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  consular  and  diplomatic  service  of 
the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1885,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat.,  XXIII,  227)". 933 

July  7,  1884: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1884,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 
those  certified  as  due  by  the  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  in 
accordance  with  section  4  of  the  act  of  June  14,  1878,  heretofore  paid 
from  permanent  appropriations,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XXIII, 

236) 948,957,962 

February  9,  1885: 

Joint  resolution  providing  for  the  printing  and  distribution  of  the  Descrip- 
tive Catalogue  of  Government  Publications.  (Stat. ,  XXIII,  516) 968 

March  2,  1885: 

An  act  providing  for  the  erection  of  a  building  to  contain  the  records, 
library,  and  museum  of  the  Medical  Department,  United  States  Army. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  339) 938 

March  3,  1885: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1886, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXIII,  388) 934 

March  3,  1885: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1885,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXIII,  446) 948,956 

March  3,  1885: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1886,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,  XXIII,  478) 932,933,948,956 

March  3,  1885: 

Joint  resolution  to  provide  for  printing  the  annual  reports  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  (Stat.,  XXIII,  520) 959 

December  26,  1885: 

Joint  resolution  filling  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  (Stat.,  XXIV,  339) 972 


XLIV       ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,    18:15-1899. 

July  31,  1886:  Page. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1887, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXIV,  172) 979 

August  4,  1886: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Gov- 
ernment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1887,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  222) 979, 981, 1031, 1042 

August  4,  1886: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1886,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat,  XXIV,  256) 1032 

August  5,  1886: 

Joint  resolution  accepting  from  Julia  Dent  Grant  and  William  H.  Vaiider- 
bilt  objects  of  value  and  art  presented  by  various  foreign  governments 

to  the  late  Gen.  Ulysses  S.  Grant.     (Stat.,  XXIV,  348) 1011 

August  5,  1886: 

Joint  resolution  to  print  the  annual  bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  349) 1008 

January  19,  1887: 

Joint  resolution  appointing  James  B.  Angell  a  member  of  the  Board  of 

Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XXIV,  644) 973 

March  3,  1887: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1888,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  509) 979, 980,  981, 1031, 1033 

March  3,  1887: 

An  act  relative  to  the  Minneapolis  Industrial  Exposition,  to  be  held  annu- 
ally in  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  State  of  Minnesota.     (Stat.,  XXIV, 

560) 1039 

March  3,  1887: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1888, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat. ,  XXIV,  594) 980, 1840 

March  3,  1887: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  several  Executive  Departments  of  the 
Government  to  loan  to  the  Minneapolis  Industrial  Exposition  certain 

articles  for  exhibit.     (Stat.,  XXIV,  648) 1040 

February  1,  1888: 

Relating  to  the  invitation  of  the  British  Government  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  to  participate  in  the  international  exhibition  at  Mel- 
bourne to  celebrate  the  founding  of  New  South  Wales.     (Stat.,  XXV,  617) .     1113 
February  15,  1888: 

Joint  resolution  appointing  Andrew  D.  White  a  member  of  the  Board  of 

Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     (Stat.,  XXV,  617) 1110 

March  30,  1888: 

An  act  to  provide  for  certain  of  the  most  urgent  deficiencies  in  the  appro- 
priations for  the  service  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 

June  30,  1 888,  and  for  other  purposes.     ( Stat.  ,XXV,47) 1045 

April  11,  1888: 

Joint  resolution  appropriating  $25,000  for  the  international  exhibition  in 

Barcelona,  Spain.     (Stat.,  XXV,  620) 1114 

April  19,  1888: 

An  act  to  purchase  of  the  widow  and  children  of  the  late  Gen.  James  Shields 

certain  swords.     (Stat.,  XXV,  86) .     1128  ' 


ACTS  AND    JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,    1835-1899.        XLV 

May  10,  1888:  Page. 

Joint  resolution  accepting  the  invitation  of  the  French  Republic  to  take 

part  in  an  international  exposition  to  be  held  in  Paris  in  1889.     (Stat., 

XXV,  620) 1114 

May  11,  1888: 

Joint  resolution  appropriating  $30,000  for  the  International  Exhibition  in 

Brussels,  Belgium.     (Stat.,  XXV,  622) 1119 

May  28,  1888: 

An  act  making  an  appropriation  to  enable  the  several  Executive  Depart- 
ments of  the  Government  and  the  Bureau  of  Agriculture  and  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  the  National  Museum  and  Commission  of 
Fish  and  Fisheries,  to  participate  in  the  Centennial  Exposition  of  the 
Ohio  Valley  and  Central  States,  to  be  held  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  from 

July  4  to  October  27,  1888.     (Stat.,  XXV,  159) 1119 

July  11,  1888: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1889,  and 

for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXV,  256) 1146 

July  16,  1888: 

Joint  resolution  declaring  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  act  approved 

May  28,  1888.      (Stat,  XXV,  626) 1121 

September  26,  1888: 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  Semon  Bache  &  Co.     (Stat.,  XXV,  1190) 11 13 

October  2,  1888: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1889,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXV,  505) 1045, 1104, 1148, 1236, 1258, 1267, 1268 

October  19,  1888: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1888,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXV,  565) 1258 

October  20,  1888: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  exhibits  made  by  the  Government  at  the 
Centennial  Exposition  of  the  Ohio  Valley  and  Central  States  at  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  to  remain  at  said  Exposition  until  and  including  the  15th  day 

of  November,  1888.      (Stat.,  XXV,  634) 1122 

January  4,  1889: 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  American  Historical  Association.     (Stat.,  XXV, 

640) 1223 

February  26,  1889: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1890,  and 

for  other  purposes.      (Stat.,  XXV,  705) 1149 

March  2,  1889: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  District  of  Columbia  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1890, 

and  for  other  purposes.      (Stat.,  XXV,  793) 1219 

March  2,  1889: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1889,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for  other 

purposes.      (Stat.,  XXV,  905) 1258 

March  2,  1889: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1890,  and  for  other  purposes. 
(Stat.,  XXV,  939) 1045,  1149,  1238,  1258 


XLVI         ACTS  AND    JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS.    1835-1899. 

April  15,  1890:  Page. 

An  act  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  intended  for  the  St.  Louis  Exposition 
in  1890,  which  may  be  imported  from  the  Republic;  of  Mexico  and  other 
American  Republics  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada.      ( Stat. ,  XXVI ,  55) . .     15 14 
April  25,  1890: 

An  act  to  provide  for  celebrating  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
discovery  of  America  by  Christopher  Columbus  by  holding  an  interna- 
tional exhibition  of  arts,  industries,  manufactures,  and  the  product  of 
the  soil,  mine,  and  sea  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  in  the  State  of  Illinois. 

(Stat.,  XXVI,  62) " 1506 

May  22,  1890: 

Joint  resolution  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  (Stat.,  XXVI,  673) 1274 

June  18,  1890: 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  Southern  Exposition  at  Louisville,  Ky.      (Stat., 

XXVI,  162) 1514 

July  11,  1890: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1891,  and 

for  other  purposes.      (Stat.,  XXVI,  228) 1497 

August  30,  1890: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1891,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXVI,  371) 1278,  1327,  1499,  1542,  1544 

September  27,  1890: 

An  act  authorizing  the  establishing  of  a  public  park  in  the  District  of 

Columbia.     (Stat.,  XXVI,  492) 1303 

September  30,  1890: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1890,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.      (Stat.,  XXVI,  504) 1327, 1499,  1544 

March  3,  1891: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1891,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.      (Stat.,  XXVI,  862) .". 1327,  1499 

March  3,  1891: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1892,  and 

for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXVI,  908) 1500 

March  3,  1891: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1892,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,  XXVI,  948)' 1291,1328,1333,1500,1513,1527,1542,1546 

January  26,  1892: 

Joint  resolution  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  (Stat.,  XXVII,  393) 1555 

March  8,  1892: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  a  deficiency  in  the  appropriation 
for  the  expenses  of  the  Eleventh  Census,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,  XXVII,  5) 1570 

March  18,  1892: 

An  act  ratifying  the  act  of  the  sixteenth  territorial  legislative  assembly  of 
Arizona,  approved  March  19,  1891,  making  appropriation  in  aid  of  Ari- 
zona's exhibit  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.    (Stat.,  XXVII,  7).     1584 
March  24,  1892: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  Librarian  of  Congress  to  exhibit  certain 
documents  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.  (Stat,  XXVII,  394) .  1584 


ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899.       XLVII 

April  6,  1892:  Page. 

An  act  to  protect  foreign  exhibitors  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition 
from  prosecution  for  exhibiting  wares  protected  by  American  patents 

and  trade-marks.     (Stat.,  XXVII,  14) 1585 

April  12,  1892. 

Joint  resolution  to  encourage  the  establishment  and  endowment  of  insti- 
tutions of  learning  at  the  national  capital  by  defining  the  policy  of  the 
Government  with  reference  to  the  use  of  its  literary  and  scientific  col- 
lections by  students.  (Stat. ,  XXVII,  395) 1595 

May  12,  1892: 

An  act  to  authorize  a  national  bank  at  Chicago,  111.,  to  establish  a  branch 
office  upon  the  grounds  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.  (Stat., 

XXVII,  33)  1585 

May  13,  1892: 

An  act  to  provide  for  certain  of  the  most  urgent  deficiencies  in  the  appro- 
•      priations  for  the  service  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 

June  30,  1892,  and  for  other  purposes.     ( Stat. ,  XXVII,  33 ). 1583 

June  6,  1892: 

An  act  to  enable  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance,  incorporated  by  an  act 
approved  June  1,  1872,  to  close  its  affairs,  and  dissolving  said  corpora- 
tion. (Stat,  XXVII,  45) 1595 

July  13,  1892: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  service  of  the  Post-office  Depart- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1893.     (Stat,  XXVII,  145) ...     1585 
July  16,  1892: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30^  1893, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat,  XXVII,  183) 1549 

July  19,  1892: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  fiscal  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1893,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat,  XXVII,  236) 1585 

July  23, 1892: 

Joint  resolution  requesting  the  loan  of  certain  articles  for  the  World's 

Columbian  Exposition.     (Stat,  XXVII,  399) 1586 

July  26,  1892: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  prepare  and 
send  to  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  models,  drawings,  etc.,  pre- 
pared or  invented  by  women.  (Stat,  XXVII,  400) 1586 

July  28,  1892: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1892,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXVII,  282)  "...  1549,  1572,  1581 

August  4,  1892: 

An  act  changing  the  date  for  the  dedication  of  the  buildings  of  the 

World's  Columbian  Exposition.     (Stat,  XXVII,  347) 1586 

August  5,  1892: 

An  a'ct  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1893,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat, 

XXVII,  349) 1549,  1551,  1552,  1572,  1581,  1584,  1586,  1628 

August  5,  1892: 

An  act  to  aid  in  carrying  out  the  act  of  Congress,  approved  April  25, 1890, 
entitled  "  An  act  to  provide  for  celebrating  the  four  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  discovery  of  America  by  Christopher  Columbus,  by  hold- 
ing an  international  exposition  of  arts,  industries,  manufactures,  and 
products  of  the  soil,  mine,  and  sea,  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  in  the  State 
of  Illinois,"  and  appropriating  money  therefor.  (Stat,  XXVII,  389) ..  1588 


XLVIIT       ACTS  AND    JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,    1835-1899. 

August  5,  1892:  Page. 
Joint  resolution  extending  an  invitation  to  the  King  and  Queen  of  Spain 
and  the  descendants  of  Columbus  to  participate  in  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition.     (Stat.,  XXVII,  401) 1590 

August  5,  1892: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  foreign  exhibitors  At  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  to  bring  to  this  country  foreign  laborers  from  their  respec- 
tive countries  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  for  and  making  their 

exhibits.     (Stat.,  XXVII,  402) 1590 

January  9,  1893: 

Joint  resolution  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithso- 
nian Institution.  (Stat.,  XXVII,  752) 1557 

March  3,  1893: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1894,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat. ,  XXVII,  572) 1547, 1550, 1551, 1552, 1562, 1574, 1582, 1592 

March  3,  1893: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  current  and  contingent  expenses,  and 
fulfilling  treaty  stipulations  with  Indian  tribes,  for  fiscal  year  ending 

June  30, 1894.     (Stat,  XXVII,  612) 1594 

March  3,  1893: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1893,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXVII,  646) 1550, 1582 

March  3,  1893: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1894, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat,  XXVII,  675) 1550, 1632 

March  3,  1893: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  fiscal   year 

ending  June  30,  1894;  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXVII,  715) . .     1840 
March  3,  1893: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  service  of  the  Post-Office  Department 

for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1894.     (Stat.,  XXVII,  732) 1594 

March  3,  1893: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
to  send  articles  illustrative  of  the  life  and  development  of  the  indus- 
tries of  women  to  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.  (Stat, 

XXVII,  757) 1584 

March  3,  1893: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  loan,  for  exhibition  at  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition,  of  certain  paintings  therein  stated.  (Stat,  XXVII, 

757) • 1595 

September  1,  1893: 

An  act  in  aid  of  the  California  Midwinter  International  Exposition.    (Stat, 

XXVIII,  1) 1635 

October  28,  1893: 

Joint  resolution  that  the  acknowledgments  of  the  Government  and  people 
of  the  United  States  be  tendered  to  various  foreign  governments  of  the 
world  who  have  participated  in  commemoration  of  the  discovery  of 

America  by  Christopher  Columbus.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  13) 1636 

Novembers,  1893: 

Joint  resolution  to  amend  the  act,  approved  April  25, 1890,  relating  to  the 
admission  of  articles  intended  for  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 
(Stat,  XXVIII,  13) .  1636 


ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899.       XLIX 

November  3,  1893:  Page. 

Joint  resolution  transferring  the  exhibit  of  the  Navy  Department,  known 
as  the  model  battle  ship  Illinois,  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  as  a  naval 
armory  for  the  use  of  the  naval  militia  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  on  the 
termination  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  14) .    1636 
December  15,  1893: 

Joint  resolution  conferring  diplomas  upon  designers,  inventors,  and  expert 

artisans.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  575) 1636 

December  21,  1893: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  further  urgent  deficiencies  in  the 
appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1894,  and  for  prior 

years,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat,,  XXVIII,  16) 1661 

January  27,  1894: 

An  act  to  amend  section  3709  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  relating  to  contracts 

for  supplies  in  the  Departments  at  Washington.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  33) . .     1671 
March  12,  1894: 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men," 

being  Title  LXXIII  of  the  Revised  Statutes.     (Stat,  XXVIII,  41) 1685 

March  12,  1894: 

An  act  ii  aking  appropriations  to  supply  further  urgent  deficiencies  in  the 
appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1894,  and  for  prior 

years,  and  for  other  purposes.      (Stat. ,  XXVIII,  41 ) 1668 

March  12,  1894: 

Joint  resolution  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  the 

Antwerp  International  Exposition.     (Stat,  XXVIII,  578) 1639 

March  19,  1894: 

Joint  resolution  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  (Stat.,  XXVIII,  579) 1633 

July  31,  1894: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1895, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  162) 1674 

August  3,  1894: 

An  act  to  exempt  the  articles  of  foreign  exhibitors  at  the  interstate  fair  at 

Tacoma,  Wash.,  from  the  payment  of  duties.     (Stat,  XXVIII,  224) . . .     1639 
August  7,  1894: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  District  of  Columbia  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 

1895,  and  for  other  purposes.      (Stat. ,  XXVIII,  243) 1690 

August  18,  1894: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1895,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat,  XXVIII,  372) 1637,1641,1668,1674,1676,1677,1692,1694 

August  23,  1894: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1894,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  424) 1643,  1669, 1694 

January  8,  1895: 

An  act  to  exempt  the  articles  of  foreign  exhibitors  at  the  Portland  Uni- 
versal Exposition,  at  Portland,  Oregon,  from  the  payment  of  duties. 
(Stat,  XXVIII,  600) ". 1643 

H.  Doc.  732 iv 


L  ACTS  AND   JOINT   RESOLUTIONS    OF   CONGRESS,   1835-1899. 

January  12,  1895:  Page. 

An  act  providing  for  the  public  printing  and  binding  and  the  distribution 

of  public  documents.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  601) 1695 

January  21,  1895: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  foreign  exhibitors  at  the  Cotton  States  and 
International  Exposition,  to  be  held  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  in  1895,  to  bring  to 
this  country  foreign  laborers  from  their  respective  countries  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preparing  for  and  making  their  exhibits.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  967) .     1642 
February  27,  1895: 

Joint  resolution  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 

Institution.     (Stat.,  XX VIII,  972) 1634 

March  2,  1895: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1896, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXVIII,  764) 1675 

March  2,  1895: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  the  fiscal  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1896,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat,,  XXVIII,  825) 1638 

March  2,  1895: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1895,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat. ,  XXVIII,  843) 1638 

March  2,  1895: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1896,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXVIII,  910) 1638, 1644, 1669, 1674, 1676, 1677, 1691, 1694 

January  14,  1896: 

Joint  resolution  for  filling  vacancy  on  Board  of  Regents,  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. (Stat.,  XXIX,  461) 1738 

February  20,  1896: 

An  act  to  incorporate  The  National  Society  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution.  (Stat,  XXIX,  8) 1742 

February  26,  1896: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  urgent  deficiencies  in  the  appro- 
priations for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1896,  and  for  prior  years, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXIX,  17) ." 1746 

Marcli  13,  1896: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  distribute  the 
medals  and  diplomas  awarded  by  the  World's  Columbian  Commission 

to  the  exhibitors  entitled  thereto.      (Stat.,  XXIX,  466) 1747 

May  18,  1896: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  foreign  exhibitors  at  the  Tennessee  Centen- 
nial Exposition,  to  be  held  in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  in  1897,  to  bring  to  this 
country  foreign  laborers  from  their  respective  countries  for  the  purpose 
of  preparing  for  and  making  their  exhibits,  and  allowing  articles  imported 
from  foreign  countries  for  the  sole  purpose  of  exhibition  at  said  exposi- 
tion to  be  imported  free  of  duty,  under  regulations  prescribed  by  the 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury.     (Stat.,  XXIX,  473) 1748 

May  28,1896: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1897,  and 

for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXIX,  140) 1707 

June  8,  1896: 

An  act  to  regulate  mail  matter  of  the  fourth  class.      (Stat.,  XXIX,  262)  . .     1746 


ACTS  AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899.  LI 

June  8,  1896:  Page. 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1896,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat,  XXIX,  267) 1709, 1727, 1739, 1748, 1751 

June  8,  1896: 

Joint  resolution  to  authorize  a  scientific  investigation  of  the  fur-seal  fisher- 
ies. (Stat,  XXIX,  475) 1766 

June  10,  1896: 

An  act  to  authorize  and  encourage  the  holding  of  a  trans-Mississippi  and 
international  exposition  at  the  city  of  Omaha,  in  the  State  of  Nebraska, 

in  the  year  1898.     (Stat.,  XXIX,382) 1751 

June  11,  1896: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1897,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXIX,  413) 1708, 1709, 1710, 1735, 1739, 1751, 1754 

December  22,  1896: 

An  act  to  aid  and  encourage  the  holding  of  the  Tennessee  Centennial  Expo- 
sition, at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  in  the  year  1897,  and  making  an  appropria- 
tion therefor.  (Stat.,  XXIX,  477) 1748 

January  21,  1897: 

Joint  resolution  providing  for  the  erection  of  a  Government  building  at 

the  Tennessee  Centennial  Exposition.     ( Stat. ,  XXIX,  698) 1 751 

February  19,  1897: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1898,  and 

for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXIX,  538) 1708 

June  4,  1897: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1898,  and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat., 

XXX,  11) 1788,1789,1810,1813,1820,1836 

June  30,  1897: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  foreign  exhibitors  at  the  Trans-Mississippi  and 
International  Exposition,  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Omaha,  in  the  State 
of  Nebraska,  during  the  year  1898,  to  bring  to  the  United  States  foreign 
laborers  from  their  countries,  respectively,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing 

for  and  making  exhibits.     (Stat.,  XXX,  222) 1789 

July  19,  1897: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1897,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for  other 

purposes.     (Stat.,  XXX,  105) '....  1792, 1810, 1821, 1841 

December  18,  1897: 

Joint  resolution  extending  limit  of  cost  of  the  Government  building  or 
buildings  at  the  Trans-Mississippi  and  International  Exposition,  at  Omaha, 
Nebraska,  and  reducing  cost  of  Government  exhibit.  (Stat.,  XXX, 

732) 1790 

January  24,  1898: 

Joint  resolution  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithson- 
ian Institution.  (Stat.,  XXX,  733) 1778 

January  28,  1898: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  urgent  deficiencies  in  the  appro- 
priations for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1898,  and  for  prior  years, 
and  for  other  purposes.  (Stat.,  XXX,  234) 1791, 1810 


LIT         ACTS  AND    JOINT    RESOLUTIONS    OF    CONGRESS,   1835-1899. 

February  17,  1898:  Page. 

Joint  resolution  accepting  the  invitation  of  the  Government  of  Norway  to 
take  part  in  an  International  Fisheries  Exposition  to  be  held  at  the  city 
of  Bergen,  Norway,  from  May  to  September,  anno  Domini  1898.  (Stat., 

XXX,  734) 1795 

March  15,  1898: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1899, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXX,  277) 1810, 1829 

April  29,  1898: 

An  act  to  approve  a  compromise  and  settlement  between  the  United  States 

and  the  State  of  Arkansas.     (Stat.,  XXX,  367) 1786 

May  18,  1898. 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  rent  lighting 
apparatus  for  Government  building  at  Trans-Mississippi  and  Interna- 

national  Exposition.     (Stat.,  XXX,  743) 1791 

July  1,  1898: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  current  and  contingent  expenses  of 
the  Indian  Department  and  for  fulfilling  treaty  stipulations  with  various 
Indian  tribes  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1899,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses. (Stat.,  XXX,  571) 1841 

July  1,  1898: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1899,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXX,  597) 1788,1792,1811,1813,1821,1834,1836 

July  7,  1898: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1898,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.      (Stat.,  XXX,  652) 1788,1796,1806,1813,1826 

July  8,  1898: 

Joint  resolution  regarding  the  holding  of  a  Pan-American  Exposition  in 
the  year  1901  upon  Cayuga  Island,  between  the  cities  of  Buffalo  and 
Niagara  Falls,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  to  illustrate  the  development 
of  the  Western  Hemisphere  during  the  nineteenth  century.  (Stat., 

XXX,  752) 1796 

December  21,  1898: 

An  act  providing  for  a  national  exposition  of  American  products  and  man- 
ufactures at  the  city  of  Philadelphia  for  the  encouragement  of  the  export 

trade.     (Stat.,  XXX,  768) 1842 

January  24,  1899: 

Joint  resolution  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 

Institution.     (Stat,,  XXX,  1387) 177S 

February  24,  1899: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1900, 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXX,  846) 1811 

March  1,  1899: 

Joint  resolution  authorizing  foreign  exhibitors  at  the  Commercial  Exposi- 
tion to  be  held  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  1899,  to  bring  to  this  country 
foreign  laborers  from  their  respective  countries  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring for  and  making  their  exhibits  under  regulations  prescribed  by 

the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.     (Stat.,  XXX,  1390) 1844 

March  3,  1899: 

An  act  for  the  protection  of  birds,  preservation  of  game,  and  for  the  pre- 
vention of  its  sale  during  certain  closed  seasons  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia. (Stat,  XXX,  1012) 1826 


ACTS    AND   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS  OF  CONGRESS,   1835-1899.          LIII 

March  3,  1899:  Page. 

An  act  to  encourage  the  holding  of  a  Pan-American  Exposition  on  the 
^Niagara  frontier,  within  the  county  of  Erie  or  Kiagara,  in  the  State  of 

New  York,  in  the  year  1901.     (Stat,  XXX,  1022) 1797 

March  3,  1899: 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1900,  and  for  other  purposes. 

(Stat.,  XXX,  1074) 1788, 1794, 1811, 1813, 1822, 1836, 1837 

March  3,  1899: 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  deficiencies  in  the  appropriations 
for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1899,  and  for  prior  years,  and  for 

other  purposes.     (Stat.,  XXX,  1214) 1812 

March  3,  1899: 

An  act  to  encourage  the  holding  of  the  Ohio  Centennial  and  Northwest 
Territory  Exposition  at  the  city  of  Toledo,  Ohio.     (Stat.,  XXX,  1346) ..     1802 

H.  Doc.  732 Y 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  THE  LEGISLATIVE  HISTORY  OF  THE 
SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  FROM  1835  TO  1899. 


I. 


WILL  OF  JAMES  SMITHSON- CORRESPONDENCE,  ETC., 
RELATIVE  TO  THE  BEQUEST. 


THE  WILL  OF  JAMES  SMITHSON. 


I  JAMES  SMITHSON  Son  to  Hugh,  first  Duke  of  Northumberland,  & 
Elizabeth,  Heiress  of  the  Hungerfords  of  Studley,  &  Niece  to  Charles 
the  proud  Duke  of  Somerset,  now  residing  in  Bentinck  Street,  Caven- 
dish Square,  do  this  twenty -third  day  of  October,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-six,  make  this  my  last  Will  and  Testament: 

I  bequeath  the  whole  of  my  property  of  every  nature  &  kind  soever 
to  my  bankers,  Messrs.  Drummonds  of  Charing  Cross,  in  trust,  to  be 
disposed  of  in  the  following  manner,  and  I  desire  of  my  said  Execu- 
tors to  put  my  property  under  the  management  of  the  Court  of 
Chancery. 

To  John  Fitall,  formerly  my  Servant,  but  now  employed  in  the 
London  Docks,  and  residing  at  No.  27,  Jubilee  Place,  North  Mile  end, 
old  town,  in  consideration  of  his  attachment  &  fidelity  to  me,  &  the 
long  &  great  care  he  has  taken  of  my  effects,  &  my  having  done  but 
very  little  for  him,  I  give  and  bequeath  the  Annuity  or  annual  sum  of 
One  hundred  pounds  sterling  for  his  life,  to  be  paid  to  him  quarterly, 
free  of  legacy  duty  &  all  other  deductions,  the  first  payment  to  be 
made  to  him  at  the  expiration  of  three  months  after  my  death.  I  have 
at  divers  times  lent  sums  of  money  to  Henry  Honore  Sailly,  formerly 
my  Servant,  but  now  keeping  the  Hungerford  Hotel,  in  the  rue  Cau- 
martin  at  Paris,  &  for  which  sums  of  money  I  have  undated  bills  or 
bonds  signed  by  him.  Now,  I  will  &  direct  that  if  he  desires  it,  these 
sums  of  money  be  let  remain  in  his  hands  at  an  Interest  of  five  per 
cent,  for  five  years  after  the  date  of  the  present  Will. 

To  Henry  James  Hungerford,  my  Nephew,  heretofore  called  Henry 
James  Dickinson,  son  to  my  late  brother,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Henry 
Louis  Dickinson,  now  residing  with  Mr.  Auboin,  at  Bourg  la  Reine, 
near  Paris,  I  give  and  bequeath  for  his  life  the  whole  of  the  income 
arising  from  my  property  of  every  nature  &  kind  whatever,  after  the 
payment  of  the  above  Annuity,  &  after  the  death  of  John  Fitall,  that 
Annuity  likewise,  the  payments  to  be  made  to  him  at  the  time  of  the 
interest  or  dividends  becomes  due  on  the  Stocks  or  other  property 
from  which  the  income  arises. 

Should  the  said  Henry  James  Hungerford  have  a  child  or  children, 
legitimate  or  illegitimate,  I  leave  to  such  child  or  children,  his  or  their 
heirs,  executors,  &  assigns,  after  the  death  of  his,  or  her,  or  their  Father, 


6  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

the  whole  of  my  property  of  every  kind  absolutely  &  forever,  to  be 
divided  between  them,  if  there  is  more  than  one,  in  the  manner  their 
father  shall  judge  proper,  or,  in  case  of  his  omitting  to  decide  this,  as 
the  Lord  Chancellor  shall  judge  proper. 

Should  my  said  Nephew,  Henry  James  Hungerford,  marry,  I  em- 
power him  to  make  a  jointure. 

In  the  case  of  the  death  of  my  said  Nephew  without  leaving  a  child 
or  children,  or  the  death  of  the  child  or  children  he  may  have  had 
under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  or  intestate,  I  then  bequeath  the 
whole  of  my  property,  subject  to  the  Annuity  of  One  hundred  pounds 
to  John  Fitall,  &  for  the  security  &  payment  of  which  I  mean  Stock 
to  remain  in  this  Country,  to  the  United  States  of  America,  to  found 
at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an 
Establishment  for  the  increase  &  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

I  think  it  proper  here  to  state,  that  all  the  money  which  will  be 
standing  in  the  French  five  per  cents,  at  my  death  in  the  names  of  the 
father  of  my  above  mentioned  Nephew,  Henry  James  Hungerford,  & 
all  that  in  my  names,  is  the  property  of  my  said  Nephew,  being  what 
he  inherited  from  his  father,  or  what  I  have  laid  up  for  him  from  the 
savings  upon  his  income. 

JAMES  SMITHSON.     [L.  s.] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Clarke,  Fynmore  (&  Fladgate  to  A.    Vail,    Charge  d?  Affaires  of  the 
United  States,  London. 

CRAVEN  STREET,  STRAND  [LONDON],  July  %1,  1835. 

SIR:  We  send  you,  inclosed,  the  copy  of  a  will  of  Mr.  Smithson, 
on  the  subject  of  which  we  yesterday  did  ourselves  the  pleasure  of 
waiting  upon  you,  and  we  avail  ourselves  of  the  opportunity  to 
repeat,  in  writing,  what  we  verbally  communicated. 

Pursuant  to  the  instructions  contained  in  the  will,  an  amicable  suit 
was,  on  the  death  of  the  testator,  instituted  in  chancery  by  Mr.  Hun- 
gerford  against  Messrs.  Drummond,  the  executors,  under  which  suit 
the  assets  were  realized.  They  were  very  considerable;  and  there  is 
now  standing,  in  the  name  of  the  accountant-general  of  the  court  of 
chancery,  on  the  trusts  of  the  will,  stock  amounting  in  value  to  about 
£100,000.  During  Mr.  Hungerford's  life  he  received  the  income 
arising  from  this  property;  but  news  has  just  reached  England  that 
Mr.  Hungerford  has  died  abroad,  leaving  no  child  surviving  him. 

It  now  becomes  necessary  that  measures  should  be  taken  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  the  decision  of  the  court  of  chancery  as  to  the 
further  disposition  of  the  property.  On  reference  to  the  will  it  will 
appear  that  it  is  not  very  clearly  denned  to  whom,  on  behalf  of  the 
United  States,  the  property  should  be  paid  or  transferred;  indeed, 
there  is  so  much  doubt  that  we  apprehend  that  the  attorney -general 
must,  on  behalf  of  the  Crown  of  England,  be  joined  in  the  proceed- 
ings which  it  is  requisite  that  the  United  Stages  should  institute. 

We  act  in  this  matter  for  Messrs.  Drummond,  the  bankers,  who  are 
mere  stakeholders,  and  who  are  ready  to  do  all  in  their  power  to 
facilitate  getting  the  decision  of  the  court  and  carrying  into  effect  the 
testator's  intentions. 

We  shall  therefore  be  happy  to  communicate  with  such  professional 
advisers  as  your  Government  may  think  fit  to  appoint  to  act  for  them 
in  this  country.  In  the  meantime  we  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to 
add  that  it  is  perfectly  competent  for  us  to  carry  on  the  proceedings 
on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  and  possibly  some  expense  and  delay 
may  be  avoided  by  our  so  doing. 

Having  thus  briefly  stated  the  nature  of  the  business,  we  at  present 
abstain  from  making  any  suggestions  as  to  the  party  in  whose  name 

7 


8  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

proceedings  should  be  adopted,  considering  the  point  should  be  deter- 
mined by  our  counsel  here,  after  the  opinion  of  the  proper  law  officers 
in  the  States  has  been  taken  on  the  subject. 

Any  further  information  you  may  require  we  shall  be  happy  to  give 
you,  and  are,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 

A. VAIL,  Esq.,  4$  York  Terrace. 


A.  Vail  to  John  Forsyth. 

LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

London,  July  £8,  1835. 

SIR:  The  papers  which  I  have  the  honor  herewith  to  communicate 
to  you  will  acquaint  3Tou  with  the  particulars  of  a  bequest  of  property 
to  a  large  amount  left  to  the  United  States  by  a  Mr.  James  Smithson, 
for  the  purpose,  as  stated  in  the  will,  of  founding  at  Washington  an 
institution  "for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 
*  *  *  The  letter  of  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate,  the 
solicitors,  by  whom  I  was  apprised  of  the  existence  of  the  will,  together 
with  the  inquiries  I  have  made,  leave  no  doubt  of  its  having  been 
established  and  its  dispositions  recognized  by  the  court  of  chancery, 
the  first  legatee  under  it  having  for  several  years  and  to  the  time  of 
his  death  received  the  income  of  the  property,  which  is  stated  to  have 
amounted  to  upward  of  £4,000  per  annum. 

According  to  the  view  taken  of  the  case  by  the  solicitors,  it  is  now 
for  the  United  States,  in  the  event  of  their  accepting  the  bequest  and 
the  trust  coupled  with  if,  to  come  forward  by  their  representative  and 
make  themselves  parties  to  an  amicable  suit  before  the  lord  chancel- 
lor for  the  purpose  of  legally  establishing  the  fact  of  the  demise  of 
the  first  legatee  without  children  and  intestate,  prove  their  claim  to 
the  benefit  of  the  will,  and  obtain  a  decree  in  chancery  awarding  them 
the  proceeds  of  the  estate.  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate 
are  willing  to  undertake  the  management  of  the  suit  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  and,  from  what  I  have  learned  of  their  standing,  may 
safely  be  confided  in.  Not  being  acquainted  with  the  exact  structure 
of  our  institutions,  they  are  not  able  to  point  out  the  exact  manner  in 
which  the  United  States  should  be  represented  in  the  contemplated 
suit,  but  they  believe  that  their  diplomatic  agent  here,  if  constituted 
for  that  purpose  the  legal  representative  of  the  President,  would  be 
recognized  by  the  court  of  chancery  as  the  proper  organ  of  the  United 
States  for  all  the  purposes  of  the  will. 

Should  it  be  thought  unnecessary  to  await  the  action  of  Congress  to 
authorize  the  institution  of  the  requisite  legal  proceedings,  and  should 
the  course  suggested  by  the  solicitors  meet  the  views  of  the  President, 
his  power  of  attorney  authorizing  the  diplomatic  agent  here  to  act  in 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  9 

his  name  will,  I  apprehend,  be  necessary;  and  as  the  suit  will  involve 
some  expense  not  connected  with  the  contingent  fund  of  the  legation, 
your  instructions  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject  will  likewise  be 
desirable. 

1  am,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

A.  VAIL. 
JOHN  FORSYTH,  Esq., 

Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  Washington. 


John  Forsyth  to  Aaron  Vail. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
Washington,  September  26,  1835. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  dispatch 
of  July  28  last  (No.  197),  relative  to  a  bequest  of  property  to  a  large 
amount  left  to  the  United  States  by  Mr.  James  Smithson  for  the 
purpose  of  founding  at  Washington  an  institution  "for  the  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  and  to  inform  you  that  your 
letter  and  the  papers  which  accompanied  it  have  been  submitted  to 
the  President,  who  has  determined  to  lay  the  subject  before  Congress 
at  its  next  session.  The  result  of  its  deliberations,  when  obtained, 
shall  be  communicated  to  you,  with  the  necessary  instructions. 

Of  the  course  intended  to  be  pursued  in  relation  to  this  matter,  as 
above  explained,  you  will  take  occasion  to  acquaint  the  solicitors  who 
apprised  you  of  the  existence  of  Mr.  Smithson's  will. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 
AARON  VAIL,  Esq., 

Charge  d1  Affaires  of  the  United  States,  London. 


John  Forsyth  to  RicJiard  Rush. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  July  11,  1836. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  President,  in  pur- 
suance of  an  act  of  Congress  passed  at  their  recent  session,  has  been 
pleased  to  appoint  you  the  agent  of  the  United  States  to  assert  and 
prosecute  their  claim  to  the  legacy  bequeathed  to  them  by  James 
Smithson,  late  of  London,  deceased.  Your  power  of  attorney  or 
commission  is  herewith  remitted,  with  an  authenticated  copy  of  the 
act  referred  to  annexed  to  it.  It  is  the  wish  of  the  President  that 
you  should,  in  the  event  of  your  acceptance  of  this  trust,  embark  for 
London  without  unnecessary  loss  of  time,  to  enter  on  the  duties  of 
the  appointment.  Previously  to  leaving  the  United  States,  however, 
it  will  be  necessary,  in  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  accom- 


10  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

panying  act  of  Congress,  to  execute  to  and  deposit  with  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  with  good  and  sufficient  securities  to  his 
satisfaction,  a  bond  or  bonds,  in  the  penal  sum  of  $500,000,  for  the 
proper  performance  of  those  duties  and  for  the  faithful  remittance  to 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  of  such  sum  or  sums  of  money  or 
other  funds  as  you  may  receive  in  virtue  of  said  bequest. 

The  compensation  to  be  allowed  you  for  your  services  in  this  capac- 
ity will  be  at  the  rate  of  $3,000  per  annum  for  your  personal  services 
and  at  the  rate  of  $2,000  for  all  contingencies  except  the  law  expenses, 
compensation  to  begin  from  the  day  you  report  yourself  ready  to 
enter  on  the  duties  of  the  office.  An  account  of  the  law  expenses, 
with  vouchers,  will  be  required. 

A  letter  of  credit  on  M,  de  Rothschild,  the  banker  of  the  United 
States  at  London,  authorizing  him  to  pay  your  drafts  for  compensa- 
tion and  for  the  necessary  expenses  actually  incurred  in  the  prosecution 
of  this  claim,  is  also  inclosed,  limited  to  $10,000,  being  the  whole 
amount  appropriated  by  Congress  for  that  object. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq.,  etc. 


Richard  Rush  to  Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgcute, 

PORTLAND  HOTEL,  GREAT  PORTLAND  STREET, 

LONDON,  September  14,  1836. 

GENTLEMEN:  Referring  to  your  correspondence  with  the  charge 
d'affaires  of  the  United  States  in  Juty,  1835,  on  the  Smithsonian  bequest 
to  the  United  States,  1  beg  leave  to  inform  you  that  I  have  arrived  here 
with  full  power  from  the  President,  founded  on  an  act  of  Congress,  to 
assert  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  that  bequest  and  receive  the 
money.  I  should  be  happy  to  have  an  interview  with  you  on  this  sub- 
ject, to  which  end  I  ask  the  favor  of  you  to  call  upon  me  on  Friday 
morning  at  11  o'clock,  or,  should  that  be  inconvenient  to  you,  at  such 
other  time,  near  at  hand,  as  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  name. 
I  remain  your  most  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Messrs.  CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE, 

Solicitors,  Craven  Street,  Strand. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  September  %4,  1836. 

SIR:  I  had  the  honor  to  inform  you  on  the  31st  of  August  of  my 
arrival  at  Liverpool,  having  embarked  in  the  first  ship  that  sailed 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  11 

from  New  York  after  my  letter  of  the  1st  of  August  informing  you 
that  I  was  ready. 

I  reached  this  city  the  early  part  of  the  present  month,  and  as  soon 
.as  circumstances  would  permit  entered  upon  the  duty  which  the 
President's  power  of  attorney  devolves  upon  me. 

Towards  asserting  and  prosecuting  with  effect  before  the  legal 
tribunals  of  England  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  legac}7 
bequeathed  to  them  by  James  Smithson,  of  London,  to  found  at 
Washington  an  institution  "  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men,"  the  first  consideration  which  seemed  to  present 
itself  was  the  selection  of  fit  legal  characters  here,  through  whose  aid 
and  instrumentality  the  incipient  steps  could  alone  be  judiciously 
marked  out  or  adopted.  In  a  country  where  the  profession  of  the  law 
is  known  to  be  so  subdivided  as  in  this,  I  regarded  it  important  that 
not  only  the  counsel  whose  services  it  may  ultimately  become  neces- 
sary to  engage,  but  the  solicitors  to  be  approached  in  the  first  instance, 
should  have  a  standing  suited  to  the  nature  of  the  case  and  the  dignity 
of  the  constituent  1  represent.  The  letter  addressed  you  in  July,  1835, 
by  the  late  charge  d'affaires  of  the  United  States  at  this  court,  left 
little  doubt,  indeed,  that  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate  were 
proper  solicitors;  yet,  as  the  President's  power  to  me  and  your 
instructions  appeared  to  place  the  whole  subject  anew  in  my  hands, 
some  previous  inquiry  into  their  standing  seemed  necessary  on  my 
part.  This  I  set  on  foot,  and  am  glad  to  say  that  it  ended  to  my  sat- 
isfaction, the  more  as  their  connection  with  the  case  in  its  origin 
naturally  pointed  to  their  selection,  other  grounds  continuing  to 
justify  it. 

Accordingly,  on  the  14th  instant,  I  addressed  a  note  to  these  solici- 
tors informing  them  that  1  had  arrived  in  this  country  with  full  power 
from  the  President,  founded  upon  an  act  of  Congress,  to  assert  the 
right  of  the  United  States  to  the  Smithsonian  bequest  and  receive 
the  money,  and  requesting  that  they  would  call  upon  me  on  the 
16th.  A  copy  of  my  note  is  inclosed.  This  is  a  season  of  the 
year  when  professional  and  official  business  of  every  kind  is  much 
at  a  pause  in  London,  and  those  who  conduct  it  dispersed.  It  was 
not  until  the  20th  that  I  was  enabled  to  command  an  interview  with 
these  gentlemen,  when  two  of  them,  Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  Fladgate, 
waited  upon  me,  the  latter  having  previously  called,  after  receiv- 
ing my  note,  to  mention  the  absence  of  his  associates  from  town. 
With  these  two  I  had  the  preliminary  conversation  suited  to  a  first 
interview.  They  chiefly  went  over  the  grounds  stated  in  their  note 
of  the  21st  of  July  to  our  charge  d'affaires,  Mr.  Vail,  in  some  points 
enlarging  them  and  giving  new  particulars.  They  said  that  James 
Smithson,  the  testator,  died  in  June.  1829:  that  his  will  was  proved  in 
the  prerogative  court  of  Canterbury  by  Mr.  Charles  Drummond,  one 


12  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

of  the  executors  and  one  of  the  banking  house  of  that  name  in  Lon- 
don; that  Henry  James  Hungerford,  the  testator's  nephew,  to  whom 
was  bequeathed  the  whole  of  his  property  for  life,  subject  to  a  small 
annuity  to  another  person,  brought  an  amicable  suit  in  chancery  against- 
Messrs.  Drunimond,  the  executors,  for  the  purpose  of  having  the  tes- 
tator's assets  administered  under  the  direction  of  the  lord  chancellor, 
in  the  course  of  which  suit  the  usual  orders  and  decrees  were  made, 
and  by  its  issue  assets  ascertained  and  realized  to  the  value  of  about 
one  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling;  that  Mr.  Hungerford,  who 
resided  out  of  England,  received,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  the  div- 
idends arising  from  the  property,  which  consisted  of  stock  in  the  pub- 
lic funds,  and  that  he  died  at  Pisa,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1835,  of  full 
age,  though  still  young,  without  having  been  married,  and,  as  far  as 
is  yet  known,  without  illegitimate  child  or  children;  that  the  assets  of 
the  estate  are  now  invested  in  the  name  of  the  accountant  general 
of  the  court  of  chancery,  subject  to  the  further  disposition  of  the 
court;  that  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson  having  made  the  United  States 
the  final  legatee  on  Mr.  Hungerford's  death  without  child  or  children, 
legitimate  or  illegitimate,  the  facts  seem  to  have  happened  under 
which  their  right  will  attach;  but  the  solicitors  continue  to  think  that 
a  suit  or  legal  proceedings  of  some  nature,  to  which  the  United  States 
must  be  a  party,  will  have  to  be  instituted  in  the  court  of  chancery  in 
order  to  make  valid  their  right  and  enable  them  to  get  possession  of 
the  fund,  now  in  the  hands  of  the  court  and  subject  to  its  judgment. 

The  foregoing  formed  the  main  purport  of  their  communication. 
They  added  that  the  mother  of  Henry  James  Hungerford,  who  is  still 
living  and  married  to  a  Frenchman  of  the  name  of  De  la  Batut,  has 
put  in  a  claim  to  a  part  of  the  property;  but  as  the  claim  is  small,  and 
not  likely  to  come  to  much,  the  mother  of  Mr.  Hungerford  not  having 
been  married  to  his  father,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  at  this  time  to  detail 
the  circumstances. 

I  asked  at  what  time  from  the  present  the  earliest  sitting  of  the 
court  of  chancery  would  be  held.  They  replied  in  November.  It  will 
be  my  object  to  get  the  fund  for  the  United  States  without  a  lawsuit 
in  chancery  of  any  kind,  if  this  be  practicable;  and  toward  an  end  so 
desirable  my  further  reflections  and  measures  will,  for  a  while,  be 
directed,  taking  care  that  I  do  not  lose  the  advantage  of  all  proper 
applications  at  the  first  term  of  the  court  for  whatever  form  of  suit 
or  other  legal  proceedings  may  be  found  indispensable. 

I  have  nothing  further  of  any  importance  to  communicate  at  this 
juncture.  I  delivered  to  the  minister  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Steven- 
son, the  letter  from  the  Acting  Secretary  of  State  of  July  27,  request- 
ing his  good  offices  in  behalf  of  the  public  object  with  which  I  am 
charged,  should  they  be  needed:  and  I  can  not  close  this  letter  with- 
out adding  that  I  have  already  received  cooperation  from  him  that  has 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  13 

been  useful,  and  which  gives  earnest  of  the  zealous  interposition  of 
his  further  aid,  should  it  be  required. 

1   have  the  honor  to    remain,  with  great    respect,    your   obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 
Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


THE   CASE   STATED   BY   MR.  RUSH. 

The  testator  died  at  Genoa  on  the  27th  day  of  June,  1829,  and  on 
the  4th  of  November  in  that  year  the  will  was  proved  in  the  prerog- 
ative court  of  Canterbury  by  Mr.  Charles  Drummond,  one  of  the 
banking  house  of  that  firm,  mentioned  in  the  will. 

Soon  after  his  death,  an  amicable  suit  was  instituted  in  the  court  of 
chancery  by  Henry  James  Hungerford,  his  nephew,  against  Mr. 
Charles  Drummond,  as  executor,  for  the  purpose  of  having  his  assets 
administered  under  the  direction  of  that  court.  The  usual  orders  and 
decrees  were  made  in  the  suit,  and  assets  realized  to  the  amount  of 
about  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling  in  value,  which  are  now 
invested  in  the  public  funds,  and  are  standing  in  the  name  of  the 
accountant-general  of  the  court  of  chancery,  to  the  credit  of  the 
cause  of  Hungerford  v.  Drummond,  and  applicable  to  the  trusts  of 
the  will. 

Mr.  Hungerford,  who  resided  out  of  England,  received  the  income 
arising  from  the  testator's  property  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  This 
took  place  on  the  5th  of  June,  1835,  at  Pisa. 

He  was  never  married,  and  died  without  leaving  any  illegitimate 
children  or  child. 

The  events  have  therefore  happened,  by  which  the  right  of  the 
United  States  of  America  is  considered  to  have  attached,  as  the 
residuary  or  final  legatee  under  this  will. 

In  July  1835,  their  charge  d'affaires  at  this  court  imparted  official 
information  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  at  Washington,  of  the  preced- 
ing facts,  who  laid  them  before  the  President,  with  a  copy  of  the  will 
and  other  papers  that  were  transmitted. 

The  President  not  having  authority  under  his  general  executive 
powers  to  take  any  steps  for  accepting  the  trust  or  obtaining  the  fund, 
communicated  the  papers  to  Congress  on  the  17th  of  December  of  that 
year,  with  a  view  to  such  measures  as  that  body  might  deem  necessary. 

Congress,  acting  on  the  ground  that  the  bequest  to  the  United 
States  was  valid,  and  that  it  would  not  be  incompatible  with  their 
dignity  to  accept  the  fund  as  trustees,  for  an  institution  to  be  founded 
ut  Washington,  for  a  purpose  so  broad  and  benevolent,  passed,  on  the 


14  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

1st  of  July  last,  an  act  authorizing  the  President  to  appoint  an  agent 
to  assert  and  prosecute  their  right  to  the  bequest,  in  such  form,  and 
before  such  tribunal  or  tribunals  in  England,  as  might  be  proper;  and 
to  receive  and  grant  full  acquittances  for  all  such  moneys  or  other 
funds  as  might  be  adjudged  to  them  on  account  of  it. 

In  pursuance  of  the  authority  given  by  this  act,  the  President  has 
appointed  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  in  the  person  of  the  under- 
signed, to  perform  on  their  behalf  the  duty  which  it  enjoins;  and  he  is 
here,  their  representative  and  attorney  in  the  matter  set  forth. 

His  full  power  from  the  President,  and  a  copy,  under  seal  of  the 
Department  of  State,  of  the  law  on  which  it  is  founded,  are  ready  to 
be  filed  in  the  court  of  chancery,  or  otherwise  made  known  to  the 
lord  chancellor,  at  whatever  time  and  in  whatever  manner  may  be 
thought  proper. 

The  United  States  having  acceded  to  the  bequest,  the  first  duty  of 
the  undersigned  is  to  obtain,  for  his  high  constituent,  possession  of 
the  fund  without  any  delay  that  can  be  avoided. 

His  questions  for  the  opinion  of  counsel  in  England  are: 

First.  Can  possession  of  it  be  obtained  without  a  suit? 

Second.  If  not,  what  is  the  form  of  suit  or  other  legal  proceeding 
which,  by  the  laws  of  England,  will  give  promise  of  putting  the 
United  States  in  possession  of  the  fund  in  the  most  effectual  and 
prompt  manner? 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

LONDON,  October  1,  1836. 


OPINION   OF   COUNSEL. 

First.  We  are  of  opinion  that  the  possession  of  the  fund  can  not  be 
obtained  without  a  suit. 

Second.  We  think  that  the  best  course  will  be  that  a  bill  in  the 
nature  of  a  supplemental  bill  should  be  filed  in  the  name  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  toe  United  States  of  America,  against  the  executors  of  Mr. 
Sm.ith.son,  praying  that  the  United  States  may  be  entitled  to  the  fund 
upon  trust  for  the  purposes  expressed  in  the  will;  and  that  upon 
obtaining  a  decree  to  that  effect  a  petition  should  be  presented,  in  the 
name  of  the  President  and  Mr.  Rush,  praying  that  the  fund  may  be 
transferred  to  the  latter,  as  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  appointed 
under  the  act  of  Congress. 

As  we  understand  that  the  testator,  Smithson,  was  illegitimate,  we 
think  that  it  will  be  advisable  to  make  the  Attorney-General  a  party 
to  the  suit  in  order  that  he  may  represent  before  the  court  any  claim 
which  the  Crown  may  have,  either  by  reason  of  the  question  of  the 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  15 

validity  of  the  limitation  to  the  United  States,  after  a  limitation  to 
illegitimate  children,  or  by  reason  of  any  part  of  the  property  con- 
sisting- of  interests  in  land. 

THOMAS  PEMBERTON. 

EDWARD  JACOB. 
LINCOLN'S  INN,  November  2,  1836. 


Richard  Hush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  November  5,  1836. 

I  am  following  up  the  Smithsonian  business,  as  you  will  take  for 
granted.  This  week  I  had  an  interview  with  the  counsel;  but  nothing 
has  transpired  calling  for  an  official  letter  to  you  since  the  one  I  wrote 
on  the  24th  of  September. 

RICHARD  RUSH. 


John  Forsyth  to  Richard  Rush. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
Washington,  Novembet*  1 

SIR:  You  will  receive  inclosed  the  copy  of  an  account  presented  to 
Daniel  Brent,  esq.,  consul  of  the  United  States  at  Paris,  by  M.  Cas- 
taignet,  a  French  attorney,  of  certain  fees  charged  by  him  for  services 
rendered  in  relation  to  the  effects  of  Mr.  James  Henry  Dickinson, 
deceased,  alias  de  la  Batut,  alias  Hungerf ord,  nephew  of  the  late  James 
Smithson,  of  London.  Copies  of  Mr.  Brent's  letters  of  23d  October, 
1835,  and  14th  August,  1836,  explanatory  of  the  subject,  are  also  sent. 
As  the  whole  amount  of  the  fund  appropriated  by  the  act  of  Congress 
of  1st  July,  1830,  for  defraying  the  expenses  incident  to  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  Smithsonian  bequest  are 
in  your  hands,  and  as  the  bill,  if  correct,  is  properly  chargeable  to 
that  fund,  I  have  the  honor  to  request  that  you  will  examine  this 
account;  and  if  you  shall  deem  it  just,  and  the  amount  reasonable, 
transmit  to  Mr.  Brent  the  sum  necessary  to  discharge  the  claim. 

It  may  be  proper  also  to  allow  to  Mr.  Delagrange,  the  attorney 
consulted  in  this  case  by  Mr.  Brent,  a  fee  for  his  advice.  You  will 
perceive,  however,  that,  before  such  an  allowance  can  be  made,  it  will 
be  requisite  to  obtain  -from  the  latter  precise  information  as  to  the 
amount  of  the  charge. 

1  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq.,  London. 


16  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

Richard  Rush  to  John  Forxyth. 

LONDON,  November  %%,  1836. 

SIR:  After  my  letter  to  you  of  the  24th  of  September,  desirous  as  I 
felt  of  falling  upon  some  mode  by  which  the  United  States  might  get 
possession  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  without  the  delays  and  diffi- 
culties apt  to  attend  upon  suits  in  chancery,  prosecuted  in  the  ordinary 
form,  I  found  myself  unable  to  do  so.  At  one  time  it  occurred  to  me, 
considering  the  peculiar  nature  and  national  aspect  of  the  case,  that 
perhaps  an  indirect  appeal  to  the  British  Government,  through  the 
channel  of  our  minister,  might  be  justified;  not,  indeed,  that  an  influ- 
ence was  to  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  judicial  tribunals  in  any 
objectionable  sense,  but  simply  with,  a  view  to  obtain  some  expression 
or  intimation  of  its  favorable  dispositions  towards  the  trust  I  bear  from 
the  President,  as  far  as  the  laws  of  England  might  be  in  unison  with 
it.  But  obstacles  presented  themselves  to  the  actual  pursuit  of  such  a 
course,  although  I  knew  how  ready  Mr.  Stevenson  would  have  been  to 
second  it  as  far  as  in  his  power,  that  led  me  to  turn  from  it,  at  least  as 
an" incipient  step;  without,  however,  losing  sight  of  it,  if  it  may  seem 
practicable  and  advisable  at  any  subsequent  stage  of  the  proceedings. 

That  course  no  longer  looked  to,  it  appeared  to  me  that  the  first  step, 
on  my  part,  had  better  be  to  draw  up  a  statement  of  the  case  for  the 
opinion  of  counsel,  submitting  to  them,  as  one  of  the  questions, 
whether  possession  of  the  fund  might  not  be  obtained  without  a  suit. 
The  solicitors,  I  was  aware,  had  said  that  it  could  not;  but,  on  a  pre- 
liminary point  so  important,  I  did  not  think  that  it  would  be  proper  to 
rest  on  them  alone,  but  take  the  opinion  of  eminent  counsel.  On  the 
1st  of  October,  I  accordingly  drew  up  a  statement  of  the  case,  setting 
out  a  copy  of  the  whole  will,  as  obtained  for  my  use  from  the-registry 
of  the  prerogative  court  of  Canterbury,  adding  the  facts  necessary  to 
show  what  was  believed  to  be  the  present  right  of  the  United  States  to 
the  legacy,  and  my  authority  to  receive  it  on  their  behalf.  A  copy  of 
the  statement  is  inclosed  marked  "A." 

The  next  step  was  to  select  the  counsel.  Here  little  deliberation  was 
requisite,  it  being  only  necessary  to  ascertain  the  most  eminent.  I 
thought  it  would  be  advisable  to  consult  two.  I  found  it  pretty  gen- 
erally agreed  that  Mr.  Pemberton  was  at  the  head  of  the  chancery  bar, 
and  therefore  designated  him  as  one.  Mr.  Jacob  being  in  the  first  class 
of  eminence,  next  to  Mr.  Pemberton,  and  of  high  reputation  for  learn- 
ing in  the  profession,  I  took  him  as  the  other.  Although  using  all  the 
means  I  could  to  get  their  opinion,  after  drawing  up  the  case,  it  was 
not  until  the  8th  of  this  month  that  I  succeeded;  which  was  owing  to 
the  absence  of  Mr.  Pemberton  from  town  nearly  the  whole  of  October. 
I  had  an  interview  with  them  before  their  opinion  was  given,  and  set 
before  them  all  the  lights  I  was  able  to  afford  on  the  nature  of  the  case, 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  17 

and  wishes  of  the  President  for  its  early  decision.  Their  opinion  is 
subjoined  to  the  statement  inclosed. 

It  will  be  seen  that  they  regard  a  suit  as  indispensable. 

Next,  as  to  the  mode  of  proceeding.  It  appears  that  they  think  a 
bill  should  be  filed,  in  the  name  of  the  President,  against  the  testator's 
executors,  praying  that  the  United  States  may  be  declared  entitled  to 
the  fund,  and  that,  on  obtaining  a  decree  to  that  effect,  a  petition 
should  be  presented  for  the  actual  payment  of  the  money.  They  add 
that  it  would  be  advisable  to  make  the  Attorney-General  a  party  to 
the  proceedings,  in  case  the  Crown  should  have  any  claim  under  the 
will,  b\T  reason  of  "the  limitation  to  the  United  States,  after  a  limita- 
tion to  illegitimate  children,"  or  in  case  any  part  of  the  property 
should  consist  of  interest  in  land.  The  opinion  is  dated  on  the 
2d  instant,  but  I  did  not  receive  it  until  the  8th,  as  mentioned. 

Although  I  drew  up  the  case,  the  usages  of  the  profession  here 
required  that  it  should  pass  to  the  counsel,  through  the  hands  of  the 
solicitors,  to  which  I  made  no  objections;  the  less,  as  the  latter  claim, 
under  all  common  circumstances,  to  state  the  case  themselves,  as  well 
as  hold  interviews  with  the  counsel,  instead  of  the  party  holding 
them.  The  same  usages  and  subdivisions  require  that  a  junior  coun- 
sel of  the  chancery  bar  should  *  *  *  draw  the  bill  suggested  by 
the  senior  counsel,  to  which  I  have,  in  like  manner,  consented;  and 
Mr.  Shadwell,  a  son  of  the  vice-chancellor,  has  been  designated  for 
that  duty,  under  assurances  I  have  had  that  he  will  perform  it  satis- 
factorily, and  with  an  understanding,  moreover,  that  the  bill  is  to 
have  the  revision  and  sanction  of  the  senior  counsel  before  it  is  filed. 
The  whole  course  of  proceeding  may  now  therefore  be  considered  as 
in  regular  train,  and  shall  be  followed  up  with  all  the  dispatch  and 
care  which  my  superintendence  can  impart  to  it. 

Should  the  intervals  between  my  letters  be  longer  than  might  at 
first  seem  compatible  with  my  desire  and  duty  to  keep  you  informed 
of  what  is  going  on,  I  hope  it  will  not  be  inferred  that  there  are  relax- 
ations in  either;  since  it  is  very  likely  to  happen,  as  has  been  the  case 
since  the  date  of  my  last  letter,  that  whilst  I  am  doing  all  in  my  power 
to  expedite  arrangements  and  results,  nothing  may  transpire  to  lay  a 
basis  for  written  communications  in  any  degree  definite  or  satisfactory. 
Legal  proceedings,  in  general,  imply  these  intervals  of  apparent  inac- 
tion, and  a  suit  in  chancery  in  England  is  not  likely  to  form  the  excep- 
tion. When  occasions  of  writing  to  you  may  arise,  the  duty  shall 
never  be  omitted. 

This  letter  would  have  been  written  immediately  after  I  received 
the  opinion,  but  that  I  wished  some  explanations,  as  it  was  not  argu- 
mentative, a  form  which  counsel  here  do  not  give  to  opinions.  It 
being  recommended  that  the  bill  should  be  in  the  name  of  the  Presi- 
dent, I  deemed  it  right  to  mention  that  there  was  a  possibility  in  law 
H.  Doc.  732 2 


18  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

of  a  temporary  vacuum  occurring  in  the  Executive  power  under  our 
Constitution,  in  order  that  they  might  judge  how  far  that  considera- 
tion would  affect  the  name  or  style  to  be  used  in  bringing  the  suit. 
As  they  further  advise  that  the  Attorney-General  be  made  a  party,  I 
wished  to  ascertain,  as  far  as  I  might,  what  weight  they  attached  to 
the  point  that  seemed  the  main  inducement  to  that  course,  as  well  as 
the  reason  for  suggesting  it  in  advance.  I  doubted  not  their  good 
reason  for  such  a  course,  but  thought  it  desirable  to  learn  it  from 
themselves,  that  I  might  impart  it  from  that  source  for  the  President's 
information. 

They  have  informed  me  that  the  legal  possibility  to  which  I  drew 
their  attention  under  our  Constitution  does  not  alter  their  opinion  as 
to  the  name  proper  to  be  used  in  bringing  the  suit,  and  they  do  not 
think  it  would  answer  to  bring  it  in  the  name  of  the  United  States 
alone,  whatever  the  provisions  of  our  Constitution  under  this  head. 
I,  of  course,  put  before  them  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  1st  of  July, 
1836,  which  authorizes  the  suit.  As  to  the  point  of  law,  whether  a 
bequest  can  be  sustained  after  a  limitation  to  illegitimate  children, 
they  replied  that  they  do  not  at  present  attach  any  decisive,  perhaps 
any  great  weight  to  it,  but  think  it  one  that  may  be  made;  and  as  to 
its  suggestion  in  advance,  they  suppose  that  the  United  States  would 
not  desire  to  take  the  bequest  through  any  oversight  in  the  court  or 
Attorney-General,  admitting  either  to  be  possible  in  a  case  of  this  pub- 
licity, but  only  if  the  laws  of  England  would  warrant  in  all  respects 
an  adjudication  in  their  favor — a  sentiment  in  which  I  naturally  and 
fully  concurred. 

I  was  not  able  to  command  an  interview  with  the  counsel  for  the  sake 
of  these  explanations  until  yesterday,  owing  to  their  constant  engage- 
ments, although  I  sought  it  repeatedly  since  the  8th  of  the  month,  by 
personal  calls  as  well  as  notes  desiring  to  have  a  time  fixed. 

If  there  have  been  these  delays  that  1  have  been  unable  to  prevent,  I 
am  glad  to  add  that  no  time  has  been  lost  in  reference  to  the  Novem- 
ber term  of  the  court,  the  first  that  has  been  held  since  I  came  here. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forxyth. 

LONDON,  December  W,  1836. 

SIR:  I  was  yesterday  honored  with  your  letter  of  the  17th  of  No- 
vember, inclosing  the  account  forwarded  to  the  Department  by  the 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  19 

consul  of  the  United  States  at  Paris,  of  M.  Castaignet,  a  French  attorney, 
for  certain  fees  charged  by  him  for  services  rendered  in  relation  to 
the  effects  of  Mr.  James  Henry  Dickinson,  deceased,  alias  de  la  Batut, 
alias  Hungerford,  nephew  of  the  late  James  Smithson,  of  London,  and 
requesting  that  I  will  examine  it  with  a  view  to  its  payment  out  of  the 
Smithsonian  fund  in  my  hands,  if  deemed  just,  and  the  amount  reason- 
able; and  mentioning  also  that  it  may  be  proper  to  allow  Mr.  Dela- 
grange,  the  attorney  consulted  by  Mr.  Brent,  a  fee,  after  obtaining 
from  the  latter  precise  information  as  to  the  amount  of  the  charge. 
Copies  of  Mr.  Brent's  explanatory  letters  of  the  23d  of  October,  1835, 
and  14th  of  August,  1836,  also  came  inclosed  in  your  letter,  and  I  beg 
leave  to  say  that  the  whole  subject  shall  have  from  me  full  attention. 

The  Smithsonian  case  continues  in  proper  train  here  with  every 
advantage  1  have  found  myself  yet  able  to  give  it,  according  to  the 
statement  and  explanations  transmitted  with  my  No.  4;  but  it  has  not 
yet  come  to  its  first  hearing  before  the  court  of  chancery. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rmh  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  January  9,  1837. 

I  have  already  had  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  the  17th  November,  inclosing  the  account  of  Mr.  Castaignet, 
the  French  attorney,  for  certain  services  in  relation  to  the  effects  of 
Hemy  James  Dickinson,  deceased,  alias  de  la  Batut,  alias  Hungerford. 

I  have  given  to  this  subject  the  proper  attention,  and,  for  the  better 
understanding  of  it,  now  beg  leave  to  state: 

That  Henry  James  Hungerford  was  the  natural  son  of  Henry  Louis 
Dickinson,  deceased,  brother  of  Mr.  Smithson,  by  a  Mrs.  Coates.  .  The 
latter  is  still  living  and  married  to  a  Frenchman  named  de  la  Batut. 
Hungerford  lived  with  her  and  took  her  name,  whilst  bearing  which 
he  died,  having  also  passed  under  that  of  Dickinson.  It  is  understood 
that,  as  long  as  he  lived,  he  made  her  an  ample  allowance;  but  his 
death  put  an  end  to  it,  and,  as  far  as  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson  is  con- 
cerned (the  will  which  creates  a  right  in  the  United  States),  she  can  claim 
nothing.  This  I  understand  to  be  agreed  by  counsel  on  all  hands  here. 

Her  claim,  if  she  has  any,  is  under  the  will  of  Henry  Louis  Dickin- 
son, made  at  Paris  July,  1819,  by  which  he  left  all  his  property  to  his 
brother,  Smithson,  in  trust  for  his  (Dickinson's)  son  Hungerford,  alias 
Dickinson,  alias  la  Batut.  Half  the  income  of  it,  however,  was  to  go 
to  this  Mrs.  Coates,  alias  Madame  la  Batut,  during  her  life. 


20  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

But  whether  the  property  which  Dickinson  thus  left,  and  which  is 
supposed  to  be  the  fund  which  Mr.  Brent  naturally  desired,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  French  attorneys,  to  secure  for  the  United 
States  in  Paris,  now  constitutes  any  part  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  in 
the  English  court  of  chancery  and  awaiting  its  decision,  or  whether 
the  former  fund  has  not  all  been  dissipated,  and  if  so,  how  much  of  it 
got  into  the  hands  of  Madame  la  Batut,  and  has  already,  principal  as 
well  as  income,  been  applied  to  her  use  and  benefit,  are,  I  understand, 
points  still  unsettled. 

I  made  a  first  mention  of  this  la  Batut  claim  in  my  No.  4  in  Septem- 
ber. Under  the  facts  presented  by  this  further  explanation  it  does 
not  clearly  seem  that  the  account  of  the  French  attorney,  M.  Castaig- 
net,  or  the  fee  to  M.  Delagrange  can,  for  the  present,  be  a  charge  upon 
the  Smithsonian  fund  in  my  hands.  Perhaps  it  may  be  a  question  how 
far  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  1st  of  July,  1836,  creating  and  appro- 
priating that  fund,  will  sustain  any  charge  upon  it  other  than  for 
expenses  in  prosecuting  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest  before  the  tribunals  here  in  England,  where  alone,  by 
what  I  now  communicate,  it  may  turn  out  that  the  entire  fund 
bequeathed  by  Mr.  Smithson  exists.  In  weighing  all  the  circum- 
stances, I  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  at  all  events,  not  to  pay  the 
above  account  or  fee  until  the  issue  of  the  proceedings  in  chancery  on 
the  whole  case  here  is  known;  unless,  .after  this  communication,  I 
should  receive  your  instructions  to  the  contrary.  We  must  hope  that 
the  bequest  of  Mr.  Smithson  will  ultimately  be  adjudged  to  the  United 
States;  but  there  is  a  complication  of  illegitimacy  in  the  matter,  and 
we  dare  not  with  confidence  affirm  that  the  decision  will  be  favorable 
prior  to  its  taking  place. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant,  - 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Ruxh  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  F&ruary  2,  1837. 

SIR:  The  Smithsonian  case  was  brought  to  a  first  hearing  in  the 
court  of  chancery  yesterday,  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  me  to  be  able  to 
say  that  results,  so  far,  are  favorable  to  the  establishment  of  the  claim 
of  the  United  States. 

The  hearing  was  before  Lord  Langdale,  master  of  the  rolls;  this 
court  and  the  court  of  the  vice-chancellor  being  the  two  branches  of 
the  English  chancery  system,  before  which  suitw  are  brought  in  the 
first  instance. 

The  bill  was  in  the  name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  21 

America  against  Drummond,  as  recommended  by  counsel,  in  their 
opinion  transmitted  with  my  letter  No.  4,  of  the  22d  of  November. 
The  case  was  fully  opened,  on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  by  Mr. 
Pemberton. 

The  attorney -general  was  not  personally  present  in  court;  but  Mr. 
Wray,  a  member  of  the  bar  and  King's  counsel,  acted  as  his  represent- 
ative on  the  occasion.  I  am  glad  to  state  that  he  abandoned,  in  effect, 
all  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Crown.  No  question,  therefore,  will 
be  raised  as  to  whether  a  bequest  can  be  sustained  after  a  limitation  to 
illegitimate  children;  or  any  other  obstacle  interposed  under  the  doc- 
trine of  escheats,  or  any  other,  by  the  legal  representatives  of  the 
Crown.  These  officers,  I  am  given  to  understand,  have  had  the  whole 
case  under  consideration,  and  will  do  nothing  more  than  exercise  that 
general  superintendence  which  the  Crown,  through  its  law  officers,  is 
bound  to  exercise  where  questions  may  arise  connected  with  public 
charities,  the  rules  respecting  which  are  considered  applicable  to  this 
case. 

The  court,  after  the  hearing,  decreed  that  the  case  be  referred  to 
one  of  the  masters  in  chancery,  the  proper  officer  for  the  duty,  to 
make  the  requisite  inquiries  as  to  the  facts  on  the  happening  of  which 
the  United  States  becomes  entitled  to  the  fund  bequeathed  by  Mr. 
Smithson.  The  claim  of  Madame  la  Batut  having  been  brought  before 
the  court  by  counsel  representing  it,  his  lordship  also  decreed  that  the 
validity  of  that  claim  be  inquired  into,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  if  it  be 
a  proper  charge  upon  the  fund. 

The  inquiries  will  be  proceeded  with  in  the  usual  and  regular  man- 
ner, and  with  all  the  expedition  that  my  superintendence  can  impart 
to  them.  When  brought  to  a  close,  the  cause  will  come  on  for  the 
further  order  and  decree  of  the  court. 

Having  heretofore  mentioned,  and  in  my  last  letter  explained 
more  particularly,  the  claim  of  Madame  la  Batut,  I  need  say  no  more 
about  it  at  present.  It  extends  only  td  an  annuity  of  about  £100,  pay- 
able during  her  life;  so  that,  even  if  sustained,  it  will  form,  in  the 
end,  no  material  deduction  from  the  fund.  But  I  have  of  course 
directed  that  it  be  properly  scrutinized,  in  order  that  nothing  be  taken 
from  the  United  States  to  which  they  are  rightfully  entitled. 

Counsel  also  appeared  for  Messrs.  Drummond,  and  made  a  little 
show  of  opposition;  but  as  their  clients  are,  in  fact,  nothing  more  than 
stakeholders,  they  will  offer,  in  the  further  progress  of  the  case,  as  I 
have  reason  to  believe,  no  serious  opposition.  They  said  on  this  occa- 
sion that  the  bill,  in  giving  title  to  the  suit,  ought  to  have  named  Gen- 
eral Jackson  as  President;  on  which  Mr.  Pemberton  remarked  that 
in  that  case  it  must  have  been  amended  on  the  4th  of  March,  by  sub- 
stituting the  name  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  On  the  other  hand,  the  King's 
representative,  Mr.  Wray,  expressed  his  concurrence  with  Mr.  Pem- 
berton, that  the  title  of  the  suit  was  good  as  it  stood. 


22  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

Our  professional  advisers  thought  that  the  President  ought  to  be 
named,  as  in  the  title,  with  a  view  to  a  technical  responsibility  on  the 
record  for  costs,  although  no  such  question  of  fact  would  arise  in  this 
case,  and  because  he  was  otherwise  the  organ  of  intercourse  and  busi- 
ness between  the  United  States  and  foreign  nations.  I  told  them 
that  his  name  was  not  thus  introduced  in  suits  in  the  United  States; 
.but  they  had  before  them  the  act  of  Congress  of  July  1,  1836,  direct- 
ing that  this  suit  might  be  brought  in  the  name  of  the  United  States, 
"or  otherwise,  as  may  be  advisable,"  and  formed  their  opinion  accord- 
ingly. 

The  master  of  the  rolls,  not  having  then  seen  the  act  of  Congress, 
intimated  his  impression  to  be  that  the  suit  should  follow  in  this  respect 
the  forms  in  the  United  States,  adding  that  he  considered  this  part 
of  the  case  as  nothing  but  matter  of  form,  and  would  give  leave  to 
amend  forthwith,  if  necessary;  so  that  the  point  is  of  no  consequence. 

I  think  I  am  justified  in  saying,  from  all  that  is  known  at  present, 
that  the  case  is  in  a  safe  train  in  all  respects,  with  every  promise  of  a 
successful  issue.  Reports  of  what  took  place  in  court  have  appeared 
in  the  newspapers  here,  but  are  not  to  be  relied  upon,  as  I  am  enabled 
to  say,  my  duty  having  made  it  proper  that  I  should  myself  be  present 
in  court  all  the  while. 

In  my  letter  of  the  22d  of  November  it  is  intimated  that  I  might, 
perhaps,  at  a  subsequent  stage  of  the  case,  have  deemed  some  appeal 
to  this  Government  advisable  in  relation  to  it.  The  contingency  I  had 
in  view  was  that  of  the  attorney -general  interposing  a  claim  for  the 
Crown,  under  the  law  of  escheats.  In  that  event  I  had  contemplated 
drawing  up  a  counter  representation  on  behalf  of  the  United  States, 
founded  on  the  public  objects  of  Mr.  Smithson's  will,  to  be  brought  to 
the  notice  of  this  Government,  through  the  channel  of  our  minister. 
All  necessity  for  acting  upon  this  intention  is  now  at  an  end,  by  the 
course  which  the  law  officers  of  the  Crown  have  pursued;  and  I  can 
discern  no  other  ground  for  an  application  to  this  Government.  Nor, 
I  am  happy  to  add,  does  any  such  application  appear  at  present  to  be 
needed,  either  for  the  purpose  of  justice  or  expedition. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Ricliard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  February  10,  1837. 

SIR:  After  what  I  communicated  in  my  last  letter,  it  is  proper  for 
me  to  state  that  the  court  finally  determined,  before  the  minutes  of  its 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  23 

proceedings  on  the  1st  instant  were  made  up,  that  the  title  of  the  suit, 
as  originally  advised  by  our  counsel,  was  the  proper  title,  viz:  'k  The 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America  versus  Drummond."  It 
therefore  stands  so  without  alteration. 

It  will  have  been  observed  from  my  last  that  the  court  had  not  seen 
the  act  of  Congress  in  the  proceedings  of  record  up  to  the  1st  instant. 
The  reason  it  did  not  then  appear  on  the  face  of  the  bill  will  be  found 
in  the  nature  of  the  counsel's  opinion.  I  put  a  copy  of  the  act  into 
their  hands,  as  a  necessary  accompaniment  to  my  statement  of  the  case 
drawn  up  for  their  consideration.  On  referring  to  their  opinion, 
transmitted  with  my  No.  4,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  recommend  that 
a  bill  be  first  filed,  praying  that  the  United  States  might  "  be  declared 
entitled  to  the  fund,  upon  trust,  for  the  purposes  expressed  in  the 
will; "  and,  next,  that  when  a  decree  to  that  effect  was  obtained,  a 
petition  should  be  presented,  in  the  name  of  the  President  and  the 
agent,  praying  that  the  fund  be  transferred  to  the  latter,  as  authorized 
by  the  President  under  the  act  of  Congress  to  receive  it.  The  counsel 
thought  that  the  proper  time  for  setting  forth  the  act  would  have 
arrived  when  the  petition  was  presented,  and  not  before;  but  the  court, 
under  its  first  impression,  inclining  to  think  it  ought  to  be  added  to 
the  bill,  gave  leave  to  make  the  addition  forthwith,  and  it  was  done 
accordingly.  The  case  therefore  now  stands,  on  all  points,  as  could 
be  desired,  without  any  delay  having  intervened  through  matters  of 
form.  Our  professional  advisers  are  disposed  to  regard  this  with 
satisfaction,  considering  the  case  as  one  of  the  first  impression  here, 
the  United  States  having  never  before  appeared  as  suitor  in  an  English 
court. 

Having  selected  counsel  of  distinguished  character  and  abilities  in 
the  court  of  chancery  to  conduct  the  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  I  feel  that  it  is  not  my  province  to  guide  but  to  follow 
their  opinions  in  matters  of  English  law  and  practice.  Yet  I  feel  it  a 
duty  to  understand  theirs,  and  offer  mine  to  their  consideration  when- 
ever there  may  seem  any  likelihood  of  its  being  serviceable  to  the 
claim  of  the  United  States,  and  will  frankly  own  that  I  saw  no  objec- 
tion to  their  withholding  the  act  of  Congress  from  the  record  until 
actual  payment  of  the  fund  was  asked  of  the  court,  who  have  the  pres- 
ent custody  of  it.  The  United  States,  it  is  true,  had  never  before  sued 
in  an  English  court.  But  there  were  precedents  of  other  nations  hav- 
ing done  so  by  their  executive  head,  as,  for  example,  the  King  of 
France,  the  King  of  Denmark,  and,  I  believe,  other  sovereign  and  inde- 
pendent States.  It  was  not  understood  that  any  legislative  act  of  those 
countries  had  been  considered  necessary,  and  was  therefore  inferred 
that  the  United  States  might  in  like  manner  enter  the  courts  here,  as 
of  common  usage,  to  establish  the  validity  of  a  testamentary  bequest 
made  to  them  by  a  subject  of  Britain.  The  act  of  Congress  may  have 


24  SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST. 

been  necessary,  quoad  the  United  States  themselves.  The  bequest,  it 
may  be,  could  not  have  been  accepted  otherwise,  or  a  suit  been  brought 
on  their  behalf;  but  no  act  of  Congress  was  required  for  such  ends 
before  an  English  court.  The  will  itself,  showing  a  prima  facie  right 
in  the  United  States,  was  enough  to  open  an  English  court  to  their 
suit,  and  perhaps  their  dignity  would  best  be  consulted  by  not  exhib- 
iting the  special  act  until  indispensably  necessary.  The  validity  of 
the  bequest  being  established  on  general  grounds  by  a  decree  of  the 
court,  then,  before  payment  could  have  been  made  to  anyone  demand- 
ing possession  of  the  fund  for  the  United  States,  adequate  authority 
from  the  proper  source  there  must  be  shown;  and  at  this  epoch  the 
act  must  have  been  filed,  as  well  as  the  agent's  power.  This  was  the 
reasoning  of  our  counsel,  as  I  understood  it.  It  appeared  to  me  good, 
as  did  their  reasons  for  bringing  the  suit  by  its  present  title.  How 
far  the  master  of  the  rolls  might  have  dispensed  with  the  filing  of  the 
act  of  Congress  until  the  time  indicated  by  our  counsel  as  that  alone 
when  it  was  necessary,  had  the  latter  pressed  the  point  to  an  argument, 
is  not  for  me  to  say.  They  yielded  to  his  lordship's  first  impression, 
and  filed  it  at  once,  as  it  caused  no  delay,  and  must  have  been  done 
under  their  own  intentions  at  a  future  day,  if  a  favorable  decree  be 
obtained  on  the  main  question,  now  so  reasonably  to  be  anticipated. 

I  have  the   honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Ricfuird  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  March  25,  1837. 

SIR:  In  mj7  No.  7 1  had  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  court,  after 
the  hearing  on  the  1st  of  February,  decreed  that  the  case  be  referred 
to  a  master  in  chancery,  to  make  the  requisite  inquiries  as  to  the  facts, 
on  the  happening  of  which  the  United  States  became  entitled  to  the 
fund  bequeathed  by  Mr.  Smithson. 

The  facts  specially  directed  to  be  inquired  into,  and  which  must  be 
judicially  and  technically  settled,  are,  first,  whether  Henry  James 
Hungerford,  named  in  the  pleadings,  be  living  or  dead;  second,  if 
dead,  when  he  died;  third,  whether  he  was  married  or  unmarried  at 
the  time  of  his  death;  fourth,  if  married,  whether  he  left  any  and  what 
children  and  child,  and  the  age  or  ages  of  them,  if  any.  It  is  further 
to  be  ascertained  whether  John  Fitall,  mentioned  in  the  pleadings,  be 
living  or  dead,  and,  if  dead,  when  he  died;  and  the  said  master  is  finally 
to  inquire  whether  Madame  de  la  Batut  has  any  claim  on  the  testator's 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.        .  25 

estate,  and  to  make  report  on  all  the  several  matters  so  referred  to 
him. 

These  inquiries  are  now  all  duly  and  regularly  in  progress.  Adver- 
tisements, of  which  I  annex  copies,  designed  as  one  means  of  obtaining 
information  under  the  four  heads  first  specified,  and  the  last,  have  been 
inserted  in  three  of  the  London  newspapers  of  the  present  month,  viz: 
The  Times,  Morning  Herald,  and  Standard.  Copies  of  them,  trans- 
lated into  French  and  Italian,  have  also  been  inserted  in  newspapers 
at  Paris  and  Port  Louis,  in  France;  the  latter  being  the  place  where 
Madame  de  la  Batut  resides;  and  at  Leghorn,  in  Italy,  it  being  under- 
stood that  there  is  no  newspaper  published  at  Pisa,  where  it  is  believed 
Hungerford  died. 

It  was  by  my  direction  that  the  advertisements  have  been  framed 
with  all  the  brevity  compatible  with  the  essential  object  of  the  court's 
decree.  I  have  caused  to  be  carefully  kept  from  them  any  mention  of 
the  amount  of  property  bequeathed,  and  everything  else  respecting 
the  nature  of  Mr.  Smithson's  will.  This  course  seems  best  adapted  to 
guard  against  the  risk  of  raising  up  spurious  claimants  or  combina- 
tions in  France,  Italy,  or  this  country  to  battle  with  the  right  of  the 
United  States,  whereby,  although  their  ultimate  recovery  of  the  fund 
might  not  be  prevented,  great  delays  might  be  interposed. 

Whether  John  Fitall  be  living  or  dead,  the  remaining  branch  of 
inquiry,  is  a  fact  to  be  ascertained  without  difliculty  here  in  London. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  ser- 
vant. 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


•      ADVERTISEMENTS. 

(1) 

Whereas  by  a  Decree  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery  in  England,  made  in  a  cause 
wherein  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  is  plaintiff  and  Charles  Drum- 
mond  and  His  Majesty's  Attorney-General  are  defendants,  it  is  amongst  other 
things  referred  to  Nassau  William  Senior,  Esq.,-  one  of  the  Masters  of  the  said  Court, 
to  inquire  and  state  to  the  Court  whether  Henry  James  Hungerford  (who  formerly 
resided  at  Paris,  in  the  Kingdom  of  France,  and  is  alleged  to  have  died  at  Pisa,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  in  the  month  of  June,  1835) ,  is  living  or  dead,  and  if  dead  when 
he  died,  and  whether  he  was  married  or  unmarried  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  and 
if  married  whether  he  left  any  and  what  children  or  child  him  surviving,  and  the 
ages  of  such  children,  if  more  than  one:  therefore,  any  person  who  can  give  informa- 
tion touching  the  said  Henry  James  Hungerford  is  requested,  on  or  before  the  1st 
day  of  June  next,  to  furnish  the  same  to  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore,  and  Fladgate,  43 
Craven  street,  Strand,  London. 


26  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

(2) 

Whereas,  by  a  Decree  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery  in  England,  made  in  a  cer- 
tain cause  wherein  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  is  plaintiff  and 
Charles  Drnmmond  and  His  Majesty's  Attorney-General  are  defendants,  it  is  amongst 
other  things  referred  to  Nassau  William  Senior,  esq.,  one  of  the  Masters  of  the  said 
Court,  to  inquire  and  state  to  the  Court  whether  Madame  de  la  BATUT,  who  lately 
resided  at  Port  Louis,  in  the  kingdom  of  France,  has  any  CLAIM  on  the  ESTATE  of 
JAMES  SMITHSON  (who  died  at  Genoa,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  in  the  year  1829), 
the  testator  in  the  pleadings  of  the  said  cause  named:  therefore,  the  said  Madame  de 
la  Batut  is,  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  May  next,  to  come  in  before  the  said  Master, 
at  his  chambers  in  Southampton  buildings,  Chancery  lane,  London,  and  make  out 
her  claim  on  the  estate  of  the  said  testator,  James  Smithson;  or,  in  default  thereof, 
she  will  be  excluded  the  benefit  of  the  said  decree. 


RicJiard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  April,  88,  1837. 

SIR:  In  inclosing  a  duplicate  of  my  last  letter  (sent  with  the  origi- 
nal of  this),  I  have  to  supply  an  omission  in  not  stating  that  the 
advertisements  were  inserted  in  the  London  Gazette,  in  addition  to 
the  other  London  newspapers  mentioned.  It  is  the  more  necessary  I 
should  state  this,  as  when  the  bills  for  legal  disbursements  are  all 
finally  rendered  it  will  be  seen  that  the  item  for  advertising  in  this 
country  forms  no  inconsiderable  one.  It  was  my  wish  to  avoid  these 
advertisements  altogether,  not  simply  on  account  of  expense,  which 
would  have  been  a  good  reason  of  itself,  but  for  the  more  important 
one  hinted  in  my  last,  viz,  their  possible  tendency  to  raise  up  ficti- 
tious claimants;  but  my  wish  could  not  prevail  against  the  express 
order  of  the  court  of  chancery  under  which  they  were  inserted. 

In  regard  to  the  legal  expenses,  generally,  of  this  agency,  I  will 
take  this  occasion  of  barely  remarking,  that  whilst  I  have  kept  a  con- 
stant watch  over  them  all,  endeavoring  to  confine  them  within  limits 
as  moderate  as  possible,  they  are  proverbially  heavy  in  English  chan- 
cery proceedings.  It  seems  that  something  is  to  be  paid  for  every 
step  taken,  every  line  written,  and  almost  every  word  spoken  by 
counsel,  senior  and  junior,  solicitors,  clerks,  and  everybody  connected 
with  the  courts,  and  officers  attached  to  them,  under  the  extremely 
artificial  and  complicated  judiciary  systems  that  exist  here. 

Perhaps  I  ought  also  to  have  mentioned  in  my  last  that  there  is  no 
doubt  whatever  of  the  fact  of  John  FitalPs  death.  It  only  remains  for 
the  court  to  know  it  through  regular  evidence,  easily  attainable,  as 
before  remarked,  in  London,  where  he  died. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  27 

Daniel  Brent  to  Richard  Rush. 

UNITED  STATES  CONSULATE, 

Paris,  May  3,  1837. 

SIR:  On  the  7th  of  August  last  I  made  known  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  State  the  amount  of  expenses  that  had  been  incurred  by  me  in  this 
city  in  taking  precautionary  steps  to  secure  to  the  United  States,  as 
legatee  of  James  Smithson,  of  London,  the  possession  of  property 
then  supposed  to  constitute  a  portion  of  his  estate,  and  now  have  the 
honor  of  transmitting  to  you,  in  consequence  of  a  letter  recently 
received  from  the  Department,  receipts  for  the  amount  of  these 
expenses,  as  follows,  viz: 

Francs. 

Receipts  of  the  M.  Castaignet  for  his  services 226. 25 

Do.      avocat,  M.  Delagrange  for  his  services 40. 00 

My  own  receipt  for  postages 6.00 


Total -. 372.25 

I  would  feel  obliged  to  you  if  you  would  have  the  goodness  to  pro- 
vide, at  as  early  a  day  as  may  suit  your  convenience,  for  my  reim- 
bursement, by  furnishing  me  with  a  bill  on  Paris  for  their  amount; 
and,  in  the  meantime,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

DANIEL  BRENT. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  etc.,  London. 


Richard  Rush  to  Daniel  Brent. 

LONDON,  PORTLAND  HOTEL, 
Great  Portland  Street,  May  10,  1837. 

SIR:  I  received  your  letter  of  the  3d  instant  transmitting  receipts 
for  sums  expended  by  you  in  Paris,  amounting  to  272.25  francs  for 
precautionary  steps  taken  on  your  part  to  secure  possession  of  prop- 
erty then  supposed  to  constitute  a  portion  of  the  property  bequeathed 
to  the  United  States  by  Mr.  Smithson.  You  state  that  you  transmit 
these  receipts  to  me  in  consequence  of  a  letter  recently  received  from 
the  Department  of  State,  and  request  I  will  provide  for  your  reim- 
bursement by  a  bill  on  Paris  for  the  amount. 

I  received  from  the  Secretary  of  State  in  December  last  copies  of 
the  same  account,  with  a  request  that  I  would  examine  it  and  if  I 
deemed  it  just  and  the  amount  reasonable  transmit  to  you  the  sum 
necessary  to  discharge  it,  his  letter  remarking  that  the  account,  if  cor- 
rect, was  properly  chargeable  on  the  Smithsonian  fund  in  my  hands, 
created  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  July  1,  1836,  for  defraying  expenses 
incidental  to  the  prosecution  of  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the 
bequest  of  Mr.  Smithson. 


28  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

Iii  reply,  1  had  the  honor  to  inform  the  Secretary,  by  letter  dated 
the  9th  of  January,  that  it  was  still  a  point  unsettled  whether  the 
property  which,  with  a  commendable  zeal,  you  had  aimed  at  securing 
for  the  United  States,  ndw  constituted  any  part  of  the  Smithsonian 
fund  in  the  English  court  of  chancery,  awaiting  its  decision;  that  noth- 
ing had  yet  been  adjudged  to  the  United  States;  that  perhaps  it  might 
be  doubtful,  under  these  and  other  circumstances  I  stated,  all  of  which 
could  not  have  been  known  when  the  Secretary's  letter  to  me  was  writ- 
ten, how  far  the  act  of  July  the  1st  would  sustain  the  charge  in  ques- 
tion; and  that  at  all  events  I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  not  to  pay  the 
account  until  the  issue  of  the  proceedings  in  chancery  on  the  whole 
case  here  was  known,  unless  I  should  receive  the  Secretary's  instruc- 
tions to  pay  it,  after  what  I  thus  wrote. 

I  have  received  none;  and  unless  the  letter  from  the  Secretary, 
which  you  have  received,  were  written  after  the  receipt  of  mine  of  the 
9th  of  January,  and  contains  an  express  direction  to  me  to  pay,  I 
should  not  feel  at  liberty  to  do  so;  the  less,  as  everything  remains 
undecided  here,  and  a  new  fact  is  interposed.  Congress  at  the  late 
session  omitted  to  make  any  further  appropriation  for  the  full  prose- 
cution and  recovery  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest;  and  it  is  certain,  in 
my  belief,  that  the  sum  allotted  by  the  act  of  July  1,  1836,  will  be 
exhausted  by  the  unavoidable  expenses  in  London  before  any  new 
appropriation  can  come  from  the  next  Congress. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  very  faithfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

DANIEL  BRENT,  Esq., 

Camul  of  tJie  United  States,  Parw. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  May  18, 1837. 

SIR:  I  have  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Brent,  consul  at  Paris,  trans- 
mitting his  account  and  the  receipts  for  moneys  expended  by  him  in 
that  city,  with  a  view  to  obtain  for  the  United  States  some  property, 
then  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  that  which  was  bequeathed  by  Mr. 
Smithson.  It  is  the  same  account  that  was  forwarded  to  me  with  your 
instructions  of  the  17th  of  November  last.  To  these  I  had  the  honor 
of  replying  in  my  No.  6,  in  which  the  nature  of  the  account  was 
explained  and  reasons  assigned  for  suspending  payment,  your  instruc- 
tions appearing  to  have  left  me  a  discretion  over  the  subject.  I  trans- 
mit a  copy  of  Mr.  Brent's  letter  dated  the  3d  instant,  with  a  copy  of 
my  answer  dated  the  10th.  My  reasons  will  be  seen  in  the  latter  for 
still  withholding  payment,  Mr.  Brent's  letter,  as  I  read  it,  not  con- 
veying to  me  your  direction  to  pay.  If  I  have  erred  in  this  particu- 
lar, 1  shall  await  your  further  instructions,  and  obey  them.  My  letter 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUF8T.  29 

to  Mr.  Brent,  besides  bringing  into  view  the  former  reasons,  mentions 
a  new  one. 

Under  one  of  the  advertisements  transmitted  with  my  No.  9,  viz, 
the  one  returnable  on  the  1st  of  this  month,  the  husband  of  Madame 
la  Batut  has  come  over  here  from  France  to  make  out  the  claim  of 
his  wife  upon  the  estate  of  Mr.  Smithson.  He  has  written  me  notes 
and  called  upon  me,  though  as  yet  I  have  not  seen  him.  I  deem  it 
unnecessary  to  transmit  to  you  his  representations,  as  I  do  not  act 
upon  them  in  any  way,  abstaining  as  well  through  my  own  judgment 
as  that  of  our  professional  advisers.  To  the  latter  I  say,  if  Monsieur 
la  Batut  has  a  just  claim  on  the  part  of  his  wife  it  ought  to  be  allowed, 
if  not,  no  authority  but  that  of  Congress  could  award  him  anything 
out  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  should  it  be  finally  adjudged  to  the 
United  States.  To  this  they  assent,  with  the  further  concurrence 
between  us  that  the  court  must  decide  upon  the  claim,  for  establish- 
ing which,  if  it  can  be  established,  he  will  now  have  every  opportu- 
nity before  a  master  in  chancery,  the  officer  regularly  appointed  by 
the  court  for  that  purpose.  The  solicitors  advise  me  that  he  is  a 
troublesome  person,  and  seems  to  have  unreasonable  expectations, 
which,  however,  will  be  carefully  scrutinized  and  properly  controlled. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FOESYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate,  to  Richard  Rush. 

No.  43  CRAVEN  STREET,  June  9,  1837. 

SIR:  We  think  it  right  to  inform  you  that  we  have  lately  had 
several  interviews  with  M.  de  la  Batut,  who  married  the  mother  of 
the  deceased  Henry  James  Hungerford,  and  who  we  thought  might 
be  induced  to  furnish  us  with  every  proof  we  wanted  touching  the 
deceased.  His  object  was  to  press  upon  our  consideration  the  moral 
claims  which  he  supposes  his  wife  and  her  and  his  children  have  upon 
the  United  States,  in  consequence  of  their  succeeding  to  the  fortune, 
to  the  income  of  which  Hungerford  was  entitled  for  his  life.  We 
allude  to  these  moral  claims  to  distinguish  them  from  the  rights 
which  Madame  de  la  Batut  may  have  under  the  will  of  Colonel  Dick- 
inson, Hungerford's  father,  which  are  the  subject  of  inquiry  before 
the  master.  To  show,  in  part,  the  nature  of  these  moral  claims,  we 
may  mention  that  as  the  fund  is  left  to  the  United  States  to  found  an 
institution  for  promoting  knowledge  he  considers,  notwithstanding 
that  the  institution  is  to  be  founded  in  America,  that  his  and  Madame 
de  la  Batut's  children  in  France  should  have  an  allowance  until  the  age 
of  .22  for  their  education,  and  he  considers  that  the  income  derived 


30  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

from  the  fund  since  the  testator's  death  should  be  allowed  to  Madame 
de  la  Batut. 

We  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  go  further  into  these  requisitions, 
or  into  a  detail  of  M.  de  la  Batut's  arguments  in  support  of  them. 
We  may,  however,  advert  more  particularly  to  the  following  point, 
which  may  have  some  claim  to  consideration:  M.  de  la  Batut  urges 
that  young  Hungerford,  who  lived  up  to  his  income,  left  behind  him 
nothing  to  pay  debts  and  funeral  expenses;  that  had  Mr.  Smithson's 
will  come  into  operation  now,  instead  of  seven  years  back,  he  would, 
in  consequence  of  a  modern  alteration  in  the  law,  have  been  entitled 
to  a  portion  of  the  accruing  half  year's  income  up  to  his  death;  but 
that,  as  the  modern  alteration  does  not  apply  to  the  case,  he  is  deprived 
even  of  that,  and  can  not  be  said  to  have  enjoyed  the  income  of  the 
property  during  his  whole  life;  and  thus  burdens  are  thrown  upon  his 
relations,  which  their  circumstances  do  not  enable  them  to  bear.  We 
may  here  observe  that  the  law  on  this  subject  is  clear;  he  was  not 
entitled  to  any  portion  of  the  half  year's  income.  We  answered  him 
by  stating  that  neither  you  nor  ourselves  could  give  any  opinion  on 
the  subject,  still  less  undertake  that  anything  should  be  done  for  him 
by  the  United  States;  and  we  informed  him  that  if  he  considered  he 
had  any  moral  claims,  he  must  himself  apply  to  the  proper  authorities, 
which  he  stated  his  intention  to  do.  We  further  informed  him  that 
we  were  in  search  of  evidence  which  was  completely  within  his  knowl- 
edge; and  we  offered,  if  he  would  furnish  us  with  and  depose  to  the 
particulars  relating  to  Hungerford  known  to  him,  we  would  so  far 
support  any  application  he  might  make  to  the  proper  authorities  as  to 
certify  that  in  our  inquiries  and  proofs  we  were  under  material  obli- 
gations to  him;  and  he  at  length  consented  to  make  the  necessary 
depositions.  These  depositions  we  drew  up  in  proper  form,  but  upon 
requesting  him  to  make  an  appointment  to  swear  to  them,  he  refused 
to  do  so  unless  he  had  a  pledge  from  you  that  you  would  do  all  in 
your  power  to  support  his  claims,  in  addition  to  the  recommendation 
of  Mr.  Drummond  to  the  consideration  of  the  United  States.  The 
recommendation  of  Mr.  Drummond  we  might  have  promised  him,  but 
the  pledge  required  from  you  we  knew  to  be  out  of  the  question;  and 
as  in  the  meantime  we  have  received  from  Italy  documents  which  we 
trust  will  obviate  the  necessity  of  again  applying  to  him  for  assistance, 
we  felt  no  hesitation  in  at  once  declining  to  make  terms  with  an  indi- 
vidual whose  style  of  conduct  would  hardly  justify  any  strong  recom- 
mendation in  his  favor.  He  then  positively  refused  to  assist  us  any 
further,  and  has  left  us  in  considerable  anger;  and  he  has  expressed 
his  determination  to  make  an  application  to  the  President  through 
another  channel.  It  will,  we  conceive,  be  entitled  to  little  favor. 
We  remain,  etc., 

CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLA  DO  ATE. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  31 

J''ij)uix>r<'  cfc  Fladgate  to  Richard  Rush. 

No.  43  CRAVEN  STREET,  June  22,  1837. 

SIR:  Mr.  Drummond  has  written  to  us  to  inform  you  that  M.  de  la 
Batut  has  submitted  to  him  a  memorial  which,  on  the  part  of  Madame 
de  la  Batut,  he  proposes  to  address  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  Not  having  been  acquainted  personally  with  Mr.  Smithson, 
Mr.  Drummond  can  not  vouch  for  any  of  the  facts  stated  in  the 
memorial,  but,  as  Mr.  Smithson's  executor,  he  feels  disposed  to 
recommend  to  the  consideration  of  the  United  States  any  application 
coming  from  the  mother  of  the  deceased  Hungerford,  who,  so  far  as 
he  has  the  means  of  knowing,  is  left  by  her  son's  death  in  reduced  cir- 
cumstances. Nevertheless,  we  must  here  add  that  the  attention  paid 
to  such  application  must  of  course  depend  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
parties  making  it. 

We  are,  etc.,  CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq. 

Richard  Rush  to  John  fortsyth. 

LONDON,  June  %4,  1837. 

SIR:  I  inclose  copies  of  .two  letters  received  from  our  solicitors, 
dated  the  9th  and  22d  instant,  relating  to  the  conduct  of  Monsieur  la 
Batut  in  reference  to  the  supposed  claim  of  his  wife  upon  the  Smith- 
sonian fund. 

My  No.  6,  of  January  9,  will  have  made  known  who  the  wife  is. 
Nothing  is  more  clear  than  that  she  has  no  claim  under  the  will  of  Mr. 
Smithson.  Her  claim,  if  any,  can  only  be  made  out,  as  mentioned  in 
my  No.  6,  under  the  will  of  Henry  Louis  Dickinson,  and  for  its  estab- 
lishment the  court  of  chancery  has  pointed  out  the  proper  means,  and 
Monsieur  la  Batut  has  full  liberty  to  adopt  them,  that  justice  may  be 
done.  I  said  in  my  No.  7  that  the  claim  extended  only  to  about  £100 
a  year;  but,  on  better  information,  I  find  that  it  would  amount,  if 
sustained,  to  £240  a  year  during  the  life  of  Madame  la  Batut. 

But  Monsieur  de  la  Batut  is  little  satisfied  with  putting  forward  this 
claim,  which,  it  may  be,  the  court  will  allow  if  he  can  bring  forward 
proof  to  substantiate  it.  He  makes  a  sweeping  moral  claim,  as  he 
calls  it,  upon  the  United  States,  should  the  Smithsonian  fund  be 
adjudged  to  them.  The  letter  from  the  solicitors,  of  the  9th  instant, 
gives,  in  part,  the  ground  of  this  moral  claim.  He  thinks  that,  as  the 
Smithsonian  fund  is  to  be  applied  to  found  an  institution  at  Washing- 
ton for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  his  chil- 
dren in  France  have  a  claim  to  be  educated  out  of  it;  and  he  even 
considers  that  his  wife  has  a  claim  to  the  *  *  *  income  of  the 
fund  since  Mr.  Smithson's  death.  This,  at  a  rough  estimate,  might  be 
perhaps  set  down  at  upward  of  £20,000. 


32  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

I  can  not  wonder  that  the  solicitors  deemed  it  unnecessary  to  detail  to 
me  the  "arguments"  by  which  Monsieur  de  la  Batut  sought  to  sup- 
port these,  his  "requisitions."  His  attempt  at  coercion,  by  withhold- 
ing evidence  within  his  power,  unless  on  a  previous  pledge  from  me 
to  support  his  requisitions,  thereby  showing  a  disposition  to  prevent 
the  United  States  recovering  anything,  will  probably  gain  him  little 
favor  in  their  eyes.  Fortunately  there  is  now  other  evidence,  as  the 
solicitors  state  in  their  letter,  and  have  since  told  me  verbally,  which, 
it  is  believed,  will  place  the  United  States  beyond  his  reach.  The 
part  of  their  letter  that  I  read  with  regret  was  that  in  which  they  inti- 
mated to  him  that,  as  neither  they  nor  I  could  engage  that  anything 
should  be  done  for  him  by  the  United  States,  he  must  himself  apply 
to  the  proper  authorities.  I  called  upon  them  immediately,  to  express 
my  wish  that  no  such  encouragement  be  in  future  held  out  to  him;  but 
it  seems  that  he  had  already  taken  his  course;  their  letter  of  the  22d 
instant  gives  me  to  understand  that  he  proposes  to  address  a  memorial 
to  the  President  through  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Drummond,  the  defend- 
ant in  the  suit.  That  he  would  have  done  so  on  his  own  motion  in  the 
end,  without  any  hint  from  the  solicitors,  is  probable  enough;  but  I 
was  sorry  it  had  been  given  to  him.  For  myself,  I  have  invariably 
discountenanced  all  his  pretensions,  deeming  it  my  duty  to  do  so  most 
unequivocally.  I  have  refused  to  see  him,  unless  in  presence  of  the 
solicitors,  lest  he  should  misunderstand,  or  forget,  or  pervert  what  I 
might  say;  and  the  latter  told  me  they  could  perceive  no  advantage  in 
my  seeing  him.  If  the  United  States  recover  the  legacy  bequeathed 
by  Mr.  Smithson,  I  should  naturally  regard  the  whole  of  it  as  a  trust 
fund  in  their  hands,  not  to  be  in  any  wise  diminished  or  touched  but  by 
the  same  legislative  power  that  accepted  it  for  the  purposes  specially 
set  forth  in  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  1st  of  July,  1836.  Not  only, 
therefore,  do  I  disclaim  all  authority  for  yielding  in  the  slightest 
degree  to  Monsieur  la  Batut's  demands  or  giving  him  the  least  hope 
that  any  of  them  are  ultimately  to  be  allowed  by  the  United  States, 
but  I  should  have  thought  it  not  justifiable  in  me  to  refer  him  to  the 
President. 

Not  being  sure  that  I  rightly  understood  what  the  solicitors  mean 
in  their  letter  of  the  9th  about  an  alteration  in  the  law?  I  sought  an 
explanation  from  them.  It  appears  that  by  an  act  of  Parliament, 
passed  in  1834,  whenever  a  person  entitled  to  the  annual  proceeds  of 
any  fund  or  property  for  his  life,  under  a  will  coming  into  operation 
after  the  passing  of  the  act,  dies  between  the  points  of  time  assigned 
for  the  periodical  payments,  his  representatives  become  entitled  to  a 
proportionate  part  of  the  accruing  proceeds  up  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  Before  this  act  there  was  no  such  apportionment;  and  as  Mr. 
Smithson's  will  came  into  operation  before  it  was  passed,  Hungerford's 
representatives  have  no  claim  to  any  of  the  dividend  that  accrued  after 
Ihe  last  dividend  day  that  happened  previously  to  his  decease.  I 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  33 

asked  how  this  would  stand  with  the  case  I  drew  up  for  the  opinion  of 
counsel,  as  transmitted  with  my  No.  4,  in  which,  among  other  things,  I 
stated  under  the  sanction  of  the  solicitors  that  "Mr.  Hungerford 
received  the  income  arising  from  the  testator's  property  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death."  They  replied  that  this  was  nevertheless  correct; 
he  did  receive  all  that  had  accrued  up  to  that  time,  but  there  was  a 
dividend  in  progress  which,  as  it  had  not  actually  arisen  and  could  not 
have  been  claimed  by  Hungerford  in  his  lifetime,  his  representative 
has  no  claim  to  it  after  his  death.  Such  was  their  explanation. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  say  how  far  this  lends  any  equity  to  any  fraction 
of  Monsieur  la  Batut's  claims  or  requisitions.  It  is  a  familiar  maxim, 
that  those  who  ask  equity  should  do  equity.  The  United  States  will 
succeed  to  all  that  the  law  of  England  gives  them,  as  the  lord  chan- 
cellor may  expound  and  apply  that  law  to  their  special  predicament 
under  the  will,  having  due  reference,  no  doubt,  to  the  rights  of  all 
other  parties  before  the  court;  and  whatever  may  be  the  amount 
adjudged  in  their  favor,  my  uniform  declaration  is  that  Congress  alone 
would  have  the  power  to  reduce  it.  I  add,  as  explicitly,  that  to  no  one 
can  I  give  the  remotest  encouragement  or  hope  that  it  would  be  reduced, 
and  least  of  all  to  one  so  unreasonable,  so  exacting,  and  apparently 
so  bent  upon  thwarting  the  rights  of  the  United  States  as  Monsieur  de 
la  Batut. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rush  to  Clarke,  Fyninore  <&  Fladgate. 

PORTLAND  HOTEL,  GREAT  PORTLAND  STREET, 

July  21,  1837. 

GENTLEMEN:  Having  at  all  times  made  known  my  wishes  for  a 
speedy  decision  of  the  case  you  have  in  hand  for  the  United  States,  I 
need  not  here  repeat  them,  but  as  the  time  approaches  when  the  court 
of  chancery  will  adjourn  over  to  November,  I  must  ask  you  to  inform 
me  what  seem  the  prospects. 

Remaining  your  obedient  servant,  RICHARD  RUSH. 

Messrs.  CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 

Clarke,  Fynmore  <&  Fladgate  to  Richard  Rush. 

43 -CRAVEN  STREET,  STRAND, 

July  22,  1837. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  answer  to  your  letter  of  yesterday,  on  the  subject  of 
Mr.  Smithson's  bequest  to  the  United  States,  we  beg  leave  to  inform 
H.  Doc.  732 3 


34  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

you  that  we  have  used  all  the  means  in  our  power  to  bring  the  matter 
to  a  close,  but  we  are  still  unable  to  state  any  definite  period  at  which 
you  might  expect  to  receive  the  funds. 

Our  inquiries  in  Italy  have,  we  trust,  put  us  in  possession  of  such 
evidence  as  will  fully  establish  the  fact  of  Mr.  Hungerford's  death, 
without  having  been  married;  but  however  important  it  may  be  to  do 
this,  still  there  is  another  point  to  be  settled  before  the  funds  will  be 
available  to  the  United  States.  This  point  is  the  claim  of  Madame  de 
la  Batut,  under  the  will  of  Colonel  Dickinson  (whose  executor  Mr. 
Smithson  was),  under  which  will  she  is  entitled  for  her  life  to  half  the 
Colonel's  property. 

The  outline  of  this  claim  is  that  Mr.  Smithson  possessed  himself  of 
all  Colonel  Dickinson's  estate,  and  never  rendered  to  Madame  de  la 
Batut  any  account  of  it,  and  that,  not  having  done  so,  she  has  now  a 
right  to  call  upon  Mr.  Smithson's  executor  to  do  that  which  he  in  his 
lifetime  ought  to  have  done.  Mr.  Drummond  has  no  means  of  ren- 
dering this  account;  but  until  the  claim  is  set  at  rest  the  court  could 
not,  of  course,  order  the  funds  forming  part  of  Smithson's  estate  to 
be  paid  over  to  the  United  States.  As  for  anything  that  appears  to 
the  contrary,  the  greater  portion  of  these  funds  might  have  arisen 
from  the  property  of  Colonel  Dickinson.  Our  object  now,  therefore, 
is  to  induce  Madame  de  la  Batut  to  come  in  and  establish  some  claim 
in  the  present  suit  (the  amount,  however,  of  which  we  seek,  as  much 
as  possible  consistently  with  justice,  to  reduce),  so  as  to  bind  her  by 
the  present  suit  and  make  it  conclusive  upon  the  subject. 

Her  advisers  have  but  little  evidence  to  offer  in  support  of  her  case, 
and  have,  in  consequence,  very  much  delayed  the  necessary  proceed- 
ings. We  pressed  them  as  much  as  possible,  and,  indeed,  threatened 
to  bar  them  by  getting  the  master  to  report  against  them;  but,  in 
reply  to  this,  they  intimated  that  if  we  did  so,  they  should  give  notice 
to  Mr.  Drummond  to  hold  the  funds,  and  file  a  bill  against  him,  as 
executor  of  Smithson,  for  an  account.  As  this  would  be  attended 
with  more  delay  and  expense  than  it  is  likely  there  will  be  in  the  pres- 
ent proceedings  in  the  master's  office,  we  are  induced  to  afford  every 
indulgence,  urging  only  all  possible  dispatch,  which,  as  fortunately 
Madame  de  la  Batut's  solicitors  are  persons  of  the  highest  respecta- 
bility, we  are  sure  they  will  use. 

We  are,  your  very  obedient  servants, 

CLARKE,  FYNMOBE  &  FLADGATE. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq. 

fiichard  Rush  to  John  Forvytk. 

LONDON,  July  28,  1837. 

SIR:  I  received  on  the  26th  instant,  from  our  minister,  Mr.  Steven- 
son, a  petition  addressed  to  the  President  by  M.  de  la  Batut,  now  it 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  35 

seems  in  France,  on  the  subject  of  his  claims,  which  had  been  sent  to 
Mr.  S.  by  Mr.  Anderson,  charge  d'affaires  of  the  United  States  at 
Paris.  The  nature  of  these  claims  is  sufficiently  stated  in  my  letter 
of  the  2-ith  of  last  month,  and  I  need  not  therefore  repeat  that,  accord- 
ing to  the  view  I  take  of  them,  they  are  altogether  unreasonable.  In 
writing  to  Mr.  Anderson  upon  the  subject,  which  I  did  yesterday,  I 
informed  him  that  Monsieur  de  la  Batut  had  been  in  London,  urging 
them  upon  those  who  are  charged  with  conducting  and  superintending 
the  case  of  the  United  States  before  the  court  of  chancery  in  the  mat- 
ter of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  and  that  our  Government  had  been 
apprised  of  them  through  my  communications  to  you;  that  as  they 
were  adverse  to  the  interests  of  the  United  States,  and  had  been  pur- 
sued in  an  adverse  manner  by  M.  de  la  Batut  when  here,  it  was  not 
for  me  to  aid  in  transmitting  his  paper  to  the  President;  but  that  as 
he  might  wish  to  have  it  again,  to  make  his  own  use  of  it,  I  was  at  a 
loss  how  to  dispose  of  it  otherwise  than  by  returning  it  to  him  (Mr. 
Anderson),  which  I  therefore  felt  myself  obliged  to  do,  with  the  expla- 
nation here  given.  Mr.  Anderson  was  probably  not  before  acquainted 
with  any  of  the  circumstances  I  stated. 

1  have  deemed  it  right  to  inform  you  of  the  step  thus  taken  in 
regard  to  this  petition,  and  hope  it  will  appear  to  have  been  proper. 
I  ought  to  mention,  whilst  on  the  subject,  that  on  the  first  arrival  of 
M.  de  la  Batut  in  London  I  caused  him  to  be  informed  that,  although 
in  no  event  was  I  authorized  to  promise  him  anything  from  the  United 
States,  yet  if  he  promptly  afforded  the  facilities  to  their  suit  in  chan- 
cery, which  he  justly  might,  by  stating  facts  within  his  immediate  and 
full  knowledge  respecting  young  Hungerford,  he  would  naturally 
stand  well  with  our  Government;  and  that,  as  far  as  the  expression  of 
any  favorable  opinion  of  mine  towards  him  was  concerned,  he  would 
necessarily  earn  it.  Far  from  listening  to  what  was  so  unobjection- 
able, he  refused,  as  made  known  in  one  of  the  letters  enclosed  with 
my  last,  to  give  any  evidence  whatever  for  the  United  States,  except 
on  condition  of  a  previous  pledge  from  me  to  support  all  his  claims,  not 
perceiving,  though  so  informed  that  such  a  pledge,  had  I  even  made 
it,  could  have  availed  him  nothing. 

It  may  be  proper  to  mention  here,  also,  that  it  never  was  my  intention, 
and  so  I  instructed  our  professional  advisers,  to  raise  any  captious 
objections  to  Monsieur  la  Batut's  claim  in  right  of  his  wife,  so  long  as 
he  kept  it  within  the  limit  of  the  bequest  made  to  her  by  the  will  of 
Henry  Louis  Dickinson,  as  explained  in  my  No.  6.  The  bequest  may 
amount,  as  I  now  understand  the  case,  to  £240  sterling  a^year,  at 
the  utmost,  during  the  life  of  the  wife.  All  I  demanded  was,  that 
this  claim  should  be  substantiated  by  fair  proof,  and  be  adjudged  by 
the  court,  as  I  had  no  authority  to  give  an  independent  assent  to  any- 
thing that  might  diminish  the  fund  bequeathed  to  the  United  States 
by  Mr.  Smithson. 


36  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

But  to  suggestions  like  these  he  was  alike  insensible,  preferring 
to  take  the  course  and  put  forward  the  extravagant  claims  I  have 
described.  I  have  no  fears  that  the  court  will  allow  them;  but  there 
is  ground  for  apprehending  that  he  may  be  able  to  cause  future,  as  he 
has  past,  delays.  There  is  no  hope  of  bringing  the  case  to  a  conclusion 
during  the  present  term  of  the  court.  It  ends  next  month,  and  the 
next  term  does  not  commence  until  November.  The  master  in  chan- 
cery has  not  yet  made  his  reports  on  any  of  the  references  made  to 
him  by  the  court,  as  explained  in  my  No.  9,  although  I  have  urged 
them  on  by  all  the  means  I  could  use,  and  will  not  fail  to  continue  my 
efforts  whilst  the  present  term  lasts.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  obstruc- 
tions created  by  Monsieur  de  la  Batut,  this  part  of  the  case  would  have 
been  expedited,  and  a  door  the  sooner  opened  by  which  the  United 
States  might  have  got  possession  of  the  fund. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FOKSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  ForsytJi. 

LONDON,  August  1,  1837. 

SIR:  I  transmit,  herewith,  a  copy  of  my  account  for  the  year  ending 
yesterday.  I  also  send  a  list  of  my  drafts  upon  the  bankers  of  the 
United  States  within  the  same  period  as  authorized  by  your  letter  to 
the  late  N.  M.  de  Rothschild  of  July  the  llth,  1836. 

The  only  bill  I  have  yet  paid,  because  the  only  one  I  have  been  able 
to  get  in,  for  legal  expenses  actually  incurred,  was  one  of  two  hun- 
dred pounds  four  shillings,  on  the  8th  of  April,  as  shown  by  my  draft 
upon  the  bankers  of  that  date.  For  this  a  voucher  is  enclosed,  with  a 
full  statement  of  the  account.  More  expense,  considerably,  has  been 
incurred  under  this  head,  but  no  second  account  has  hitherto  been 
rendered  to  me,  although  I  have  asked  for  and  been  desirous  of 
obtaining  it,  the  solicitors  saying  that  the  items  going  to  make  it  up 
are,  many  of  them,  still  dependent  upon  services  outstanding  and 
incomplete.  The  heaviest  legal  expenses  will,  I  apprehend,  come  in 
at  the  final  close  of  the  suit.  When  this  will  be  I  dare  not  promise, 
since  none  of  our  professional  advisers  will  undertake  to  inform  me 
precisely,  although  none,  I  believe,  can  exceed  them  in  diligence  and 
fidelity,  and  although  they  are  urged  by  my  reiterated  instructions  to 
use  all  the  expedition  practicable.  The  necessity  of  a  reform  in  the 
court  of  chancery  was  the  subject  of  a  special  recommendation  from 
the  Throne  to  Parliament,  at  the  session  before  the  last.  Its  business 
is  very  much  in  arrears.  Mr.  Pemberton,  the  leading  counsel  of  the 
United  States,  who  is  also  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  stated 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  37 

hi  his  place  in  that  body,  in  February  last,  that  the  arrears  amounted 
to  between  300  and  400  cases  two  years  before,  but  that  they  had 
grown  to  upwards  of  800  at  the  time  he  was  speaking.  The  cases,  in 
a  large  proportion,  are  also  of  great  magnitude. 

The  Attorney-General  on  the  same  occasion  remarked  that  whilst 
throughout  a  long  course  of  time  the  population  of  England  had  been 
increasing  sixfold  and  her  wealth  twentyfold,  the  judicial  establish- 
ments had  remained  nearly  the  same,  so  as  to  amount  almost  to  a  denial 
of  justice.  There  are  only  eleven  masters  in  chancery,  whilst  there  are 
those  who  think  that  double  the  number  would  scarcely  be  sufficient 
for  the  wants  of  the  court  in  all  the  different  departments  of  its  busi- 
ness at  the  present  epoch.  In  the  midst  of  such  discouragements,  and 
I  am  bound  to  state  them  as  truly  such,  I  still  do  not  despair  of  having 
the  case  of  the  United  States  brought  to  a  final  and  successful  close  in 
the  course  of  the  ensuing  winter  or  spring;  it  shall  be  sooner,  if  pos- 
sible, as  all  obstructions  that  might  once  have  been  thought  to  imply 
serious  difficulty  or  danger  are,  I  think,  overcome.  Nevertheless,  no 
assurance  can  be  given  that  it  will  be  finished  as  soon  as  the  latest 
period  mentioned.  Should  it  last  even  through  the  winter,  and  my 
last  letter  will  have  informed  you  that  the  next  term  of  the  court  (the 
present  drawing  to  a  close)  will  not  be  held  until  November,  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  fund  created  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  the 
1st  of  July,  1836,  will,  through  the  accruing  legal  charges  and  drafts, 
to  which  the  fund  is  otherwise  liable  under  your  instructions,  be 
exhausted. 

In  regard  to  the  first  legal  account,  now  inclosed,  I  can  only  say  that 
I  believe  it  to  be  reasonable,  judged  by  the  standard  of  similar  charges 
in  this  country.  I  felt  myself  to  be  an  incompetent  judge  of  all  the 
minute  items,  filling  fourteen  pages,  folio,  of  an  account  founded  upon 
the  multifarious  and  artificial  proceedings  in  an  English  court  of  chan- 
cery; but  I  went  over  the  whole,  judging  as  well  as  I  could  of  each, 
and  obtained  explanations  from  the  solicitors  where  I  found  them 
necessar3T.  I  also  sought  other  aid;  I  resorted  to  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  now  here,  intelligent  and  trustworthy,  and  conversant 
with  such  accounts  from  having  superintended  several  suits  in  which 
American  interests  were  at  stake  in  English  courts.  His  opinion  was 
decidedly  favorable  to  the  justice  and  even  general  moderation  of  the 
items,  tried  by  the  precedents  of  which  he  had  knowledge.  These 
precautions,  added  to  the  fair  character  of  the  solicitors,  and  their 
verification,  severally,  by  my  request,  of  the  whole  account,  in  the 
special  manner  that  will  be  noticed  at  the  foot  of  it,  afforded  the  only 
guaranties  I  could  command  for  its  correctness. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


38  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

Clarke,  Fynmare  t&  Fladgate  to  Richard  Rush. 

43  CRAVEN  STREET,  August  18,  1837. 

DEAR  SIR:  The  court  having  now  risen  for  the  long  vacation,  we 
deem  it  our  duty  to  report  to  you  briefly  the  state  of  the  cause  to 
which  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  Mr.  Drummond  are 
parties,  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  President  to  receive 
the  legacy  given  by  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson. 

Pursuant  to  your  constant  instructions  to  bring  the  matter  to  a 
termination  with  all  practicable  dispatch,  we  have  been  actively  occu- 
pied in  satisfying  the  inquiries  directed  to  be  made  by  the  decree  of 
the  1st  of  February  last,  and,  although  the  master's  report  touching 
these  inquiries  is  not  yet  made,  we  have  been  so  far  successful  as  to 
induce  us  to  hope  that  we  should  satisfy  him  upon  all  points,  and 
obtain  early  in  the  next  term  such  a  report  as  will  insure  the  speedy 
receipt  by  you,  on  behalf  of  the  President,  of  the  funds  in  question. 

You  will  remember  that  these  inquiries  were  threefold:  (1)  As  to 
Fitall,  the  annuitant  under  the  will  of  Smithson.  (2)  As  to  Hunger- 
ford's  death,  unmarried  and  without  issue.  (3)  As  to  the  alleged 
claim  of  Madame  de  la  Batut. 

On  the  first  point  we  have  no  difficulty,  having  obtained  a  certificate 
of  the  death  of  Fitall,  whose  annuity  was  paid  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  except  only  the  last  quarter,  which  his  widow  will  now  receive. 

2.  As  to  Hungerford's  death  without  issue,  we  have  obtained  a  cer- 
tificate of  the  death  of  one  Henri  de  la  Batut,  under  which  name  we 
found  that  he  had  died,  and  we  have  also  obtained  a  certificate,  identi- 
fying de  la  Batut  with  Henry  James  Hungerford.  We  have,  as 
directed  by  the  decree,  advertised  in  the  newspapers  here,  in  France, 
and  in  Italy,  touching  any  wife  and  children,  and  these  advertise- 
ments have  produced  no  claimants.  We  have  obtained  from  France 
other  confirmatory  evidence  on  these  points,  among  the  rest,  Monsieur 
de  la  Batut's  statement  (which  however,  you  will  remember  he  refused 
to  confirm  on  oath),  and  we  have  little  doubt,  as  above  observed,  that 
the  evidence  obtained  will  be  such  as  to  satisfy  the  master  upon  the 
subject. 

These  inquiries  have  of  course  consumed  much  time,  but  we  should 
have  had  the  report  before  this  had  it  not  been  for  the  remaining 
point,  the  claim  of  Madame  de  la  Batut.  As  stated  in  our  letter 
addressed  to  you  on  the  22d  of  July,  it  is  most  important  that  the 
claim  should  be  disposed  of  in  the  present  suit;  and  we  are  happy  to 
say  that  the  claim  has  now  been  formally  made,  and,  we  trust,  in  such 
a  shape  as  will,  if  it  be  sustained  by  the  court  at  all,  bar  any  ulterior 
proceedings.  The  evidence  in  support  of  it  is  not  strong,  and,  for 
the  purpose  of  strengthening  it,  interrogatories  for  the  examination 
of  Mr.  Drummond  have. been  brought  into  the  master's  office;  which, 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  39 

however,  will  not  have  the  desired  effect.  These  interrogatories  were 
exhibited  by  Madame  de  la  Batut,  after  much  pressing  on  our  part, 
and  we  are  now  employed  in  answering  them.  Having  done  that,  we 
shall  proceed  to  get  the  claim  settled,  if  possible,  by  the  allowance  of 
some  small  sum,  and  every  difficulty  will  then  be  at  an  end. 

You  may  rely  on  our  utmost  exertions  in  bringing  the  matter  to  a 
close;  and  we  are,  your  very  obedient  servants, 

CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 

To  RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  August  19,  1837. 

SIR:  Desiring,  before  the  court  of  chancery  rose,  some  opinion  in 
writing  from  the  solicitors  as  to  the  prospects  of  a  decision  of  the 
case,  I  addressed  a  few  lines  to  them  on  the  21st  of  last  month,  as  by 
inclosure  No.  1.  and  received  an  answer  the  day  following,  a  copy  of 
which  (No.  2)  is  also  inclosed.  I  did  not  send  it  to  you  at  that  time, 
or  with  either  of  my  letters  written  since,  because,  although  I  went  to 
them  in  person  several  times,  in  the  hope  of  verbal  explanations  that 
might  render  it  more  definite,  1  found  that  there  was  no  probability 
of  obtaining  any  to  that  effect  until  after  the  court  had  actually 
risen,  at  which  time  I  requested  they  would  furnish  me  with  a  further 
communication.  The  court  rose  a  few  days  ago,  and  I  yesterday 
received  from  them  the  report,  a  copy  of  which  (No.  3)  is  now  also 
transmitted,  as  the  suitable  accompaniment  to  their  letter  of  the  22d 
of  July. 

I  am  happy  to  find  it  more  satisfactory  than  that  letter;  the  letter 
left  it  doubtful  when  the  obstructing  claim  of  Madame  de  la  Batut,  an 
outline  of  which  is  given  in  their  letter,  would  be  put  into  a  proper 
shape  for  examination  and  settlement.  Nor  could  I  urge  any  longer  the 
expediency  of  a  report  by  the  master,  during  the  existence  of  the  term, 
under  reiterated  assurances  from  our  solicitors  of  what  is  stated  in  their 
letter,  viz,  that  to  do  so  might  have  led  to  a  course,  on  the  part  of  the 
solicitors  of  Madame  de  la  Batut,  productive  of  more  delay  and  expense 
than  are  likely  to  flow  from  the  master's  report  being  withheld  until 
the  next  term. 

The  solicitors'  report  to  me,  dated  yesterday,  besides  embodying  a 
succinct  statement  of  the  steps  taken  in  the  cause  since  the  decree  in 
February,  shows  that  the  la  Batut  claim  is  at  length  placed  upon  a 
footing  to  be  met  and  decided  upon  by  the  court,  which  it  has  been  my 
constant  aim  to  see  effected;  and  although  they  write  with  caution  as 
to  amr  precise  time  when  a  final  and  favorable  decision  of  the  cause  on 
all  its  points  ma}'  be  expected,  their  report  is  encouraging.  I  can  only 


40  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

add,  that  nothing  shall  be  omitted  by  me  when  the  court  recommences, 
or  during  the  vacation,  toward  securing  as  prompt  an  issue  to  the  whole 
proceedings  as  may  be  found  practicable. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  serv- 
ant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 
Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  October  18,  1837. 

SIR:  Since  transmitting  the  duplicate  of  my  No.  15,  nothing  material 
has  occurred  for  your  information.  The  long  autumnal  vacation  has 
been  going  on,  and  is  not  yet  expired.  The  business  of  the  court  of 
chancery  has  therefore  been  at  a  pause,  and  no  further  proceedings 
have  been  had  in  the  suit  of  the  United  States. 

But  I  have  from  time  to  time  called  upon  the  solicitors,  and  am  able 
to  report  that  they  have  not  been  idle  during  this  interval.  They  have 
been  employed  in  preparing  answers  to  certain  interrogatories  exhibited 
on  the  part  of  Madame  la  Batut,  with  a  view  to  establish  her  claim; 
and  the  strict  and  careful  inquiries  they  have  instituted,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  pursue,  assure  me,  although  no  facts  are  yet  ripe  for  com- 
munication, that  the  interest  of  the  United  States  will  be  well  guarded 
in  relation  to  it.  The  court  will  sit  again  next  month,  when  the  steps 
which  the  solicitors  have  been  taking,  in  anticipation  of  its  recom- 
mencement, will  in  due  time,  I  trust,  be  productive  of  the  proper 
results.  The  claim  in  question  has  been  so  vexatiously  urged,  that 
my  directions  have  been  given  for  the  closest  scrutiny  into  its  merits 
at  all  points. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  October  27,  1837. 

SIR:  The  court  of  chancery  will  resume  its  sittings  next  week,  and 
I  have  this  week  been  in  conference  with  our  solicitors,  urging  them 
to  act  expeditiously.  Evidence  obtained  on  the  la  Batut  claim,  and 
on  other  points,  now  only  waits  a  few  forms  to  go  before  the  master, 
from  whose  office  a  report  may  be  anticipated,  as  I  am  confident^7 
told,  at  a  day  not  distant  after  the  meeting  of  the  court.  I  trust  that 
this  will  be  the  case,  and  that  the  report  may  be  satisfactory. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  41 

At  our  conferences,  the  point  of  a  new  power  to  me  from  the  Presi- 
dent, similar  to  my  former  one,  has  been  touched  upon.  It  is  not  con- 
sidered certain  that  one  will  be  required;  but  is  deemed  to  be  safest, 
1  find,  that  I  should  be  armed  with  one,  as  the  court  might  possibly 
ask  for  it,  in  the  event  of  a  favorable  decree,  prior  to  the  final  order 
for  delivering  the  fund  to  the  United  States,  even  should  the  defend- 
ant's counsel  or  the  Attorney-General  not  raise  the  objection.  I  will 
therefore  ask  the  favor  of  such  a  power;  and  as  I  am  at  present  san- 
guine in  the  expectation  of  a  favorable  as  well  as  early  decision,  should 
nothing  unforeseen  arise,  its  transmission  as  soon  as  convenient  after 
this  request  gets  to  hand  might  prove  desirable. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant. 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Jotin  Forsyth  to  Richard  Rush. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  November  13,  1837. 

SIR:  The  account  heretofore  rendered  by  Mr.  Brent,  our  consul  at 
Paris,  for  moneys  expended  by  him  in  precautionary  measures  to 
obtain  for  the  United  States  certain  properties  supposed  to  belong  to 
the  estate  of  the  late  Mr.  Smithson,  of  London,  and  which  formed  the 
subject  of  a  letter  of  instructions  to  you,  dated  the  17th  of  November 
last,  has  been  again  presented  to  this  department  for  consideration. 
After  a  proper  examination  the  President  deems  it  just  that  the  charge 
for  the  professional  services  of  Messrs.  Castaignet  and  Delagrange 
should  be  allowed  and  paid.  You  are  accordingly  authorized  and 
requested  to  discharge  Mr.  Brent's  bill  amounting  to  272.25  francs, 
without  unnecessary  delay.  In  the  final  settlement  of  your  account 
this  item  may  be  debited  to  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  if  recovered,  and 
if  not  to  the  appropriation  for  prosecuting  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  to  the  said  legacy. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq.,  etc. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON.  December  16,  1837. 

SIR:  The  court  of  chancery  met  on  the  2d  of  last  month,  and  con- 
tinues in  full  session.  It  was  the  commencement  of  the  Michaelmas 
term. 


42  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

If  I  have  not  written  to  you  since  the  sittings  of  the  court  were 
resumed  it  is  because  I  have  had  heretofore  no  special  matter  to  com- 
municate, although  doing  all  in  my  power  to  accelerate  the  progress 
of  the  suit  committed  to  my  superintendence,  and  endeavoring  espe- 
cially to  hasten  the  report  of  the  master  on  all  the  matters  referred  to 
him  by  the  court's  decree  of  the  1st  of  February.  I  mentioned  in  one 
of  my  letters  that  there  were  upward  of  800  suits  in  arrear  in  this 
court,  some  of  which  it  might  have  been  added  involve  in  their  issue 
sums  exceeding  in  amount  the  sum  claimed  by  the  United  States. 
From  this  cause,  which  naturally  overburdens  with  business  the 
offices  of  the  masters,  it  has  in  part  arisen  that  the  master's  report  in 
the  suit  of  the  United  States  has  not  hitherto  been  made. 

But  at  length,  this  week,  it  was  in  readiness  to  go  in,  and  would 
have  embraced,  among  other  things,  a  favorable  report  on  the  claim 
of  Madame  la  Batut  to  the  amount  of  about  £150  a  year,  to  be  paid  to 
her  out  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  during  her  life.  It  will  be  seen  how 
large  a  reduction  has  thus  been  effected  of  the  demands  put  forth  on 
her  behalf,  as  my  past  letters  have  made  them  all  known  to  you.  Our 
solicitors  have  rather  a  confident  opinion  that  there  is  a  prospect  of 
disproving  this  demand  by  further  evidence  yet  attainable  in  France, 
and  I  have  consequently  directed  them  to  take  the  proper  steps  for 
procuring  it  with  all  dispatch.  It  is  not  believed  that  more  than  a 
month  will  be  required  for  procuring  it,  and  the  master's  report  will 
be  withheld  in  the  meantime.  When  it  arrives,  it  will  be  my  province 
to  look  well  to  its  nature  and  probable  effect,  that  on  the  one  hand 
nothing  may  be  lost  to  which  the  United  States  may  seem  justly  enti- 
tled, and  on  the  other  that  the  great  result  of  the  suit  be  not  put  in 
jeopardy  or  injurious  delays  risked  by  doubtful  contests  for  fractional 
sums. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rwh  to  John  forsyth. 

LONDON,  December  21,  1837. 

SIR:  1  had  the  honor  to  receive  on  the  18th  instant  your  instruc- 
tions of  the  13th  of  November,  authorizing  and  requesting  me  to  pay 
an  account  amounting  to  272.25  francs,  forwarded  to  the  Department 
by  Mr.  Brent,  our  consul  at  Paris,  the  subject-matter  of  which  was 
formerly  made  known  to  me  in  your  letter  of  the  17th  of  November, 
1836,  to  which  I  replied  in  my  No.  6,  on  the  9th  of  January  follow- 
ing; and  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  on  the  19th  instant  I  accordingly 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  43 

remitted  to  Mr.  Brent  the  above  sum,  to  be  debited,  as  your  letter 
indicates,  to  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  if  recovered,  *  *  *  an(j  jf 
not,  to  the  appropriation  for  prosecuting  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  to  the  said  legacy. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 
Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

of  State. 


John  Forsyth  to  Richard  Rush. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  December  87,  1837. 

SIR:  Your  dispatches  to  No.  17,  inclusive,  have  been  received.  In 
compliance  with  the  request  contained  in  your  letter  of  the  27th  of 
October  last,  and  subsequently  urged  in  your  private  letter  of  the  31st 
of  the  same  month,  I  transmit  to  you,  inclosed,  a  new  power  from  the 
President  to  provide  for  the  contingency,  which  you  think  probable, 
of  such  instrument  being  demanded  either  by  the  court,  the  attorney- 
general,  or  the  defendant's  counsel. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 
RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq.,  etc. 


Ricliard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  January  30,  1838. 

SIR:  I  had  yesterday  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  27th 
December,  inclosing  the  President's  renewal  of  my  power  to  prosecute 
the  Smithsonian  claim,  and  receive  the  money  for  the  United  States 
whenever  the  same  may  be  adjudged.  It  remains  uncertain,  as  inti- 
mated in  my  communication  of  the  27th  of  October,  whether  the  exhi- 
bition of  the  new  power  will  be  eventually  demanded;  but  even  if  not, 
I  trust  the  President  will  think  it  has  been  erring  on  the  safe  side, 
after  what  passed,  to  have  it  in  my  possession. 

After  my  letter  of  the  16th  of  December,  I  had  fully  hoped  that  the 
evidence  of  which  it  makes  mention  would  have  been  obtained  from 
France  before  this  time;  but  it  seems  that  the  French  attorneys,  who 
were  written  to  upon  the  subject  by  our  solicitors,  mistook  some  of 
their  instructions  at  first,  which  led  to  delay.  They  are  now  in  expec- 
tation of  receiving  it  daily. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


44  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

Richard  Rwsh  to  Clarke,  Fyninure  cfe  Fladga&e. 

FEBRUARY  3,  1838. 

GENTLEMEN:  I  understood,  when  with  you  on  Wednesday,  that  the 
evidence  obtained  from  France  would  not,  in  your  opinion,  be  found 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  master's  report  embracing  an  allowance  in 
Madame  de  la  Batut's  favor  of  about  £150  a  year  during  her  life,  with 
some  arrearages  calculated  on  that  basis;  and  the  evidence,  as  you 
exhibited  and  otherwise  made  it  known  to  me,  certainly  led  my  mind 
to  the  same  conclusion. 

You  added  that,  by  sending  out  a  commission  from  the  court  of  chan- 
cery to  Paris  (a  process  not  yet  resorted  to),  you  thought  that  evidence 
might  still  be  obtained  to  defeat  her  claim;  on  which  subject  I  should 
be  glad  to  receive  answers  to  the  following  inquiries,  as  far  as  in  your 
power  to  give  them  to  me: 

First.  What  would  be  the  probable  expense  of  that  process? 

Second.  How  long  before  its  full  execution  and  return  might  be 
expected  ? 

Third.  Assuming  that  the  evidence,  when  so  obtained,  struck  your 
minds,  our  counsel's,  and  my  own,  as  sufficient  to  defeat  the  claim, 
yet  as  it  might  not  happen  that  the  legal  advisers  of  Madame  de  la 
Batut  would  take  the  same  view  of  it,  and  thence  contest  its  validity 
before  the  court,  what  further  delays  might  such  a  turn  in  the  case  be 
likely,  under  all  the  circumstances,  to  lead  to? 

As  I  have  so  repeatedly  made  known  to  you  my  desire  for  the  speed- 
iest decision  of  the  case  that  may  be  practicable  consistently  with  justice 
to  the  United  States,  I  make  no  apology  for  asking  a  reply  to  these 
inquiries  at  as  early  a  day  as  may  be  convenient. 
I  remain,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Messrs.  CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 


Clarke,  Fynmore  <&  Fladgate  to  Richard  J?^A. 

43  CRAVEN  STREET,  STRAND, 

February  8,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the 
3d  instant,  containing  certain  queries  touching  the  measures  which 
may  be  adopted  in  respect  of  the  claim  of  Madame  de  la  Batut. 

In  reply,  we  beg  to  state  that,  so  long  as  proceedings  in  the  English 
court  of  chancery  are  conducted  as  amicable  suits,  when  both  parties 
unite  in  a  wish  to  obtain  the  direction  of  the  court,  without  unneces- 
sary delay,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  great  difficulty  to  calculate  their  prob- 
able duration;  but  circumstances  sometimes  arise,  even  in  such  suits, 
that  prove  the  calculations  fallacious.  When  once,  however,  a  suit 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  45 

to  be  so  conducted,  and  parties  come  in  whose  interest  it  is  to 
throw  impediments  in  the  way  of  a  decision,  any  calculation  as  to 
either  delay  or  expense  must  be  a  matter  of  little  better  than  guess. 
So  many  unforeseen  points  may  arise,  and  the  practice  of  the  courts 
affords  such  facilities  for  a  hostile  party  to  obstruct  the  course  of  jus- 
tice, that  the  most  experienced  lawyers  hesitate  before  they  attempt 
to  give  an  opinion  upon  the  subject.  If  in  the  present  case  Madame 
de  la  Batut's  claim  be  further  resisted,  the  suit  will  become  one  to 
which  these  observations  apply;  or  Madame  de  la  Batut  might  perhaps 
abandon  the  claim  now  brought  in,  and  try  to  impede  us  by  filing  an 
original  bill  for  its  establishment.  We  do  not  think  this  likely,  but 
it  is  not  impossible. 

Having  said  thus  much,  we  will  proceed  to  answer  the  queries. 

We  think  that  within  three  months  evidence  might  be  obtained  of 
the  facts  necessary  to  defeat  Madame  de  la  Batut's  claim,  and  that 
such  evidence  might  be  procured  either  by  sending  over  -a  commission 
to  Paris,  for  the  examination  of  witnesses,  or  by  bringing  interroga- 
tories into  the  master's  office  for  the  personal  examination  of  Madame 
de  la  Batut  and  her  husband.  We  now  know  so  much  of  the  case  that 
Madame  de  la  Batut  would  hardly  venture  to  deny  any  of  the  neces- 
sary facts;  but  this  is  not  quite  certain. 

We  think  that  the  expense  of  a  commission  to  examine  witnesses 
would  not  exceed  £150.  The  expense  of  interrogatories  for  the 
examination  of  Madame  de  la  Batut  would  be  trifling;  probably  £30 
or  £40. 

Assuming  that  the  requisite  evidence  were  obtained,  we  are  inclined 
to  think  that,  notwithstanding  Madame  de  la  Batut's  resistance,  the 
suit  might  be  wound  up  before  the  rising  of  the  court  for  the  long 
vacation;  but,  after  the  observations  we  have  thought  it  our  duty  to 
make  in  the  early  part  of  this  letter,  you  will  be  able  to  judge  how  far 
this  opinion  can  be  relied  on. 

You  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  decision  of  the  master  is  not  final. 
Exceptions  may  be  taken  to  his  report  and  argued  before  the  court; 
and  even  an  appeal  may  be  brought  against  the  decision  of  the  vice- 
chancellor,  or  master  of  the  rolls,  and  the  cause  might  be  taken  to  the 
House  of  Lords.  The  delay  under  such  circumstances  would  be  very 
great. 

We  are  your  very  faithful  and  obedient  servants, 

CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq. 


Richard  Rush  to  Clarke,  Fynnwre  <£  Fladgate. 

FEBRUARY  9,  1838. 

GENTLEMEN:  Your  communication  of  yesterday's  date  was  received, 
and  is  satisfactoiy  by  its  fullness  and  candor. 


46  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

Under  its  rcprcsentation.s,  1  determine  not  to  seek  further  evidence, 
by  a  commission  to  Paris  or  otherwise,  for  the  purpose  of  further 
reducing  the  claim  of  Madame  de  la  Batut. 

Let  the  master's  report  in  this  respect  be,  therefore,  made  in  the 
state  I  understood  it  to  have  been  settled  by  him;  and,  now  that  I 
take  this  determination,  I  trust  that  it  will  be  made  at  a  very  early 
day. 

I  need  scarcely  reiterate  to  you  my  most  earnest  wishes  for  a  speedy 
decision  of  the  case,  or  my  instructions  that  you  will  urge  it  on  with 
all  the  expedition  in  your  power. 

In  the  hope  that  the  decision  will  be  in  all  things  favorable,  as  well 
as  speed}',  I  remain  your  faithful  and  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Messrs.  CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 


Richa/rd  Rush  to  John  forsyth. 

LONDON,  February  12,  1838. 

SIR:  The  day  after  my  last  number  was  sent  off,  I  received  informa- 
tion from  the  solicitors  that  some  of  the  evidence  expected  from 
France  had  arrived,  but  that  it  was  not  of  validity  to  repel  the  claim 
of  Madame  de  la  Batut.  From  as  much,  however,  as  it  disclosed,  they 
pronounced  a  strong  opinion  that  if  a  formal  commission  issued  from 
the  court,  evidence  might  finally  be  had  that  would  defeat  it. 

On  fully  weighing  what  they  said,  I  wrote  them  a  note  on  the  3d 
instant,  requesting  answers  to  the  following  inquiries: 

1.  What  would  be  the  probable  expense  of  a  commission? 

2.  How  much  time  would  be  required  for  its  execution  and  return? 

3.  Supposing  the  evidence  obtained  under  it  to  be  sufficient  in  their 
opinion,  our  counsel's,  and  my  own,  to  defeat  the  claim;  yet,  as  the 
legal  advisers  of  Madame  de  la  Batut  might  not  take  the  same  view  of 
it,  and  thence  contest  it,  what  further  delays  might  such  a  turn  in  the 
case  become  the  means  of  producing?     (I  inclose  a  copy  of  my  note.) 

I  received  an  answer  from  them  dated  the  8th,  a  copy  of  which  is 
also  inclosed. 

Referring  specifically  to  my  inquiries,  it  will  be  seen— - 

1.  That  they  estimate  the  expense  of  a  commission  at  £150. 

2.  That  they  think  it  might  be  executed  and  returned  within  three 
months. 

3.  That,  assuming  the  requisite  evidence  to  be  obtained,  they  incline 
to  think  the  suit  might  be  wound  up  before  the  rising  of  the  court  for 
the  long  vacation  (which  means  in  August  next);  but  after  the  intro- 
ductory observations  of  their  note,  which  advert  to  the  uncertainty  of 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  47 

all  previous  calculations  as  to  the  duration  of  suits  in  chancery,  they 
leave  me  to  judge  how  far  this  opinion  of  theirs  is  to  be  relied  upon; 
and  they  conclude  with  an  intimation  that  the  case  might,  in  the  end, 
be  taken  before  the  House  of  Lords  on  appeal;  in  which  event  the 
delay,  they  add,  would  be  "very  great." 

I  have  determined,  under  these  circumstances,  not  to  seek  further 
evidence  by  a  commission  to  France  or  otherwise  for  defeating  the 
claim,  and  accordingly  wrote  to  them,  on  the  9th  instant,  to  proceed 
with  all  expedition  in  bringing  the  suit  to  a  close  without  it.  A  copy 
of  this  note  is  also  inclosed.  As  to  bringing  interrogatories  into  the 
master's  office  for  the  personal  examination  of  Madame  de  la  Batut 
and  her  husband,  as  adverted  to  in  the  answer  from  the  solicitors,  I 
say  nothing  of  the  objections  to  that  mode  of  getting  at  more  evidence, 
the  solicitors  themselves  forestalling  me  by  an  admission  that  they 
could  not  be  certain  of  its  success. 

I  hope  that  the  determination  to  which  I  have  come  will  be  approved 
as  judicious.  This  claim  has  been  already,  by  full  scrutiny  and  resist- 
ance, greatly  cut  down  from  its  original  injustice  and  extravagance,  as 
a  reference  to  my  No.  12  of  the  24th  of  last  June  will  show.  That  it 
might  be  wholly  defeated  by  going  on  to  pursue  measures  within  our 
power,  I  incline  to  believe.  The  solicitors  tell  me  that  they  think  so 
decidedly,  and  their  letter  is  to  the  same  effect.  But  it  is  now  neces- 
sary to  balance  the  advantage  to  be  gained  by  doing  so  against  the 
time  and  money  it  would  cost.  The  report  in  favor  of  the  claimant, 
as  the  master  has  determined  to  make  it  in  the  state  of  the  evidence  as 
now  before  him,  will  not,  by  the  information  I  have  received  and  here- 
tofore communicated,  be  likely  to  exceed  £150  a  year,  payable  during 
her  life;  to  which  will  have  to  be  added  a  few  years  of  arrears,  calcu- 
lated on  the  basis  of  whatever  may  be  the  precise  amount  of  the  annu- 
ity allowed.  The  claimant,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  is  about  sixty  years 
old.  Hence,  supposing  that  measures  necessary  for  the  total  defeat  of 
her  claim  occupied  only  another  twelvemonth,  it  seems  probable  that 
the  very  cost  of  the  agency  for  going  on  with  them,  added  to  all  unfore- 
seen legal  fees  and  expenses,  might  prove  more  than  the  annuity  is 
worth.  That  the  suit  would  be  lengthened  out  another  twelvemonth 
by  going  into  the  measures  in  question  can  scarcely,  I  think,  be  deemed 
a  strained  inference  from  all  that  the  solicitors  say  in  their  letter,  not 
to  dwell  upon  contingencies  coming  within  its  scope  that  might  make 
the  time  longer.  Should  the  suit  reach  the  House  of  Lords,  for  exam- 
ple, bjr  appeal,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  assign  a  limit  to  its  duration. 

I  trust,  therefore,  it  will  be  thought  that  I  exercise  a  proper  discre- 
tion as  representing  the  interests  of  the  United  States  in  determin- 
ing not  to  expose  myself  to  any  of  these  hazards  and  new  ones  that 
might  even  chance  to  spring  out  of  them  as  time  was  opened  for  their 
operation.  It  seems  to  me,  conclusively,  that  I  should  henceforth 


48  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

rather  strive  to  obtain  a  decision  of  their  suit  as  speedily  as  possible, 
regardless  of  the  small  and  temporary  diminution  of  the  fund,  should 
it  be  finally  adjudged  in  their  favor,  which  the  foregoing  payments  to 
Madame  de  la  Batut  would  occasion.  Opposition  has  been  effectively 
made  to  the  claim  up  to  the  point,  it  is  believed,  that  duty  enjoined 
and  prudence  would  sanction;  to  go  farther  seems  not  reconcilable 
with  the  latter,  under  the  certain  and  contingent  delays  and  dangers  I 
set  forth. 

The  occasion  may  be  a  fit  one  for  remarking  that  when  this  claim 
first  assumed  a  vexatious  aspect  last  summer,  my  immediate  wish  and 
suggestions  were  to  get  a  decree  in  favor  of  the  United  States  for  the 
general  fund,  leaving  such  fractional  portion  of  it  sub  judice  as  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  claim  if  established;  thus  cutting 
short  delay  from  this  source  by  which  this  agency  might  have  had  the 
chance  to  be  closed  the  sooner,  and  the  bulk  of  the  fund  secured  to  the 
United  States  at  the  earliest  possible  -day.  The  last  I  hold  an  object 
of  pressing  importance,  encompassed,  as  all  lawsuits  more  or  less  are 
(to  say  nothing  of  the  peculiar  nature  of  this),  by  hidden  risks.  But 
it  was  part  of  the  vexation  of  the  claim  that  our  legal  advisers  found 
the  course  I  desired  to  pursue  impracticable  for  the  reason  mentioned 
in  the  letter  of  the  solicitors  of  the  22d  of  July,  a  copy  of  which  was 
forwarded  with  my  No.  15  on  the  19th  of  August. 

Now  that  this  obstruction  is  removed  from  my  path  by  the  determi- 
nation I  have  taken  in  regard  to  it,  I  indulge  the  hope  that  no  new  one 
will  be  thrown  across  it;  and  can  only  repeat  the  assurance  that  noth- 
ing within  my  power  shall  be  left  undone  toward  accelerating  the 
suit,  anxiously  desiring,  on  all  public  and  personal  accounts  (if  I  may 
speak  in  the  latter  sense),  to  see  it  terminated. 

In  the  continued  hope  that  the  decision  when  it  comes  may  be  favor- 
able, I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

The  HON.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

/Secretary  of  State. 


S.  Pleasantoii  to  John  Fon^syth. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 
FIFTH  AUDITOR'S  OFFICE, 

March  14,  1838. 

SIR:  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  this  morning,  I  have  the  honor  to 
inform  you  that  the  amount  of  the  appropriation  made  by  the  act  of 
Congress  of  July  1,  1836,  for  the  expenses  of  prosecuting  the  claim 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  49 

of  the  United  States  to  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  was  remitted  to  their 
bankers  in  London,  on  the  16th  of  the  same  month — $10,000. 

Of  which  sum  the  said  bankers  have  paid  to  the  order  of  Richard  Rush, 
the  agent  appointed  under  that  act,  from  August  1,  1836,  to  December 

31,  1837 $8, 493. 11 

Applied  as  follows,  viz: 

Agent's  salary  for  one  year,  ending  July  31,  1837 $3, 000. 00 

Personal  and  other  expenses  (excepting  law  expenses)  same 
period 2,000.00 

Paid  Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate,  solicitors,  at  London,   for 
various  professional  services  in  relation  to  the  legacy 889.  77 


Credited  to  Mr.  Rush  on  accounts  rendered  by  him 5, 889. 77 

At  the  above  rates  of  salary  and  expenses,  the  agent  will  be 
entitled  to  credit  up  to  December  31,  1837,  exclusive  of  law 

expenses  for  one-half  year,  ending  wTith  that  date 2, 500. 00 

8, 389.  77 


Leaving  a  balance,  to  be  accounted  for  by  him,  of 103. 3*1 

The  balance  remaining  unexpended  by  the  bankers,  of  the  appro- 
priation in  question,  on  the  31st  of  December  last,  was,  as  will  be 
perceived  from  the  above  statement,  $1,506.89. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  sir,  your  obedient 
servant, 

S.  PLEASANTON. 
Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Bush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  March  28,  1838. 

SIR:  Since  the  date  of  my  last  letter,  the  report  of  the  master  has 
been  duly  made,  and  yesterda}T  it  was  confirmed. 

This  is  a  step  forward  in  the  case  which  1  am  at  length  happy  to 
announce.  It  is  second  in  importance  only  to  the  decree  of  the  court 
on  the  whole  merits,  and  has  laid  the  best  foundation  for  speedily 
obtaining  that  decree. 

The  precise  sum  that  the  report  allows  to  Madame  de  la  Batut  is 
£150  9s.,  to  be  paid  to  her  annually  during  her  life,  with  a  payment  of 
arrears,  to  be  calculated  on  this  basis,  from  some  period  in  1834;  the 
exact  date  of  which  I  have  not  at  this  moment,  but  will  mention  when 
1  next  write. 

The  court  takes  a  recess  next  week  for  the  Easter  holidays;  these 
will  last  until  the  17th  or  20th  of  April.  The  case  will  be  set  down 
for  another  hearing  before  the  court  at  as  early  a  day  as  I  can  com- 
mand after  it  reassembles.  A  decree,  I  am  informed,  will  be  pro- 
H.  Doc.  732 4 


50  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

nounced  after  this  hearing  on  all  the  facts  as  settled  by  the  master — 
a  favorable  one,  as  I  hope,  for  the  United  States. 

By  the  determination  I  took  respecting  the  claim  of  Madame  de  la 
Batut,  as  announced  in  my  last,  her  professional  advisers,  knowing 
that  she  can  now  get  no  more  than  the  report  allows  her,  are  interested 
in  cooperating  with  me  towards  a  prompt  decision,  instead  of  resort- 
ing to  adverse  proceedings  to  prolong  or  thwart  it — a  course  which 
they  have  been  more  or  less  pursuing  hitherto. 

On  better  grounds  than  ever  I  think  I  may,  therefore,  flatter  myself 
that  the  case  approaches  its  conclusion;  and  I  will  only  add  that  its 
remaining  stages  shall  be  watched  by  me  with  a  care  proportioned  to 
the  auspicious  results  that  I  believe  to  be  near  at  hand. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTII, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Riclmrd  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  April  24,  1838. 

SIR:  The  court  reassembled  last  week,  since  which  I  have  been 
doing  all  that  is  practicable,  by  personal  calls  upon  the  solicitors  and 
otherwise,  to  urge  on  the  case,  and  shall  continue  this  course. 

Judging  by  all  they  say  to  me,  and  my  own  knowledge  of  the  pres- 
ent situation  of  the  case,  I  have  a  confident  and,  I  trust,  well-founded 
belief  that  May  will  not  elapse  without  its  being  brought  to  a  hearing. 

Referring  to  my  No.  22,  I  now  beg  leave  to  state  that  the  22d  of 
September,  1834,  is  the  date  from  which  the  annuity  allowed  by  the 
master's  report  to  Madame  de  la  Batut  was  to  commence;  and  that  the 
arrears  to  be  paid  to  her,  in  the  event  of  a  decision  in  favor  of  the 
United  States,  were  to  be  computed  from  that  time  to  the  22d  of 
March  last.  This  makes  three  years  and  six  months,  so  that  the  sum 
due  on  an  annuity  of  £150  9s.  would  be  £526  11s.  6d. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTII, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Riclmrd  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  May  3,  1838. 

SIR:  I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  confidence  expressed  in  my  last  that 
a  hearing  of  the  case  was  near  at  hand  has  been  justified,  even  sooner 
than  I  expected,  for  it  was  heard  on  the  1st  of  this  month,  and  I  am 
now  to  have  the  honor  of  reporting  to  you  the  nature  of  the  hearing. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  51 

Mr.  Pcmberton,  our  leading  counsel,  rose,  and  after  recapitulating 
the  general  nature  of  the  case,  as  formerly  heard  by  the  court,  pro- 
ceeded to  state  that  the  reference  to  the  master  as  ordered  by  the 
decree  in  February,  1837,  had  duly  taken  place,  and  that  all  the  requi- 
site evidence  had  been  obtained  in  England  and  from  Italy  and  France, 
as  to  the  facts  on  the  happening  of  which  the  United  States  were  to 
become  entitled  to  the  fund  bequeathed  by  Mr.  Smithson  for  the  pur- 
pose mentioned  in  his  will.  These  facts  1  need  not  here  repeat,  being 
already  set  forth  specially  in  my  No.  9,  of  the  25th  of  March,  1837. 

Overlooking  a  volume  of  matter  merely  technical  in  the  evidence 
and  report,  or  now  become  immaterial  to  the  main  points,  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  say  that  it  was  satisfactorily  established  by  the  former 
that  Henry  James  Hungerford,  named  in  the  pleadings,  was  dead; 
that  he  died  at  Pisa,  in  the  summer  of  1835;  that  he  was  not  married 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  nor  at  any  time;  and  that  he  died  childless. 
It  was  not  found  how  old  he  was  at  the  time  of  his  death;  nor  is  that 
material  to  any  of  the  issues.  As  to  John  Fitall,  it  was  found  that  he 
died  in  London  in  June,  1834;  and  as  to  Madame  de  la  Batut,  the 
mother  of  Henry  James  Hungerford,  the  master,  on  the  evidence 
before  him,  found  her  to  have  a  claim  on  the  estate  of  Mr.  Smithson 
to  the  amount  of  £150  9s.  a  year,  payable  as  long  as  she  lives,  and  for 
the  arrears  of  this  annual  allowance  from  the  22d  of  September,  1834, 
to  the  23d  of  last  March. 

The  establishment  of  all  the  foregoing  facts  will  be  found  to  meet 
the  essential  inquiries  to  which  the  master's  attention  was  directed  by 
the  court's  first  decree,  as  reported  in  my  No.  9.  Mr.  Smithson's  will 
having  provided,  among  other  things,  that  on  the  death  of  his  nephew, 
Henry  James  Hungerford,  "without  leaving  child  or  children,"  the 
whole  of  his  property  should  go  to  the  United  States;  and  this  primary 
fact  being  now  incontestably  established  in  due  and  legal  form  under 
the  authority  of  the  court,  and  all  other  proof  required  by  the  plead- 
ings obtained,  Mr.  Pemberton  asked  for  a  decree  declaring  the  United 
States  entitled  to  the  property.  The  representative  of  the  Attorney- 
General,  who  was  present  in  court,  said  that  he  believed  everything 
had  been  established,  as  stated,  and  that  the  rules  relating  to  public 
charities,  as  applicable  to  this  case,  calling  for  no  objection  on  the  part 
of  the  Crown,  none  would  be  interposed — a  course  that  falls  in  with 
what  was  said  by  the  same  officer  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  decree, 
as  reported  in  my  No.  7. 

The  counsel  of  the  defendants,  Messieurs  Drummond,  agreed  also  to 
what  was  stated,  and  had  nothing  to  allege  in  opposition  to  the  claim 
of  the  United  States. 

The  counsel  of  Madame  de  la  Batut  were  also  content;  the  course  I 
took,  as  made  known  in  my  No.  21,  having  put  an  end  to  opposition 
from  that  quarter. 

All  essential  facts  being  at  length  fully  and  formally  established,  and 


52  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

opposition  from  all  quarters  quieted  by  the  measures  I  have  directed, 
there  seemed  no  reason  why  a  decree  in  favor  of  the  United  States 
should  not  at  once  be  pronounced;  but  Mr.  Pemberton  having  stated 
that,  in  the  end,  a  petition  would  have  to  be  presented  for  a  transfer  of 
the  fund  to  me,  as  representing  the  United  States,  the  master  of  the 
rolls  said  that  he  would  pause  upon  his  final  decision  until  that  petition 
was  presented. 

It  is  thus  that  the  case  now  stands.  It  will  come  on  again  one  day 
next  week,  and  I  have  every  ground  for  believing  that  my  next  com- 
munication will  inform  you  of  a  decree  having  passed  declaring  the 
United  States  entitled  to  the  fund. 

Should  the  forms  of  chancery  require  any  authentication  of  my 
power  to  receive  the  fund  that  Mr.  Stevenson  can  give,  he  will  be 
ready  at  any  moment  to  give  it,  as  he  has  assured  me;  and  should  his 
important  aid  be  otherwise  needed  in  any  way  before  the  suit  is  closed, 
I  shall  not  scruple  to  call  upon  him,  knowing  how  zealously  he  would 
afford  it. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 

Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  May  12,  1838. 

SIR:  I  have  great  satisfaction  in  announcing  to  you,  for  the  Presi- 
dent's information,  that  the  case  came  on  to  be  heard  again  on  the 
9th  instant,  when  a  decree  was  solemnly  pronounced  adjudging  the 
Smithsonian  bequest  to  the  United  States. 

Both  my  powers  had  been  previously  lodged  with  the  court,  not 
one  only,  as  stated  in  newspaper  reports  of  the  case,  and  no  question 
was  raised  as  to  my  full  authority  to  receive  the  money  on  behalf  of 
the  United  States,  without  calling  for  any  further  authentication  of 
my  powers. 

The  suit  is  therefore  ended  without  fear  of  more  delays,  nothing 
but  a  few  forms  remaining  to  put  me  in  actual  possession  of  the  fund. 
These,  I  have  the  hope,  may  be  completed  within  the  present  month. 

The  fund  is  invested  in  the  stocks  of  this  country,  of  which  I  shall 
in  due  time  have  an  exact  account.  The  largest  portion  is  in  the 
3  per  cent  annuities.  The  entire  aggregate  amounts  to  fully  .£100,000, 
and  this,  according  to  my  present  information,  exclusive  of  about 
£5,000  to  he  reserved  by  the  court  to  meet  the  annual  charge  in  favor 
of  Madame  la  Batut  during  her  life,  the  sum  producing  it  to  revert  to 
the  United  States  when  she  dies. 

As  soon  as  the  decree  is  formally  made  up,  the  accountant  general  of 
the  court  will  transfer  all  the  stock  to  me,  under  its  sanction,  except 
the  small  sum  to  be  reserved  as  above. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  53 

Having  no  special  instructions  as  to  what  1  am  to  do  with  it,  my 
present  intention  is  to  sell  the  whole  at  the  best  time  and  for  the  best 
prices  to  be  commanded,  and  bring  it  over  in  gold  for  delivery  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States,  in  fulfillment  of  the  trust  with  which 
I  am  charged.  But  I  will  reflect  further  upon  the  mode  of  bringing  it 
home,  and  adopt  that  which,  under  all  circumstances,  may  seem  best. 

The  result  I  announce  will,  1  trust,  justify,  in  the  President's  eyes, 
the  determination  I  took  to  let  the  allowance  made  to  Madame  la  Batut 
by  the  master's  report  stand  without  attempting  to  overset  it,  whatever 
might  have  been  the  prospect  or  assurance  of  ultimate  success.  The 
longer  the  suit  lasted  the  greater  were  the  risks  to  which  it  was  exposed. 
A  large  sum  of  money — the  whole  mentioned  above — was  to  go  out  of 
the  kingdom  unless  an  heir  could  be  found  to  a  wandering  young 
Englishman,  who  had  died  in  Italy  at  eight  or  nine  and  twenty,1  and 
whose  mother,  never  lawfully  married,  still  lives  in  France.  Here 
was  basis  enough  for  the  artful  and  dishonest  to  fabricate  stories  of 
heirship  on  allegations  of  this  young  Englishman  having  been  married. 
That  fact  assumed,  the  main  stumbling-block  to  their  devices  would 
have  disappeared.  Fabrications  to  this  effect  might  have  been  made 
to  wear  the  semblance  of  truth  by  offers  in  the  market  of  perjury  of 
Italy,  France,  and  England — incidents  like  these  being  familiar  to  his- 
tory, whether  we  take  public  annals  or  those  of  families;  and  although 
the  combinations,  however  craftily  set  on  foot,  might  have  been 
defeated  in  the  end,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  time  and  expense  would 
have  been  required  to  defeat  them.  The  possibility  of  their  being 
formed  (never  to  be  regarded  as  very  remote  while  the  suit  remained 
open)  made  it  my  first  anxiety,  as  it  was  always  my  first  dut}^  to  have 
it  decided  as  soon  as  possible  and  to  take  care  even  that  it  moved  on 
during  its  pendency  with  no  more  of  publicity  to  its  peculiar  circum- 
stances than  could  be  avoided.  I  trust  that  both  these  feelings  have 
boon  discernible  in  the  general  current  of  my  letters  to  you,  reporting 
all  the  steps  I  have  taken  in  it  from  my  first  arrival. 

Need  I  add,  as  a  further  incentive  to  dispatch,  had  further  been 
wanting,  that  events  bearing  unfavorably  upon  the  public  affairs  of 
this  country,  above  all  upon  the  harmony  or  stability  of  its  foreign 
relations,  would  not  have  failed  to  operate  inauspiciously  upon  the 
suit,  if  in  nothing  else,  by  causing  stocks  to  fall.  They  did  begin  to 
fall  on  the  first  news  of  the  rebellion  in  Canada,  not  recovering  until 
the  accounts  of  its  suppression  arrived.  The  case  is  now  beyond  the 
reach  of  accident,  whether  from  political  causes  or  others  inherent 
in  its  nature;  and  that  its  final  decision  thus  early  has  been  brought 
about  by  the  course  adopted  in  February,  I  am  no  longer  permitted  to 
doubt.  Early  may  at  first  seem  a  word  little  applicable,  after  one 
entire  year  and  the  best  part  of  a  second  have  been  devoted  to  getting 

'Believed  to  be  the  age  of  Henry  .Tame-  Hungerford,  though  not  found  in  the 
master's  report. 


54  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

the  decision;  but  when  the  proverbial  delays  of  chancery  are  consid- 
ered (and  they  could  hardly  have  become  a  proverb  without  some 
foundation),  it  may  not,  perhaps,  be  thought  wholly  out  of  place. 
Although  neither  the  counsel  nor  solicitors  gave  their  previous  advice 
to  the  course,  it  being  a  point  of  conduct  for  my  decision  rather  than 
of  law  for  theirs,  it  is  yet  satisfactory  to  be  able  to  state  that  they 
approved  it  afterwards.  They  regarded  it  as  best  consulting  the  inter- 
ests of  the  United  States,  on  every  broad  view  of  a  case  where  a  great 
moral  object,  higher  than  the  pecuniary  one,  was  at  stake,  enhancing 
the  motives  for  rescuing  it,  at  the  earliest  fit  moment,  from  all  the 
unavoidable  risks  and  uncertainties  of  the  future.  A  fortnight  has 
not  elapsed  since  it  was  said  in  the  House  of  Commons  by  an  able 
member  that  "a  chancery  suit  was  a  thing  that  might  begin  with  a 
man's  life  and  its  termination  be  his  epitaph." 

On  the  whole,  I  ask  leave  to  congratulate  the  President  and  your- 
self on  the  result.  A  suit  of  higher  interest  and  dignity  has  rarely, 
perhaps,  been  before  the  tribunals  of  a  nation.  If  the  trust  created 
by  the  testator's  will  be  successfully  carried  into  effect  by  the  enlight- 
ened legislation  of  Congress,  benefits  may  flow  to  the  United  States 
and  to  the  human  family  not  easy  to  be  estimated,  because  operating 
silently  and  gradually  throughout  time,  yet  operating  not  the  less 
effectually.  Not  to  speak  of  the  inappreciable  value  of  letters  to  indi- 
vidual and  social  man,  the  monuments  which  they  raise  to  a  nation's 
glory  often  last  when  others  perish,  and  seem  especially  appropriate 
to  the  glory  of  a  republic  whose  foundations  are  laid  in  the  presumed 
intelligence  of  its  citizens,  and  can  only  be  strengthened  and  per- 
petuated as  that  improves.  May  I  also  claim  to  share  in  the  pleasure 
that  attends  on  relieved  anxiety  now  that  the  suit  is  ended? 

I  have  made  inquiries  from  time  to  time  in  the  hope  of  finding  out 
something  of  the  man,  personally  a  stranger  to  our  people,  who  has 
sought  to  benefit  distant  ages  by  founding,  in  the  capital  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union,  an  institution  (to  describe  it  in  his  own  simple  and  com- 
prehensive language)  "  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men."  I  have  not  heard  a  great  deal.  What  I  have,  heard  and 
may  confide  in  amounts  to  this:  That  he  was,  in  fact,  the  natural  son  of 
the  Duke  of  Northumberland;  that  his  mother  was  a  Mrs.  Macie,1  of 


1  His  mother  was  Elizabeth  llungerford  Keate  Macie,  being  at  the  time  of  his  birth, 
in  1765,  the  widow  of  James  Macie,  a  country  gentleman  of  an  old  family  resident 
at  Weston,  near  Bath.  She  was  of  the  Hungerfords  of  Studley,  a  great  grandniece 
of  Charles,  Duke  of  Somerset,  through  whom  she  was  lineally  descended  from 
Henry  the  Seventh,  and  was  cousin  of  that  Elizabeth  Percy  who  married  Hugh 
Smithson  ( who  later  became  Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  by  act  of  Parliament 
took  the  name  of  Percy) . 

She  inherited  the  property  of  the  Hungerfords  of  Studley  in  1766,  on  the  death 
of  her  brother,  Lumley  Hungerford  Keate,  a  matter  of  interest  as  indicating  the 
probable  source  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Smithson  bequest.  (S.  P.  Langley, 
The  Smithsonian  Institution,  1846-1896,  History  «f  its  First  Half  Century,  1897.) 


SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST.  55 

an  ancient  family  in  Wiltshire  of  the  name  of  Hungerford;  that  he  was 
educated  at  Oxford,  where  he  took  an  honorary  degree  in  1786;  that 
he  went  under  the  name  of  James  Lewis  Macie  until  a  few  years  after 
he  had  left  the  university,  when  he  took  that  of  Smithson,1  ever  after 
signing  only  James  Smithson,  as  in  his  will;  that  he  does  not  appear  to 
have  had  any  fixed  home,  lived  in  lodgings  when  in  London,  and  occa- 
sionally staying  a  year  or  two  at  a  time  in  cities  on  the  Continent,  as 
Paris,  Berlin,  Florence,  Genoa,  at  which  last  he  died;  and  that  the 
ample  provision  made  for  him  by  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  with 
retired  and  simple  habits,  enabled  him  to  accumulate  the  fortune  which 
now  passes  to  the  United  States.2  I  have  inquired  if  his  political 
opinions  or  bias  were  supposed  to  be  of  a  nature  that  led  him  to 
select  the  United  States  as  the  great  trustee  of  his  enlarged  and 
philanthropic  views.  The  reply  has  been  that  his  opinions,  as  far  as 
known  or  inferred,  were  thought  to  favor  monarchical  rather  than 
popular  institutions;3  but  that  he  interested  himself  little  in  questions 
of  government,  being  devoted  to  science,  and  chiefly  chemistry;  that 

1  It  was  only  under  circumstances  which  showed  that  he  had  no  right  to  the 
name  of  Macie  (which  seems  to  have  first  been  imposed  upon  him  under  circum- 
stances which  left  him  free  to  change  it),  that  he  in  later  life  had  that  of  Smithson, 
to  which  he  had  every  moral  right,  legally  confirmed  to  him.     (S.  P.  Langley,  op.  tit. ) 

2  The  property  disposed  of  by  the  will  is  believed  to  have  been  received  chiefly 
from  Col.  Henry  Louis  Dickinson,  a  son  of  his  mother  by  a  former  marriage, 
though  he  is  known  to  have  received  a  legacy  of  £3,000  from  Dorothy  Percy,  his 
half-sister  on  his  father's  side;  but  unless  through  this,  it  is  proper  to  state  that  there 
is  no  indication  that  any  portion  whatever  of  the  Smithson  bequest  was  derived  from 
the  Northumberland  family.     (S.  P.  Langley,  op.  tit. ) 

3  The  Smithsonian  Institution  received  in  1884  abundant  proof  that  Smithson  was 
imbued  with  republican  notions  by  a  letter  he  wrote  at  Paris,  May  9,  1792,  to  his 
friend  Da  vies  Gilbert,  of  the  Royal  Society,  in  which  he  says: 

"Well!  things  are  going  on!  Qa  ira  is  growing  the  song  of  England,  of  Europe,  as 
well  as  of  France.  Men  of  every  rank  are  joining  in  the  chorus.  Stupidity  and 
guilt  have  had  a  long  reign,  and  it  begins,  indeed,  to  be  time  for  justice  and  common 
sense  to  have  their  turn.  *  '  Every  Englishman  I  converse  with,  almost 

every  Englishman  I  see  or  hear  of,  appears  to  be  of  the  democratic  .party.  Mr. 
Davis,  high  sheriff  for  Dorsetshire,  left  this  town  to-day  and  takes  with  him,  it 
seems,  a  quantity  of  tricolor  ribbon  to  deck  his  men  with  the  French  national  cock- 
ades, and  I  do  not  think  this  example  unworthy  of  imitation  by  those  whose  prin- 
ciples lead  them  to  consider  with  indifference  and  contempt  the  frowns  of  the  court 
party,  to  whom,  doubtless,  the  mixture  of  red,  white,  and  blue  is  an  object  of  horror. 
*  *  *  Mr.  Louis  Bourbon  is  still  at  Paris,  and  the  office  of  king  is  not  yet  abol- 
ished, but  they  daily  feel  the  inutility,  or  rather  great  inconvenience,  of  continuing 
it,  and  its  duration  will  probably  not  be  long.  May  other  nations,  at  the  time  of 
their  reforms,  be  wise  enough  to  cast  off,  at  first,  the  contemptible  incumbrance.  I 
consider  a  nation  with  a  king  as  a  man  who  takes  a  lion  as  a  guard-dog — if  he  knocks 
out  his  teeth  he  renders  him  useless,  while  if  he  leaves  the  lion  his  teeth  the  lion 
eats  him. 

"I  remain,  dear  sir,  yours,  very  sincerely, 

"JAMES  L.  MACIE." 

(Smithsonian  Report,  1894.) 


56  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

this  had  introduced  him  to  the  society  of  Cavendish,  Wollaston,  and 
others  advantageously  known  to  the  Royal  Society  in  London,  of 
which  body  he  was  a  member,  and  to  the  archives  of  which  he  made 
contributions;  and  that  he  also  became  acquainted,  through  his  visits 
to  the  Continent,  with  eminent  chemists  in  France,  Italy,  and  Germany. 
Finally,  that  he  was  a  gentleman  of  feeble  health,  but  always  of  cour- 
teous though  reserved  manners  and  conversation. 

Such  I  learn  to  have  been  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  man 
whom  generations  to  come  may  see  cause  to  bless,  and  whose  will  may 
enroll  his  name  with  the  benefactors  of  mankind. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


"A." 

IN  CHANCERY,  MAY  12,  1838. 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

v. 
DRUMMOND. 


Order  on  further  directions. 


AT  THE  ROLLS, 


Master  of  the  Rolls— £3  10s.— 76. 


Between  the  President  of    the  United 
States  of  America,  plaintiff, 

and 

Charles  Drummond  and  Her  Majesty's 
attorney-general,  defendants. 


Saturday,  the  12th  day  of  May,  in  the 
first  year  of  the  reign  of  Her  Majesty 
Queen  Victoria,  1838. 


This  cause  coming  on  the  1st  day  of  February,  1837,  to  be  heard  and  debated  before 
the  right  honorable  the  master  of  the  rolls,  in  the  presence  of  counsel  learned  on 
both  sides,  his  lordship  did  order  that  the  plaintiff's  bill  should  be  amended  by 
stating  the  act  of  Congress  passed  in  the  year  1836;  and  the  said  bill  being  amended 
in  court  accordingly,  upon  hearing  the  same  act  of  Congress,  and  also  the  power  of 
attorney  granted  to  Richard  Rush,  esq.,  mentioned  in  the  said  bill  as  amended,  read, 
his  lordship  did  order  that  it  should  be  referred  to  the  master  to  whom  the  cause  of 
Hungerford  v.  Drummond  stood  transferred,  to  carry  on  the  account  directed  by  the 
decree  of  the  15th  day  of  December,  1829;  and  it  was  ordered  that  the  said  master 
should  inquire  whether  John  Fitall,  in  the  pleadings  of  this  cause  named,  was  living 
or  dead;  and  if  the  said  master  should  find  that  the  said  John  Fitall  was  dead,  then 
it  was  ordered  that  he  should  inquire  and  state  when  he  died.  And  it  was  ordered 
that  the  said  master  should  inquire  whether  Henry  James  Hungerford,  in  the  plead- 
ings also  named,  was  living  or  dead;  and  if  the  said  master  should  find  that  the 
said  Henry  James  Hungerford  was  dead,  then  it  was  ordered  that  he  should  inquire 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  57 

and  state  when  he  died,  and  whether  he  was  married  or  unmarried  at  the  time  of 
his  decease;  and  if  married,  whether  he  left  any,  and  what,  children  or  child  him  sur- 
viving; and  the  said  master  was  to  inquire  and  state  the  ages  of  such  children,  respec- 
tively, if  more  than  one.  And  it  was  ordered  that  the  said  master  should  inquire 
and  state  to  the  court  whether  Madame  de  la  Batut  had  any  claim  on  the  said  testa- 
tor Smithson's  estate;  and  for  the  better  discovery  of  the  matters  aforesaid  the  usual 
directions  were  given,  and  his  lordship  did  reserve  the  consideration  of  all  further 
directions  and  of  the  costs  of  this  suit  until  after  the  said  master  should  have  made 
his  report.  That  in  pursuance  of  the  said  decree  the  said  master  made  his  report, 
dated  the  23d  day  of  March,  1838,  which  stands  absolutely  confirmed  by  an  order 
dated  the  27th  day  of  March,  1838,  and  thereby  certified  he  found  that  the  sum  of 
fifty-three  pounds  seven  shillings  sixpence  was  justly  due  and  owing  to  Messrs.  Thomas 
Clark  &  Co.,  the  solicitors  for  the  defendant  Charles  Drummond,  from  the  estate  of 
the  said  testator,  and  he  found  that  the  said  John  Fitall  was  dead,  and  that  he  died 
at  Bush  House,  Wanstead,  in  the  county  of  Essex,  on  the  14th  day  of  June,  1834;  and 
he  found  that  the  said  Henry  James  Hungerford  assumed  the  name  of  De  la  Batut, 
and  was  known  as  Baron  Eunice  de  la  Batut  and  died  at  the  Royal  Hotel,  called  the 
Donzelle,  situate  at  Pisa,  on  or  about  the  5th  day  of  June,  1835,  without  ever  having  been 
married,  and  without  leaving  any  issue.  And  the  said  master  certified  that  he  was 
of  opinion  and  did  find  that  the  said  Mary  Ann  de  la  Batut,  in  her  right,  was  entitled 
to  a  claim  on  the  estate  of  the  said  testator,  James  Smithson,  for  an  interest  during 
the  life  of  the  said  Mary  Ann  de  la  Batut,  in  a  moiety  of  the  annual  income  or  sum 
of  seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy -three  livres  de  rentes,  in  the  report  men- 
tioned, amounting  in  value  to  the  annual  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  nine 
shillings  sterling  money  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  calculated  at  the  current  rate 
of  exchange  in  the  city  of  London,  on  the  8th  day  of  March,  1838;  and  he  found 
that  the  income  arising  from  the  said  French  stock  or  fund  called  livres  de  rentes 
was  payable  and  paid  half-yearly  by  the  French  Government  on  or  about  the  22d 
day  of  March  and  the  22d  day  of  September  in  each  year;  and  he  also  found  that 
there  was  due  and  owing  to  the  said  Mary  Ann  de  la  Batut  (or  the  said  Theodore 
de  la  Batut,  in  her  right)  from  the  estate  of  the  said  testator,  James  Smithson,  the 
sum  of  thirteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  francs  and  seventy-five 
centimes  for  arrears  of  the  said  annuity  from  the  22d  day  of  September,  1834,  to  the 
22d  day  of  March,  1838,  amounting  in  value  to  five  hundred  and  twenty-six  pounds 
eleven  shillings  and  sixpence  sterling  money  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  calculated 
at  the  current  rate  of  exchange  in  the  said  city  of  London  as  aforesaid;  and  he  found 
that  the  annual  income  or  annuity  to  which  the  said  Mary  Ann  de  la  Batut  (or  the 
said  Theodore  de  la  Batut,  in  her  right)  was  entitled  for  her  life  out  of  the  estate  of 
the  said  testator,  James  Smithson,  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  and 
nine  shillings  sterling  money  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  as  aforesaid.  And  whereas 
the  above-named  plaintiff  and  Richard  Rush  did,  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1838,  prefer 
their  petition  unto  the  right  honorable  the  master  of  the  rolls,  setting  forth  as  therein 
set  forth  and  praying  that  the  residue  of  the  several  stocks,  funds  and  securities,  and 
cash,  respectively,  standing  in  the  name  of  the  accountant-general  of  this  court  in 
trust  in  the  cause  of  Hungerford  v.  Drummond  and  in  trust  in  this  cause  which 
should  remain  after  providing  for  and  satisfying  the  annual  and  other  payments 
directed  by  the  will  of  the  said  testator  and  the  costs  and  charges  to  which  the  estate 
of  the  said  testator  had  been  rendered  liable  by  virtue  of  the  several  proceedings 
and  measures  aforesaid,  or  any  of  them,  might  be  respectively  transferred  (the 
amount  thereof  to  be  verified  by  affidavit)  in  the  books  of  the  governor  and  company 
of  the  Bank  of  England  and  paid  to  the  petitioner,  Richard  Rush,  and  that  the  boxes 
and  packages  mentioned  in  the  said  master's  report  might  be  delivered  into  the  cus- 
tody of  the  petitioner,  Richard  Rush.  Whereupon  all  parties  concerned  were  ordered 
to  attend  his  lordship  on  the  matter  of  the  said  petition  when  this  cause  should  coine 


58  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

on  to  be  heard  for  further  directions;  and  this  cause  coming  on  this  present  day  to 
l>e  heard  before  the  right  honorable  the  master  of  the  rolls  for  further  directions  on 
the  said  master's  said  report,  and  as  to  the  measure  of  costs  reserved  in  the  said 
decree,  in  the  presence  of  counsel  learned  on  both  sides:  upon  opening  and  debate 
of  the  measure,  and  hearing  the  said  decree,  the  said  report,  the  said  order  dated  the 
27th  day  of  March,  the  said  petition,  and  the  accountant  general's  certificates  read, 
and  what  was  alleged  by  the  counsel  on  all  sides,  his  lordship  doth  declare  that  the 
plaintiff  is  entitled  to  the  residue  of  the  several  stocks,  and  securities,  and  cash, 
respectively,  standing  in  the  name  of  the  accountant  general  of  this  court,  in  trust  in 
this  cause,  and  also  in  trust  in  a  certain  other  cause  of  Hungerford  against  Drummond, 
in  the  master's  report  mentioned,  and  the  other  property  of  James  Smithson,  the 
testator,  in  the  pleadings  in  this  cause  named,  after  providing  for  the  payment 
hereinafter  directed;  and  it  is  ordered  that  the  sixty -two  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  thirty-nine  pounds  nineteen  shillings  and  two  pence  bank  three  pounds  per  cent 
annuities,  twelve  thousand  pounds  reduced  annuities,  and  sixteen  thousand  one 
hundred  pounds  bank  stock,  respectively,  standing  in  the  name  of  the  said  accountant 
general,  in  trust  hi  the  cause  of  Hungerford  v.  Drummond,  and  the  sum  of  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-five  pounds  two  shillings  cash  in  the  bank, 
remaining  on  the  credit  of  the  said  cause,  be  respectively  carried  over  in  trust  in  and 
to  the  credit  of  this  cause;  and  the  said  accountant  general  is  to  declare  the  trust  of 
the  said  several  sums  of  stock,  accordingly,  subject  to  the  further  order  of  this  court; 
and  out  of  the  said  sum  of  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds  two 
shillings  cash,  when  so  carried  over,  and  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  four  pounds 
six  shillings  and  eight  pence  cash  in  the  bank,  on  the  credit  of  this  cause,  it  is  ordered 
that  the  sum  of  fifty-three  pounds  seven  shillings  and  six  pence  be  paid  to  Mr. 
Thomas  George  Fynniore;  and  thereout,  also,  it  is  ordered  that  the  sum  of  five 
hundred  and  twenty-six  pounds  eleven  shillings  and  six  pence  be  carried  over, 
with  the  privity  of  the  said  accountant  general,  and  placed  to  the  credit  of  this 
cause,  to  an  account  to  be  entitled  "The  account  of  the  annuitant  Mary  Ann 
de  la  Batut;"  and  thereout,  also,  it  is  ordered  that  the  sum  of  twenty-five  pounds 
be  paid  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Fitall  (as  executrix  of  John  Fitall,  deceased) ;  and  it  is 
ordered  that  it  be  referred  to  the  master  to  whom  this  cause  stands  referred,  to 
tax  all  parties  their  costs  of  this  suit,  and  relating  thereto,  properly  incurred; 
the  costs  of  the  plaintiff,  and  of  the  defendant  Charles  Drummond,  to  be  taxed 
as  between  solicitor  and  client;  and  it  is  ordered  that  the  amount  of  such  costs,  when 
taxed,  be  paid  out  of  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-four  pounds  nine  shil- 
lings and  eight  pence  cash,  which  will  then  l>e  remaining  on  the  credit  of  this 
cause,  after  the  several  l)efore-mentioned  payments,  in  manner  following,  that  is  to 
say:  The  costs  of  the  said  plaintiff  to  Mr.  Thomas  Clark,  his  solicitor;  and  the  costs 
of  the  defendant  Charles  Drummond  to  Mr.  Thomas  George  Fynmore,  his  solicitor; 
and  the  costs  of  Her  Majesty's  attorney-general,  to  Mr.  George  Maule,  her  solicitor. 
It  is  ordered  that  five  thousand  and  fifteen  pounds  bank  three  pounds  per  cent 
annuities,  part  of  the  six  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ten  pounds  nineteen  shillings 
and  seven  pence,  like  annuities,  standing  in  the  name  of  said  accountant  general,  in 
trust  in  this  cause,  and  any  interest  which  may  accrue  on  the  said  sum  of  five  thou- 
sand and  fifteen  pounds  bank  three  pounds  per  cent  annuities,  previous  to  the  carry- 
ing over  hereby  directed,  be,  in  like  manner,  carried  over  in  trust,  in  this  cause,  to 
the  separate  account  of  Mary  Ann  de  la  Batut,  entitled  "The  account  of  the  annui- 
tant Mary  Ann  de  la  Batut,"  and  the  said  accountant  general  is  to  declare  the  trust 
thereof  accordingly,  subject  to  the  further  order  of  this  court.  And  it  is  ordered 
that  the  interest  and  dividends  thereof,  which  shall  accrue  during  the  life  of  the  said 
Mary  Ann  de  la  Batut,  be  paid  to  her  during  her  life,  or  until  the  further  order  of 
this  court,  for  her  separate  use,  and  on  her  sole  receipt,  by  equal  half-yearly  pay- 
ments, on  the  22d  day  of  September  and  the  22d  day  of  March  in  every  year;  the 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  59 

first  payment  thereof  to  be  made  on  the  22d  day  of  September  next.  And  it  is 
ordered  that  the  said  sixty-two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-nine  pounds 
nineteen  shillings  and  two  pence  bank  three  pounds  per  cent  annuities,  twelve 
thousand  pounds  reduced  annuities,  and  sixteen  thousand  one  hundred  pounds  bank 
stock,  when  so  respectively  carried  over,  and  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-five  pounds  nineteen  shillings  and  seven  pence  three  pounds  per  cent  annui- 
ties, residue  of  the  said  six  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ten  pounds  nineteen  shil- 
lings and  seven  pence,  like  annuities,  after  such  carrying  over  of  part  thereof  as 
aforesaid,  and  the  residue  of  the  said  sum  of  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  pounds  nine  shillings  and  eight  pence  cash,  after  the  payments  thereout  herein- 
before directed  (the  amount  of  such  residue  to  be  verified  by  affidavit) ,  be  transferred 
and  paid  to  Mr.  Richard  Rush,  in  the  plaintiff's  bill  named.  And  it  is  ordered  that 
the  boxes  and  packages  in  the  master's  report  of  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  June,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-one,  in  the  said  cause  of  Hungerford  v.  Drum- 
mond  mentioned,  be  delivered  into  the  custody  of  the  said  Richard  Rush,  as  attorney 
or  otherwise  for  the  plaintiff;  and,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  the  said  accountant 
general  is  to  draw  on  the  bank,  according  to  the  fonn  prescribed  by  the  act  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  the  general  rules  and  orders  of  this  court  in  that  case  made  and  provided ; 
and  any  of  the  parties  are  to  be  at  liberty  to  apply  to  this  court  as  they  may  be 
advised. 

Entered:  H.  H. 

E.  R. 


Ricliard  Rush  to  Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate. 

MAY  31, 1838. 

GENTLEMEN:  I  need  scarcely  again  make  known  to  you  what  I  have 
so  frequently  urged  in  person  since  the  decision  on  the  9th  instant, 
viz:  my  anxiety  to  have  the  necessary  document  from  the  proper  office 
of  the  court,  by  which  the  Smithsonian  fund  adjudged  to  the  United 
States  may  be  placed  at  my  disposal.  But,  whatever  the  past  obsta- 
cles which  you  may  not  have  been  able  to  prevent,  I  must  ask  the 
favor  of  your  renewed  and  best  exertions  for  causing  me  to  be  put  in 
possession  of  it  at  the  earliest  possible  day;  the  more  so,  as  we  are 
now  at  the  end  of  the  month,  and  my  being  invested  with  the  requi- 
site authority  is  an  indispensable  preliminary  to  arrangements  for  sell- 
ing the  stock  advantageously  in  June,  prior  to  my  embarkation  with 
the  fund  for  the  United  States.  Your  past  attention  to  the  case  is  a 
pledge  to  me  that  you  will  do  all  in  your  power  to  fulfill  my  wishes; 
in  which  assurance  I  remain, 

Your  obedient  servant,  RICHARD  RUSH. 

CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  June  5, 1838. 

SIR:  With  all  my  exertions  to  have  the  forms  necessary  for  putting 
me  in  possession  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  completed  in  May,  it  will 


60  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

be  seen,  from  the  inclosed  copy  of  a  letter  to  me  from  the  solicitors, 
in  reply  to  one  I  wrote  them  on  the  last  of  May  (a  cop3T  of  which  is 
also  inclosed),  that  it  is  only  to-day  that  all  the  forms  have  been  finally 
and  fully  completed. 

After  getting  this  information,  I  went  immediately  to  the  proper 
department  of  the  accountant-general  of  the  court  of  chancery  at  the 
Bank  of  England,  and  find  that  there  has  been  transferred  to  me  the 
following  stock,  viz: 

1.  Sixty-four  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds  eighteen 
shillings  and  nine  pence  in  the  consolidated  3  per  cent  annuities,  com- 
monly called  consols  by  abbreviation. 

2.  Twelve  thousand  pounds  in  reduced  3  per  cent  annuities. 

3.  Sixteen  thousand  one  hundred  pounds  in  bank  stock. 

The  books  at  the  bank  show  the  above  stock  to  have  been  regularly 
transferred  to  me  under  the  authority  of  the  court  of  chancery  by  the 
accountant-general,  as  the  proper  officer  of  the  court,  in  virtue  of  the 
decree  reported  in  my  last,  and  I  have  accepted  the  same  on  the  books, 
on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  by  signing  my  name  to  a  form  of 
acceptance  drawn  out  under  each  transfer. 

The  above  stock  constitutes,  with  the  exception  of  £5,015,  the 
whole  property  left  by  Mr.  Smithson  to  the  United  States,  and  now 
recovered  for  them,  with  the  further  exception  of  some  small  sum  in 
cash,  to  which  the  solicitors  refer  as  still  to  come  from  the  accountant- 
general,  but  of  which  I  have  as  yet  no  statement. 

The  sum  of  £5,015  in  consols,  it  has  been  decreed  by  the  court,  is  to 
be  reserved  and  set  apart  to  answer  the  annuity  payable  to  Madame  la 
Batut,  the  principal  to  revert  to  the  United  States  on  the  death  of  the 
annuitant. 

I  have  taken  care  to  instruct  the  solicitors  to  see  that  there  is  due 
proof  at  all  times  of  the  annuitant  being  in  full  life  as  the  half-yearly 
payments  are  made  to  her. 

Although  the  aggregate  of  the  stock  transferred  as  above  is  under 
£100,000  in  its  nominal  amount,  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  but  that 
the  sale  of  it  will  yield  more  than  that  sum. 

The  transfer  by  the  accountant-general  was  made  to  me  only  to-day, 
:ind  this  is  so  far  fortunate  as  that  it  could  not  otherwise  have  been 
effected  as  to  the  principal  part  of  the  stock  (viz,  the  3  per  cent  annui- 
ties) until  the  17th  of  July,  the  books  closing  after  to-day  for  the 
transfer  of  this  species  of  stock  until  the  date  I  mention. 

The  important  operation  of  selling  the  stock  now  remains  to  be 
conducted,  and  shall  claim  my  careful  attention.  I  design  to  go  into 
the  city  to-morrow  with  a  view  to  adopting  the  earliest  measures  for 
this  purpose,  taking  advice,  in  aid  of  my  own  judgment,  for  so  man- 
aging the  sales  as  best  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  United  States. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  61 

I  continue  to  think  that  the  best  mode  of  bringing  home  the  money 
will  be  in  gold — in  English  sovereigns.  Exchange  is  low,  and  so  will 
insurance  be  at  this  season;  and  on  all  accounts  it  seems  to  me  the 
preferable  mode  in  which  to  realize  the  fund  and  deliver  it  over  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States  on  my  arrival,  in  final  discharge  of  the 
trust  confided  to  me. 

I  shall  hope  to  make  some  report  of  my  steps  by  the  next  packet; 
and  in  the  meantime  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect, 
your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate  to  Richard  Rush. 

43  CRAVEN  STREET,  STRAND,  June  5,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  beg  to  assure  you,  in  answer  to  your  favor  of  the 
31st  of  May,  that  our  endeavors  to  get  through  the  forms  necessary 
for  winding  up  the  suit  and  putting  you  into  possession  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  have  not  been  less  urgent  and  unremitting  than  have  been 
your  applications  to  ourselves  upon  the  subject.  The  circumstance 
of  the  shutting  of  the  offices  of  the  court  of  chancery  for  the  holidays, 
at  a  period  when  they  are  ordinarily  open,  and  some  other  petty  diffi- 
culties not  within  our  control,  have,  however,  prevented  our  getting 
through  all  the  forms  in  the  month  of  May,  as  we  hoped  to  have  been 
able  to  do. 

We  have  now,  however,  the  satisfaction  to  announce  to  you  that 
everything  is  complete,  and  that  the  accountant-general  of  the  court 
of  chancery  has  transferred  into  your  name  the  several  sums  following: 
£64,535  18s.  9d.,  consols;  £12,000  reduced  annuities;  £16,100  bank 
stock. 

These  sums  are  entirely  at  your  disposal,  free  from  the  control  of 
the  court  of  chancery. 

There  will  be,  in  addition,  a  small  cash  balance,  which  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days  you  will  be  able  to  receive  of  the  accountant-general. 
We  are,  very  faithfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  June  13,  1838. 

SIR:  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  report  to  you  that  the  sales  of  the  stock 
are  going  on  well. 


62  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

The  whole  of  the  consols  have  been  sold,  and  part  of  the  bank  stock. 

A  portion  of  the  consols,  viz,  .£4,535  18s.  9d.,  was  sold  on  the  6th 
instant  for  cash  at  94f .  This  was  considered  a  high  price;  more  could 
not  have  been  obtained  for  cash. 

My  first  desire  was  to  sell  all  the  stock  for  cash,  and  immediately, 
that  I  might  the  sooner  close  the  whole  operation  and  get  away,  but 
such  a  course  I  soon  found,  on  the  best  information  and  advice,  would 
have  been  injudicious. 

To  have  attempted  a  sale  of  the  bank  stock,  for  example,  all  at  once 
would  probably  have  depressed  the  market  for  this  particular  species 
of  security  and  occasioned  a  loss  of  several  hundred  pounds.  The 
reason  is  that  the  dealings  in  it,  contradistinguished  from  those  in  the 
great  national  stocks,  are  limited,  and  confined  to  a  very  few  persons 
on  the  stock  exchange.  The  course  which  prudence  dictated  was  to 
sell  it  out  in  small  parcels  under  careful  instructions  to  the  broker 
on  each  day  of  the  sale. 

As  it  thus  became  necessary,  in  order  to  guard  against  loss,  that  I 
should  allow  myself  some  little  latitude  as  to  time  in  selling  the  bank 
stock,  it  opened  a  door  the  more  properly  for  disposing  of  the  other 
stock  on  time  at  a  short  interval,  the  more  especially  if  by  that  mode 
it  could  be  made  to  produce  a  larger  sum. 

Accordingly,  on  the  same  day  that  I  disposed  of  a  portion  of  the 
consols  for  cash,  which  served  also  as  a  feeler  to  ascertain  the  cash 
price,  I  caused  the  whole  of  what  remained  of  this  stock,  viz,  £60,000, 
to  be  sold  on  time  for  the  6th  of  July,  that  being  the  day  after  divi- 
dend day,  which  falls  on  the  5th  of  July. 

It  gives  me  great  satisfaction  to  state  that  this  sale  was  effected  at  95£. 

Up  to  the  day  when  it  was  effected,  consols  had  not  brought  so  high 
a  price,  as  far  as  I  have  yet  been  able  to  examine  the  London  Mercan- 
tile Price  Current,  for  nearly  eight  years  before. 

Two  sales  have  been  made  of  the  bank  stock,  viz,  one  of  £3,000,  the 
other  of  £5,000;  the  former  at  2041,  the  latter  at  204f ;  both  sales 
being  for  the  30th  instant,  the  money  pa}'able  and  stock  to  be  delivered 
on  that  day.  Should  the  remainder  be  sold  at  these  rates,  or  near 
them,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  bank  stock,  though  in  nominal  amount 
only  £16,100.  as  stated  in  my  last,  will  yield  upward  of  £30,000. 

In  the  important  operations  of  selling  the  stock  I  am  receiving  the 
most  beneficial  aid  from  the  constant  advice  and  active  daily  coopera- 
tion in  all  ways  of  our  consul,  Colonel  Aspinwall,  whose  long  residence 
in  London  and  ample  opportunities  of  knowing  the  mysteries  of  its 
great  stock  market,  and  the  minute  details  of  doing  business  in  it,  have 
given  him  the  ability  to  aid  me.  It  is  thus  that  I  am  selling  to  every 
advantage. 

None  of  the  3  per  cent  reduced  annuities  have  yet  been  sold.     We 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  63 

are  watching  the  market  with  a  view  to  the  most  favorable  moment 
for  disposing  of  this  part  of  the  stock. 

The  fortunate  point  of  time  was  hit  for  selling  out  the  consols.  They 
have  now  sunk  a  little  and,  with  the  exception  of  momentary  intervals, 
would  not  have  brought  as  much  since  the  6th  instant  as  I  obtained. 

From  the  sales  made  it  is  now,  I  think,  certain  that  the  whole  stock 
will  yield  from  £103,000  to  £105,000,  apart  from  the  £5,015  to  be 
retained  here  during  the  life  of  Madame  la  Batut. 

From  the  successful  manner  in  which  they  are  proceeding,  it  seems 
clear  also  at  the  present  time  that  the  fund,  independent  of  the  accu- 
mulations of  interest,  will  be  richer  in  the  state  in  which  I  shall  deliver 
it  over  to  the  United  States  than  it  was  in  the  summer  of  1835,  when 
their  right  to  it  first  attached  by  the  death  of  Henry  James  Hunger- 
ford. 

Left  to  myself  to  make  the  most  of  the  fund  after  recovering  it  from 
chancery,  which  depended  so  much  on  the  sale  of  the  stock,  it  has 
not  been  without  full  consideration  that  I  did  not  call  on  the  Messrs. 
Rothschild  to  sell  it  all,  for  which  their  experience  and  situation  here, 
besides  being  the  bankers  of  the  United  States,  might  have  seemed  to 
point  them  out.  But,  first,  they  would,  I  take  for  granted,  have 
charged  a  commission  of  1  per  cent,  to  which  I  could  not  have  objected, 
as  it  is  allowed  here,  apart  from  the  broker's  commission,  and  by  the 
chamber  of  commerce  at  New  York  on  effecting  sales  of  stock;  whilst 
Colonel  Aspinwall  charges  me  no  such  commission,  and  I  much 
desired  to  save  the  amount  of  it  to  the  fund,  if,  with  his  efficient  aid, 
I  could  conduct  the  sales  confidently  and  advantageously  myself.  But, 
secondly,  if  the  former,  as  the  bankers  of  the  United  States,  would 
have  performed  the  task  without  charge,  I  should  not  have  been  the 
less  disinclined  to  place  it  in  their  hands,  having  had  no  instructions 
to  do  so,  and,  being  without  these,  I  could  only  exercise  my  best  dis- 
cretion. They  are,  as  I  in  common  with  others  here  suppose,  very 
large  dealers  in  stock  on  their  own  account,  as  occasion  may  serve; 
and  hence  may  naturally  be  supposed  to  desire  sometimes  a  rise,  some- 
times a  fall,  in  these  everfluctuating  things.  With  more  than  a  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds  to  throw  upon  the  market,  I  therefore  thought  it 
best,  acting  on  a  general  rule  of  prudence  in  all  business,  to  keep  the 
operation  of  selling  entirely  clear  of  every  quarter  where  any  insen- 
sible bias  might,  by  possibility  even,  exist  to  a  course  other  than  that 
which  would  regard  alone  the  Smithsonian  fund. 

I  design  to  leave  no  sale  outstanding  after  the  6th  of  July.  The 
subsequent  steps,  however,  for  obtaining  the  gold,  and  those  neces- 
sary in  various  ways  for  shipping  it,  will  render  it  impracticable  for 
me  to  embark  with  it  in  the  packet  which  sails  from  Portsmouth  on 
the  10th  of  July,  that  packet  leaving  London  always  on  the  7th.  But 


64  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

I  will  follow  in  the  succeeding  one  of  the  20th  of  July,  which  leaves 
this  port  on  the  17th,  before  which  time  I  trust  that  everything  will 
have  been  fully  and  satisfactorily  closed,  as  far  as  the  trust  can  be 
closed  here. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 
Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Riisk  to  John  Forxyth. 

LONDON,  June  26,  1838. 

SIR:  Since  my  No.  27,  the  sales  of  the  stock  have  been  going  on  from 
time  to  time,  and  at  length  are  finally  closed. 

They  have  all  been  good— perhaps  T  may  say  fortunate.  The  prices 
have  been  high,  as  compared  with  the  state  of  the  stock  market  for 
several  years  past;  and  I  am  confidently  informed  that,  from  the  time 
the  stock  came  under  my  control  until  I  sold  it  all,  no  higher  prices 
were  obtained  by  any  private  seller  than  I  obtained. 

The  whole  of  the  reduced  3  per  cent  annuities  (£12.000)  sold  at  94. 
This  description  of  stock  is  never  as  high  as  consols,  but  94  is  reputed 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  good  a  price,  in  proportion  to  its  general  value 
in  the  English  stock  market,  as  the  95£  I  obtained  for  the  consols. 

Of  the  bank  stock  unsold  at  the  date  of  my  last  (viz,  £8,100),  I 
obtained  205  for  £5,000,  and  205i  for  the  remaining  £3,100.  Both 
these  prices,  it  will  be  perceived,  are  higher  than  the  former  ones  I 
obtained  for  this  stock. 

The  entire  amount  of  sales  has  more  than  realized  the  anticipations 
held  out  in  my  No.  27,  having  yielded  an  aggregate  of  rather  more 
than  £105,000,  as  will  be  seen  when  I  come  to  render  a  more  particu- 
lar statement.  The  two  days  on  which  I  am  to  make  all  the  transfers 
are  the  30th  of  this  month  and  6th  of  July.  The  money  will  all  be 
received  simultaneously. 

Immediately  afterwards  I  shall  take  measures  for  converting  the 
whole  into  English  gold  coin,  having  finally  determined  that  this  is 
the  proper  mode  in  which  to  bring  the  money  to  the  United  States, 
under  the  trust  I  have  in  hand.  It  appears  to  me  the  right  course  in 
itself,  independent  of  any  question  of  exchange,  considering  the  pe- 
culiar object  and  terms  of  the  law  of  Congress  of  the  1st  of  July,  1836, 
under  which  I  am  acting.  But  by  the  rate  of  exchange,  as  quoted  at 
New  York  under  the  last  dates,  there  would  be  a  gain  to  the  United 
States,  by  the  best  calculations  I  can  now  make  (though  I  am  aware 
how  exchange  is  ever  liable  to  fluctuate),  of  upward  of  £1,000  on 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  65 

bringing  over  the  money  in  gold  rather  than  remitting  it  in  bills. 
This  would  help  to  cover  the  commissions  on  shipping  the  former, 
effecting  insurance  upon  it,  and  paying  the  premium  of  insurance,  as 
well  as  charges  for  freight  and  those  that  have  been  incurred  on  selling 
the  stock. 

All  these  operations  demand  mercantile  agencies  and  assistance,  to 
which  I  am  inadequate  in  my  own  person,  beyond  superintending  them 
and  seeing  that  they  are  rendered  justly.  I  will  take  care  that  these 
expenses  are  kept  within  limits  as  moderate  as  possible,  consistently 
with  having  the  business  regularly  done  according  to  mercantile  usage 
in  operations  of  the  same  nature,  so  that  the  fund,  in  bearing  its  own 
unavoidable  expenses,  may  be  encroached  upon  as  little  as  possible. 

I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  get  from  the  solicitors  a  statement  of  the 
costs  of  the  suit,  but  will  not  fail  to  obtain  it  before  I  embark.  The 
final  payments  under  this  head,  and  those  I  shall  be  called  upon  to  make 
for  services  enumerated  above,  can  scarcely  be  completed  but  at  the 
last  moments  of  my  stay;  hence  I  may  not  be  able  to  transmit  an 
account  of  them  to  you  until  I  arrive  at  New  York,  where  also  the 
freight  will  have  to  be  paid. 

In  reporting  to  you  the  final  decision  of  the  court,  I  omitted  to  men- 
tion some  particulars  not  at  first  accurately  known  to  me,  but  neces- 
sary to  be  now  stated,  viz:  £526  11s.  6d.  were  decreed  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  fund  to  Madame  la  Batut,  as  her  arrears;  £25  as  arrears  found 
to  be  due  to  John  Fitall-,  the  annuitant  under  the  will;  and,  lastly, 
£53  7s.  6d.  as  due  for  the  use  of  certain  warehouse  rooms  in  London. 
The  two  first  items  explain  themselves,  after  all  I  have  written.  The 
third  has  reference  to  some  personal  property  left  by  the  testator,  con 
tained,  as  I  understand,  in  thirteen  boxes  or  trunks  deposited  in  the 
warehouse  rooms  specified.  I  have  had  no  opportunity  as  yet  of  ex- 
amining the  contents  of  these  boxes,  but  am  informed  that  they  consist 
chiefly  of  books  unbound,  manuscripts,  specimens  of  minerals,  some 
philosophical  or  chemical  instruments,  and  a  few  articles  of  table  fur- 
niture. The  contents  of  the  whole  are  supposed  to  be  of  little  intrinsic 
value,  though  parts  may  be  otherwise  curious.  As  all  now  belong  to 
the  United  States,  under  the  decree  of  the  court,  I  shall  think  it  proper 
to  have  them  shipped  when  the  gold  is  shipped,  paying  all  reasonable 
charges. 

Having  more  than  once  spoken  of  the  possibility  of  fictitious  claim- 
ants starting  up  for  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  perhaps  I  may  here  be 
allowed  to  mention  what  the  solicitors  have  informed  me  of,  viz,  that 
since  the  decision  two  claimants  have  presented  themselves  at  their 
office,  neither  having  any  connection  with  the  other.  When  the  deci- 
sion was  pronounced,  the  sum  recovered  was  also  proclaimed  in  the 
London  newspapers,  which  had  probably  awakened  these  claimants 
H.  Doc.  732 5 


66  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

into  life.  The  .solicitors  add  that  one  of  them  desired,  somewhat 
importunately,  to  know  if  the  case  could  not  he  reheard  in  court.  It 
is  needless  to  remark  that  he  was  told  he  was  a  little  too  late  in  his 
application. 

1  will  use  this  opportunity — the  last  I  may  perhaps  have  of  writing 
to  you  before  I  embark,  from  the  engagements  likely  to  press  upon  me 
in  getting  the  fund  ready  for  shipment  and  clearing  off  all  necessary 
expenses— to  say  a  word  of  our  professional  advisers.  Of  the  counsel 
I  selected  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  speak,  their  established  reputa- 
tion in  the  highest  department  of  their  profession  putting  them  above 
any  testimonial  from  me.  But  of  the  solicitors,  as  they  move  in  one 
of  its  less  conspicuous  fields,  I  will  barely  take  the  liberty  of  saying 
that  more  attention,  diligence,  discretion,  and  integrity  could  not,  I 
believe,  have  been  exerted  by  any  persons  than  they  have  shown 
throughout  the  whole  suit  from  first  to  last.  Could  they  ever  have 
forgotten  what  was  due  to  the  United  States  and  to  themselves  in  the 
desire  to  eke  out  a  job,  nothing  is  plainer  to  me,  from  what  has  been 
passing  under  my  observation  of  the  entanglements  and  dcla}Ts  natural 
to  a  heavy  suit  in  the  English  court  of  chancery,  than  they  might  have 
found  opportunities  in  abundance  of  making  this  suit  last  for  years 
yet  to  come. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Clarke,  Fynmore  <&  Fladgate  to  Richard  Rush. 

CRAVEN  STREET,  July  5,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  At  the  time  of  the  decease  of  the  late  Henry  James 
Hungerford,  esq.,  which  happened  on  the  5th  of  June,  1835,  there 
was  standing  in  the  name  of  the  accountant-general  of  the  court  of 
chancery  to  the  credit  of  the  cause  Hungerford  r.  Drummond  the  sev- 
eral sums  following,  viz:  £62,739  19s.  2d.  bank  £3  per  cent  annuities, 
£12,000  £3  per  cent  reduced  annuities,  £16,100  bank  stock. 

And  if  these  several  funds  had  then  been  sold  they  would  have  real- 
ized the  sum  of  £102,991,  or  thereabouts,  but  owing  to  the  proceedings 
which  were  necessary  to  be  instituted  in  the  court  of  chancery,  the 
funds  were  not  transferred  into  your  name  until  the  5th  of  June,  1838. 
We  are  happy  to  inform  you  that,  notwithstanding  this  delay,  no  loss 
has  been  occasioned  to  the  United  States,  as,  according  to  the  market 
prices  of  the  funds  on  the  last-mentioned  day,  the  funds  were  then 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  67 

worth  £103,888,  being  an  excess  of  =£897  beyond  the  value  on  the  5th 
of  June,  1835,  the  date  of  Mr  Hungerford's  death. 

The  whole  of  the  costs  of  the  chancery  suit  amounted  to  £723  7s.  lid., 
so  that  the  increase  in  the  value  of  the  funds  was  sufficient  to  pay  the 
whole  of  these  costs  and  leave  a  surplus  of  £173  12s.  Id. 

In  making  out  the  above  statement,  the  dividends  upon  the  funds 
have  not  been  taken  into  account,  but  the  United  States  receive  them 
in  addition  to  the  original  fund. 

The  United  States  do  not,  however,  receive  the  whole  amount  of 
such  dividends  now,  as  a  portion  of  them  was  invested  in  stock,  of 
which  £5,015  has  been  appropriated  to  answer  an  annuity  of  £150  9s. 
to  Madame  de  la  Batut,  upon  whose  decease  the  same  will  become  the 
property  of  the  United  States. 

The  sums  in  court,  at  the  last  hearing  of  the  cause,  were  as  follows, 
viz: 

£         s.  d. 

62,  739  19  2  bank  3  per  cent  annuities. 

6, 810  19  7  like  annuities. 

12, 000    0  0  reduced  annuities. 

16,100    0  0  bank  stock. 

1,765    2  0  cash. 

204    6  8  cash. 

These  sums  have  been  appropriated  as  follows,  viz: 


£         s.      d. 

62,  739  19    2    bank  3  per  cent  annuities. 
1,  795  19     7    part  of  £6,810  19s.  7d.  like  annuities. 


64, 535  18    9    bank  3  per  cent  annuities. 


Transferred  into  the  name 
of  Richard  Rush,  esq. 


12, 000    0    0    reduced  annuities. 
16,100    0    0    bank  stock. 
5,015    0    0    reduced  bank  annuities,  residue  of  £6,810  19s.  7d.  retained  in 

court  to  answer  annuity  to  Madame  de  la  Batut. 
406    3    0    paid  to  plaintiff's  solicitors  for  their  costs. 
162  15    5    paid  to  defendants'  solicitors  for  costs. 
53    7     6    paid  to  plaintiff's  solicitors  for  warehouse  room,  paid  by  them  to 

Messrs.  Deacon. 

526  11     6    paid  to  Madame  de  la  Batut  for  arrears  of  her  annuity. 
25    0    0    paid  to  Mrs.  Fitall  for  arrears  of  annuity. 
70    7    8    paid  to  solicitor  for  defendant,  the  attorney-general,  for  costs. 
725    3     7    balance  of  cash  paid  to  R.  Rush,  esq. 

Herewith  we  send  you  a  complete  copy  of  our  bill  of  costs,  amount- 
ing altogether  to  £490  4s.  lOd. ;  and  we  have  received  the  following 
sums  on  account  of  costs,  viz: 

£    S. 

April  10,  1837,  of  Richard  Rush,  esq 200  4 

June  11,  1838,  of  accountant-general,  for  plaintiff's  taxed  costs 406  3 

Total..  ..  606  7 


68  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

The  latter  sum  exceeding  our  hill  of  costs  by  .£116  2s.  2d.,  leaves  us 
in  debt  to  the  United  States  to  that  amount,  for  which  we  beg  leave  to 
inclose  our  check. 

We  may  here  remind  you  of  the  information  on  the  subject  of  costs 
which  we  had  before  given  you  verbally,  viz,  that  the  court  allows 
against  the  fund  certain  ordinary  costs;  and  such  costs  have  been 
received  by  us  from  the  accountant-general,  as  before  stated.  In  con- 
sequence, however,  of  the  line  of  conduct  adopted  by  us,  under  your 
own  directions,  to  insure  a  speedy  and  successful  termination  of  the 
suit,  some  small  extra  costs  have  been  incurred  beyond  what  are  con- 
sidered ordinary  costs. 

We  have,  as  you  requested,  had  a  lock  placed  upon  the  trunk1  in  our 
possession,  having  previously  deposited  therein  the  several  articles  of 
plate  and  other  matters,  which  we  mentioned  to  you  as  being  in  our 
possession,  and  of  which  articles  we  inclose  you  a  list. 

We  are,  dear  sir,  your  faithful  and  obedient  servants, 

CLARKE,  FYNMOKE  &  RLADGATE. 

P.  S.  We  also  return  to  you  the  memoranda  which  you  left  with  us 
as  to  the  stock. 


Cl&Tke,  Fymnore  cfc  Fladgate  to  Richard 

CRAVEN  STREET,  July  11,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  made  the  affidavit  wrhich  you  required  to  verify 
the  bill  of  costs,  and  which  we  now  return  to  you. 

We  also  send  }^ou  the  original  order  on  further  directions,  under 
which  the  several  transfers  of  the  funds  have  been  made  into  your 
name.  This  order  has  the  initials  of  the  registrar,  as  also  of  the  enter- 
ing clerk,  placed  at  the  foot  of  it;  this  being  the  mode  adopted  in  the 
court  of  chancery  to  show  the  authenticity  of  their  orders. 

We  also  send  you  a  transcript  from  the  books  of  the  accountant- 
general,  certified  by  Mr.  Lewis  to  be  a  true  copy,  Mr.  Lewis  being 
the  clerk  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  such  transcript.  The  sum  of 
.£70  7s.  8d.,  appearing  still  to  remain  on  the  general  credit  of  the  cause, 
is  reserved  for  the  costs  of  the  attorney-general,  and  will  be  paid  over 
to  his  solicitor  upon  his  applying  for  the  amount;  and  the  cash  stand- 
ing to  the  account  of  Mrs.  de  la  Batut  is  for  the  arrears  of  her  annuit}', 
and  will  be  paid  to  her. 

We  have  seen  Mr.  Deacon  upon  the  subject  of  his  charge  for  ware- 
house room  beyond  the  24th  ultimo,  and  have  paid  him  for  the  same 
£2;  and  we  have  also  paid  4s.  6d.  for  swearing  to  our  bill  of  costs, 
which  is  the  whole  of  our  demand  against  you. 

the  14  mentioned  in  my  dispatch  No, 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  69 

Mr.  Deacon  informed  us  when  we  saw  him  that  he  had  in  his  pos- 
session a  painting  belonging  to  the  estate,  and  which  he  promised 
should  be  sent  over  to  your  house,  and  which  we  presume  he  has  done; 
but  should  he  not  have  done  so,  perhaps  you  will  be  good  enough  to 
apply  to  him  for  it. 

We  will  thank  you  to  send  us  an  acknowledgment  for  the  different 
boxes  we  have  handed  you. 

We  are,  dear  sir,  your  veiy  faithful  servants, 

CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FLADGATE. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq. 


70 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUKS «  , 


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SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 


71 


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72  SMITHSONIAN    UEQUEST. 

IN  CHANCERY. 

Between  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  plaintiff,  and  Charles  Prnm- 
ijiond  and  Her  Majesty's  attorney-general,  defendants. 

The  bill  of  costs  of  the  above-named  plaintiff' in  thin  suit  and  incidental  thereto. 

£.    s.     d. 

Sejrt.  16,  1836. — Mr.  Fladgate's  attendance  on  Mr.  Rush,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  Portland  Hotel,  by  appointment,  when  Mr.  Rush 

requested  that  two  of  the  firm  should  at  least  attend 6    8 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush,  fixing  appointment  for  conference  with  him  on 

Tuesday  at  11  o'clock 5    0 

Sept.  20. — Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  Fladgate's  attendance  on  Mr.  Rush,  fully 
explaining  to  him  the  course  which  it  appeared  to  us  should  be  taken  on 
the  part  of  the  executors  to  bring  the  claim  of  the  United  States  under 
consideration,  and  also  the  necessity  of  making  Madame  de  la  Batut  and 
the  attorney-general  parties;  and  reading  to  him  the  case  laid  before  Mr. 

Stuart,  and  his  opinion,  of  which  he  wished  to  have  a  copy 1     0    8 

Copy  case  and  opinion  for  him 1     0    0 

Attending  him  therewith 6    8 

Oct.  :?. — Writing  to  Mr.  Rush,  in  reply  to  letter  from  him 5    0 

Oct.  7. — Writing  to  Mr.  Rush,  to  fix  appointment  for  conference  on  Thurs- 
day next 5  0 

Oct.  10. — Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  Fladgate's  attendance  on  Mr.  Rush,  by 
appointment,  to  peruse  case  drawn  out  by  him  for  counsel  to  advise  the 
American  Government  as  to  course  to  be  pursued  to  obtain  payment  of 
the  fund  in  court,  and  advising  as  to  the  counsel  to  be  retained,  and 

received  directions  to  submit  case  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  Mr.  Jacob 1     6    8 

Paid  coach  hire 1    6 

Oct.  11. — Looking  through  the  papers  in  our  possession,  to  compare  them 
with  statement  in  Mr.  Rush's  case,  and  altering  the  latter  in  one  or  two 

particulars,  engaged  two  hours 1     1    0 

Two  copies  of  case  for  counsel,  four  sheets  each 1     6    8 

Two  copies  of  act  of  American  Congress,  to  accompany  same,  three  sheets 

each 1     0    0 

One  copy  of  order  on  further  directions  in  the  cause  of  Hungerford  v.  Drum- 
mond,  also  to  accompany  case,  to  show  the  precise  position  of  the  funds 

in  court 1     1     0 

Attending  at  Doctor's  Commons  to  bespeak  an  office-copy  will  of  Mr.  Smith- 
son  for  Mr.  Rush,  at  his  request 6  8 

Attending  afterwards  to  examine  and  procure  same 6    8 

Paid  for  same 6    4 

Oct.  13. — Writing  to  Madame  de  la  Batut,  as  to  her  demands,  and  requesting 
her  to  appoint  a  solicitor  here  to  act  in  the  suit  about  to  be  instituted  by 

the  United  States 5    0 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  with  the  fair  copies  of  cases  for  his  perusal  and  signa- 
tures, and  we  also  returned  him  his  authority,  and  handed  him  office- 
copy  will 13  4 

Attending  Mr.  Pemberton  with  case 6    8 

Fee  to  him  therewith,  and  clerk 11     0    6 

Fee  to  him  for  conference  with  Mr.  Jacob,  and  clerk 296 

Attending  to  get  same  appointed 6    8 

Fee  to  Mr.  Jacob  with  case,  and  clerk 815    0 

Attending  him  therewith  and  thereon 6    8 


SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST.  73 

£    s.    d. 

Fee  to  him  for  conference,  and  clerk 246 

Attending  to  inform  him  of  time  appointed 6    8 

Nov.  2. — Attending  consultation,  Mr.  Rush  being  present,  when  the  course 
to  be  pursued  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  was  very  fully  considered, 
and  it  was  determined  that  a  supplemental  bill  should  be  filed  in  the 
name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  the  attorney- 
general  made  a  defendant,  and  counsel  promised  to  write  their  opinion. .  220 

Nov.  5. — Copy  of  opinion  for  Mr.  Rush 5    0 

Writing  to  him,  with  same 5    0 

Noi\  14. — Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  Fladgate's  attendance  upon  Mr.  Rush,  as  to 
the  bill  proposed  to  be  filed,  and  his  suggestions  as  to  the  possibility  of 
an  abatement  from  the  want  of  a  plaintiff,  and  explaining  the  course  of 

practice  to  him 1    6    8 

MICHAELMAS  TERM,  1836. 

Instructions  for  bill 13    4 

Drawing  same,  folios  30 1  10    0 

Paid  fee  to  Mr.  Shadwell  to  settle  and  sign,  and  clerk 246 

Attending  him 6    8 

Attending  Mr.  Shadwell,  advising  hereon  and  as  to  Madame  de  la  Batut's 
claim,  and  explaining  the  same  fully  to  him,  and  conferring  on  several 
points  arising,  and  particularly  on  the  nature  of  the  property  left  by  Mr. 

Smithson 6    8 

Fair  copy  bill  for  Mr.  Pemberton  to  peruse  and  finally  settle,  folios  30 10    0 

Fee  to  him  and  clerk 246 

Attending  him 6    8 

Attending  Mr.  Pemberton,  appointing  a  conference  hereon  at  Westminster.  6    8 

Paid  fee  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  clerk  thereon 296 

The  like  to  Mr.  Shadwell  and  clerk 136 

Attending  him 6    8 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush  informing  him  thereon 5    0 

Attending  consultation  (Mr.  Rush  being  present)  at  Westminster,  when  it 

was  determined  not  to  make  Madame  de  la  Batut  a  party  to  suit 1     6    8 

Paid  for  room 5    0 

Attending  Mr.  Shadwell  afterwards  to  procure  draft  bill  as  settled 6    8 

Engrossing  bill 15    0 

Paid  for  parchment ". .  10    0 

Paid  filing  bill 7    4 

Attending,  bespeaking,  and  afterwards  for  office-copy  bill  to  serve  on  the 

attorney-general 6    8 

Paid  for  same 1    5    0 

Attending  the  attorney-general  therewith 6    8 

Drawing  pnecipe  for  subpoena  against  defendant,  Charles  Drummond,  and 

attending  to  bespeak,  and  for  same 6    8 

Paid  for  subpoena  and  making  copy  to  serve 5  10 

Fee  on  obtaining  and  undertaking  to  appear  for  defendant,  Drummond. . .  6    8 
Nov.  20. — Attending  Mr.  Wray  to  press  for  answer  of  attorney-general  and 
explaining  to  tim  the  reason  of  our  urging  the  same,  when  he  promised 
to  prepare  answer  immediately,  Mr.  Rush's  invariable  direction  to  us 
being  to  use  all  practicable  speed  touching  every  point  of  the  proceedings.  6    8 
The  defendant,  Charles  Drummond,  wishing  his  answer  to  be  taken  with- 
out oath  or  signature,  the  solicitor's  fee  thereon 6    8 

Drawing  and  engrossing  petition  for  same 4    0 


74  SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST. 

£    B.  d. 

Attending  the  defendant' a  clerk  in  court  and  obtaining  his  consent  thereto.  6  8 

Attending  to  present  the  same 6  8 

Paid  answering,  and  for  order  and  entering 7  0 

Copy  and  service  of  order 2  0 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush  to  inform  him  when  it  was  likely  the  cause  would  be 

heard 5  0 

Paid  for  office-copy  answer  of  defendant,  Charles  Drummond,  folios  16 13  4 

Close  copy 5  4 

Attending  Messrs.  Derby  and  Raven  to  inform  them  answer  of  defendant, 
Drummond,  was  filed,  and  to  request  them  to  lose  no  time  in  putting  in 

answer  of  attorney-general 6  8 

January,  18S7. — Several  attendances  upon  Messrs.  Derby  and  Raven  and 
Mr.Wray  to  urge  the  filing  of  the  attorney-general's  answer,  which  was 

at  length  done 13  4 

Paid  for  office-copy  answer  of  attorney-general,  folios  4 3  4 

Close  copy 1  4 

Term  fee  clerk  in  court  and  solicitor 16  8 

Letters  and  messengers 5  0 

Abbreviating  bill  and  answer,  folios  50  in  all 16  8 

Making  two  briefs  of  pleadings,  5  sheets  each 1  13  4 

Paid  for  certificate  of  pleadings 3  4 

Attending  for  same 6  8 

Paid  for  setting  down  cause  and  attending 1    5  8 

Drawing  praecipe  for  subpoena  to  hear  judgment  and  attending  for  same...  6  8 

Paid  for  same  and  copy 5  10 

Service  on  the  clerks  in  court 5  0 

HILARY  TERM,  1837. 

Affidavit  of  service,  etc 3  4 

Oath 1  6 

Paid  filing  affidavit 6  2 

Copy  title  and  prayer  of  bill  for  judge 2  6 

Attending  to  bespeak,  and  afterwards  for  certificate  of  funds  in  court  in  orig- 
inal suit 6  8 

Drawing  observations  to  annex  to  plaintiff's  briefs,  4  brief  sheets 1    6  8 

Two  briefs  copies  thereof 168 

Two  copies  order  on  further  directions  in  original  suit,  to  accompany  briefs, 

7  sheets  each 268 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  on  his  handing  us  the  act  of  Congress  authorizing  him 
to  act,  and  on  his  instructing  us  to  let  a  copy  of  the  same  accompany  the 

briefs 6  8 

Two  brief  copies  same,  3  sheets  each 100 

Drawing  proposed  minutes  of  orders 5  0 

Fee  to  Mr.  Shadwell,  to  settle  same 136 

Attending  him 6  8 

Two  fair  copies  minutes  to  annex  to  briefs 5  0 

Two  fair  copies  minutes  to  annex  to  briefs,  for  defendants 5  0 

Attending  them  therewith  and  thereon 6  8 

Attending  the  defendant's  solicitors;  obtaining  their  consent  to  have  cause 

heard  short 13  4 

Attending  Mr.  Shadwell,  and  obtaining  his  certificate  thereof 6  8 

Attending  registrar  therewith,  and  getting  cause  marked  short,  and  put  in 

the  next  short-cause  paper 6  8 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  75 

£    s.    d. 

Fee  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  clerk,  with  brief 5  10    0 

Attending  him 6    8 

The  like  to  Mr.  Shadwell  and  clerk 356 

Fee  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  clerk,  on  conference  as  to  the  practicability  of 

having  cause  short 160 

Attending  him 13    4 

Attending  appointing  consultation 6    8 

Fee  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  clerk 296 

Attending  him' 6    8 

Like  to  Mr.  Shadwell  and  clerk 1    3    6 

Attending  him 6    8 

Writing  Mr.  Rush,  informing  him  thereof 5    0 

Attending  consultation  at  Westminster,  Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  Fladgate 1    6    8 

Paid  for  room  and  cab-hire 7    6 

Attending,  ascertaining  if  the  several  articles  mentioned  in  the  master's 
report  in  the  original  cause  were  safe,  and  comparing  same  with  the  sched- 
ule   13  4 

Two  brief  copies  schedules  to  annex  to  brief,  at  Mr.  Rush's  request 10    0 

Attending  bespeaking  transcript  of  the  account  in  original  suit 6    8 

Paidforsame 140 

Writing  Mr.  Rush,  informing  him  when  cause  would  be  in  the  paper 50 

Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  Fladgate  attending  court,  cause  heard  and  decreed  ac- 
cording to  minutes  agreed  on,  with  liberty  for  plaintiff  to  amend  his  bill 

by  adding  the  act  of  Congress 220 

Paid  court  fees 13    0 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  afterwards,  and  explaining  proceedings  to  him 13    4 

Drawing  petition  to  amend  bill 4    0 

Attending  to  present  same 6    8 

Paid  answering,  and  for  order  and  entering 7    0 

Two  copies  and  services  of  order 5    0 

Instructions  to  amend 13    4 

Drawing  amendments,  folios  6 6    8 

Fee  to  Mr.  Shadwell  and  clerk,  to  settle  and  sign 1    3    6 

Attending  him 6    8 

Engrossing  amended  bill,  folios  36 18    0 

Paid  for  parchment 10    0 

Paid  filing 7    4 

Abbreviating  amended  bill,  folios  36 12    0 

Two  brief  copies  of  amendments  for  counsel 10    0 

Paid  for  office-copy  of  amended  bill,   to  serve  on  the  attorney-general, 

folios36 1  10    0 

Attending  Messrs.  Derby  &  Co. ,  therewith  and  thereon 6    8 

Fee  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  clerk,  with  amended  bill 2    4    6 

Attending  him 6    8 

The  like  to  Mr.  Shadwell  and  clerk 136 

Attending  him 6    8 

Drawing  pnecipe  for  subpoena,  and  attending  to  bespeak  same 6    8 

Paid  for  same,  and  making  copy  to  serve 5  10 

Service  on  clerk  in  court 5    0 

Attending  registrar  and  getting  cause  put  in  the  paper 6    8 

Writing  to  solicitors  for  the  defendants,  informing,  them  thereof 10    0 

Attending  court  order  made 168 

Paid  court  fees ...  130 


76  SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST. 

£    s.  d. 

Instructions  for  petitions  to  lay  out  £6,172  9s. ,  cash  accumulated  in  Hunger- 
ford  v.  Drummond 6  8 

Drawing  same,  folios  40 200 

Fee  to  Mr.  Shadwell  and  clerk,  to  peruse  and  settle  same 246 

Attending  him 6  8 

Engrossing  petition  to  present,  as  settled,  folios  30 10  0 

Copy  for  the  master  of  the  rolls 10  0 

Attending  to  present  same 6  8 

Paid  answering 11  0 

Two  copies  petition  to  serve 1     0  0 

Attending  serving  same 4  0 

Two  brief  copies  for  counsel,  3  brief-sheets  each 1     0  0 

Drawing  observations  to  annex  to  brief  petition,  2  sheets 13  4 

Two  fair  copies 13  4 

Drawing  and  engrossing  affidavit  of  service  of  petition 4  10 

Paid  oath 1  2 

Paid  filing  and  for  office  copy 6  6 

Fee  to  Mr.  Shadwell  and  clerk  therewith 246 

Attending  him 6  8 

Attending  accountant-general  for,  and  obtaining  certificate 6  8 

Attending  court  petition  heard,  and  ordered  as  prayed 13  4 

Paid  court  fees 13  0 

Writing  Mr.  Rush,  at  his  request,  a  report  of  the  proceedings  in  court 50 

Paid  for  minutes  of  order 2  0 

Close  copy 1  0 

Attending  settling 6  0 

Paid  for  order 2    0  0 

Attending  passing 6  8 

Paid  entering 4  0 

Drawing  request  to  accountant-general 2  6 

Attending  bespeaking  investment 6  8 

Paid  4  0 

Paid  for  copy  of  minutes  of  decree 3  0 

Close  copy 1  6 

Attending  settling 13  4 

Copy  of  minutes  for  Mr.  Rush  and  writing  him  therewith  and  thereon 66 

Paid  for  decree 4  10  0 

Attending  passing 13  4 

Paid  entering 4  0 

Attending 6  8 

Attending  at  the  public  office  to  obtain  the  name  of  the  master  in  the  orig- 
inal cause 6  8 

Paid  master's  clerk 1  0 

Making  copy  title  and  ordering  part  of  decree  for  the  master 5  0 

Warrant  to  consider  decree,  two  copies,  and  services 6  0 

Writing  Mr.  Rush,  informing  him  thereof  in  order  to  insure  his  attendance.  5  0 

Attending  warrant  when  master  ordered  the  usual  advertisement  to  be 

issued  and  a  state  of  facts,  etc.,  to  be  brought  in  as  to  Madame  Batut'a 

claim,  and  stated  that  he  could  not  direct  inquiries  to  be  made  at  Pisa  as 

to  the  death  of  Mr.  Hungerford,  but  would  allow  the  costs  thereon  if 

instituted 13  4 

Attending  at  Stepney  Church  to  search  for  burial  of  John  Fitall,  but  found 
he  was  not  buried  there...  .110 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  77 


Paid  ex'arch  and  coach  hire  ............................................  2  6 

Attending  Mrs.  Fitall,  but  she  declined  giving  any  information,  as  the  last 

quarterly  payment  had  not  been  made  ................................  6  8 

Attending  at  various  places  in  the  neighborhood  to  inquire  where  he  was 

buried,  when  some  persons  said  in  the  country,  others  at  Fletcher's 

Chapel,  and  others  at  St.  George's  in  the  East,  and  ultimately  discovered 

a  relative,  who  informed  us  that  he  was  buried  at  Shad  well  ............  13  4 

Attending  at  Shad  well  Church;  clergyman  and  clerk  both  out  and  could 

not  search  ..........................................................  13  4 

Paid  coach  hire  .......................................................  5  0 

Attending  bespeaking  advertisement  as  to  Mr.  Hungerford's  death  .......  6  8 

Paid  master's  clerk  ....................................................  110 

Attending  bespeaking  advertisement  as  to  Madame  de  la  Batut's  claim  ____  68 

Paid  master's  clerk  ....................................................  1     1  0 

Attending  at  Shadwell,  searching  for  and  obtaining  certificate  of  Mr.  Fitall's 

death  ...............................................................  1     1  0 

Paid  for  certificate  and  omnibus  hire  ...................................  5  0 

Instructions  for  affidavit  verifying  extract  ...............................  6  8 

Drawing  same,  folios  8  .................................................  8  0 

Engrossing  same  ......................................................  2  8 

Attending  swearing  ....................................................  6  8 

Paid  oath  and  exhibit  .................................................  4  0 

Drawing  and  fair  copy  state  of  facts  as  to  Fitall's  death,  folios  12  ..........  8  0 

Warrant  on  leaving  same,  copy,  and  service  .............................  6  0 

Attending  Mr.  Cullington,  Mrs.  FitalPs  solicitor,  as  to  identity  of  John 

Fitall,  when  he  promised  to  see  his  client  thereon  and  let  us  know  the 

result  ...............................................................  6  8 

Attending  at  the  Gazette  office  to  get  advertisements  as  to  Mr.  Hungerford's 

death  inserted  ......................................................  6  8 

Paid,  and  for  Gazette  ...........................  .  ......................  182 

Attending  at  the  Gazette  office  to  get  advertisement  as  to  Mrs.  Batut's  claim 

inserted  ............................................................  6  8 

Paid  for  insertion  .....................................................  110 

Copy  of  advertisement  as  to  Hungerford's  death  for  Times  newspaper  .....  26 

Attending  inserting  same  ..............................................  6  8 

Paid  insertion  .........................................................  16  5 

The  like  for  Morning  Herald  ...........................................  9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc  .....................................................  16  5 

The  like  for  Standard  ..................................................  9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc  .....................................................  16  5 

Copy  of  advertisement  as  to  Mrs.  Batut's  claim,  for  the  Times  newspaper.  2  6 

Attending  inserting  same  ............................  .  .................  6  8 

Paid  insertion  .........................................................  16  0 

The  like  for  Morning  Herald  ...........................................  9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc  .....................................................  16  0 

The  like  for  Standard  ..................................................  9  2 

Paid  for  insertion,  etc  .................................................  16  0 

Several  attendances  in  the  city  as  to  the  best  mode  of  inserting  the  adver- 

tisement in  foreign  papers,  and  as  to  getting  same  translated,  etc  ........  1     1  0 

Making  copies  of  advertisements  to  get  translated  into  French  and  Italian.  5  0 

Attending  translation  therewith,  and  afterwards  for  same  ................  13  4 

Paid  them  ................................................  .  ...........  266 

Making  twelve  copies  for  insertion  in  foreign  papers  .....................  1  10  0 


78  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

£    B.  d. 
Attending  Mr.  Deacon,  the  newspaper  agent,  therewith  and  instructing 

him  thereon 13  4 

Paid  for  foreign  advertisements 12    2  11 

Attending  paying  same,  and  for  receipt 6  8 

The  proprietors  of  the  Times  newspaper  having  made  an  error  in  the  name 
of  Mr.  Hungerford,  attending  at  their  office  and  rectifying  same  and  giv- 
ing instruction  for  another  insertion 6  8 

Attending  Mr.  Deacon  to  ascertain  if  he  had  correspondent  at  Leghorn  to 
whom  we  could  forward  instructions  to  obtain  the  information  of  Mr. 

Hungerford' s  death,  and  obtaining  the  direction  of  same 6  8 

Writing  very  long  and  special  letter  to  Madame  Batut  as  to  her  claim  on 
the  estate  and  requiring  the  necessary  proof,  and  requesting  information 

as  to  her  son's  death,  etc 7  6 

Copy  same  to  keep  as  evidence 5  0 

Writing  Mr.  Rush,  with  Mrs.  Batut' s  answer 5  0 

Attending  at  Gazette  office  to  get  advertisements  as  to  Mr.  Hungerford' s 

death  inserted  second  time 6  8 

Paid  for  Gazette  and  insertion •. 1     8  2 

Copy  advertisement  for  Times  newspaper 2  6 

Attending  inserting  same 6  8 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 

The  like  for  Morning  Herald 9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 

The  like  for  Standard 9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 

Attending  at  Gazette  office  to  get  advertisement  as  to  claim  of  Madame  de 

la  Batut  inserted  a  second  time 6  8 

Paid  for  insertion 1     1  0 

Copy  advertisement  for  Times  newspaper 2  6 

Attending  inserting  same 6  8 

Paid  insertion 16  0 

The  like  for  Morning  Herald 9  2 

Paid  for  insertion,  etc 16  0 

The  like  for  Standard 9  2 

Paid  for  insertion,  etc 16  0 

Termfee 1     1  8 

EASTER  TERM,  1837. 

Attending  Mr.  Cullington  to  know  if  he  could  identify  Mr.  Fitall,  which  he 

declined  doing  unless  the  arrears  of  the  annuity  were  paid 6  8 

Attending  bespeaking  peremptory  advertisement  as  to  Hungerford's  death.          6  8 

Paid  master's  clerk 1     1  0 

The  like  charges  as  to  Madame  Batut' s  claim 178 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  with  Madame  de  la  Batut' s  letter,  and  conferring 
thereon,  when  he  agreed  with  us  in  thinking  that  she  had  abandoned  all 

claim  under  the  estate 6  8 

Attending  at  Gazette  office  to  get  peremptory  advertisement  inserted  as  to 

Mr.  Hungerford's  death 6  8 

Paid  for  Gazette  and  insertion 1     8  2 

Copy  advertisement  for  Times  newspaper 2  6 

Attending  inserting  the  same 6  8 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 

The  like  for  Morning  Herald 9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  79 

£    s.  d. 

The  like  for  Standard 9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 

Attending  at  Gazette  office  to  get  peremptory  advertisement  as  to  claim  of 

Madame  de  la  Batut  inserted 6  8 

Paid  insertion 110 

Copy  of  advertisement  for  Times  newspaper 2  6 

Attending  inserting  same 6  8 

Paid  insertion 16  0 

The  like  for  Morning  Herald 9  2 

Paid  insertion 16  0 

The  like  for  Standard 9  2 

Paid  insertion 16  0 

Attending  at  Gazette  office  to  get  peremptory  advertisement  inserted   a 

second  time  as  to  death  of  Mr.  Hungerford 6  8 

Paid  for  Gazette  and  insertion 182 

Copy  advertisement  for  Times 2  6 

Attending  inserting  same 6  8 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 

The  like  for  Morning  Herald 9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 

The  like  for  Standard 9  2 

Paid  insertion,  etc 16  5 

Attending  at  the  Gazette  office  to  insert  the  peremptory  advertisement  a 

second  time  as  to  claim  of  Madame  de  la  Batut 6  8 

Paid  for  insertion  and  Gazette 110 

Copy  advertisement  for  Times 2  6 

Paid  insertion 16  0 

The  like  for  Morning  Herald 9  2 

Paid  insertion 16  0 

The  like  for  Standard 9  2 

Paid  for  insertion ]H  0 

Attending  at  Mr.  Deacon's  to  ascertain  if  any  of  the  foreign  papers  had 
arrived,  when  he  handed  us  three  of  the  French  papers  which  he  had 

only  received  that  morning 6  8 

Perusing  and  examining  same,  and  ascertaining  they  were  full  of  errors; 
attending  Mr.  Deacon  again,  and  correcting  same,  and  requesting  him  to 

get  same  correctly  inserted 13  4 

Writing  Madame  de  la  Batut,  in  answer  to  her  last  letter,  and  requesting 

any  information  she  could  give  as  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Hungerford 50 

Making  two  copies  of  peremptory  advertisement  to  get  translated  into 

French  and  Italian 5  0 

Attending  translators  therewith,  and  afterwards  for  same 13  4 

Paid  them 2    6  6 

Making  12  copies  for  insertion  in  the  foreign  papers 1  10  0 

Attending  Mr.  Deacon  therewith,  and  instructing  him  thereon 13  4 

Paid  for  foreign  advertisements 12    3  0 

Writing  long  letter  to  Mrs.  Batut,  in  answer 5  0 

Attending  paying  for  foreign  advertisements  and  for  receipts 6  8 

Attending  Mr.  Batut  in  very  long  conference,  when  he  urged  the  claim  of 
Madame  de  la  Batut;  but  we  informed  him  we  had  no  discretion  to 
apply  the  funds  except  under  the  direction  of  the  court,  and  told  him 
to  carry  in  a  claim  before  the  master;  when  he  stated  "he  would  submit 
certain  documents  of  evidence  material  to  the  plaintiffs  case,  for  an 

inspection  at  10:30  o'clock  next  day  " 13  4 


80  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 


Paid  for  oaths  of  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynniore,  and  Fladgate  to  three  copies  of 

bill  delivered  to  Mr.  Rush IS  6 

April  29. — Attending  Mr.  Batut  for  upwards  of  two  hours,  when  he 
appeared  desirous  of  making  terms  as  to  the  information  he  could  give 
relative  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Hungerford  without  children,  which  he 
assured  us  we  could  not  obtain  elsewhere;  and  informing  him  we  could 
communicate  with  plaintiff  thereon,  and  requesting  him  to  put  any  legal 
claims  he  might  have  into  the  hands  of  his  solicitors,  and  we  promised  to 
represent  to  Mr.  Rush  his  statement 1  1  0 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush  on  the  above  subject,  and  requesting  appointment  to 
meet  him 5  0 

May  1. — Attending  Mr.  Gardner  in  long  conference  as  to  the  claims  of 
Madame  Batut,  which  we  thought  were  much  larger  than  would  be 
allowed  her  on  proof  before  the  master;  and  we  postponed  a  final  deter- 
mination until  we  had  again  looked  through  the  papers 13  4 

May  2. — Attending  at  Mr.  Rush's  in  long  conference  as  to  the  application 
of  Mr.  Batut,  when  it  was  decided  that  we  could  not  offer  any  pledge 
that  attention  would  be  paid  to  his  application,  but  that  we  must  pro- 
cure from  him  such  information  as  he  could  give,  and,  if  it  appeared  that 
he  had  any  just  claim,  we  would  offer  no  technical  or  unnecessary  delay 
to  it 13  4 

May  4- — Attending  Mr.  Gardner,  conferring  very  fully  again  hereon;  when 
he  stated  that  Mr.  .Smithson  possessed  himself  of  the  property  of  the  late 
Mr.  Dickinson,  and  never  rendered  an  account;  and  that  he  (Mr.  Gard- 
ner) considered  that  a  bill  should  now  be  filed  against  the  defendant 
(Drummond),  as  executor  of  the  testator  in  this  cause,  for  such  account; 
and  that  it  was  expected  a  larger  sum  would  be  found  to  have  been 
received;  but  that  at  all  events  a  claim  would  be  established  to  a  life  inter- 
est in  a  sum  equal  to  that  stated  in  the  will  to  be  the  nephew's  property, 
viz,  £260  per  annum,  which,  in  point  of  fact,  had  been  the  amount  of 
allowances  made  to  Mrs.  Batut  by  the  testator,  as  she  could  prove;  and 
we  urged  that  filing  a  bill  would  be  useless,  as  it  was  impossible  to 
furnish  an  account,  but  would  search  through  all  the  documents  in  the 
plaintiff's  custody  or  power,  and  give  them  every  facility  to  settle  the 
matter  in  the  master's  office 13  4 

May  5.— Attending  Mons.  Batut  for  upward  of  two  hours,  when  we  told 
him  the  only  chance  for  his  obtaining  any  remuneration  from  the  plaintiff 
was  to  furnish  him  with  every  information  in  his  power  relative  to  the 
death  of  Mr.  Hungerford,  which  he  seemed  very  unwilling  to  do,  without 
a  pledge  that  something  should  be  done,  and  we  assured  him  that  no 
party  here  could  give  such  pledge,  and  that  if  he  was  really  disposed  to  sell 
his  information,  he  must  put  his  terms  into  writing,  when  he  stated  that 
he  would  consider  the  course  to  adopt,  and  advising  him  to  give  us  the 
information,  and  informing  him  if  he  did  not  we  should  resist  Madame 
Batut's  claim  in  every  possible  way 1  1  0 

May  6. — Attending  at  Mr.  Deacon's;  going  through  and  perusing  the  docu- 
ments deposited  in  the  boxes,  etc.;  to  answer  Mr.  Gardner's  inquiry,  but 
could  find  nothing;  engaged  several  hours 1  i  0 

May  11. — Attending  Mr.  Gardner  as  to  Mr.  Batut's  claim,  when  he  required 
to  be  furnished  with  an  account  of  the  payments  made  by  Mr.  Smithson 
in  his  lifetime  to  Madame  de  la  Batut,  which  we  promised  to  procure,  as 
evidence  of  the  fund  she  might  claim  under  the  will  of  Dickinson 13  4 

Attending  Mr.  Deacon,  making  inquiry  as  to  the  foreign  papers,  when  he 
handed  us  several  French  ones,  and  promised  to  write  for  the  Italian 6  8 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  81 

£    s.    d. 

May  18. — Attending  Mr.  Batut  on  his  furnishing  us  with  the  required 
information,  when  it  appeared  that  Mr.  Hungerford  was  buried  at  a 
Dominican  convent,  at  Pisa,  under  the  name  of  Baron  de  la  Batut,  on  the 
5th  of  June,  1835,  and  that  a  stone  was  raised  to  his  memory;  but  that 
his  servant,  Leo  Ferna,  could  not  be  found,  and  he  urged  his  claim  upon 
the  consideration  of  the  plaintiff,  when  we  informed  him  that  we  could 
not  entertain  such  claim,  but  referred  him  at  once  to  Mr.  Rush,  or  to  the 
American  Government 13  4 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  afterwards,  conferring  on  Mr.  Batut' s  information  and 
application,  when  it  was  determined  that  a  meeting  should  take  place  in 
our  presence  between  Mr.  Rush  and  Mr.  Batut 13  4 

Attending  Mr.  Gardner  to  confer  as  to  appointment  with  Monsieur  Batut, 

but  he  was  out  of  town;  writing  Mr.  Rush  thereon 5  0 

Term,  fee,  etc 118 

TRINITY  TERM,  1837. 

Attending  at  Messrs.  Drummond,  going  through  their  books  to  ascertain 
whether  any  drafts  had  been  drawn  upon  them  by  the  testator,  which 
would  tally  with  the  claim  brought  forward  by  Mrs.  Batut,  but  found  it 
was  the  testator's  habit  to  draw  only  for  large  sums,  and  his  account 

proved  nothing 13    4 

May  30.—  Paid  for  copy  charge  of  Mrs.  Batut' s,  folios  36 • 4    6 

Attending  warrant  to  proceed  thereon,  when  the  master  directed  interroga- 
tories to  be  exhibited  for  the  examination  of  Mr.  Drummond G  0 

June  1. — Paid  for  copy  charge  of  Mrs.  Fitall,  folios  12 1    6 

June  2. — Attending  Mr.  Batut  further  as  to  his  alleged  claim,  and  the  infor- 
mation he  still  withheld  and  promised  to  afford  us 6  8 

June  5. — Attending  him  again  on  the  above  subject,  and  asking  him  what 
he  required ;  when  he  promised  to  consider  our  request  and  see  us  thereon 

next  day 6    8 

Attending  Messrs.  Pemberton,  advising  them  what  had  taken  place,  and 

requesting  them  to  attend  the  next  day  with  Mr.  Batut 6    8 

June  6. — Attending  warrant  on  Mrs.  Fitall 's  charge  when  the  master  directed 

an  affidavit  in  support  verifying  when  he  died 6    8 

June  6. — Attending  Mr.  Batut,  and  afterwards  Mr.  Rush,  when  Mr.  Batut 
stated  that  he  would  make  the  requisite  affidavit,  and  taking  full  instruc- 
tions for  same;  but  on  our  application  for  an  appointment  to  swear  same, 
he  changed  his  mind,  and  stated  that  he  would  not  make  the  affidavit 
unless  he  had  a  pledge  from  Mr.  Rush  that  he  would  support  his  claim 
in  America,  which  he  did  not  feel  justified  in  giving,  and  therefore  ih(> 

treaty  was  broken  off;  engaged  upward  of  two  hours 1     1     0 

Instructions  for  affidavit 6    8 

Drawing  same,  folios  14 14    0 

Attending  Messrs.  Pemberton  thereon,  and  urging  them  to  get  affidavit 

made,  and  to  bring  in  same  evidence  in  support  of  their  state  of  facts (J    8 

June  9. — Writing  Mr.  Rush  very  fully  thereon : 5    0 

June  10. — Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  very  long  conference  on  Mr.  Batut's  con- 
duct, and  informing  him  of  the  nature  of  the  evidence  sent  us  from  Italy, 

which  we  thought  was  quite  sufficient 13    4 

Attending  Mr.  Cullington,  pressing  him  to  leave  in  the  master's  office 
his  affidavit,  required  in  support  of  charge  as  to  Fitall's  annuity,  when 
he  promised  to  see  his  client  thereon  and  to  proceed  with  the  charge 

forthwith , . .          6    8 

H.  Doc.  732 6 


82  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

£    K.    d. 

Paid  postage  of  foreign  letter  from  Mr.  Berri 4     1 

June  16. — Attending  Mr.  Gardner  to  press  him  to  bring  in  the  particulars 

of  proof  of  Mrs.  Batnt's  claim,  and  conferring  on  claim 6    8 

June  19. — Paid  for  copy  affidavit  in  support  of  charge  of  Mrs.  Fitall,  folios  8.  1     0 

June  20. — Attending  warrant  to  proceed  on  charge  of  Mrs.  Fitall' s,  same 

allowed 6    8 

Paid  for  warrant  for  Mrs.  Batut  to  bring  in  evidence  in  support  of  charge, 
otherwise  it  would  be  disallowed,  copy  and  service  (no  clerk  in  court) . .  56 

Writing  Mr.  Rush  as  to  Fitall's  annuity 5    0 

June  23.— Writing  Mr.  Rush,  at  defendant  Drummond's  request,  touching 
an  application  made  to  him  by  Mr.  Batut,  and  requiring  his  instructions 

thereon 5    0 

Having  received  from  Leghorn  an  official  certificate  of  the  death  of  Mr. 
Ilungerford,  authenticated  by  Mr.  Falconer  (the  consul),  attending  at 
the  Foreign  Office,  to  ascertain  what  gentleman  connected  with  the  office 
could  verify  the  signature,  and  found  Mr.  Hertslet  was  known  to  him, 

but  he  was  from  town 6    8 

June  23. — Attending  Messrs.  Pemberton  &  Co.,  on  their  stating  they  were 
preparing  instructions  for  the  interrogatories,  but  previous  to  completing 
them,  they  were  anxious  to  examine  some  papers  belonging  to  the  testa- 
tor, in  a  black  trunk  in  our  possession — going  through  same  with  him — 

but  they  afforded  him  no  information;  engaged  two  hours 13    4 

June  26. — Attending  Mr.  Gardner  this  morning,  upward  of  two  hours,  on 
the  subject  of  Mrs.  Batut' s  claim,  endeavoring  to  come  to  some  arrange- 
ment and  to  ascertain  if  her  claim  was  really  founded  in  justice 13  4 

June  29. — The  master  having  required  evidence  of  the  insertion  of  the  for- 
eign advertisements  and  as  to  their  correctness,  instructions  for  affi- 
davits    6  8 

Drawing  same,  and  fair  copies;  folios  14 14    0 

Fair  copy  for  perusal 4     8 

Attending  Mr.  Deacon  and  Mr.  Whittaker,  severally,  therewith,  and  finally 

settling  same 13    4 

Engrossing  same 4    8 

Attending  Mr.  Deacon  to  the  public  office  to  get  sworn  to  the  same;  Mr. 

Whittaker  could  not  attend 6    8 

Paid  two  oaths 3    0 

July  1. — Attending  Mr.  Whittaker  to  get  sworn (>    8 

Paid  oath 1     6 

Paid  Mr.  Whittaker  and  Mr.  Deacon  for  loss  of  time  and  trouble '2    2    0 

Attending  paying  same  and  keeping  receipt 6    8 

Warrant  on  leaving  two  copies,  and  services (>    0 

Attending  Mr.  Gardner,  pressing  him  to  support  a  claim  of  Mrs.  Batut's; 
informing  him,  if  not  done  forthwith,  we  should  exclude  her  altogether 
from  the  report;  when  he  informed  us,  if  we  did,  he  should  immediately 

file  a  bill <>    8 

Attending  warrant  as  to  Mrs.  Batut's  evidence  in  support  of  her  charge, 
when  Mr.  Gardner  undertook  to  have  interrogatories  on  the  following  day.  (>  8 

Paid  for  copy  of  interrogatories — for  twelve  close  copies 1     6 

Carriage  of  parcel  from  Pisa 4    0 

Inclosing  certificate 7    8 

Having  received  the  above  certificate  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Hungerford,  attend- 
ing Mr.  Whittaker  to  get  same  translated 6  8 

Paid  his  charges 2  14    0 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  80 

£  a  d. 
Attending  warrant  to  settle  interrogatories  as  to  Mrs.  Batut's  claim,  when 

the  master  allowed  same,  subject  to  any  objections  the  defendant  might 

make  to  the  exhibits  which  were  not  left  in  the  office 16  8 

Warrants  for  Mrs.  Batut  to  bring  in  exhibits,  copy,  and  service: — not  in 

cause 5  6 

July  17. — Attending  counsel,  in  long  conference,  as  to  these  interrogatories 

and  exhibits 1.'}  4 

Paid  his  fee,  and  clerk 1  (>  0 

Attending 6  8 

Attending  to  Mr.  Rush,  in  very  long  conference  on  the  state  of  the  suit,  and 

advising  with  him  as  to  incurring  any  extra  expense  in  the  inquiries 

after  Mr.  Hungerford's  death 13  4 

Writing  Messrs.  Pemberton  on  the  proposed  exhibits,  and  copy 5  0 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush  very  fully,  in  answer  to  a  letter  received  from  him  as 

to  probable  time  suit  would  take 7  (> 

Drawing  request  to  accountant-general  to  invest  dividends 2  (> 

Attending  him  thereon 6  8 

Paid  his  fee 4  0 

Attending  Mr.  Rush,  informing  him  of  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  report 

before  office  closed,  and  explaining  the  necessity  of  giving  Madame  Batut 

the  means  of  establishing  her  claim  rather  than  file  a  bill 6  8 

Attending  warrant  to  proceed  on  Mrs.  Batut's  claim  when  exhibits  were 

left  in  support  thereof 6  8 

Paid  for  copy  examined,  folios  28 3  (> 

Close  copy . 9  4 

July  25. — Attending  warrant  and  interrogatories  when  the  same  were 

finally  settled,  the  solicitors  for  Madame  de  la  Batut  having  brought  in 

exhibits 6  8 

Drawing  and  fair  copy  state  of  facts  as  to  the  death  of  Henry  Hungerford, 

folios  48 1  12  0 

Warrant  on  leaving  same,  two  copies  and  services : 6  0 

Instructions  for  affidavits  in  support 6  8 

Drawing  same,  and  fair  copy,  folios  4 4  0 

Attending  Mr.  Hertslet  several  times  to  endeavor  to  get  him  to  appoint  a 

time  to  swear,  but  could  not 6  8 

Attending  at  the  master's  office  to  examine  exhibits  with  the  copies,  and 

engaged  comparing  same,  but  found  one  missing G  8 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  a  very  long  conference  on  the  subject  of  this  suit. .  13  4 
Aug.  14. — Attending  at  the  foreign  office  and  conferring  on  the  affidavit 

with  Mr.  Hertslet,  when  he  requested  us  to  leave  the  report,  certificates, 

.and  affidavits  with  him,  and  he  would  appoint  a  time  to  swear  affidavit.  13  4 

Engrossing  affidavit,  folios  4 2  0 

Attending  Mr.  Hertslet  to  be  sworn 6  8 

Paid  oath  and  exhibit 4  0 

Paid  his  charges 1  1  0 

Warrant  on  leaving  copy  and  service 6  0 

Postage  of  letter  to  Mr.  Tannin,  in  answer  to  his  letter  relative  to  death  of 

Mr.  Hungerford 1  8 

Writing  very  long  letter  to  Mr.  Rush,  informing  him  of  what  had  taken 

place '. 5  0 

Instructions  for  further  affidavits  in  support 6  8 

Drawing  same,  and  fair  copy,  folios  20 1  0  0 

Engrossing  same „,„.,. 6  8 


84  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

£    s.  d. 

Writing  Mr.  Rush,  stating  the  result  of  our  inquiries  touching  the  property 
formerly   belonging  to  Mr.  Dickinson,  under  whose  will    Mrs.  Batut 

claimed 5  0 

Sept.  2. — Attending  Mr.  Rush,  conferring  and  explaining  the  position  of 
Mrs.   Batut's  claim,  and  the  effect  of   the  information  received  from 

France,  from  which  it  would  appe  r  that  such  claim  was  fraudulent 13  4 

Instructions  for  affidavit  of  Mr.  Whittaker  as  to  verification  of  translated 

copy  of  report  from  Pisa 6  8 

Drawing  same,  and  fair  copy,  folios  4 4  0 

Copy  report  to  annex  as  exhibit 10  0 

Attending  Mr.  AVhittaker,  conferring  thereon,  and  getting  him  to  settle 

same 0  8 

Engrossing  same,  folios  4 1  4 

Attending  him  to  be  sworn 6  8 

Paid  oaths  and  exhibits 4  0 

Warrant  and  leaving  copy  and  service 8  6 

Paid  him  for  loss  of  time 1     1  0 

Attending  swearing  further  affidavits  in  support  of  plaintiff's  facts 6  8 

Paid  oath,  etc 4  0 

Term  fee  and  letters 1     1  8 

MICHAELMAS  TERM,  1837. 

Warrant  on  leaving  same,  copy  and  service 6  0 

Warrant  to  proceed  on  Mrs.  Batut's  charge,  copy  and  service 8  6 

Attending  warrant,  and  proceeding  thereon 6  8 

Instructions  for  affidavit  for  Mr.  Curdy,  verifying  translation  of  notarial 

act  made  at  Paris  after  the  decease  of  Mr.  Hungerford 6  8 

Drawing  same,  and  fair  copy,  folios  4 4  0 

Copy  translation,  to  annex  as  an  exhibit 8 

Engrossing  affidavit,  folios  4 1  4 

Attending  to  be  sworn 6  8 

Paid  oath,  etc 4  0 

AVarrant  on  leaving  two  copies  and  service 6  0 

Warrant  on  leaving  further  evidence 6  0 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  very  long  conference  on  the  progress  of,  and  advis- 
ing on,  this  suit,  and  taking  his  instructions  thereon 13  4 

Paid  for  transcript  of  account 4  0 

Attending  bespeaking,  and  afterwards  for  same 6  8 

Drawing  request  to  accountant-general  to  invest  dividends 2  6 

Attending  bespeaking  investment  of  dividends 6  8 

Paid  fee 4  .0 

Instructions  for  affidavit  of  Mr.  Hertslet,  verifying  notarial  act  as  to  death 

of  Mr.  Hungerford 6  8 

Drawing  same,  and  fair  copy,  folios  4 4  0 

Attending  him  to  peruse  and  settle  same 6  8 

Engrossing  same 1  4 

Attending  him  to  be  sworn 6  8 

Paid  oath  and  exhibit 4  0 

Paid  his  charge 1     1  0 

Warrant  on  leaving  two  copies  and  services 6  0 

Warrant  to  proceed  on  state  of  facts,  and  charge  of  plaintiff,  as  to  death  of 

Mr.  Hungerford,  copy  and  service 6  0 

Attending  warrant,  same  proceeded  with  and  allowed,  and  warrant  ordered 

to  be  issued  on  Mrs.  Batut's  charge 6  8 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  85 

£   s.    d. 
Warrant  to  proceed  on  state  of  facts,  and  charge  of  Mrs.  Batut's,  copy  and 

service 8    6 

Attending  bespeaking  transcript  in  original  cause,  and  afterwards  for  same.          6    8 

Paid 4    0 

Sept.  29. — -Attending  Mr.  Rush,  reporting  and  advising  on  the  progress  of 

the  proceedings  in  the  master's  office 6    8 

Dec.  4. — Attending  warrant  and  proceeding  on  facts  and  charge  of  Mrs.  Ba- 

tut,  when  the  master  directed  another  warrant  to  issue 6    8 

Warrant  to  proceed,  three  copies  and  service 8    6 

Attending  warrant  when  the  master  said  he  thought  she  had  established  a 
claim  to  half  of  the  income  of  the  French  fund,  but  would  give  us  leave 
to  inquire  and  prove,  if  we  could,  that  it  had  been  already  satisfied  and 
he  directed  us  to  obtain  an  order  to  state  special  circumstances  in  regard 

to  her  claim,  the  words  of  the  decree  not  being  sufficient 6    8 

Writing  Mr.  Rush  very  fully  thereon 5    0 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  a  very  long  conference,  and  advising  with  him  on 
the  expediency  of  opposing  Mrs.  Batut's  claim,  as  it  would  cause  much 
delay,  and  stop  the  order  on  further  directions;  and  explaining  same  fully 
to  him,  when  he  promised  to  consider  the  same,  and  see  us  again  thereon.  13  4 
Dec.  14- — Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  very  long  conference  as  to  Mrs.  Batut,  on 
his  having  duly  considered  the  subject;  when  he  instructed  us  to  write 
to  Paris  to  obtain  such  evidence  as  we  could,  and  lay  same  before  coun- 
sel, to  advise  on  the  expediency  of  opposing  Mrs.  Batut's  claim,  we  being 
of  opinion  that  evidence  might  be  obtained  that  would  repel  her  claim. .  13  4 
Dec.  19. — Attending  at  the  foreign  office  to  make  inquiry  touching  the 
swearing  of  affidavits  abroad  before  a  proper  tribunal,  and  found  that 

they  could  be  sworn  before  the  British  consul 6    8 

Instructions  for  affidavit  to  be  sworn  by  the  stockbroker  who  transferred 

same 6    8 

Drawing  same  and  fair  copy,  folios  6,  and  fair  copy  to  send  to  Paris 6    0 

Instructions  for  affidavit  of  a  notary  as  to  some  documents  in  his  possession 

relative  to  the  transfer 6    8 

Drawing  same  and  fair  copy,  folios  8 8    0 

Fair  copy  to  send  to  Paris 2    8 

Writing  Mr.  Truftant  therewith  and  fully  thereon,  and  urging  him  to  get 
affidavits  sworn  if  possible  in  their  present  shape,  but  if  not,  to  advise 

with  some  English  solicitor  at  Paris 7    6 

Dec.  29. — Postage  letter  from  Mr.  Truftant  requiring  further  instruction 1    2 

Writing  to  him  very  fully  thereon 7    6 

Instructions  to  amend  decree 13    4 

Drawing  notice  of  motion  to  amend  decree 2    0 

Copy  and  service 2    0 

Drawing  and  engrossing  affidavit  of  service 6    0 

Attending  swearing 6    8 

Paid  oath 1    6 

Attending  filing  and  for  office  copy 6    8 

Paid 6    0 

Drawing  brief  for  counsel  to  move 10    0 

Paid  him  and  clerk 136 

Attending  him 6    8 

Jan.  8,  1838.—  Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  very  long  conference  on  the  progress 

of  the  cause,  etc 13    4 

Term  fee,  etc 1     1     8 


86  SMITHSONIAN 

HILARY  TERM,  1838. 

£    s.    d. 

Jan.  11. — Attending  court,  motion  made  and  ordered  accordingly 13    4 

Postage  of  letter  to  Mr.  Truftant,  requesting  to  be  furnished  with  a  copy  of 

Mrs.  Batut's  claim 1     2 

Copy  same,  to  send,  folios  36 12    0 

Writing  him  very  fully  therewith  and  thereon 7    6 

Paid  for  copy  minutes 2    0 

Close  copy 1    0 

Attending  settling 6    8 

Paid  for  order 100 

Attending  register  to  draw  up  and  pass  order 6    8 

Paid  entering 1     0 

Attending  to  enter  same 6    8 

Jan.  23. — Postage  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Truftant,  containing  a  certificate, 
signed  by  the  charge^  d'affaires,  which,  from  his  letter,  appeared  the  best 

evidence  he  could  procure  for  us 2    4 

Writing  him  that  same  was  not  sufficient,  and  requesting  to  know,  per 
return,  whether  or  not  the  stockbroker  could  make  an  affidavit  as  to  the 
fact  of  instructing  him  thereon,  and  if  he  could  not  procure  such  affida- 
vit, to  make  one  himself 7  6 

Jan.  30.— Postage  letter  from  Mr.  Truftant 5    0 

Jan.  31. — Attending  Mr.  Rush,  fully  conferring  as  to  the  inquiries  touching 
Mrs.  Batut's  claim,  when  he  stated  he  would  consider  same,  and  decide 

whether  to  proceed  or  not 13    4 

Feb.  5. — Attending  Mr.  Rush  on  his  wishing  to  know  the  result  of  the  pro- 
ceedings if  the  claim  of  Mrs.  Batut  were  resisted,  and  to  what  extent  the 
proceedings  might  be  carried  by  her,  and  explaining  same  very  fully  to 

him,  when  he  wished  us  to  write  a  letter  to  him  thereon 13    4 

Writing  letter  and  copy 5    0 

Ft'h.  6. — Attending  counsel  in  long  conference  on  the  evidence  obtained 
from  Paris,  and  as  to  the  expediency  of  bringing  same  into  the  master's 

office 13    4 

Fee  to  him  and  clerk  thereon 1     6    0 

Attending  him 6    8 

Copy  of  Mr.  Truftant's  affidavit,  to  keep 2    8 

Warrant  on  leaving  three  copies,  and  services 8    6 

Warrant  to  proceed  on  claim,  three  copies,  and  services 8    6 

Feb.  19. — Attending  warrant  and  proceeding  on  state  of  facts  and  affidavits 

in  opposition  to  Mrs.  Batut's  claim,  when  claim  allowed ".  6    8 

Warrant  to  show  cause  why  warrant  on  preparing  draft  report  should  not 

issue,  three  copies,  and  services 8    6 

Feb.  ^.—Attending  warrant,  no  cause  shown 0    8 

Warrant,  on  preparing  three  copies,  and  services 8    6 

Copy  will  of  testator  for  the  master,  folios  8 2    8 

Paid  for  copy  draft  report,  folios  48 0    0 

Close  copy 16    0 

Mar.  1. — Warrant  to  settle,  three  copies,  and  services 8    6 

Attending  same 6    8 

Attending  Messrs.  Pemberton,  conferring  very  fully  on  the  draft  report 
and  the  several  inaccuracies  therein,  and  calculating  amount  of  arrears, 

etc.,  due 6    8 

Attending  warrant  on  charge  of  Messrs.  Clarke  &  Co.,  when  same  allowed.  6    8 

Paid  for  copy  same,  folios  6 9 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  87 

£    s.  d. 

Close  copy 2  0 

Paid  for  copy  affidavit  in  support,  folios  4 6 

Close  copy 1  4 

Another  warrant  to  settle  report,  three  copies,  and  services 8  6 

Attending  warrant  and  settling  report;  but  the  master  directed  many  addi- 
tions to  be  made  thereto,  and  an  affidavit  to  be  obtained  from  a  broker 

in  the  city  as  to  the  amount  of  exchange 6  8 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  very  long  conference  thereon  before,  at,  and  after 
the  above  warrant,  when  he  directed  us  to  obtain  the  order  on  further 

directions  as  soon  as  possible 13  4 

Mar.  9. — Attending  Mr.  Rush  again,  conferring  fully  herein 13  4 

Mar.  12. — Attending  Messrs.  Pemberton  as  to  the  cause  of  delay  in  obtain- 
ing the  necessary  affidavit,  when  they  promised  to  bring  same  in  in  a  few 

days 6  8 

Paid  for  copy  of  affidavit  of  Mr.  I>oyd,  folios  G 9 

Close  copy 2  0 

Mar.  17. — Attending  warrant  and  proceeding  on  state  of  facts 6  8 

Mar.  20. — Paid  for  fresh  copy  report,  folios  44 5  6 

Close  copy 14  8 

Warrant  to  sign,  three  copies,  and  service.! 8  6 

Attending  same 6  8 

Paid  for  drawing,  signing,  and  transcribing  report 3     9  6 

Paid  filing  and  for  office  copy 1   16  10 

Attending  to  file 6  8 

Drawing  and  engrossing  petition  to  confirm  report  absolute  in  the   first 

instance 4  0 

Attending  getting  consents 6  8 

Attending  to  present 6  8 

Paid  answer  and  for  order 7  0 

Two  copies  and  services  on  clerks  in  court _ 4  0 

Draft  on  Peml  >erton 2  6 

Drawing  and  engrossing  petition,  to  set  down  cause  on  further  directions 

and  costs 4  0 

Attending  to  present _ 6  8 

Paid  answer  and  setting  down  cause,  etc 19  0 

Two  copies,  and  services,  order  on  clerks  in  court 4  0 

Draft  on  Messrs.  Pemberton 2  G 

Attending  defendant's  solicitor  for  consent  to  hear  cause  immediately 13  4 

Making  copy  decree  for  the  master  of  the  rolls,  four  sides 2  8 

Making  report,  folios  48 1G  0 

Attending  to  leave  same 6  8 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  very  long  conference,  explaining  that  the  report 
had  been  confirmed,  and  giving  him  extracts  of  all  the  dates  and  pro- 
ceedings, etc.,  and  advising  him  as  to  the  future  proceedings,  etc 13  4 

Drawing  and  engrossing  copy  affidavit  of  service  of  order  to  set  cause  down.  3  4 

Attending  to  l>e  sworn 6  8 

Paid  oath 1  6 

Attending  filing  and  afterwards  for  same 6  8 

Paid  filing  and  for  office  copy • 3  4 

Attending  Mr.  Rush,  informing  him  cause  was  set  down  and   would  be 

heard  in  Easter  term,  and  conferring  thereon 13  4 

Instructions  for  petition 6  8 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

£  s.  d. 
Drawing  and  fair  copy  petition  to  be  heard  with  the  cause,  on  further 

directions,  folios  88 480 

Attending  Mr.  Rush,  conferring  thereon,  when  he  wished  counsel  to  be 

advised  with  thereon 13  4 

Attending  conferring  with  Mr.  Shadwell  thereon,  when  he  advised  cause 

to  be  set  down  and  petition  to  be  presented  afterwards 13  4 

Paid  his  fee  and  clerk 1  «  0 

Attending  him 0  8 

Drawing  proposed  minutes,  folios  12 12  0 

Fair  copy  for  Mr.  Shadwell 4  0 

Attending  him  in  conference  and  settling  same 13  4 

Paid  his  fee  and  clerk 1  0  0 

Attending  him 0  8 

Two  copies  minutes  for  defendants 6  8 

Attending  them  therewith  and  thereon,  and  fmaliy  agreeing  to  same 13  4 

Drawing  brief  on  further  directions,  7  brief  sheets 2  6  8 

Two  fair  copies  for  counsel 2  6  8 

Drawing  observations  for  plaintiff,  2  brief  sheets 13  4 

Two  fair  copies  f<  >r  counsel 13  4 

Attending  Messrs.  Pemberton  on  their  requesting  some  information  in 

order  to  draw  their  petition,  and  giving  them  same,  engaged  some  time, 

term  fee,  etc ]     1  8 

EASTER  TERM,  1838. 

Attending  to  l>espeak  and  afterwards  for  certificate  of  funds  in  court  in  this 

cause 6  8 

The  like  in  original  cause 6  8 

Fee  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  clerk  with  brief 510  0 

Attending  him (3  8 

Fee  to  Mr.  Shad  well  and  clerk 3    f>  6 

Attending  him (»  8 

Attending  Mr.   Shadwell,  obtaining  his  certificate  for  cause  to  IHJ  heard 

short 6  8 

Attending  register  therewith,  and  getting  cause  put  in  the  paper  for  next 

short  cause  day 6  8 

Attending  Mr.  Pemberton  to  appoint  a  consultation  at  Westminster 6  8 

Fee  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  clerk  thereon 296 

The  like,  Mr.  Shadwell 1     3  6 

Attending  him 6  8 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush  informing  him  of  consultation 5  0 

Attending  consultation  when  Mr.  Pemberton  expressed  his  regret  that  the 
petition  had  not  been  presented,  and  directed  Mr.  Shadwell  to  draw  same 

immediately 13  4 

Paid  for  room 5  0 

May  1. — Mr.  Clarke  and  Fladgate's  attending  court;  cause  heard  and  ordered 
as  per  minutes,  agreed,  but  the  order  to  stand  over  for  petition  to  come 

on  as  to  funds  being  paid  to  Mr.  Rush 2    2  0 

Paid  court  fees 1 13  0 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  very  long  conference,  explaining  to  him  fully  what 

had  taken  place,  and  he  directed  us  to  use  all  expedition 13  4 

Perusing  and  considering  former  petition,   and  altering  same  in  many 

respects 1     1  0 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  89 

£    s.  d. 

Fee  to  Mr.  Shadwell  to  peruse  and  settle 3    5  6 

Attending  him • 6  8 

Engrossing  same  and  paper,  folios  77 1     8  8 

Copy  for  the  master  of  the  rolls 1     8  8 

Attending  presenting  petition,  when  the  secretary  directed  that  it  l>e  taken 

to  Westminster  to  be  answered  by  a  certain  day 6  8 

Attending  Mr.  Pemberton,  instructing  him  to  get  day  appointed  accord- 
ingly   6  8 

Attending  court  when  Mr.  Pemberton  mentioned  it  to  the  court,  and  it 

was  ordered  to  be  answered  for  Tuesday  next 6  8 

Attending  his  lordship's  secretary,  and  getting  same  answered  accordingly.  6  8 

Paid  answering 6  6 

Two  copies  petition  for  service,  folios  77,  each ; 217  4 

Attending  serving  the  same  on  clerks  in  court 4  0 

Drawing  and  engrossing  affidavit  of  service 3  4 

Attending  to  be  sworn 6  8 

Paid  oath. 1  6 

Attending  to  file  and  for  office  copy 6  8 

Paid  for  office  copy 3  4 

Tvv<  >  1  >rief  copies  petition,  8  brief  sheets,  each 213  4 

Drawing  observations  to  accompany  2  brief  sheets 13  4 

Two  brief  copies  for  counsel 13  4 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  again  hereon,  conferring  and  advising  very  fully  hereon .  134 
Attending  register  to  get  original  decree  altered,  as  directed  by  the  court,  and 

after  some  trouble  getting  same  altered  accordingly 13  4 

Attending  to  enter  and  afterwards  for  same 6  8 

Paid  at  entering  seat  for  alteration 1  0 

Fee  to  Mr.  Pemberton  and  clerk  with  brief  petition 2    4  6 

Attending  him 6  8 

Fee  to  Mr.  Shadwell  and  clerk 1     3  6 

Attending  him 6  8 

Writing  Mr.  Rush  that  the  court  would  not  sit  on  Tuesday,  and  that  petition 

would  be  in  on  Wednesday 5  0 

Attending  court,  petition  heard  and  ordered  as  prayed 13  4 

Paid  court  fees 7  0 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  on  the  amount  of  funds  in  the  cause,  and  writing  him 
out  full  particulars  thereof,  and  taking  his  instructions  to  expedite  the 

transfer  and  payment  to  him 13  4 

Writing  to  Mr.  Truftant  as  to  his  charges  and  expenses,  etc 5  0 

Paid  postage  letter  inclosing  same 2  4 

Paid  same  to  his  agents 10  0  0 

Attending  paying  same  and  for  receipt 6  8 

Writing  Mr.  Rush,  at  his  request,  with  full  particulars  of  what  took  place 
at  the  hearing  of  the  cause  and  also  of  the  petition,  and  generally  on  the 

cause 7  6 

Attending  Mr.  Hussey  to  draw  up  minutes,  when  he  said  the  registrar,  Mr. 
Callis,  who  was  in  court  on  the  petition,  ought  to  draw  them  up;  attending 
on  Mr.  Callis  and  with  him  to  Mr.  Hussey,  and  arguing  same,  when  it  was 
finally  determined  that  Mr.  Hussey  should  draw  xip  the  minutes,  and  date 

them  the  12th — engaged  upward  of  an  hour 13  4 

Paid  for  copy  minutes  of  decree 10  0 

Close  copy  thereof 5  0 


90  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

£    s.  d. 

Several  attendances  upon  the  registrar,  to  procure  him  to  pass  onler,  which 

was  at  length  done 1     (>  8 

Paid  for  order  on  further  directions .310  0 

Paid  expenditure 10  0 

Terinfee,etc 1     J  8 

TRINITY  TERM,  l&JS. 

Attending  passing  same 13  4 

Paid  entering  same 6  6 

Attending 6  8 

Making  copy  ordering  part  of  the  decree  for  tae  master 2  6 

Drawing  this  bill  of  costs,  and  fair  copy  for  the  master,  folios  180 6  0  0 

Warrant  on  leaving  same,  copy  and  service 4  6 

May  8. — Warrants  to  tax  copies  and  services 1  16  0 

Attending  same 213  4 

Paid  clerk  in  court 2  13  4 

Warrant  for  defendants  to  bring  in  their  costs,  two  copies  and  services 60 

Paid  for  copy  defendant  Drummond's  costs,  folios  72 9  0 

Attending  three  warrants,  taxing  same 1  0  0 

Paid  clerk  in  court 1  0  0 

Paid  for  copy  attorney-general's  costs,  folios  16 2  0 

Attending  warrant,  taxing  same 6  8 

Paid  clerk  in  court 6  8 

Paid  for  certificate  of  costs  and  transcribing I  0  6 

Attending  to  file 6  8 

Paid  filing  same 3  10 

Attending  accountant-general's,  bespeaking  clerks 6  8 

Paid  entering  clerk  for  costs 2  4 

Attending  bespeaking  carrying  over  of  the  funds  and  cash  from  Hungerford 

v.  Drummond  to  this  cause 6  8 

Paid 5  0 

Attending  bespeaking  carrying  over  of  £5,015,  bank  <£3  percents  to  Mrs. 

Batut's  account,  paid (>  8 

Attending  bespeaking  direction  for  transfer  of  all  the  funds  to  Mr.  Rush  in 

the  £3  percent  annuities (>  8 

Paid 2  6 

The  like  on  reduced  annuities 9  2 

The  like  on  bank  stock 9  2 

Attending  bespeaking  transfer  to  Mr.  R.  Rush 13  4 

Paid 1  4  0 

Paid  messenger 1  6 

Instructions  for  affidavit  as  to  residue  of  cash 6  8 

Drawing  and  fair  copy  affidavit 6  8 

Attending  to  be  sworn 6  8 

Paid  oath 1  6 

Paid  for  office  copy 4  8 

Attending  bespeaking  check  of  residue  of  cash 6  8 

Paid  clerks  for  their  trouble 5  5  0 

Attending  to  identify  Mr.  Rush 6  8 

Paid  entering  check 2  4 

Term  fee,  etc 1  1  8 

Letters,  messengers,  etc 1  10  0 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  91 


For  various  attendance,  not  hereinbefore  enumerated,  on  Messrs.  Derby  and 
Raven,  the  solicitors  for  the  attorney-general;  Messrs.  Pemberton;  Crow- 
ley,  and  Gardner,  the  solicitors  forMr.de  la  Batut,  and  Mr.  Cullington, 
the  solicitor  for  Mr.  Fitall,  to  urge  their  proceeding  in  the  several  matters 
connected  with  the  suit  with  all  possible  expedition,  it  being  the  earnest 
wish  of  Mr.  Rush  that  the  suit  should  be  brought  to  a  final  conclusion 
with  the  least  possible  delay 5  5  0 

May  25. — Attending  Mr.  Rush;  conferring  very  fully  with  him  as  to  the 
several  matters  remaining  to  be  done  to  wind  up  the  suit 13  4 

June2. — Attending  Mr.  Rush  in  a  long  conference  as  to  winding  up  the 
suit,  and  the  difficulties  we  had  to  encounter  in  the  accountant-general's 
office 13  4 

Attending  in  the  city  to  make  inquiries  as  to  the  transfer  of  stock,  and 
found  it  would  not  be  made  until  Tuesday,  but  that  Mr.  Rush  could  sell 
it  out  the  same  day 13  4 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush  to  inform  him  thereof  and  special  messenger  with 
letter 7  6 

Attending  Mr.  Rush  afterwards,  informing  him  what  arrangement  we 
should  suggest  to  him  as  to  selling  the  stock 6  8 

June  4- — Attending  Mr.  Rush  again  this  day,  conferring  on  the  transfer  of 
stock  and  as  to  winding  up  the  suit;  and  he  requested  us  to  write  him  an 
official  letter  announcing  the  transfer  of  the  funds 13  4 

Attending  at  the  accountant-general's  to  learn  if  the  stocks  were  trans- 
ferred, which  we  found  was  done 6  8 

Writing  an  official  letter  to  Mr.  Rush  to  inform  him  thereof,  according  to 
his  request 5  0 

June  5.— Attending  Mr.  Rush,  conferring  very  fully  in  what  remained  to  be 
done  and  as  to  the  steps  to  be  taken  by  him  to  realize  the  funds 13  4 

June  6. — Attending  Mr.  Rush  on  the  subject  of  the  residue  of  cash  in  court, 
which  was  to  be  paid  to  him,  and  explaining  that  we  could  procure  same 
out  of  court  by  Saturday;  and  he  requested  to  be  furnished  with  a  copy 
of  the  list  of  articles  deposited  with  Mr.  Deacon 13  4 

Copy  list  for  him  (schedule  marked  "  F  ") ,  one  trunk  only  (see  list) 2    6 

June  8. — Attending  the  accountant-general's  to  learn  if  check  was  ready  for 
Mr.  Rush,  and  found  it  was  and  would  be  signed  this  day 6  8 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush  to  inform  him  thereof  and  to  make  an  appointment 
for  hun  to  attend  and  receive  same 5  0 

June  12. — Attending  Mr.  Deacon  to  ascertain  if  the  boxes  could  be  sent  to 
our  office;  and  he  not  being  home  writing  to  him  thereon 6  8 

June  18. — Attending  Mr.  Deacon  to  make  appointment  for  Mr.  Rush  to 
attend  to  inspect  contents  of  boxes 6  8 

Writing  to  Mr.  Rush  to  inform  him 5    0 

June  20. — Attending  at  Mr.  Deacon's,  31  Upper  Norton  street,  to  meet  Mr. 
Rush  to  inspect  the  contents  of  boxes,  etc. ;  but  the  boxes  being  more 
numerous  than  he  expected,  he  deferred  the  close  examination  of  them 
for  the  present 13  4 

June  30.—  Attending  Mr.  Rush,  conferring  on  what  remained  to  be  done  and 
making  arrangements  with  him  as  to  sending  the  box  we  had  here, 
together  with  the  plate  and  other  articles,  to  Mr.  Deacon's,  where  we 
should  meet  him  and  Colonel  Aspinwall,  the  consul,  and  seal  all  the 
1  ><  >xen  up 13  4 

Making  list  of  the  plate  and  other  articles 5    0 


92  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

£    s.    d. 

Mr.  Rush  wishing  to  know  what  the  several  funds  would  have  realized  if 
they  could  have  been  sold  immediately  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Hunger- 
ford,  attending  at  Messrs.  Drummond's  to  learn  what  the  prices  of  the 
several  stocks  then  were  and  making  a  calculation  accordingly;  and  draw- 
ing out  a  statement  for  Mr.  Rush,  from  which  it  appeared  that  after 
deducting  all  the  costs  the  funds  had  realized  £173  12s.  Id.  more  now  than 
they  would  have  done  if  the  funds  had  all  been  sold  immediately  upon 

the  decease  of  Mr.  Hungerford 2    2    0 

Paid  for  a  new  lock  to  box 5    0 

July  6. — Attending  at  Mr.  Deacon's  to  meet  Mr.  Rush  and  Colonel  Aspin- 
wall,  when  the  several  boxes  were  sealed  up  and  directions  given  for 

their  transmission  to  the  wharf ]     1     0 

Attending  at  the  accountant-general's  to  bespeak  a  transcript  of  account . .          68 

Paid  for  same 8    0 

Attending  to  procure  same 6     8 

Several  other  attendances  upon  Mr.  Rush,  furnishing  him  with  all  such 
further  information  as  he  required  previous  to  his  leaving  this  country 

for  America 3    3    0 

Letters  and  messengers,  coach  hire,  and  various  incidental  expenses 15    0 

490     4  10 


IN  CHANCERY. 

Between  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  plaintiff,  and  Charles  Drum- 
mond,  esq.,  and  Her  Majesty's  attorney-general,  defendants. 

Thomas  Clarke,  Thomas  George  Fynmore,  and  William  Mark  Fladgate,  of  Craven 
street,  Strand,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  solicitors  and  copartners,  severally  make 
oath  and  say  that  the  several  disbursements  contained  in  the  aforegoing  account  have 
been  duly  made,  and  that  the  several  charges  therein  contained  are  just  and  true,  to 
the  best  of  these  deponents'  knowledge  and  belief. 

THOMAS  CLARKE. 

THOMAS  G.  FYNMORE. 

WM.  M.  FLADGATE. 

Sworn  by  all  the  deponents,  at  the  public  office,  Southampton  Buildings,  in  the 
county  of  Middlesex,  the  llth  day  of  July,  1838,  before  me. 

E.    WlNGFIELD. 


Clarke,  Fynmore  t&  Fladgate  to  Richa 

43  CRAVEN  STREET,  STRAND,  July  13,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  With  reference  to  the  gun,  a  few  pieces  of  china,  and  a 
few  other  articles  of  a  miscellaneous  nature,  which  are  mentioned  in 
the  schedule  of  property  formerly  belonging  to  Mr.  Smithson  (of  which 
schedule  we  furnished  to  you  a  copy),  and  which  articles  do  not  now 
appear  to  be  among  the  property  lately  under  the  charge  of  Messrs. 
Deacon,  we  beg  to  state  that  the  schedule  in  question  was  a  schedule 
prepared  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Smithson's  death,  now  several  years  back, 
and  that  we  have  no  doubt  that  the  articles  (which  appear  to  have  been 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  93 

such  a.s  would  be  used  personally  by  Mr.  Smithson)  were  handed  to 
Mr.  Hungerford,  who,  indeed,  had  he  thought  fit  to  apply  for  them, 
would,  under  the  direction  of  the  court,  have  obtained  possession  of 
all  the  property  lodged  with  Messrs.  Deacon,  and  which  is  now  handed 
over  to  you  as  representative  of  the  United  States. 

We  are,  dear  sir,  your  very  obedient  servants, 

CLARKE,  FYNMORE  &  FL.ADGATE. 
RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

LONDON,  July  14, 1838. 

SIR:  All  the  transfers  of  stock  were  made  on  the  proper  days;  all 
the  money  was  received,  and  arrangements  are  now  in  daily  progress 
for  obtaining,  insuring,  and  shipping  the  gold.  It  will  be  on  board 
the  New  York  packet  Mediator',  Captain  Champlin,  by  or  before  the 
17th  instant,  in  which  ship  I  have  taken  my  passage,  intending  to 
embark  on  that  day.  The  costs  of  suit  have  been  paid,  but  the  other 
expenses,  arising  out  of  the  sale  of  the  stock  and  shipment  of  the  pro- 
ceeds, can  not  be  examined  and  settled  until  immediately  before  I 
embark,  as  the  whole  of  the  operations  can  not  be  completed  until 
then.  It  will  hence  not  be  in  my  power  to  make  a  statement  of  all 
these  expenses  until  I  arrive  at  New  York  or  Washington,  when  it 
shall  be  rendered  in  a  manner  that  I  trust  will  be  satisfactory.  I  can 
only  repeat  that  my  best  exertions  have  not  been  spared  to  keep  them 
all  within  a  compass  as  moderate  as  possible. 

I  received  at  the  Bank  of  England,  day  before  yesterday,  £900,  being 
the  interest  on  £60,000  of  consols  sold  on  the  6th  of  June.  It  will  be 
remembered  (see  my  No.  27)  that  this  amount  of  the  consols  was  sold 
on  time,  the  stock  not  being  deliverable  until  the  6th  of  July,  which 
was  the  day  after  the  dividends  for  the  last  six  months  fell  due,  by 
which  I  became  entitled  to  receive  for  the  United  States  the  above 
sum  of  £900. 

The  boxes  and  trunk  mentioned  in  my  last  are  to  go  on  shipboard 
to-day.  Before  knowing  anything  of  their  contents,  I  thought  proper 
to  have  them  opened  and  examined  in  the  presence  of  our  consul  and 
two  other  persons.  A  large  portion  of  the  contents  proved  to  be 
unimportant;  nevertheless,  all  will  be  delivered  over  on  my  arrival  as 
I  received  them,  except  to  have  them  better  packed  for  a  sea  voyage, 
and  so  as  to  prevent  further  injury  to  that  which  time  and  bad  packing 
have  already  done  to  them. 

I  design  to  leave  this  letter  behind  me,  to  be  forwarded  by  the 
British  steamer  Great  Western,  which,  although  not  to  sail  until  after 
the  Mediator,  may  be  expected  to  arrive  first  at  New  York.  My  going 


\)4  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

in  the  Great  Western  has  been  precluded  by  the  fact  of  her  accommo- 
dations for  passengers  having  all  been  engaged  long  before  I  knew  the 
time  when  I  should  be  able  to  close  the  business  in  my  hands,  and  have 
the  gold  ready  for  shipment. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

RlCHAltl)    RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTII, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Account  of  Thomas  Axphiwall. 

I,  Thomas  Aspinwall,  of  London,  being  duly  sworn  on  the  Holy 
Evangelists,  do  declare  and  depose  that  the  within  account  is  just  and 
true,  and  that  the  services  therein  referred  to  and  specified  in  the 
vouchers  of  said  account,  signed  by  me,  and  marked,  respectively,  No. 
1,  No.  2,  were  duly  and  actually  performed. 

THOS.  ASPINWTALL. 

Sworn  this  17th  day  of  July,  1838,  at  London,  before  me. 

J.  COWAN,  Mayor. 


Thf.  JI(m.  Richard  Jtuxh,  atjetdfor  tlir  Smithsonian  fund,  in  account  current  irith  Thulium 

Aspinwall. 

DR.  CK. 

1838.  I       1838.  £         *-.  <l. 

July  10.  To  amount  of    invoice    of  j  July  16.  By  rash  received  from  him. 106,370    7    3 

sovereigns,  procured  and 
shipped  on  board  the  Me- 
diator, as  per  copy  here-       £       *•.    d. 
with 105, 565  12    5 

To  commission  for  various 
services,  as  per  account 
No.  1,  herewith 7U7  15  6 

To  charges  on  1-1  packages, 
shipped  on  board  the  Me- 
diator, as  per  account 
No.  2,  herewith 6  19  4 


106,370 


THUS.  A.spixwAi.i.. 
LONDON,  July  17,  1838. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  95 

No.  1. 

The  Hon.  Richard  Rush  in  account  with  the  Smithsonian  fund,  to  Thomas  Aspinmill,  Dr. 

For  service*  rendered  throughout  the  month  of  June  and  up  to  this  date, 
in  July;  in  attending  your  acceptance  of  all  the  stocks  transferred  to  you 
by  the  accountant-general  of  the  court  of  chancery;  advising,  negoti- 
ating, and  completing,  under  your  directions,  and  realizing  the  proceeds 
of  various  contracts  for  the  sale  of  the  same  stocks,  consisting  of  consols, 
bank  stock,  and  3  per  cent  reduced  annuities,  sold  at  different  periods 
and  in  different  parcels;  attending  payment  and  receipt  of  balances,  divi- 
dend, and  the  respective  transfers  to  the  various  purchasers  of  the  same; 
obtaining,  verifying,  arranging,  packing,  and  securing  for  shipment 
104,960  sovereigns,  being  the  amount  of  proceeds  of  the  Smithsonian 
fund  (less  premiums  of  insurance,  charges,  and  expenses) ;  contracting  for 
freight;  entering  and  clearing  at  the  custom-house;  shipping  and  effect- 
ing insurance  at  the  five  principal  offices,  and  with  thirty-two  private  £  s.  d. 

underwriters  at  Lloyds.     Commission  at  three-fourths  per  cent 797  15    6 

THOMAS  ASPINWALL. 
LONDON,  July  17,  1838, 

LONDON,  July  17,  1838. 

Received  of  the  honorable  Richard  Rush  the  within-mentioned  sum,  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-seven  pounds  fifteen  shillings  and  sixpence  sterling  (£797  15s.  6d. ),  for 
which  I  have  credited  in  my  accounts  and  also  signed  this  and  a  duplicate  receipt 
of  the  same  tenor  and  date. 

£797  15s.  6d.  THOMAS  ASPINWALL. 


LONDON,  July  13,  1838. 
The  Honorable  Richard  Rush  to  William  Broum. 

f.    s.     d 

To  unpacking  and  repacking  14  packages,  at  2s.  6d 1    15     0 

cord  and  nails  for  mending  do ,.  3     6 


]    18    6 
Paid  14th  July,  1838. 

WILLIAM  BROWN. 
A  true  copy,  original  in  Thomas  Aspinwall's  account. 

JAM  us  M.  CURLEY. 


No.  5?. 

JULY  13,  1838. 

Account  of  charges  on  14  packages,  marked  "the  United  States,"  Xos.  1  to  14,  shipped  on 
board  tiie  ship  Mediator,  Christopher  H.  Champlin,  master,  by  order  of  the  Honorable 
Richard  Rush,  for  account  and  risk  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

£  s.    d. 

Cartage  and  porterage 1  0    6 

Duty  and  entry 1  2    6 

Dock  dues 1510 

Bills  of  lading 3    6 


U6  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

£    s.  d. 

1  packing  case  ( No.  14) 3  6 

Shipping,  entering,  and  clearing  14  packages,  at  2.s.  (kl 1  15  0 

Cord  and  nails  for  mending  do 3  6 

Unpacking  and  repacking  do.,  and  cording,  mending,  ami  securing,  at  2s. 

6d.  each  l . ..                                                                                                       .  1  15  0 


(i  ]«)     4 

Received  the  above  amount  in 'account  with  Mr.  Rush. 

THOMAS  ASPIN \VAI.I,. 
Mediator,  Champlin,  New  York. 

T.  ASIM NVVAI.L. 
British  coin  for  and  on  account.     Entry,  5s.  6d. 

THOMAS  TANNER. 
Witness : 

JAMES  M.  CURLEY. 
JULY  17,  1838. 

When  paid  to  be  immediately  exhibited  at  the  Department,  where  this  bill  has 
been  made  out;  by  which  business  will  be  materially  expedited. 


[St.  Catharine  Docks,  No.  1872,  wharfage  book,  outwards.] 
Mr.  Aspinwall,  Dr.,  to  the  <S'£.  Cathurine  Dock  Company. 

N.  B. — The  amount  of  these  charges   to  be  paid  to  the  collector,  who  is  the  only 
officer  authorized  to  receive  money  on  account  of  the  company. 

1838.  Per  Mediator : 

July  17.   [A]  1  to  10,  wharfage  and  shipping,  10  cases,  at  2s 

11,       do.  do.          1  case,  at  Is 


110 

(One  pound  one  shilling.) 
JULY  17,  1838. 
Received. 

H.  WHAKTON,  VollrHor. 
Witness : 

JAMES  M.  CURLEY. 
(Entered  schedule.) 

The  invoice  having  necessarily  been  made  up  before  the  cases  were  actually  shipped 
on  board,  the  usual  charge  of  ten  shillings  was  inserted  therein  ;  and  it  was  not  ascer- 
tained until  after  they  were  shipped  that  a  difference  wa-s  made  with  respect  to  bul- 
lion; amounting,  in  this  instance,  to  eleven  shillings,  which  has  not  been  paid  by  Mr. 
Rush,  but  by  Thomas  Aspinwall,  and  by  him  relinquished. 

1  In  consequence  of  the  very  loose  and  careless  manner  in  which  the  boxes  were  originally  packed, 
and  of  the  damaged  state  of  the  packages,  this  charge  was  unavoidably  incurred  to  prevent  the  con- 
tents from  being  ground  to  pieces  and  lost  on  the  passage  to  the  United  States. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  97 

T.  Aspinwall,  eso. ,  to  bullion  mrrters,  Dr. 

1838.                                                                                                                                £  s.    d. 

July  16.   11  boxes  and  packing  sovereigns,  at  3s.  6d 1  18    6 

105  bags  for  sovereigns,  at  6d 2  12    6 

For  packing  and  marking 2    6 


4  13    6 
Paid. 

C.  HARDINGHAM. 
Witness: 

JAMES  M.  CURLEY. 

Colonel  Aspinwall  to  Mrs.  Clark,  Dr. 

1838.  £    g.    d. 

July  17.  For  cartage  and  porterage  of  eleven  boxes  of  bullion  from   the 

bank  to  the  St.  Catharine's  dock 0    8    0 

Received. 

HENRY  X  POTTER. 
Witness: 

JAMES  M.  CURLEY. 

Invoice  of  eleven  boxes  of  gold  coin,  shipped  on  board  the  ship  Mediator,  of  New  York, 
Christopher  H.  Champlin,  master,  bound  to  New  York,  by  order  of  the  Hon.  Richard 
Rush,  and  for  the  account  and  risk  of  the  United  States. 

£          s.    d. 

Alto  10.  Ten  boxes,  each  containing  £10,000  (sovereigns) 100,000    0    0 

A  11.  One  box  containing 4, 960    8    7 

104,960    8    7 

CHARGES. 

£     s.  d. 

105  bags,  at  6d.  each 212  6 

11  boxes,  at  3s.  6d.  each 1  18  6 

Packing  and  marking 2  6 

Porterage  and  cart  hire 8  0 

Bills  of  lading 3  6 

Entry,  5s.  6d. ;  dock  charges,  10s 15  6 

606 

Insurance  on  £106,400,  at  J  per  cent 532    0  0 

Policies  and  stamp  duties 67    3    4 

599    3    4 


105,565  12    5 
THOMAS  ASPINWALL. 

Policy  and  duty. 
£  £  £      s.    d. 

Insured  with  the  Indemnity 30,000forl50        1815    0 

Insured  with  the  London  Insurance 10, 000  for    50          650 

Insurance  with  the  Alliance 20, 000  for  100        12  10    0 

Insured  with  the  Royal  Exchange 15, 000  for    75          976 

Insured  with  the  Marine  Insurance 10, 000  for    50          650 

Insured  at  Lloyd's 21, 400  for  107        14    010 


106,400        532        67     3    4 

MEMORANDUM.— The  sovereigns  are  packed  in  bags  of  1,C.OO  each,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one,  in  case  No.  11,  which  contains  960  sovereigns  and  8  shillings  and  7  pence 
wrapped  in  paper,  each  case  being  sealed  with  two  seals. 

JULY  16,  1838. 

H.  Doc.  732 7 


98 


DR. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

Richard  Rush  in  account  with  Smithsonian  fund. 


OR. 


For  the  following  stocks  transferred  to 
him  by  a  decree  of  the  high  court  of 
chancery,  and  sold  as  follows,  viz: 
£      s.  d. 
4,535  18  9    3  per  cent   consols,  sold 
at  94}  

£      s.  d. 
4,297  16  0 

By  commission 
paid  for  various 
services,  as  per 
account    No.    1 
herewith  
By   charges    paid 

£    s.d. 
797  156 

£    s.  d. 
Transfer  —  060 
Brokerage..  5  13  6 

£      s.  d. 

on  14  packages 
shipped  on  board 
the  Mediator,  as 

«n  ftnn    A  n                        t             i         M 

4  291  17  6 

per  account  No. 

,  IAW      U  U      a    pt     Ct        t                  , 

6  19  4 

5of  ex.  dividend  
12,000    00    Spercent  reduced,  at  94... 

56,  175    0  0 
11,280    0  0 

By  amount  of  in- 
voice of  specie 

£s.  d. 
Transfer  200 
Brokerage  ...  90  0  0 

67,455    0  0 
92    0  0 

board  the  Medi- 
ator, as  per  copy 
herewith  

105,565  12  5 

5,  000    00    bank  stock  ,  sold  at  204}  .... 
3,000    00    bank  stock,  sold  at  204|.... 
5,  000    0  0    bank  stock,  sold  at  205  
3,  100    00    bank  stock,  sold  at  205*..  .  . 

10,237  10  0 
6,  146    5  0 
10,250    0  0 
6,  362  15  0 

16,100    0  0 
£  s.  d. 

Stamps  for  trans- 
fer                       1  16  0 

32,996  10  0 

Transfer  fees  ...         76 
Brokerage  20    26 

To  balance  of  cash  received  from  the 
accountant-general  of  the  court  of 
chancery  .     . 

725    3  7 

To  amount  returned  by  the  solicitors 
(excess  of  costs)  

116    2  2 

To  amount  of  dividend  received  on 
£60,000  3  per  cent  consols  

900    0  0 

106,370    7  3 

106,370  7  3 

Schedule  of  tne  personal  effects  of  James  Smithson  referred  to  in  the  bill  of  costs. 


Large  trunk. 

Box  containing  sundry  specimens  of  min- 
erals, marked  E. 

Brass  instrument. 

Box  of  minerals,  marked  F. 

Box  of  chemical  glasses,  marked  G. 

Packet  of  minerals,  marked  H. 

Glass  vinegar  cruet. 

Stone  mortar. 

Pair  of  silver-plated  candlesticks  and 
branches. 

Pair  of  silver-plated  candlesticks,  no 
branches. 


Hone  in  a  mahogany  case. 

Plated  wire  flower  basket. 

Plated  coffeepot. 

Plated  small  one. 

Pair  of  wine  coolers. 

Pair  small  candlesticks. 

Two  pairs  of  saltcellars. 

Breadbasket. 

Two  pair  of  vegetable  dishes  and  covers. 

Large  round  waiter. 

Large  oval  waiter;  two  small  waiters. 

Two  plate  warmers. 

Reading  shade. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  99 

SUNDRY   ARTICLES   IN   PACKET  AND   IN   TRUNK. 

(a)  Gun. 

(a)  Mahogany  cabinet. 

(a)  Two  portraits,  in  oval  frames. 


CHINA    TEA    SERVICE. 


(a)  Two  dishes. 

(a)  Landscape  in  a  gilt  frame. 

(a)  Derby  spa  vase. 

(a)  China  tub. 

(a)  Piece  of  fluor. 

(a)  Pair  of  glass  candlesticks. 

Marble  bust. 


(a)  Twelve  cups  and  saucers. 

(a)  Six  coffee  cups. 

(a)  Teapot. 

(a)  Slop  basin. 

(a)  Sugar  basin  and  lid. 

(a)  Two  plates. 

(«)  Milk  jug. 

(a)  Tea  canister. 


Sundry  pamphlets  on  philosophical  subjects,  in  packet  marked  A. 

The  like,  marked  B. 

Struggles  Through  Life. 

Bibliotheca  Parisiana. 

La  Platina  1'Or  Blanc. 

Contorides  des  Indiens. 

Sundry  pamphlets  on  philosophical  subjects,  marked  C. 

Weld's  Travels  in  North  America,  2  volumes. 

Bray's  Derbyshire. 

Twenty-three  numbers  of  Nicholson's  Journal  of  Natural  Philosophy,  in  a  case  (D). 

Memoire  d'un  Voyageur  qui  le  repose. 

Hamilton  in  Antrim. 

Londres  et  de  ses  Environs. 

Stew  on  Solids. 

Essais  de  Jean  Key. 

Mon  Bonnet  de  Nuit. 

Domestic  Cookery. 

Catalogue  de  Fossils  des  Roches. 

The  Monthly  Review,  78  numbers. 

The  Monthly  Review,  26  volumes. 

Philosophical  Transactions  for  the  year  1826. 

Anthologies  et  Fragments  Philosophiques,  4  volumes. 

Two  large  boxes  filled  with  specimens  of  minerals  and  manuscript  treatises,  appar- 
ently in  the  testator's  handwriting,  on  various  philosophical  subjects,  particularly 
chemistry  and  mineralogy. 

Eight  cases  and  one  trunk  filled  with  the  like. 
Those  articles  to  which  this  mark   (a)  is  prefixed  were  not  in  the  trunk  No.  13 

when  it  was  first  opened  in  the  consulate  of  the  United  States  in  our  presence. 
All  the  linen  in  trunk  No.  13  was  transferred  from  case  7,  and  sundry  articles  of 

plated  ware  and  philosophical  instruments,  etc. ,  were  transferred  from  case  12.     Sun- 
dry books,  which  were  tied  together,  were  also  put  in  this  case. 


100  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

HARBOR  OF  NEW  YORK,  August  28,  1838. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  report  to  you  my  arrival  here  in  the  ship 
Mediator,  with  the  amount  in  gold  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest  recov- 
ered for  the  United  States. 

The  expenses  of  every  kind  incurred  by  closing  the  business  in  Lon- 
don and  shipping  the  gold  were  paid  there;  but  I  have  still  to  pay 
freight  here  and  primage,  and  also  some  other  small  charges  incurred 
on  bringing  over  the  Smithsonian  boxes  and  trunks  heretofore  men- 
tioned. When  everything  is  fully  paid,  there  will  be  left  in  my  hands, 
as  well  as  I  can  now  compute  the  amount,  upward  of  £104,500;  the 
whole  is  in  sovereigns  packed  in  boxes. 

The  money  being  consigned  to  no  one  here,  I  must  continue  to  hold 
it  in  my  custody  until  I  can  receive  your  instructions  to  whom  to  deliver 
it,  as  provided  for  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  1st  of  July,  1836. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  in  the  meantime,  your  most  faithful  and 
obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

NEW  YORK,  August  29,  1838. 

SIR:  On  landing  from  the  ship  yesterday  morning  I  received  the 
official  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  dated  the  20th  of  July, 
which  had  been  waiting  my  arrival  here,  instructing  me  to  transfer 
the  Smithsonian  fund  to  Philadelphia,  to  be  deposited  with  the  treasurer 
of  the  mint  to  the  credit  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States,  taking 
duplicate  receipts  from  the  former,  one  of  which  to  be  transmitted  to 
the  latter. 

The  ship  has  not  yet  got  into  the  dock,  but  the  gold  shall  be  sent 
on  to  Philadelphia  as  soon  as  practicable  in  the  eleven  boxes  in  which 
it  was  packed  at  the  Bank  of  England,  according  to  the  instructions  I 
have  thus  received  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of 


John  Forsyth  to  Richard  Rush. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
WASHINGTON,  August  30,  1838. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  dispatch 
No.  30  of  the  28th  instant,  announcing  your  arrival  in  the  harbor  of 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  101 

New  York  with  the  Smithsonian  bequest  in  gold.  With  regard  to 
the  disposition  to  be  made  by  you  of  these  funds,  you  no  doubt  will 
have  learned  upon  landing  that  your  request  had  been  anticipated  by 
instructions  to  you  from  the  Treasury  Department,  intrusted  to  the 
care  of  Mr.  George  Newbold,  president  of  the  Bank  of  America. 

Tendering  to  you  my  congratulations  on  the  success  of  your  mission, 
and  on  your  safe  return  to  your  country,  I  am,  sir,  respectfully,  your 
obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  Esq.,  JVew  York. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

PHILADELPHIA,  September  4,  1838. 

SIR:  I  was  yesterday  honored  with  your  letter  of  the  30th  of  August, 
acknowledging  my  No.  30  from  the  harbor  of  New  York,  and  tender 
my  thanks  for  your  kind  congratulations  on  my  return  to  my  own 
country  and  on  the  success  of  the  public  business  confided  to  me. 
Your  letter  went  on  to  New  York,  as  directed,  but  was  returned,  and 
I  received  it  at  my  home  near  the  city. 

My  No.  31,  written  after  I  had  landed,  will  have  informed  you  that 
I  had  then  received  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
to  which  your  letter  refers,  and  I  have  since  been  in  correspondence 
with  him.  Owing  to  the  delay  in  getting  the  ship  into  the  dock,  I  was 
not  able  to  leave  New  York  with  the  gold  until  the  first  of  this  month, 
when  I  arrived  with  it,  accompanied  by  two  agents  from  the  Bank  of 
America,  that  institution  having,  at  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  obligingly  afforded  me  every  facility  in  its  power  towards 
the  business  I  had  in  hand.  I  did  not,  however,  feel  at  liberty  to 
withdraw  my  own  personal  superintendence  from  the  operation  of 
transferring  the  gold  until  I  saw  it  deposited  at  the  mint.  Thither  I 
immediately  had  it  conveyed  on  reaching  this  city  on  the  1st  instant, 
the  director  and  treasurer  of  the  mint  having  been  in  readiness  to 
receive  it  under  the  previous  information  of  its  intended  transfer, 
which  I  had  requested  the  bank  to  transmit.  The  entire  sum  contained 
in  the  eleven  boxes  which  I  delivered  to  those  two  officers  of  the  mint 
on  Saturday  was  £104,960  8s.  6d. — the  whole  in  English  sovereigns, 
except  the  change;  and  I  have  now  the  satisfaction  of  informing  you 
that  official  receipts  of  this  amount  from  my  hands  have  been  for- 
warded to  the  Treasury  Department. 

The  excess  of  this  sum  over  that  which  I  had  computed  in  my  No. 
30  as  the  probable  amount  to  be  left  in  my  hands,  arises  from  the 
president  of  the  bank  having  undertaken,  at  my  suggestion,  to  pay  the 
freight  and  other  shipping  charges  due  at  New  York;  the  bank  to  be 


102  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

repaid  by  the  Treasury.  The  freight  was  three-eighths  of  one  per 
cent — this  being  the  usual  charge  in  the  packet-ships — and  came  to 
£393  12s.  Primage  was  £19  13s.  8d. ;  and  the  charges  on  bringing 
the  Smithsonian  boxes  (left  in  the  custody  of  the  collector,  from 
whom  I  had  every  facility  on  landing)  were  to  have  been  £3  8s.  5d.  or 
thereabouts.1 

It  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  be  best  for  the  bank  to  pay  all  these 
charges,  as  the  most  convenient  mode  of  settling  without  delay  with 
the  shipowners,  to  whom  I  had  become  responsible  by  my  engage- 
ments with  the  captain  in  London;  and  I  have  the  hope  that  this  course 
will  meet  the  approbation  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  }'our- 
self.  It  left  the  gold,  as  secured  in  boxes  at  the  Bank  of  England, 
untouched  at  New  York;  and  I  had  caused  the  seal  of  our  consul  at 
London  to  be  affixed  to  each  of  them. 

Somewhat  worn  down  by  fatigue  since  coming  on  shore,  after  an 
uncomfortable  voyage  of  squalls,  gales,  and  head  winds,  I  venture  to 
ask  a  little  repose  at  my  home,  before  proceeding  to  Washington,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  out  and  rendering  to  you  an  account  of  all 
expenses  that  have  attended  the  final  recovery  of  this  fund,  of  which 
the  United  States,  by  the  information  I  give  you  in  this  letter,  are  now 
in  possession.  In  the  course  of  the  next  week  I  shall  hope  to  proceed 
to  Washington  with  the  view  stated,  and  in  order  that,  my  account 
of  the  expenses  being  found  satisfactory,  which  I  presume  to  hope 
will  be  the  case,  I  may  ask  to  be  discharged  from  all  further  responsi- 
bility under  the  trust  1  have  been  performing.  The  net  amount,  in 
dollars,  of  the  fund  as  I  delivered  it  over  to  the  United  States  at  the 
mint,  was  found  to  be  $508,318.46,  as  specified  in  the  receipt  given  to 
me  for  it  by  the  treasurer  of  the  mint. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

/Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

PHILADELPHIA,  September  11,  1838. 

SIR:  I  yesterday  received  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
dated  the  7th  instant,  stating  it  to  be  desirable  that  the  expenses 
attending  the  transfer  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  to  this  country  and  its 
deposit  at  the  mint  should  be  ascertained  as  early  as  practicable, 
that  the  accounts  in  relation  to  it  may  be  adjusted  with  a  view  to  the 

1  There  proved  to  be  fourteen  of  these  boxes,  the  additional  one  containing  a  picture, 
of  which  I  had  not  heard  at  the  date  of  my  No.  28. 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  103 

investment  of  the  balance,  and  asking  my  attention  to  the  subject  at 
my  earliest  convenience. 

In  reply,  I  had  the  honor  to  inform  the  Secretary  that  I  could  not 
make  out  a  statement  of  the  expenses  as  far  as  then  incurred  before 
embarking  at  London  with  the  gold,  the  documents  relating  to  them 
not  being  obtainable  until  the  last  moments  of  my  stay;  besides  that, 
the  whole  operations  of  selling  the  stock  in  the  English  funds,  in 
which  Mr.  Smithson's  fortune  was  invested,  and  afterwards  shipping 
the  gold,  required  and  had  my  constant  supervision  until  I  saw  the 
latter  finally  deposited  at  our  mint,  in  fulfillment  of  his  instructions; 
that,  having  suffered  greatly  from  sea  sickness  during  the  voyage, 
added  to  fatigue  after  landing  in  a  weak  state  at  New  York,  where  the 
care  of  the  gold  still  required  my  personal  superintendence,  I  had 
been  unable  hitherto  to  prepare  a  statement  of  the  expenses  in  question, 
but  that  I  was  now  regaining  strength  and  intended  to  set  out  for 
Washington  on  Saturday,  at  farthest,  if  then  able,  as  at  present  I  had 
reason  to  hope  would  be  the  case.  I  added  that  I  supposed  a  settle- 
ment of  my  account  could  be  effected  more  satisfactorily  and  promptly 
by  my  presence  with  the  accounting  officers  at  Washington  than  by 
any  attempt  to  make  it  out  here  and  transmit  it  by  letter,  which,  it 
may  be,  might  lead  to  writing  backwards  and  forwards  before  a  final 
adjustment  took  place;  of  which  correspondence  I  have  the  honor  to 
inform  you,  and  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Richard  Rush  to  John  Forsyth. 

WASHINGTON,  September  15,  1838. 

SIR:  I  am  now  to  give  you  a  statement  of  all  the  expenses  that 
attended  the  recovery  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest  for  the  United 
States. 

It  may  be  in  order  first  to  mention  the  whole  amount  of  stock  and 
money  that  came  into  my  hands  from  the  court  of  chancery,  or 
otherwise. 

I  received  of  English  Government  stock  £64,535  18s.  9d.  in  consols, 
£12,000  in  reduced  3  per  cent  annuities,  and  £16,100  in  bank  stock  of 
the  Bank  of  England,  as  heretofore  mentioned  in  my  No.  26,  and  will 
now  be  seen  by  the  original  order  or  decree  of  the  court,  which  I  inclose 
(marked  A).  This  document  I  could  not  obtain  until  the  llth  of  July, 
when  1  received  it  with  the  letter  of  the  solicitors  of  that  date,  also 
inclosed  (marked  B). 


104  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

On  the  llth  of  June  I  received  from  the  accountant-general  of  the 
court  of  chancery  £725  3s.  7d.  This  was  the  sum  remaining  to  be 
paid  to  me,  after  previous  payments  to  others,  out  of  cash  in  hand 
appertaining  to  the  Smithsonian  fund  whilst  in  the  custody  of  the 
court,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  concluding  part  of  the  decree.  That  this 
was  the  exact  residue  coming  to  me  will  be  further  seen  by  an  explana- 
tory letter  from  the  solicitors  of  the  5th  of  Juty,  also  inclosed  (marked 
C),  and  more  authoritatively  by  a  document  (marked  D)  from  the 
books  of  the  accountant-general  of  the  court,  sent  to  me  by  the  solic- 
itors with  their  letter  of  the  llth  of  July.  This  document,  besides 
verifying  in  its  own  forms  the  amount  of  stock  and  money  1  have 
otherwise  stated  myself  to  have  received,  also  verifies  the  statements 
in  my  Nos.  26  and  28  as  to  the  sums  awarded  to  Madame  de  la  Batut, 
the  arrears  to  John  Fitall,  and  the  money  decreed  as  warehouse  rent 
for  the  boxes  containing  the  personal  effects  of  Mr.  Smithson,  which 
I  brought  over  and  delivered  into  the  custody  of  the  collector  at  New 
York.  It  is  a  document  founded  on  the  decree  of  the  court  itself,  and 
shows  in  more  detail  how  its  judgments  were  fulfilled. 

I  received  on  the  12th  of  July  £900  at  the  Bank  of  England,  being 
the  dividend  due  on  the  consols  I  had  sold,  as  mentioned  in  my  No.  29; 
and,  lastly,  I  received  from  the  solicitors  £116  2s.  2d.,  being  money 
returned  by  them  out  of  what  I  had  paid  them  for  costs  on  the  8th  day 
or  April,  1837,  viz,  £200  4s.,  as  reported  in  my  No.  14.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  explanation  of  this  item:  When  I  paid  them  this  sum,  I  fully 
expected  to  pay  all  further  costs  out  of  the  same  fund,  then  in  my  hands, 
that  Congress  had  appropriated  for  that  purpose;  but  it  appears  that, 
on  the  termination  of  the  suit  in  favor  of  the  United  States,  the  costs 
of  all  parties  were  paid  out  of  the  corpus  of  the  fund;  nor  would  the 
court  award  the  fund  to  the  United  States,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  decree, 
until  all  costs  were  accordingly  first  taken  out  of  it,  which  the  court 
judged  it  proper  the  fund  itself  should  bear.  I  knew  not  of  such  a  rule 
which  the  solicitors  advert  to  in  their  letter  of  July  the  5th,  until  a 
short  time  before  the  decree  was  pronounced.  The  total  amount  of 
their  costs,  as  made  known  to  me  in  the  same  letter,  and  set  out  in 
detail  in  a  voluminous  bill,  which  I  inclose  (marked  E),  and  to  which  I 
caused  their  affidavits  to  be  annexed,  was  £490  4s.  lOd.  The  court 
adjudged  £406  3s.  of  this  sum  to  be  paid  to  them  out  of  the  fund,  as 
their  taxed  costs,  which,  added  to  what  I  had  previously  paid  them, 
made  £606  7s.  The  difference  between  this  and  £490  4s.  lOd.  being 
£116  2s.  2d.,they  refunded  the  latter  sum  to  me.  Their  total  bill 
(considering  that  it  included  all  fees  paid  by  them  under  my  direction 
to  the  counsel,  and  all  costs  and  charges  of  every  description  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  suit,  with  some  small  extra  charges,  to 
which  their  letter  refers,  which  I  also  authorized,  to  insure  a  speedy 
and  successful  termination  of  the  suit),  and  considering  the  magnitude 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  105 

of  the  suit,  was,  in  my  judgment,  and  in  that  of  others  better  informed, 
to  whom  I  submitted  its  amount,  extremely  moderate.  1  hope  it  will 
be  thought  to  show  care  on  my  part  to  keep  all  those  charges  low,  that 
often  are  run  up  to  amounts  so  enormous  in  English  chancery  pro- 
ceedings; and,  let  me  add,  as  in  justice  I  am  bound  to  do,  to  show  more 
strongly  that  the  solicitors  I  had  to  deal  with  were  honorable  and 
just  men. 

I  did  not  consider  these  refunded  costs  as  belonging  to  the  legacy 
fund  recovered,  but  I  threw  them  into  it  when  the  general  gold  was 
obtained  that  all  might  be  safely  kept  together  and  come  under  one 
insurance. 

The  gross  amount  yielded  by  all  the  stock  I  sold,  including  the  £900 
I  received  as  the  dividend  on  the  consols,  was  £105,649  6s. 

For  the  prices  at  which  I  sold  the  different  parcels  and  kinds  I  beg 
to  refer  to  my  Nos.  27  and  28,  which  detail  the  commencement,  prog- 
ress, and  conclusion  of  the  sales.  This  sum,  added  to  the  £725  3s.  7d. 
received  from  the  accountant-general  of  the  court  of  chancery  and  the 
£116  2s.  2d.  returned  to  me  by  the  solicitors,  will  show  that  the  entire 
sum  that  came  into  my  hands  was  £106,490  11s.  9d. 

I  am  next  to  inform  you  of  the  expenses  that  attended  the  sales  of 
the  stock  and  shipping  and  bringing  over  the  gold  to  this  country. 

After  I  had  finally  recovered  the  legacy  from  the  court  of  chanct.  ry 
it  did  not  seem  to  me  prudent  that  I  should,  by  myself  alone,  under- 
take the  sales  of  the  stock  awarded  and  delivered  to  me  by  its  decree 
any  more  than  the  shipment  of  the  gold  into  which  the  money  was 
afterwards  to  be  converted,  these  ulterior  operations  being  usually 
conducted  through  mercantile  agencies  and  being  of  a  nature  not  to 
be  advantageously,  if  safety,  conducted  without  them.  Feeling  inade- 
quate in  my  own  person  merely  to  the  management  of  such  operations, 
my  first  intention  was  that  the  sales  of  the  stock,  as  a  highty  important 
part  of  them,  should  be  put  under  the  direction  of  some  experienced 
mercantile  or  banking  house  in  London  familiar  with  the  modes  of 
doing  business  on  its  great  stock  exchange  and  self-confident  in  the 
measures  to  be  taken.  But  I  found  that  to  put  this  operation  into 
such  hands  would  incur  a  commission  of  1  per  cent  on  the  entire  fund, 
as  mentioned  in  my  No.  27,  in  addition  to  brokerage  and  other  charges, 
such  as  the  expenses  on  transfers  and  stamps;  besides  that,  1  should 
have  had  to  part  with  the  possession  of  the  stock  to  such  mercantile  or 
banking  house  whilst  the  sales  were  going  on.  I  was  also  given  to 
understand  that  this  latter  step  would  probably  lay  a  foundation  for  a 
further  mercantile  commission  on  receiving  and  paying. 

Weighing  all  these  circumstances,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  to  keep 
the  operation  of  selling  the  stock  in  my  own  hands.  Nevertheless,  I 
felt,  as  already  intimated,  that  1  could  conduct  it  with  neither  skill 
nor  safety  unless  under  the  counsel  and  cooperation  of  a  person  well 


106  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

informed  in  these  matters  and  trustworthy.  To  the  consul  of  the 
United  States  in  London  I  applied  as  to  such  a  person,  and  received 
from  him,  as  my  No.  27  informed  you,  this  aid  and  cooperation  in  the 
fullest  and  most  efficient  manner,  daily,  throughout  the  months  of 
June  and  July,  until  all  the  sales  we're  effected;  and  effected,  I  may  be 
allowed  to  add,  with  favorable  results  not  to  have  been  surpassed,  as 
I  have  already  reported  to  you,  and  as  the  public  records  of  the  London 
stock  market  on  each  of  the  days  that  I  sold  will  attest.  Into  his  hands 
I  also  put  the  other  mercantile  business  necessary  to  the  shipment  of 
the  gold.  These  included  the  obtaining,  verifying,  arranging,  packing, 
and  securing  it  for  shipment,  contracting  for  freight,  entering  and 
clearing  at  the  custom-house,  effecting  insurance  (which  was  done  at 
five  principal  offices  and  with  thirty-two  private  underwriters),  and, 
finally,  shipping  the  gold.  For  these  services,  of  whatever  kind  (and 
I  had  many  incidental  ones  from  him  not  here  enumerated),  I  allowed 
and  paid  him  a  commission  of  three-fourths  of  one  per  cent,  which 
amounted  to  £797  15s.  6d. 

I  speak  from  good  information  when  expressing  a  belief  that  an 
equal  amount  of  assistance  and  services  to  me,  under  all  the  heads 
rendered,  could  not  have  been  commanded  through  the  usual  agency 
of  banking  and  commercial  houses  on  so  heavy  and  responsible  a 
moneyed  operation  at  a  less  charge  to  the  fund  than  a  commission  of 
from  two  to  two  and  a  half  per  cent  on  the  whole  amount  of  it;  and 
that  this  falls  below  rather  than  goes  beyond  what  it  might  be  expected 
to  have  been. 

I  inclose  the  consul's  account,  signed  T.  Aspinwall,  together  with 
his  voucher  for  a  charge  of  £6  19s.  4d.  for  expenses  paid  by  him  on 
shipping  the  fourteen  Smithsonian  boxes. 

The  premium  for  insurance  was  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  and 
amounted,  with  the  expense  of  stamps  and  policies,  to  £599  3s.  4d. 
The  statement  of  this,  as  paid  for  me  by  the  consul,  will  be  seen  in  the 
inclosure  (marked  Invoice),  on  which  are  also  certain  items,  as  dock 
charges,  charges  for  bills  of  lading,  and  some  other  things,  amounting 
in  all  to  £6  6d.,  accompanied  by  vouchers.  I  also  inclose  the  policies 
of  insurance.1  The  insurance  covered  all  commissions  and  charges 
paid  in  London,  so  as  to  have  made  the  United  States  entirely  whole 
in  case  of  loss.  This  I  directed,  thinking  it  most  prudent. 

The  expenses  on  selling  the  stock,  viz,  brokerage,  charges  on  the 
transfers,  and  charges  for  stamps,  were  £120  4s.  6d.  These  will  be 
seen  in  my  account,  marked  among  the  inclosures  R.  R. 

The  several  expenses  above  enumerated,  viz: 

(1)  The  consul's  commission  of  £797 15s.  6d.,  and  charges  £6 19s.  4d. ; 

"It  has  been  deemed  unnecessary,  at  the  Department  of  State,  to  communicate 
copies  of  the  several  policies  of  insurance  above  referred  to. 


SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST.  107 

(2)  The  premium  of  insurance,  stamps,  and  policies,  viz,  £599  3s. 
4d.,  with  the  charges  £6  6d.;  and 

(3)  The  expense  of  selling  the  stock  (£120  4s.  6d.),  deducted  from 
the  gross  amount  of  moneys  that  came  into  my  hands  (£106,490  11s. 
9d.),  will  leave  £104,960  8s.  7d.,  which  was  the  precise  sum  in  gold  I 
brought  over  in  the  eleven  boxes  and,  under  instructions  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  deposited  at  the  mint  in  Philadelphia  on 
the  1st  instant  to  the  credit  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States. 

The  foregoing  is  the  statement  I  have  to  make  of  the  expenses.  I 
presume  to  hope  that  they  will  not  be  thought  objectionable,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  moderate  under  all  the  heads.  If  I  have  been  somewhat 
minute  in  explaining  them  it  is  for  the  better  understanding  of  the 
different  accounts  and  documents  inclosed,  trusting  that  this  will  be 
my  excuse  when  about  to  surrender  up  a  trust  where  so  much  pecun- 
iary responsibility  has  devolved  upon  me. 

In  regard  to  the  fourteen  boxes  containing  the  personal  effects  of 
Mr.  Smithson,  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  letter  of  the  solicitors  of 
the  5th  July  mentions  that  they  had  sent  me  a  list  of  them.  They  did 
so,  and  I  inclose  it  (marked  F).  It  is  proper  to  remark  that  this  list 
refers  to  but  one  of  the  boxes,  or  rather  to  a  trunk,  as  their  letter 
specifies,  and  it  proved  to  be  erroneous.  I  preferred  that  all  these 
boxes  and  the  trunk  should  be  first  opened  at  the  consulate,  in  pres- 
ence of  the  consul  and  others  who  might  aid  me  in  ascertaining  their 
contents.  When  the  trunk  was  opened  several  of  the  articles  down 
upon  the  list  were  not  in  it.  I  mentioned  this  to  the  solicitors,  and  it 
produced  the  explanatory  letter  from  them  of  the  13th  of  July,  which 
I  inclose  (marked  G).  All  the  rest  of  the  boxes  were  filled  with  things 
of  little  intrinsic  value,  as  far  as  a  mere  superficial  inspection  of  them, 
pressed  upon  me  on  the  eve  of  my  embarkation,  could  determine. 
They  seemed  to  be  chiefly  old  books,  pamphlets,  manuscripts,  and 
some  philosophical  or  chemical  instruments.  Of  the  whole  contents 
(such  as  they  were)  all  were  left  as  we  found  them,  except  to  have 
been  repacked  with  the  aid  of  the  consul  and  his  assistants  and  put  in 
a  better  state  for  crossing  the  sea  than  they  were  when  delivered  to 
me.  When  first  opened  it  was  evident  that  time,  mold,  and  careless 
packing  in  the  first  instance  had  nearly  destroyed  many  of  the  articles. 

The  freight  payable  on  the  gold  was  not  paid  in  London,  not  being 
due  until  the  arrival  of  the  ship  at  New  York;  but  the  consul  agreed 
with  the  captain  for  three-eighths  of  one  per  cent,  which  brought  the 
amount  to  £393  12s.  Primage  was  £19  13s.  8d.,  and  the  freight  and 
primage  on  the  fourteen  Smithsonian  boxes  was  to  have  been  £3  8s.  5d. 
These  several  charges  I  was  necessarily  obliged  to  assume  for  the 
United  States,  and  engaged  to  pay  them  when  the  ship  got  to  New  York. 
On  arriving  there  I  received  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  20th  of  July,  directing  me  to  transfer  the  gold  to  the 


108  SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST. 

mint  at  Philadelphia  as  soon  as  practicable;  it  being  added  that  the 
president  of  the  Bank  of  America  at  New  York  had  been  requested  to 
render  me  any  facilities  in  his  power.  The  captain  of  the  ship  being 
content  to  take  the  bank  as  payment  for  these  last-mentioned  charges, 
I  thought  I  should  best  consult  the  spirit  of  the  Secretary's  instruc- 
tions by  leaving  the  bank  to  pay  them,  which  its  president  expressed  an 
immediate  readiness  to  do.  I  supposed  it  could  make  no  difference  to 
the  Government  in  the  end,  whilst  it  saved  the  necessity  of  opening 
one  of  the  boxes  of  the  gold  at  New  York,  out  of  which  fund  alone  I 
could  have  made  the  payment  if  demanded  of  me  under  the  engage- 
ment I  had  contracted.  The  bank  may  have  further  charges  to  make 
for  its  aid  to  me  otherwise  in  removing  the  gold  to  the  mint,  but  I 
know  nothing  of  them  in  detail. 

Referring  therefore  to  that  part  of  the  Secretary's  letter  to  me  of 
the  7th  instant,  which  I  mentioned  in  my  No.  33,  asking  a  statement 
of  expenses  attending  the  transportation  of  the  gold  after  its  actual 
shipment  at  London,  and  its  transfer  to  the  mint  at  Philadelphia  after 
its  arrival  at  New  York,  I  beg  to  offer  the  above  explanation,  having 
paid  nothing  myself. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servant, 

RICHARD  RUSH. 

Hon.  JOHN  FORSYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 


John  Forsyth  to  Levi  Woodbury. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
Washington,  September  18,  1838. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  two  letters  from  Mr. 
Richard  Rush,  Nos.  34  and  35,  with  the  papers  which  accompanied 
them,  in  relation  to  the  amount  recovered  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy, 
and  the  expenses  attending  the  recovery  and  the  transmission  of  the 
proceeds  to  this  country. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Sewetary  of  the  Treasury. 


Edward  Stitbbs  to  Stephen  Pleasanton. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
Washington,  September  24,  1838. 

SIR:  I  am  directed  to  transmit  to  you,  for  settlement,  the  inclosed 
account  of  Mr.  Richard  Rush,  and  a  letter  from  him  (No.  36)  accom- 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  109 

panying  it.  The  balance  which  may  be  found  due  to  Mr.  Rush  he 
wishes  to  have  remitted  to  him.  The  compensation  and  allowance  for 
expenses  are  to  be  up  to  the  period  charged  in  the  account  (the  20tn 
instant). 

It  is  presumed  that  the  amount  repaid  to  Mr.  Rush  by  the  solicitors 
in  London,  mentioned  in  his  letter  (£116  2s.  2d.),  which  was  paid  into 
the  Treasury,  together  with  the  avails  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  will 
be  brought  to  the  credit  of  the  appropriation  from  which  it  was  origi- 
nally taken,  and  thus  form  a  fund  from  which  the  balance  due  to 
Mr.  Rush  can  be  paid.  The  papers  explanatory  of  this  circumstance 
have  been  transmitted,  together  with  the  account  of  the  legacy,  to  the 
Treasury  Department. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

EDWARD  STUBBS,  Agent. 

STEPHEN  PLEASANTON,  Esq. ,  Fifth  Auditor. 


Levi  Woodbury  to  the  President. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

December  3,  1838. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  report  to  you  that,  under  the  act  of  Congress 
approved  July  1,  1836,  in  relation  to  the  legacy  bequeathed  to  the 
United  States  by  James  Smithson,  the  sum  of  $508,318.46  has  been 
received  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

In  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  of 
Congress  for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United  States 
and  for  other  purposes,  approved  July  7,  1838,  the  sum  of  $499,500 
has  been  expended  in  the  purchase  of  500  bonds  of  the  State  of  Arkan- 
sas for  $1,000  each,  bearing  6  per  cent  interest,  payable  semiannually 
on  the  first  days  of  January  and  July  in  each  year  from  the  4th  day 
of  September  last  (the  period  of  their  purchase).  The  further  sum  of 
$8,270.67  has  been  applied  to  the  purchase  of  8  bonds  of  the  State  of 
Michigan,  bearing  6  per  cent  interest,  payable  semiannually  hereafter 
on  the  first  Mondays  in  January  and  July  from  the  1st  of  May  last. 
The  interest  on  all  these  bonds  is  payable  at  the  city  of  New  York. 

There  is  still  left  in  the  Treasury  the  sum  of  $547.79  which  has  not 
yet  been  invested,  but  will  be  as  soon  as  a  favorable  opportunity  offers. 

The  amount  received  in  London  by  the  agent  of  the  United  States 
under  the  decree  of  the  court  of  chancery  of  England  was  the  gross 
sum  of  £106,490  11s.  9d.,  including  the  sum  of  £116  2s.  2d.  for  costs 
refunded.  This  was  reduced  by  the  payment  of  commissions,  insur- 
ances, etc.,  to  the  sum  of  £104,960  8s.  9d.,  which  was  brought  into  the 
United  States  in  gold  and  produced  at  the  Mint  the  sum  of  $508,318.46 
before  mentioned. 


110  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

This  Department,  having  doubts  as  to  what  constituted  the  amount 
of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  consulted  the  Attorney-General,  and  he  has 
given  his  opinion  (hereto  annexed,  A)  that  the  proper  construction  to 
be  given  to  the  legislation  of  Congress  on  this  subject  requires  that 
the  gross  amount  of  the  payment  made  to  the  agent  of  the  United  States, 
after  deducting  the  costs  refunded  as  before  stated,  shall  constitute  the 
fund,  "and  all  expenses  of  whatever  kind  or  nature  should  be  paid  out 
of  the  appropriation  made  by  Congress."  That  appropriation,  how- 
ever, not  being  sufficient,  an  estimate  will  accordingly  be  submitted  to 
the  House  of  Representatives  to  enable  the  Department  to  comply  with 
the  acts  of  Congress  referred  to,  in  accordance  with  the  construction 
thus  given  to  them  by  the  Attorney-General. 

The  estimate  to  be  submitted  is  for  $10,000.  Of  this  the  sum  of 
$128.24  will  be  required  to  make  good  a  deficiency  in  the  former 
appropriation.  The  sum  of  $6,848.12  will  be  required  to  be  added  to 
the  fund,  on  the  principles  laid  down  by  the  Attorney-General.  This 
sum  is  estimated  on  the  same  ratio  as  upon  the  amount  produced  in 
the  United  States  on  the  remittance  which  has  been  received.  The 
balance,  $3,023.64,  will  be  required  to  pay  the  freight,  etc.,  of  the 
remittance,  amounting  to  $2,235.63,  and  such  expenses  as  may  be 
incurred  in  disposing  of  the  personal  effects  of  Mr.  Smithson,  which 
have  been  brought  to  the  United  States,  for  the  sale  of  which  I  would 
suggest  that  provision  should  be  made  by  Congress. 

This  report  is  submitted  to  you  in  compliance  with  the  resolution 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  you  referred  to  this  Depart- 
ment for  the  necessary  information  that  its  archives  would  furnish  in 
relation  to  the  call  thus  made  upon  you. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

LEVI  WOODBURY, 
Secretary  of  tlie  Treasury. 

The  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


A. 

Felix  Grundy  to  Levi  Woodbury. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S  OFFICE,  November  16,  1S38. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yours  of  the  llth  of  October 
last,  requesting  my  opinion  upon  various  points  in  relation  to  the  Smithsonian  legacy. 
A  separate  answer  to  each  of  your  inquiries  is  deemed  unnecessary,  as  the  opinion  I 
entertain,  and  am  about  to  express  in  general  terms,  will  be  found  to  cover  most  of 
them. 

James  Smithson,  of  London,  on  the  23d  of  October,  1826,  executed  his  last  will 
and  testament,  by  which,  upon  the  happening  of  certain  contingencies,  he  bequeathed 
to  the  United  States  of  America  all  his  property,  to  found  at  Washington,  under  the 
name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion 


SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST.  Ill 

of  knowledge  among  men.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  by  an  act  passed  1st 
of  July,  1836,  accepted  the  bequest,  and  directed  the  President  to  appoint  an  agent 
to  assert  and  prosecute  the  claim,  and  by  said  act  pledged  the  faith  of  the  United 
States  to  apply  the  moneys  and  other  funds  which  might  be  received  to  carry  into 
effect  the  provisions  of  said  will;  and,  by  the  fourth  section  of  said  act,  it  is  provided, 
' '  that  to  the  end  that  the  claim  to  said  bequest  may  be  prosecuted  with  effect,  and 
the  necessary  expenses  in  prosecuting  the  same  be  defrayed,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  apply  to  that  purpose  any  sum  not 
exceeding  $10, 000,"  etc. 

From  these  provisions  it  appears  to  me  that  Congress  intended  that  there  should 
be  no  diminution  of  the  funds  bequeathed  for  the  purpose  specified  in  said  will,  but 
that  the  whole,  whatever  they  might  amount  to,  should  be  applied  to  carry  into 
effect  the  intention  of  the  testator;  and  when  the  object  of  the  bequest  is  consid- 
ered, it  can  not  be  supposed  that  Congress  would  act  in  any  other  than  a  liberal 
spirit. 

My  opinion,  therefore,  is  that  the  amount  of  the  whole  money  and  other  funds 
received  by  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  under  the  act  of  July  1 ,  1836,  without 
reduction,  constitute  the  Smithsonian  fund,  for  the  purposes  specified  in  said  Smith- 
son's  will;  and  that  the  whole  expenses  of  prosecuting  said  claim,  receiving,  and 
transporting  the  same  to  this  country,  including  any  additional  expenses  which  may 
have  been  incurred  here,  ought  to  be  defrayed  out  of  the  appropriation  made  by 
Congress. 

It  appears  that  cash  and  stocks,  which,  when  converted  into  money,  amounted  to 
£106,49011s.  9d.,  were  decreed  to  the  United  States,  as  the  amount  of  the  legacy 
and  bequest  in  said  will.  This  sum,  after  deducting  £116  2s.  2d.,  the  amount  of  costs 
refunded,  is  the  amount  which  should  be  paid  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States, 
to  be  kept  and  disposed  of  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  July  1, 1836,  and 
the  sixth  section  of  the  act  of  July  7,  1838;  and  all  expenses,  of  whatever  kind  or 
nature,  should  be  paid  out  of  the  appropriation  made  by  Congress. 

In  relation  to  the  disposition  of  the  other  personal  effects  of  Mr.  Smithson,  which 
have  been  transferred  to  this  country  by  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  my  opinion 
is  that  Congress  should  direct  the  disposition  of  them. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

FELIX  GKUNDY. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  tfie  Treasury. 


RESIDUARY  BEQUEST  OF  JAMES  SMITHSON. 

From  Report  of  the  Secretary  for  the  year  1861, 

Information  has  been  received  from  London  of  the  death,  at  an 
advanced  age,  of  Madame  de  la  Batut,  the  mother  of  the  nephew  of 
James  Smithson,  to  whom  an  annuity  was  conceded  as  a  compromise 
by  the  Hon.  Richard  Rush,  with  a  view  to  the  more  expeditious  realiza- 
tion of  the  Smithsonian  legacy.  The  principal  of  this  annuity,  amount- 
ing to  £5,015  (about  $25,000),  will  now  be  added  to  the  bequest  of 
Smithson,  of  which  it  originally  formed  a  part. 

From  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  May  1,  1862. 

The  Secretary  gave  an  account  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
the  money  left  in  England  by  Hon.  Richard  Rush,  as  principal  of  an 
annuity  to  the  mother  of  the  nephew  of  Smithson,  and  presented  the 
following  communications  from  Fladgate,  Clarke  &  Finch,  of  London: 

40  CRAVEN  STREET,  STRAND, 
London,  W.  C.,  May  16,  1861. 

SIR:  We  had  the  honor,  in  the  year  1838,  of  acting  professionally  for  the  President 
of  the  United  States  in  the  suit  in  the  English  court  of  chancery,  under  which  the 
funds  for  the  foundation  of  the  Institution  (of  which  we  address  you  as  manager) 
were  decreed  to  be  paid  over  to  him  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  Institution. 
We  have  now  to  make  to  you,  as  the  manager  thereof,  the  following  communication: 

On  referring  to  the  papers  connected  with  the  Institution  you  will  find  that  a  sum  of 
£5,015  three  per  cent  consols,  part  of  the  estate  of  Smithson,  the  founder,  were  retained 
in  the  court  of  chancery  to  answer  a  claim  of  one  Madame  de  la  Batut,  That  person 
was,  in  fact,  entitled  to  a  life  interest  in  the  fund,  and  at  her  death  it  was  to  revert 
to  the  President  as  an  additional  fund  for  the  purposes  of  the  Institution. 

Madame  de  la  Batut  is  now  dead,  so  that  the  fund  has  become  transferable  to  the 
President,  and  it  will  be  requisite  for  him,  or  some  person  duly  authorized  by  him, 
to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  obtain  a  transfer. 

We  have  had  some  communication  with  the  solicitor  of  the  lady's  family,  who 
writes  as  follows: 

"My  client,  Mr.  La  Batut,  upon  taking  out  administration  to  his  late  mother, 
Madame  La  Batut,  to  whom  Lieut.  Col.  Henry  Lewis  Dickinson,  by  his  will  dated 
17th  July,  1819,  gave  half  of  the  income  of  his  property  for  her  life,  will  be  entitled 
to  an  apportioned  part  of  such  income  from  the  last  payment,  on  the  22d  March,  1858, 
to  10th  September,  in  the  same  year,  which  would  amount  to  about  £70. 

"  The  property  originally  consisted  of  French  5  per  cent  rentes,  payable  22d  March 
and  22d  September,  but  by  order  of  the  court  a  sum  of  £5,015  three  per  cent  consols 
was  invested  in  the  name  of  the  accountant-general  in  this  suit,  to  the  separate 
112 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  113 

account  of  Mary  Ann  de  la  Batut,  the  annuitant,  to  meet  the  payments  of  the  life 
income.  By  the  law  of  France,  the  life  income  is  apportionable  and  payable  up  to 
the  time  of  death,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dickinson  having  been  domiciled  in 
France  at  the  time  of  his  death,  that  law  will  apply  to  this  case. 

' '  Will  you  be  good  enough,  under  these  circumstances,  to  obtain  the  consent  of 
your  client  in  presenting  a  petition  as  to  the  £5,015  and  the  arrears  of  dividends  due 
thereon,  to  ask  for  the  payment  to  my  client  of  the  apportioned  sum  out  of  such 
arrears,  without  obliging  him  to  go  to  the  expense  of  proving  the  law  of  France  upon 
this  subject?  I  will  hand  you  the  necessary  proof  of  death,  the  expense  of  which 
can  be  included  in  the  necessary  costs  of  the  application." 

We  should  recommend  that  the  request  contained  in  this  letter  be  complied  with. 
We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

FLADGATE,  CLARKE  &  FINCH. 

The  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  United  States. 


40  CRAVEN  STREET,  STRAND, 

London,  W.  C.,  October  26,  1861. 

SIR:  Your  letter  of  the  14th  August  reached  us  in  the  long  vacation  which  has  just 
terminated,  and  we  hasten  to  reply  to  it. 

All  that  will  be  requisite  to  be  done  in  the  first  instance  is  that  we  should  have 
the  authority  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  present  a  petition  for  an  order 
to  have  the  fund  paid  to  him.  On  our  obtaining  this  order,  a  power  of  attorney 
will  be  sent  out  to  the  President  authorizing  some  person  here  to  receive  from  the 
court  of  chancery,  and  transmit  to  him,  or  to  the  managers  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, the  fund  in  question. 

Having  in  the  suit  had  the  honor  of  acting  for  the  President,  it  might  be  within 
our  functions  to  present  the  petition  even  without  an  express  authority,  but  we  did 
not  deem  it  right  to  do  so  without  some  communication  with  the  President  or  with 
the  managers  of  the  Institution. 

Of  course,  although  the  order  might  be  obtained  without,  the  fund  can  only  be 
dealt  with  on  the  signature  of  the  President, 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  very  obedient  servants, 

FLADGATE,  CLARKE  &  FINCH. 
JOSEPH  HENRY,  Esq., 

SmitJisonian  Institution,  Washington. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Trumbull,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  and  executive  committee  consult  with 
the  President  of  the  United  States  and  take  such  action  as  may  be 
necessary  for  obtaining  the  money  referred  to  in  the  communication 
from  the  solicitors  in  London. 


From  Report  of  tJie  Secretary  for  the  year  1862. 

A  power  of  attorney  has  been  forwarded  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  Messrs.  Fladgate,  Clarke  &  Finch,  of  London,  author- 
izing them  to  collect  the  remainder  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  which 
was  left  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Rush  as  the  principal  of  an  annuity  to  the 
H.  Doc.  732 8 


114  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

mother  of  the  nephew  of  Smithson.  The  power  of  attorney  was  for- 
warded to  the  care  of  Hon.  Charles  F.  Adams,  American  minister  to 
England,  and  the  money,  when  collected,  will  be  deposited  with 
George  Peabody  &  Co.,  bankers,  London,  subject  to  the  order  of  the 
Institution. 


From  Report  of  the  Secretary  for  the  year  1863. 

A  part  of  the  original  bequest,  amounting  to  £5,015,  was  left  by 
Mr.  Rush  in  England  as  the  principal  of  an  annuity  to  be  paid  to  the 
mother  of  the  nephew  of  Smithson.  The  annuitant  having  died,  a 
power  of  attorney  was  sent,  in  November,  1862,  to  Messrs.  Fladgate, 
Clarke  &  Finch  to  collect  the  money;  but  it  has  not  yet  been  received. 
Although  the  whole  legacy  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Rush  in  behalf  of  the 
United  States,  after  an  amicable  suit  in  chancery,  various  objections 
have  been  raised  to  allowing  the  small  remainder  to  be  sent  to  this 
country.  These  objections  appear  to  be  principally  of  a  technical 
character  and  are  scarcely  compatible  with  an  equitable  interpretation 
of  the  facts  of  the  case.  There  should  be  no  prejudice  in  England  in 
regard  to  the  construction  placed  upon  the  terms  of  the  bequest  and 
the  policy  which  has  been  adopted,  since  169  institutions  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  are  recipients  of  the  Smithsonian  publications  and 
specimens  of  natural  history,  and  have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  its 
system  of  international  exchange. 


From  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  January  25,  1864.. 

The  Secretary  called  attention  to  the  unexpected  delays  and  em- 
barrassments which  had  occurred  in  obtaining  the  remainder  of  the 
original  bequest  of  Smithson  left  in  England  as  the  principal  of  an 
annuity  to  the  mother  of  the  nephew  of  Smithson,  and  read  the  cor- 
respondence on  the  subject  with  the  attorneys,  and  also  a  letter  from 
Hon.  C.  F.  Adams,  the  American  minister  to  England. 

On  motion  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed,  consisting  of  the  Secretary, 
Mr.  Henry  Winter  Davis,  and  Professor  Bache,  to  confer  with  the 
Secretary  of  State  and  the  British  minister  relative  to  the  action  of 
the  English  authorities  in  regard  to  the  money  due  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 


From  Report  of  the  Secretary  for  the  year  186 '4- 

It  was  mentioned  in  the  last  report  that  a  part  of  the  original 
bequest,  amounting  to  .£5,015,  was  left  by  Mr.  Rush  in  England  as 
the  principal  to  secure  an  annuity  payable  to  the  mother  of  Smithson's 
nephew.  The  annuitant  having  died,  a  power  of  attorney  was  sent  in 
November,  1863,  to  Messrs.  Fladgate,  Clarke  &  Finch  (the  same  firm 


SMITHSONIAN   BEQUEST.  115 

originally  employed  by  Mr.  Rush)  to  collect  the  money.  After  a 
considerable  delay,  arising  principally  from  technical  difficulties,  the 
money  was  obtained  and  deposited  to  the  order  of  the  Institution,  with 
George  Peabody  &  Co.,  bankers,  London.  It  was  subsequently  drawn 
through  the  agency  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  law  of  Congress  directing  that  the  money  of  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest  should  be  invested  in  United  States  securities,  it  was 
expended  in  the  purchase  of  Government  bonds,  bearing  interest  at 
the  rate  of  7.3  per  cent.  The  amount  realized  in  bonds  of  this  denom- 
ination at  par  was  $54,150.  It  was  at  first  supposed  that  this  money, 
or  at  least  the  interest  upon  it,  could  immediately  be  applied  to  the 
uses  of  the  Institution,  but  from  a  critical  examination  of  the  enact- 
ments of  Congress  in  reference  to  the  Smithsonian  fund,  it  was  found 
that  the  appropriation  of  the  bequest  by  the  act  organizing  the  estab- 
lishment in  1846,  related  only  to  that  part  of  the  bequest  which  had 
already  been  received,  and  made  no  provision  for  the  disposition  of 
the  residuary  legacy  which  has  just  become  available.  It  can  scarcely 
be  doubted,  however,  but  that  Congress  intended  to  appropriate  the 
whole  of  the  bequest  to  the  maintenance  of  the  establishment.  Still, 
for  this  purpose,  a  special  act  will  be  required,  and  it  is  desirable  that 
the  sum  recently  received  be  deposited  in  the  Treasury  on  the  same 
condition  with  the  amount  originally  obtained — that  the  interest  alone 
shall  be  subject  to  expenditure.  In  this  connection  it  is  proper  to 
remark  that  Mr.  Peabody,  who  received  the  deposit  of  the  fund,  so 
far  from  claiming  the  usual  commission  allowed  4  per  cent  on  the 
money  while  it  remained  in  his  hands. 


From  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  February  2,  1865. 

Professor  Henry  presented  the  question  as  to  the  disposition  of  the 
residuary  legacy  of  Smithson  which  had  been  received  from  England, 
and  was  now  on  deposit  with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States. 

On  motion  of  Hon.  J.  W.  Patterson,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  invest  the  money  now 
on  deposit  with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  derived  from  the 
residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson  in  United  States  bonds  bearing 
7.3  per  cent  interest. 


From  Report  of  the  Secretary  for  the  year  1865. 

It  has  been  mentioned  in  the  two  preceding  reports  that  a  part  of 
the  original  bequest  had  been  left  in  England  as  the  principal  of  an 
annuity  payable  to  the  mother  of  Smithson's  nephew.  The  annuitant 
having  died,  a  power  of  attorney  signed  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  was  sent  to  Fladgate,  Clarke  &  Finch,  solici- 


116  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

tors  in  England,  authorizing  them  to  collect  the  money  and  pay  it  to 
the  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  The  pro- 
ceeds from  this,  deducting  the  expenses  of  collection,  were  £5,262  3d., 
which  were  temporarily  deposited  with  George  Peabody  &  Co.,  who 
not  only  transacted  the  business  without  charge,  but  allowed  4  per 
cent  interest  on  the  money  while  it  remained  in  their  hands.  The 
total  amount  of  this  residuary  legacy  received  by  the  Institution, 
including  the  interest,  £153  19s.  4d.,  was  $26,210.63  in  gold,  which 
being  sold  at  the  current  premium  (about  107),  yielded  $54,165.38  in 
United  States  currency.  This  sum  was  invested  in  Government  bonds 
bearing  interest  at  7.3  per  cent,  and  deposited  for  safe-keeping  with 
General  Spinner,  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States. 

From  Report  of  the  Executive  Committee  for  the  year  1865. 

It  appears  from  the  statement  of  the  Secretary  and  the  accounts 
rendered  by  Riggs  &  Co.,  bankers  of  the  Institution,  that  the  remain 
der  of  the  legacy  of  Suiithson,  which  amounted  to  $26,210.63  in  gold, 
was  sold  at  a  premium  from  105  to  107i  per  cent,  yielding,  after 
deducting  the  cost  of  sale  and  United  States  tax,  $54,165.38.  This 
amount  was  expended  in  the  purchase  of  United  States  bonds  bearing 
7.3  per  cent  interest  at  par. 

The  following  is  a  detailed  statement  of  the  whole  transaction: 

1864. 

June  11.  The  amount  received  from  Fladgate,  Clarke  &  Finch,  attor- 
neys, London,  as  the  residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson,       £        s.    d. 

was 5,262    0    3 

This  amount  was  deposited  with  George  Peabody  &  Co., 
bankers,  London,  who  allowed  interest  on  it  to  the  5th  of 
March,  1865 153  19  4 


5,415  19    7 

This  amount  was  equivalent  to  $26,210.63  in  gold,  which  was  sold 
by  Riggs  &  Co. ,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Insti- 
tution, as  follows: 

$10,  000. 00  at  207i $20,  725. 00 

15, 000. 00  at  206| 31, 031.  25 

1 , 000.  00  at  207 2,  070. 00 

21 0.63  at  205...  431.79 


26,  210.  63  54, 258. 04 

Less  brokerage,  one-fourth $65.  53 

Less  United  States  tax,  one-twentieth 27. 13 

92. 66 


Net  amount  realized  from  sale  of  gold $54, 165. 38 

1865. 
Feb.  17.  United  States  bonds  bearing  7.3  per  cent  interest  were  purchaoed 

at  par  for 54, 150. 00 

Balance,  which  could  not  be  invested  on  account  of  there 
being  no  bonds  for  less  than  $50 15.  38 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  117 

After  the  Secretary  had  purchased  these  bonds  and  deposited  them 
for  safe-keeping  with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States,  it  was 
claimed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  that  this  money  was  not 
under  the  control  of  the  Regents  of  the  Institution,  inasmuch  as  the 
original  act  of  Congress  of  1846,  establishing  the  Institution,  referred 
to  only  so  much  of  the  bequest  of  Smithson  as  was  then  in  the  Treas- 
ury of  the  United  States,  and  that  a  special  act  of  Congress  would  be 
required  to  apply  this  money,  or  the  interest  on  it,  to  the  uses  of  the 
Institution.  The  executive  committee  would  therefore  recommend 
that  an  application  be  made  to  Congress  for  such  a  disposition  of  this 
money. 


From  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  March  &£,  1866. 

The  subject  of  the  disposition  of  the  money  in  possession  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  resulting  from  the  residuary  legacy  of  Smith- 
son,  was  next  considered.  The  Secretary  suggested  that  so  much  of 
this  sum  as  was  received  from  England,  independent  of  the  premium 
on  the  coin,  viz,  $26,210.63,  should  be  added  to  the  amount  originally 
deposited  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  by  Mr.  Rush,  making 
$541,379.63  as  the  total  bequest  of  Smithson,  and  that  the  premium 
and  the  interest  since  accrued  be  applied  to  the  current  uses  of  the 
Institution,  and  to  assist  in  defraying  the  cost  of  the  restoration  of  the 
building.  By  this  arrangement  the  interesting  fact  could  be  stated 
that,  after  all  the  Institution  has  done  in  the  way  of  increasing  and 
diffusing  knowledge,  the  entire  sum  derived  from  the  bequest  of 
Smithson  is  still  undiminished  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

The  Chancellor  recommended  that  the  sum  thus  added  to  the  money 
now  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  should  be  sufficient  to  make 
up  the  amount  to  $550,000. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Wallach,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  apply  to  Congress  for 
an  act  by  which  the  residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson,  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  amounting  to  $26,210.63, 
be  added  to  the  sum  originally  received;  and  that  also  from  the  income 
of  the  above-mentioned  residuary  legacy  the  further  sum  of  $8,620.37 
be  added,  making  the  total  amount  deposited  in  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  $550,000  as  the  trust  fund,  the  interest  on  which  alone 
is  to  be  applied  to  the  maintenance  and  uses  of  the  institution;  and 
further,  that  the  Regents  be  authorized  to  apply  the  remainder  of  the 
income  of  the  residuary  legacy  to  the  current  expenses  of  the  Institu- 
tion and  the  reconstruction  of  the  building. 


118  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

From  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  January  28,  1867. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Wallach,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted: 
Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  present  a 
memorial  to  Congress  in  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  requesting 
the  passage  of  an  act  authorizing  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States 
to  receive  into  the  Treasury,  on  the  same  terms  as  the  original  bequest, 
the  residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson,  now  in  United  States  bonds 
in  the  hands  of  said  Treasurer,  namely,  $26,210.63,  together  with  such 
other  sums  as  the  Regents  may  from  time  to  time  see  fit  to  deposit,  not 
exceeding,  with  the  original  bequest,  the  sum  of  $1,000,000;  and  that 
the  income  which  has  accrued  or  which  may  accrue  from  said  residuary 
legacy  be  applied  in  the  same  manner  as  the  interest  on  the  original 
bequest. 

The  Chancellor  appointed  Mr.  Garret  Davis,  Mr.  J.  W.  Patterson, 
and  Mr.  J.  A.  Garfield  as  the  committee. 


From  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  February  1, 1867. 

The  Secretary  presented  the  following  memorial  which  had  been 
offered  to  Congress  by  the  special  committee: 

To  the  honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled: 

The  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  have  directed  the  under- 
signed to  transmit  to  your  honorable  body  the  resolution  herewith  appended,  and  to 
solicit  the  passage  of  an  act  in  accordance  therewith. 

It  is  known  to  your  honorable  body  that  the  original  sum  received  into  the  United 
States  Treasury  from  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson,  of  England,  was  $515,167, 
which  was  considered  a  trust  fund,  the  interest  alone  to  be  applied  to  carrying  out 
the  purpose  of  the  testator,  viz,  "The  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men." 

This,  however,  was  not  the  whole  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  the  sum  of  £5,015 
having  been  left  by  Hon.  R.  Rush,  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  as  the  principal  of 
an  annuity  to  the  mother  of  the  nephew  of  Smithson. 

The  annuitant  having  died,  the  sum  of  $26,210.63  has  been  received  from  this 
source,  and  is  now  in  charge  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States, 
and  no  provision  having  been  made  in  the  act  of  August  10, 1846,  establishing  the 
Institution,  for  the  disposition  of  this  remainder  of  the  legacy,  your  memorialists,  in 
behalf  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  now  ask  that  it  be  added  to  the  original  bequest  on 
the  same  terms,  and  that  the  increase  which  has  arisen  from  interest  or  otherwise  on 
the  sum  before  mentioned,  also  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasury  Department  of  the 
United  States,  be  transferred  to  the  Board  of  Regents  for  assisting  to  defray  the 
expense  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  building  and  for  other  objects  of  the  Institution. 

And  your  memorialists  would  further  ask  that  the  Board  of  Regents  be  allowed  to 
place  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  on  the  same  terms  as  the  original  bequest, 
such  sums  of  money  as  may  accrue  from  savings  of  income  and  from  other  sources, 
provided  the  whole  amount  thus  received  into  the  Treasury  shall  not  exceed 
$1,000,000. 


.    SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  119 

The  sole  object  of  this  request  is  the  permanent  investment  and  perpetual  security 
of  the  entire  Smithsonian  bequest  and  such  other  sums  as  may  be  accumulated  from 
savings  of  accrued  interest,  legacies,  etc. 
And  your  memorialists  will  ever  pray,  etc. 

S.  P.  CHASE, 

Chancellor. 
JOSEPH  HENRY, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Resolved,  by  tlie  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  That  an  application 
be  made  to  Congress  for  an  act  authorizing  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  to 
receive  into  the  Treasury,  on  the  same  terms  as  the  original  bequest,  the  residuary 
legacy  of  James  Smithson,  now  in  United  States  bonds  in  the  hands  of  said  Treas- 
urer, namely,  $26,210.63,  together  with  such  other  sums  as  the  Regents  may  from 
time  to  time  see  fit  to  deposit,  not  exceeding,  with  the  original  bequest,  the  sum  of 
$1,000,000,  and  that  the  income  which  has  accrued  or  may  accrue  from  said  residuary 
legacy  be  applied  in  the  same  manner  as  the  interest  on  the  original  bequest. 

Mr.  Patterson  stated  that  in  behalf  of  the  committee  he  had  pre- 
sented the  memorial  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  with  a  bill  in 
accordance  therewith,  which  had  passed  unanimously  that  day  and 
been  transmitted  to  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Trumbull  stated  that  this  bill  had  also  unanimously  passed  the 
Senate,  and  only  awaited  the  signature  of  the  President  to  become 
a  law. 


From  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  February  22,  1867. 

The  Secretary  presented  the  following  copy  of  the  act  of  Congress 
relative  to  the  increase  of  the  trust  fund,  referred  to  at  the  last  meet- 
ing of  the  board,  and  a  statement  of  what  had  been  done  in  accordance 
with  it: 

An  act  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  receive  into  the  Treasury  the  residuary  legacy 
of  James  Smithson,  to  authorize  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  apply  the  income  of 
the  said  legacy,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in 
Congress  assembled,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized 
and  directed  to  receive  into  the  Treasury,  on  the  same  terms  as  the  original  bequest, 
the  residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson,  now  in  United  States  bonds  in  the  hands  of 
said  Secretary,  namely,  twenty-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  ten  dollars  and  sixty- 
three  cents,  together  with  such  other  sums  as  the  Regents  may  from  time  to  time  see 
fit  to  deposit,  not  exceeding  with  the  original  bequest  the  sum  of  one  million  dollars. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  increase  which  has  accrued  or  which 
may  hereafter  accrue,  from  said  residuary  legacy,  shall  be  applied  by  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  same  manner  as  the  interest  on  the 
original  bequest,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  August  tenth,  eighteen 
hundred  and  forty -six,  establishing  said  Institution. 

Approved  February  8, 1867. 

The  Secretary  stated  that  in  accordance  with  the  directions  of  the 
Board  of  Regents,  and  the  authority  conferred  by  the  above  act,  he 
had  increased  the  amount  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  in  the  Treasury  of 


120  SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST. 

tbe  United  States  on  the  19th  of  February,  1867,  to  $550,000,  in  the 

following  manner: 

The  interest  at  7.3  per  cent,  due  for  two  years,  to  February  15,  1867,  on 

the  $54,150  United  States  bonds,  was  collected,  viz $7, 905. 90 

$25,400  of  the  bonds  were  taken  by  the  Treasury  Department 
at  6  per  cent  premium,  yielding: 

Bonds $25,400.00 

Premium..  1,524.00 

-  26,924.00 
Interest  from  February  15-19,  four  days 20. 32 


Amount  realized '. 34,  850.  22 

Amount  placed  in  the  United  States  Treasury,  to  l)e  added  to  the  original 
trust  fund,  $515,169  (making  it  $550,000) 34,  831. 00 

Leaving  a  balance  in  cash  of 19. 22 

This  balance  was  deposited  with  Riggs  &  Co.  to  the  credit  of  the 
Smithsonian  account. 


INCREASE  OF  THE  SMITHSON  FUND. 

Hamilton  fund. — The  first  addition  to  the  Smithson  fund  by  bequest 
was  that  of  $1,000  from  James  Hamilton,  of  Carlisle,  Pa.,  "the  inter- 
est to  be  appropriated  biennially  by  the  secretaries,  either  in  money 
or  a  medal,  for  such  contribution,  paper,  or  lecture  on  any  scientific 
or  useful  subject  as  said  secretaries  may  direct."  His  will  was  dated 
November  20, 1871,  and  the  amount  of  the  bequest  was  received  Febru- 
ary 24,  1874,  and  deposited  in  the  United  States  Treasury. 

Hdbel  fund. — The  second  bequest  to  the  Institution  was  made  by 
Dr.  Simeon  Habel,  of  New  York,  an  Austrian  physician,  of  $402.59, 
which  was  increased  by  the  Institution  to  $500,  to  be  known  as  the 
"Habel  fund,"  which  was  deposited  on  the  loth  of  March,  1880,  in  the 
United  States  Treasury. 

Hodgkins  fund. — In  May,  1891,  Mr.  Thomas  George  Hodgkins,  of 
Setauket,  Long  Island,  New  York,  proposed  to  make  a  gift  to  the 
Institution,  and  after  visits  from  the  Secretary,  Mr.  Langley,  and  the 
Assistant  Secretary,  Mr.  Goode,  Mr.  Hodgkins  presented,  on  Sep- 
tember 22,  1891,  the  sum  of  $200,000,  the  interest  of  $100,000  of 
which  was  to  be  used  for  general  purposes  in  the  "increase  and  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  among  men,"  provided  that  the  interest  of  the  other 
$100,000  should  be  used  in  the  investigation  of  the  properties  of 
atmospheric  air  considered  in  its  very  widest  relationship  to  all 
branches  of  science.  This  gift  was  formally  accepted  by  the  Board 
of  Regents  on  the  21st  of  October,  1891.  Mr.  Hodgkins  died  on  the 
25th  of  November,  1892,  at  the  age  of  nearly  90  3rears.  Subsequent 
to  his  death,  in  1894,  an  additional  sum  of  $8,000  was  received  from 
the  estate  and  added  to  the  Smithson  fund,  and  $42,000  was  also 


SMITHSONIAN    BEQUEST.  121 

received  by  the  Institution  in  West  Shore  Railroad  4  per  cent  bonds 
from  his  estate,  making  the  total  gift  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  million 
dollars. 

The  permanent  Smithson  fund   January,   1900,   deposited   in   the 
United  States  Treasury  consists  of — 

Aug.  10, 1846.  Smithson's  original  bequest $515, 169. 00 

Feb.  19, 1867.  Smithson's  residuary  legacy 26, 210. 63 

From  savings,  etc . . . , 108, 620.  37 

Feb.  24, 1874.  Bequest  of  James  Hamilton 1, 000.  00 

Mar.  15, 1880.  Bequest  of  Dr.  Simeon  Habel 500. 00 

Feb.  21, 1881.  Proceeds  of  sale  of  Virginia  bonds 51, 500. 00 

Oct.  22, 1891.  Gift  of  Thomas  G.  Hodgkins 200, 000.  00 

May  19, 1894.  Gift  of  Thomas  G.  Hodgkins 8, 000. 00 

Jan.  28, 1895.  Interest  on  the  Hamilton  fund 1,  000.  00 


912, 000. 00 
OTHER   BEQUESTS   AND   GIFTS   TO   THE   INSTITUTION. 

fund. — In  1894  a  bequest  was  received  from  Mr.  Robert 
Stanton  Avery,  of  Washington  City,  consisting  of  real  estate  valued 
at  $28,931  and  railroad  stocks,  etc.,  valued  at  about  $6,000. 

As  litigation  ensued  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  heirs  at  law,  no 
addition  has  yet  been  made  from  this  source  to  the  permanent  Smith- 
son  fund. 

In  1889  a  bequest  of  $5,000  was  received  from  Dr.  Jerome  Henry 
Kidder,  of  Washington  City,  to  be  used  for  the  promotion  of  physi- 
cal research. 

In  1891  Prof.  Alexander  Graham  Bell  presented  the  sum  of  $5,000 
for  scientific  research  by  the  secretary,  Mr.  Langley. 

A  full  account  of  these  bequests  will  be  found  in  the  annual  reports 
of  the  Institution. 


n. 


LEGISLATION  RELATIVE  TO  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE 
SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION:  1835  TO  1847. 


123 


TWENTY-FOURTH  CONGRESS,   1835-1837. 

BEQUEST    OF   JAMES   SMITHSON. 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

WASHINGTON,  December  17,  1835. 
To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 

I  transmit  to  Congress  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  accom- 
panying copies  of  certain  papers l  relating  to  a  bequest  to  the  United 
States  by  Mr.  James  Smithson,  of  London,  for  the  purpose  of  found- 
ing at  Washington  an  establishment,  under  the  name  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  "for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men."  The  Executive  having  no  authority  to  take  any  steps  for 
accepting  the  trust  and  obtaining  the  funds,  the  papers  are  communi- 
cated with  a  view  to  such  measures  as  Congress  may  deem  necessary. 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 

December  21,  1835— Senate. 

The  message  of  the  President  was  read,  and  referred  to  Committee 
on  the  Judiciary. 
December  21,  1835 — House. 

The  message  of  the  President  was  received  and  read. 

Referred  to  a  select  committee,  and  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  Mr. 
Francis  Thomas,  Mr.  James  Garland  of  Virginia,  Mr.  Dutee  J. 
Pearce  of  Rhode  Island,  Mr.  Jesse  Speight,  Mr.  Thomas  M.  T. 
McKennan,  Mr.  Edw.  A.  Hannegan,  Mr.  Rice  Garland  of  Louisiana, 
and  Mr.  Graham  H.  Chapin  were  appointed  said  committee. 
January  5,  1836— Senate. 

Mr.  B.  F.  LEIGH,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  to  wnoin 
was  referred  the  message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
the  21st  ultimo,  relative  to  the  bequest  of  the  late  James  Smithson, 
of  London,  made  a  report,  accompanied  by  a  joint  resolution. 

The  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  to  whom  was  referred  the  message 
of  the  President  of  the  17th  December  last,  transmitting  to  Congress 

I  a  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  accompanying  copies  of  certain 
papers  relating  to  a  bequest  to  the  United  States  by  Mr.  James 
Smithson,  of  London,  for  the  purpose  of  founding,  at  Washington, 

1  For  these  papers  see  Correspondence,  page  3. 

125 


126  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

an  establishment  under  the  name  of  "The  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  respect- 
fully report: 

That  it  appears  that  Mr.  James  Smithson,  late  of  London,  deceased, 
by  his  last  will  and  testament  bequeathed  the  whole  of  his  property  to 
his  bankers,  Messrs.  Drummonds,  of  Charing  Cross,  London,  in  trust, 
to  be  disposed  of  in  the  manner  therein  provided  and  directed,  and 
desired  his  said  executors  to  put  his  property  under  the  management 
of  the  court  of  chancery;  and  then  (after  bequeathing  an  annuity  of 
£100  to  John  Fitall  for  life)  he  bequeathed  and  provided  as  follows: 

To  Henry  James  Hungerford,  my  nephew,  I  give  and  bequeath,  for  his  life,  the  whole 
of  the  income  arising  from  my  property  of  every  nature  and  kind  whatever,  after  pay- 
ment of  the  above  annuity,  and  after  the  death  of  John  Fitall  that  annuity  likewise; 
the  payments  to  be  made  to  him  at  the  time  interest  or  dividends  become  due  on  the 
stocks  or  other  property  from  which  the  income  arises.  Should  the  said  Henry 
James  Hungerford  have  a  child  or  children,  legitimate  or  illegitimate,  I  leave  to  such 
child  or  children,  his  or  their  heirs,  executors,  and  assigns,  the  whole  of  my  property 
of  every  kind,  absolutely  and  forever,  to  be  divided  between  them,  if  more  than  one, 
in  the  manner  their  father  shall  judge  proper;  and  in  case  of  his  omitting  to  decide 
this,  as  the  lord  chancellor  shall  judge  proper.  Should  my  said  nephew,  Henry 
James  Hungerford,  marry,  I  empower  him  to  make  a  jointure.  In  case  of  the  death 
of  my  said  nephew  without  leaving  a  child  or  children,  or  of  the  death  of  the  child 
or  children  he  may  have  had,  under  the  age  of  21  years,  or  intestate,  I  then  bequeath 
the  whole  of  my  property  (subject  to  the  annuity  of  £100  to  John  Fitall,  and  for  the 
security  and  payment  of  which  I  mean  stock  to  remain  in  this  country)  to  the  United 
States  of  America,  to  found,  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

It  further  appears,  from  a  letter  of  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore  & 
Fladgate,  solicitors  to  Mr.  Vail,  charge  d'affaires  of  the  United  States 
at  London,  dated  the  21st  July  last,  communicated  by  Mr.  Vail  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  that  pursuant  to  the  instructions  contained  in  Mr. 
Smithson's  will,  an  amicable  suit  was,  on  the  death  of  that  testator, 
brought  in  the  court  of  chancery  of  England,  by  the  legatee,  Mr. 
Hungerford,  against  the  Messrs.  Drummonds,  the  executors,  in  which 
suit  the  assets  were  realized;  that  these  were  very  considerable;  that 
there  is  now  standing  in  the  name  of  the  accountant-general  of  the 
court  of  chancery,  on  the  trusts  of  the  will,  stock  amounting  in  value 
to  about  £100,000;  that  Mr.  Hungerford,  during  his  life,  had  received 
the  income  arising  from  this  property;  but  that  news  had  reached 
England  that  Mr.  Hungerford  had  died  abroad,  leaving  no  child  sur- 
viving him;  so  that  the  event  has  happened  on  which  the  executory 
bequest  of  this  large  property  was  made  by  the  testator,  Mr.  Smith- 
son,  to  the  United  States,  to  found,  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of 
"The  Smithsonian  Institution,"  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore  & 
Fladgate  also  inform  Mr.  Vail  that  it  has  now  become  necessary  that 
measures  should  be  taken  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  decision  of  the 


TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1835-1837.  127 

court  of  chancery  as  to  the  further  disposition  of  the  property;  that 
it  is  not  clearly  defined  in  Mr.  Smithson's  will  to  whom,  on  behalf  of  the 
United  States,  the  property  should  be  paid  or  transferred;  and  indeed 
there  is  so  much  doubt  that  they  apprehend  the  attorney -general  on 
behalf  of  the  Crown  of  England  must  be  joined  in  the  proceedings  which 
it  may  be  requisite  the  United  States  should  institute;  that  they  act 
in  this  matter  for  Messrs.  Drummonds,  the  bankers,  who  are  mere 
stakeholders,  and  are  ready  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  facilitate  get- 
ting the  decision  of  the  court  of  chancery  and  carrying  the  testator's 
intentions  into  effect;  and  that  they  will  be  happy  to  communicate 
with  such  professional  advisers  as  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  shall  think  fit  to  appoint  to  act  for  them  in  England.  And 
having  thus  stated  the  nature  of  the  business,  they  add  that  the}' 
abstain  from  making  any  suggestion  as  to  the  party  in  whose  name 
proceedings  should  be  adopted,  considering  that  the  point  should  be 
determined  by  counsel  in  England,  after  the  opinion  of  the  proper  law 
officers  in  the  United  States  shall  have  been  taken  on  the  subject. 

In  a  letter  of  Mr.  Vail  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  28th  July 
last,  communicating  a  copy  of  Mr.  Smithson's  will  and  the  letter  of 
Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate  to  him,  he  says  that  that  letter 
and  the  inquiries  he  has  made  leave  no  doubt  of  the  will  of  Mr.  Smith- 
son  having  been  established  and  its  dispositions  recognized  by  the 
court  of  chancery  of  England;  that,  according  to  the  view  taken  of 
the  case  by  the  solicitors,  the  United  States,  in  the  event  of  their 
accepting  the  legacy  and  the  trust  coupled  with  it,  should  come  for- 
ward, by  their  representative,  and  make  themselves  parties  to  an  ami- 
cable suit  before  the  lord  chancellor  of  England,  for  the  purpose  of 
legally  establishing  the  fact  of  the  demise  of  Mr.  Hungerford,  the 
legatee  for  life,  without  children  and  intestate,  proving  their  claim  to 
the  benefit  of  the  will,  and  obtaining  a  decree  in  chancery  awarding 
to  them  the  proceeds  of  the  estate;  that  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore  & 
Fladgate  are  willing  to  undertake  the  management  of  the  suit  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States,  and  that,  from  what  he  has  learned  of  their 
standing,  they  may  safely  be  confided  in.  And  Mr.  Vail  suggests, 
upon  the  advice  of  those  gentlemen,  a  method  of  proceeding  to  assert 
the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy,  without  further  delay,  in 
case  it  should  be  thought  unnecessary  to  await  the  action  of  Congress 
to  authorize  the  institution  of  the  requisite  legal  proceedings. 

The  Secretary  of  State  submitted  the  letter  of  Mr.  Vail  and  the 
papers  therewith  communicated  to  the  President,  who  determined 
to  lay  the  subject  before  Congress  at  its  next  session,  and  of  this 
determination  the  Secretary  of  State  apprised  Mr.  Vail  in  a  letter  of 
the  26th  September  last. 

The  President  in  his  message  of  the  17th  December  transmits  to 
Congress  all  the  correspondence  and  information  relating  to  the  sub- 


128  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

ject  as  the  same  had  been  reported  to  him  by  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and  adds  that  "the  Executive  having  no  authority  to  take  any  steps 
for  accepting  the  trust  and  obtaining  the  funds,  the  papers  are  com- 
municated, with  a  view  to  such  measures  as  Congress  may  deem  nec- 
essary." 

The  committee  concur  in  the  opinion  of  the  President,  that  it  belongs 
to  the  Legislature  to  devise  and  prescribe  the  measures,  if  any,  proper 
to  be  adopted  on  this  occasion  and  to  provide  for  such  expenses  as 
may  be  incurred  in  the  prosecution  of  them. 

Judging  from  the  letters  of  Mr.  Vail  to  the  Secretary  of  State  and 
of  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore  &  Fladgate  to  Mr.  Vail,  as  well  as  from 
the  information  which  the  committee  themselves  have  been  able  to 
gather  as  to  the  course  of  adjudication  of  the  court  of  chancery  of 
England  in  such  cases,  the  committee  suppose  it  unquestionable  that 
the  executory  bequest  contained  in  Mr.  Smithson's  will,  of  his  whole 
property  to  the  United  States,  in  the  event  that  has  occurred,  for  the 
purpose  of  founding  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men,  is  by  the  law  of  England  a  valid  bequest;  that 
the  United  States  will  be  entertained  in  the  court  of  chancery  of  Eng- 
land to  assert  their  claim  to  the  fund  as  trustees,  for  the  purpose  of 
founding  the  charitable  institution  at  Washington  to  which  it  is  des- 
tined by  the  donor,  and  that  that  court  will  decree  that  the  fund  shall 
be  paid  and  transferred  to  the  United  States,  or  their  lawfully  author- 
ized agent,  leaving  it  to  the  United  States  to  apply  the  property  to  the 
foundation  of  the  intended  charity  at  Washington  and  to  provide  for 
the  due  administration  of  the  fund,  so  as  to  accomplish  the  purpose  of 
the  donor.  The  committee  are  sensible,  however,  that  these  are  points 
which  can  only  be  determined  and  settled  by  the  judicial  authorit}r  of 
England. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  committee  the  questions  which  it  behooves 
Congress  to  consider  are  whether  it  is  competent  to  the  United  States, 
whether  it  comports  with  their  dignity,  whether  (all  circumstances 
considered)  it  is  expedient  and  proper  that  the  United  States  should 
appear  as  suitors  in  the  courts  of  justice  of  England  to  assert  their 
claim  to  the  legacy  in  question  as  trustees  for  the  intended  charitable 
institution  to  be  founded  at  Washington. 

It  might  be  a  question  of  much  doubt  and  difficulty  whether  it 
would  be  within  the  competency  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  appropriate  any  part  of  the  general  revenue  collected  from 
the  nation  at  large  to  the  foundation  and  endowment  of  a  literary  or 
any  other  charitable  institution  in  the  District  of  Columbia;  but,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  committee,  no  such  question  is  involved  in  the  con- 
sideration of  the  present  subject.  The  fund  given  to  the  United 
States  by  Mr.  Smithson's  will  is  nowise  and  never  can  become  part  of 


TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1835-1837.  129 

their  revenue.  They  can  not  claim  or  take  it  for  their  own  benefit. 
They  can  only  take  it  as  trustees,  to  apply  to  the  charitable  purpose 
for  which  it  was  intended  by  the  donor. 

The  committee  can  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  United  States 
must  be  regarded  as  the  parens  patriot  of  the  District  of  Columbia; 
that  in  that  character  they  have  a  right  and  they  are  in  duty  bound  to 
assert  a  claim  to  any  property  given  to  them  for  the  purpose  of  found- 
ing a  charitable  institution  of  any  kind  within  the  District  and  to  pro- 
vide for  the  due  application  and  administration  of  such  a  fund  when 
they  have  obtained  possession  of  it;  that  the  rights  and  duties  of  the 
United  States  as  parens  patrice  of  the  District  in  such  a  case  are  the 
same,  whether  the  charitable  donation  be  made  by  the  subject  of  a 
foreign  nation  or  by  a  citizen,  or  whether  the  claim  to  the  bounty  is 
to  be  asserted  before  a  domestic  court  of  justice  or  before  a  foreign 
tribunal,  which  by  the  comity  of  nations  or  the  laws  of  its  own  coun- 
try is  bound  to  entertain  the  claim  and  to  adjudge  the  property  to  the 
United  States  if  they  are  by  law  entitled  to  it.  If  a  foreign  tribunal 
decreeing  such  property  to  the  United  States  should  think  proper  to 
impose  any  conditions  incompatible  with  the  constitutional  powers  of 
this  Government  or  with  its  duties  or  its  dignity,  the  United  States 
may  then  decline  to  accept  the  property  and  the  trust,  but  no  diffi- 
culty of  that  kind  is  apprehended. 

The  committee  are  also  of  the  opinion  that  the  United  States,  in 
prosecuting  a  claim  to  property  given  to  them  for  the  purpose  of 
founding  a  charitable  institution  within  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
which  they  are  entitled  to  claim,  and  take,  and  regulate  the  adminis- 
tration of,  as  the  parens  patrice  of  the  District,  may  properly  appro- 
priate, out  of  their  general  revenue,  such  sums  as  may  be  necessary  to 
prosecute  the  claim  with  effect — since  the  United  States  have  no  other 
pecuniary  means  to  defray  the  expenses  that  may  be  incurred  in  exer- 
cising their  powers,  or  in  performing  their  duties,  as  parens  patrice  of 
the  District,  but  such  as  are  afforded  by  their  general  revenue. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  committee  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  within  the 
competency  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  that  it  well  com- 
ports with  its  dignity,  that,  indeed,  it  is  its  duty  to  assert  in  the  courts 
of  justice  of  England  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy 
bequeathed  to  them  by  Mr.  Smithson's  will,  for  the  purpose  of  found- 
ing at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  "The  Smithsonian  Institution," 
an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,  and  that  provision  ought  to  be  made  by  Congress  to  enable  the 
Executive  to  assert  and  prosecute  the  claim  with  effect. 

Therefore  the  committee  recommend  the  adoption  of  a  joint  resolu 
tion  authorizing  the  President  to  take  measures  for  recovering  the 
said  legacy. 

H.  Doc.  732 9 


130  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

January  19,  1836.— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  from  the  committee  appointed  on  the 
message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  the  17th  of  Decem- 
ber ultimo,  and  which  was  laid  before  the  House  on  the  21st,  com- 
municating information  in  relation  to  a  bequest  made  by  James  Smith- 
son,  late  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  deceased,  to  the 
United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  seminary  of  learning, 
reported  (by  leave)  a  bill  (H.  No.  187)  to  authorize  the  President  of 
the  United  States  to  assert  and  prosecute  with  effect  the  right  of  the 
United  States  to  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson,  late  of  London, 
deceased,  to  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men,  accompanied  by  a  report  in  writing;  which  bill  was 
read  the  first  and  second  time  and  committed  to  the  Committee  of  the 
Whole  House  on  the  state  of  the  Union. 

The  following  is  the  report: 

The  select  committee  to  which  was  referred  the  message  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  of  the  17th  of  December  last,  with  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson,  of  London,  to  the 
United  States  of  America,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  at  Washing- 
ton an  establishment,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  respectfully 
report: 

That,  from  the  papers  transmitted  to  Congress  with  the  message  of 
the  President,  it  appears  that  James  Smithson,  a  foreigner,  of  noble 
family  and  of  affluent  fortune,  did,  by  his  last  will  and  testament,  made 
in  the  year  1826,  bequeath,  under  certain  contingencies,  which  have 
since  been  realized,  and  with  certain  exceptions,  for  which  provision 
was  made  by  the  same  will,  the  whole  of  his  property,  of  an  amount 
exceeding  four  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  the  United  States  of 
America,  to  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men. 

To  the  acceptance  of  this  bequest,  and  to  the  assumption  and  fulfill- 
ment of  the  high  and  honorable  duties  involved  in  the  performance  of 
the  trust  committed  with  it,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  their 
legislative  capacity,  are  alone  competent.  Your  committee  believe 
not  only  that  they  are  thus  competent,  but  that  it  is  enjoined  upon 
them  by  considerations  of  the  most  imperious  and  indispensable  obliga- 
tion. The  first  steps  necessary  to  be  taken  for  carrying  into  effect  the 
benevolent  intentions  of  the  testator  must  be  to  obtain  the  possession 
of  the  funds,  now  held  by  the  Messrs.  Drummonds,  bankers  in  London, 
executors  of  Mr.  Smithson's  will,  and  subject  to  the  superintendence, 
custody,  and  adjudication  of  the  lord  chancellor  of  England.  To 


TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1835-1837.  131 

enable  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  effect  this  object  the 
committee  report  herewith  a  bill. 

But  your  committee  think  they  would  imperfectly  discharge  their 
duty  to  this  House,  to  their  country,  to  the  world  of  mankind,  or  to 
the  donor  of  this  most  munificent  bequest  were  they  to  withhold  a  few 
brief  reflections  which  have  occurred  to  them  in  the  consideration  of 
the  subject  referred  to  them  by  the  House,  reflections  arising  from  the 
condition  of  the  testator,  from  the  nature  of  the  bequest,  and  from 
the  character  of  the  trustee  to  whom  this  great  and  solemn  charge 
has  been  confided. 

The  testator,  James  Smithson,  a  subject  of  Great  Britain,  declares 
himself,  in  the  caption  of  the  will,  a  descendant  in  blood  from  the 
Percys  and  the  Seymours,  two  of  the  most  illustrious  historical  names 
of  the  British  islands.  Nearly  two  centuries  since,  in  1660,  the  ances- 
tor of  his  own  name,  Hugh  Smithson,  immediately  after  the  restora- 
tion of  the  royal  family  of  the  Stuarts,  received  from  Charles  the 
Second,  as  a  reward  for  his  eminent  services  to  that  house  during  the 
civil  wars,  the  dignity  of  a  baronet  of  England,  a  dignity  still  held 
by  the  Dukes  of  Northumberland  as  descendants  from  the  same  Hugh 
Smithson.  The  father  of  the  testator,  by  his  marriage  with  the  Lady 
Elizabeth  Seymour,  who  was  descended  by  a  female  line  from  the 
ancient  Percys,  and  by  the  subsequent  creation  of  George  the  Third, 
in  1766,  became  the  first  Duke  of  Northumberland.  His  son  and  suc- 
cessor, the  brother  of  the  testator,  was  known  in  the  history  of  our 
Revolutionary  war  by  the  name  of  Lord  Percy;  was  present  as  a  Brit- 
ish officer  at  the  sanguinary  opening  scene  of  our  Revolutionary  war 
at  Lexington  and  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  was  the  bearer  to 
the  British  Government  of  the  dispatches  from  the  commander  in 
chief  of  the  royal  forces  announcing  the  event  of  that  memorable 
day;  and  the  present  Duke  of  Northumberland,  the  testator's  nephew, 
was  the  ambassador  extraordinary  of  Great  Britain  sent  to  assist  at 
the  coronation  of  the  late  King  of  France,  Charles  the  Tenth,  a  few 
months  only  before  the  date  of  this  bequest  from  his  relative  to  the 
United  States  of  America. 

The  suggestions  which  present  themselves  to  the  mind  by  the  asso- 
ciation of  these  historical  recollections  with  the  condition  of  the  tes- 
tator derive  additional  interest  from  the  nature  of  the  bequest — the 
devotion  of  a  large  estate  to  an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  among  men. 

Of  all  the  foundations  of  establishments  for  pious  or  charitable  uses 
which  ever  signalized  the  spirit  of  the  age  or  the  comprehensive 
beneficence  of  the  founder,  none  can  be  named  more  deserving  of  the 
approbation  of  mankind  than  this.  Should  it  be  faithfully  carried 
into  effect  with  an  earnestness  and  sagacity  of  application  and  a  steady 
perseverance  of  pursuit  proportioned  to  the  means  furnished  by  the 


132  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

will  of  the  founder  and  to  the  greatness  and  simplicity  of  his  design 
as  by  himself  declared,  "the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men,"  it  is  no  extravagance  of  anticipation  to  declare  that  his 
name  will  be  hereafter  enrolled  among  the  eminent  benefactors  of 
mankind. 

The  attainment  of  knowledge  is  the  high  and  exclusive  attribute  of 
man,  among  the  numberless  myriads  of  animated  beings,  inhabitants 
of  the  terrestial  globe.  On  him  alone  is  bestowed,  by  the  bounty  of 
the  Creator  of  the  universe,  the  power  and  the  capacity  of  acquiring 
knowledge.  Knowledge  is  the  attribute  of  his  nature,  which  at  once 
enables  him  to  improve  his  condition  upon  earth  and  to  prepare  him 
for  the  enjoyment  of  a  happier  existence  hereafter.  It  is  by  this 
attribute  that  man  discovers  his  own  nature  as  the  link  between  earth 
and  heaven;  as  the  partaker  of  an  immortal  spirit;  as  created  for  a 
higher  and  more  durable  end  than  the  countless  tribes  of  beings  which 
people  the  earth,  the  ocean,  and  the  air,  alternately  instinct  with  life, 
and  melting  into  vapor  or  moldering  into  dust. 

To  furnish  the  means  of  acquiring  knowledge  is  therefore  the 
greatest  benefit  that  can  be  conferred  upon  mankind.  It  prolongs 
life  itself  and  enlarges  the  sphere  of  existence.  The  earth  was  given 
to  man  for  cultivation,  to  the  improvement  of  his  own  condition. 
Whoever  increases  his  knowledge  multiplies  the  uses  to  which  he  is 
enabled  to  turn  the  gift  of  his  Creator  to  his  own  benefit  and  partakes 
in  some  degree  of  that  goodness  which  is  the  highest  attribute  of 
Omnipotence  itself. 

If,  then,  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  under  the  smile  of  an  approv- 
ing Providence,  and  by  the  faithful  and  permanent  application  of  the 
means  furnished  by  its  founder,  to  the  purpose  for  which  he  has 
bestowed  them,  should  prove  effective  to  their  promotion;  if  they 
should  contribute  essentially  to  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men,  to  what  higher  or  nobler  object  could  this  generous 
and  splendid  donation  have  been  devoted? 

The  father  of  the  testator,  upon  forming  his  alliance  with  the  heiress 
of  the  family  of  the  Percys,  assumed,  by  an  act  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, that  name,  and  under  it  became  Duke  of  Northumberland.  But, 
renowned  as  is  the  name  of  Percy  in  the  historical  annals  of  England, 
resounding  as  it  does  from  the  summit  of  the  Cheviot  Hills  to  the  ears 
of  our  children  in  the  ballad  of  Chevy  Chase,  with  the  classical  com- 
mentary of  Addison;  freshened  and  renovated  in  our  memory  as  it 
has  recently  been  from  the  purest  fountain  of  poetical  inspiration;  in 
the  loftier  strain  of  Alnwick  Castle,  tuned  by  a  bard  of  our  own 
native  land;1  doubly  immortalized  as  it  is  in  the  deathless  dramas  of 
Shakespeare;  "confident  against  the  world  in  arms,"  as  it  may  have 
been  in  ages  long  past,  and  may  still  be  in  the  virtues  of  its  present 

1  Fitz-Greene  Halleck. 


TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1835-1837.  133 

possessors  by  inheritance,  let  the  trust  of  James  Smithson  to  the 
United  States  of  America  be  faithfully  executed  by  their  represent- 
atives in  Congress;  let  the  result  accomplish  his  object,  "the  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  and  a  wreath  of  more  unfad- 
ing verdure  shall  entwine  itself  in  the  lapse  of  future  ages  around  the 
name  of  Smithson  than  the  united  hands  of  tradition,  history,  and 
poetry  have  braided  around  the  name  of  Percy  through  the  -long 
perspective  in  ages  past  of  a  thousand  years. 

It  is,  then,  a  high  and  solemn  trust  which  the  testator  has  committed 
to  the  United  States  of  America,  and  its  execution  devolves  upon  their 
representatives  in  Congress  duties  of  no  ordinary  importance.  The 
location  of  the  Institution  at  Washington,  prescribed  by  the  testator, 
gives  to  Congress  the  free  exercise  of  all  the  powers  relating  to  this 
subject  with  which  they  are  by  the  Constitution  invested  as  the  local 
legislature  for  the  District  of  Columbia.  In  adverting  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  trustee  selected  by  the  testator  for  the  fulfillment  of  his 
intentions,  your  committee  deem  it  no  indulgence  of  unreasonable 
pride  to  mark  it  as  a  signal  manifestation  of  the  moral  effect  of  our 
political  institutions  upon  the  opinions  and  upon  the  consequent  action 
of  the  wise  and  the  good  of  other  regions  and  of  distant  climes;  even 
upon  that  nation  from  whom  we  generally  boast  of  our  descent,  but 
whom  from  the  period  of  our  Revolution  we  have  had  too  often  reason 
to  consider  as  a  jealous  and  envious  rival.  How  different  are  the 
sensations  which  should  swell  in  our  bosoms  with  the  acceptance  of 
this  bequest!  James  Smithson,  an  Englishman,  in  the  exercise  of  his 
rights  as  a  free  born  Briton,  desirous  of  dedicating  his  ample  fortune 
to  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  constitutes  for 
his  trustees,  to  accomplish  that  object,  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  fixes  upon  their  seat  of  Government  as  the  spot  where  the  Institu- 
tion, of  which  he  is  the  founder,  shall  be  located. 

The  Revolution  which  resulted  in  the  independence  of  these  United 
States  was  commenced,  conducted,  and  consummated  under  a  mere 
union  of  confederated  States.  Subsequently  to  that  period  a  more 
perfect  union  was  formed,  combining  in  one  system  the  principle  of 
confederate  sovereignties  with  that  of  a  government  by  popular  rep- 
resentation, with  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  powers,  all  limited, 
but  coextensive  with  the  whole  confederation. 

Under  this  Government,  a  new  experiment  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind is  now  drawing  to  the  close  of  half  a  century,  during  which  the 
territory  and  number  of  States  in  the  Union  have  nearly  doubled, 
while  their  population,  wealth,  and  power  have  been  multiplied  more 
than  fourfold.  In  the  process  of  this  experiment  they  have  gone 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  peace  and  war,  amidst  bitter  and  ardent 
party  collisions,  and  the  unceasing  changes  of  popular  elections  to  the 
legislative  and  executive  offices,  both  of  the  general  confederacy  and 


134  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  the  separate  States,  without  a  single  execution  for  treason,  or  a 
single  proscription  for  a  political  offense.  The  whole  Government, 
under  the  continual  superintendence  of  the  whole  people,  has  been 
holding  a  steady  course  of  prosperity,  unexampled  in  the  contempo- 
i-ary  history  of  other  nations,  not  less  than  in  the  annals  of  ages  past. 
During  this  period  our  country  has  been  freely  visited  by  observers 
from  other  lands,  and  often  in  no  friendly  spirit  by  travelers  from  the 
native  land  of  Mr.  Smithson.  Their  reports  of  the  prevailing  man- 
ners, opinions,  and  social  intercourse  of  the  people  of  this  Union  have 
inhibited  no  flattering  or  complacent  pictures.  All  the  infirmities  and 
vices  of  our  civil  and  political  condition  have  been  conned  and  noted, 
and  displayed  with  no  forbearance  of  severe  satirical  comment  to  set 
them  off;  yet,  after  all  this,  a  British  subject,  of  noble  birth  and  ample 
fortune,  desiring  to  bequeath  his  whole  estate  to  the  purpose  of  increas- 
ing and  diffusing  knowledge  throughout  the  whole  community  of  civi- 
lized man,  selects  for  the  depositaries  of  his  trust,  with  confidence 
unqualified  with  reserve,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

In  the  commission  of  every  trust  there  is  an  implied  tribute  of  the 
hOul  to  the  integrity  and  intelligence  of  the  trustee;  and  there  is  also 
an  implied  call  for  the  faithful  exercise  of  those  properties  to  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  purpose  of  the  trust.  The  tribute  and  the  call  acquire 
additional  force  and  energy  when  the  trust  is  committed  for  perform- 
ance after  the  decease  of  him  by  whom  it  is  granted,  when  he  no  longer 
exists  to  witness  or  to  constrain  the  effective  fulfillment  of  his  design. 
The  magnitude  of  the  trust,  and  the  extent  of  confidence  bestowed  in 
the  committal  of  it,  do  but  enlarge  and  aggravate  the  pressure  of  the 
obligation  which  it  carries  with  it.  The  weight  of  duty  imposed  is 
proportioned  to  the  honor  conferred  by  confidence  without  reserve. 
Your  committee  are  fully  persuaded,  therefore,  that,  with  a  grateful 
nense  of  the  honor  conferred  by  the  testator  upon  the  political  institu- 
tions of  this  Union,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  accepting 
the  bequest,  will  feel,  in  all  its  power  and  plentitude,  the  obligation 
of  responding  to  the  confidence  reposed  by  him  with  all  the  fidelity, 
lisinterestedness,  and  perseverance  of  exertion  which  may  carry  into 
effective  execution  the  noble  purpose  of  an  endowment  for  the  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 
January  19,  1836 — House. 

A  motion  was  made  by  Mr.  G.  H.  CHAPIN,  that  5,000  additional 
copies  be  printed  of  the  message  of  the  President,  and  the  papers 
which  accompanied  the  same,  in  relation  to  the  bequest  of  James 
Smithson,  together  with  the  report  and  bill  that  day  submitted  by 
Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  from  the  committee  to  which  the  same  was 
referred:  which  motion  was  laid  on  the  table  one  day  under  the  rule. 
January  20,  1836.— House. 

Mr.  G.  H.  CHAPIN  moved  to  consider  the  motion,  which  he  submit- 
ted on  the  previous  day,  for  printing  5,000  copies  of  the  report 


TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1835-1837.  135 

submitted  on  the  same  date  by  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams  from  a  select  com- 
mittee, together  with  the  President's  message,  correspondence,  and 
will,  relating  to  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson,  late  of  London, 
deceased. 

Objection  being  made, 

Mr.  ABIJAH  MANN,  Jr.,  of  New  York,  said  the  report  was  in  reference 
to  a  subject  of  considerable  interest,  not  only  to  the  House,  but  to  the 
country  generally.  As  the  report  was  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  it 
was  proper  that,  if  an  extra  number  of  copies  was  ordered,  it  should 
be  done  at  this  time.  He  moved  te  suspend  the  rule  for  the  purpose 
of  entertaining  the  motion  to  print,  which  was  agreed  to — ayes  107, 
noes  46. 

Mr.  B.  C.  HOWARD  desired  to  know  from  some  member  of  the 
committee  the  purport  of  the  report,  and  what  disposition  was  pro- 
posed to  be  made  of  the  bequest.  He  was  entirely  ignorant  on  the 
subject. 

Mr.  CHAPIN,  of  New  York,  said  he  would,  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee to  which  the  subject  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest  had  been 
referred,  answer  the  inquiry  of  the  honorable  gentleman  from  Mary- 
land (Mr.  Howard).  It  was  not  proposed  either  by  the  report  or  bill 
which  the  honorable  chairman  of  the  select  committee  (Mr.  Adams) 
had  submitted,  to  indicate  the  plan  or  organization  of  the  institution 
to  be  founded.  At  present  it  would  be  entirely  premature  to  do  so, 
because  the  first  step  was  to  obtain  the  funds,  leaving  the  application 
of  them  to  future  legislation.  The  bill  provides  that  the  President  of 
the  United  States  shall  appoint  an  agent  to  prosecute  the  claim  in  the 
court  of  chancery  in  England,  where  the  funds  are  locked  up,  in  behalf 
of  the  United  States,  and  on  the  receipt  of  them  to  give  the  proper  dis- 
charge or  acquittance  for  the  same. 

Sir,  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson,  amounting  to  nearly  half  a 
million  of  dollars,  is  among  the  most  liberal  benefactions  upon  record. 
Coming,  too,  as  it  does,  from  a  citizen  of  Great  Britain,  who  is  not 
known  to  have  visited  the  United  States,  or  to  have  had  any  friends 
residing  here,  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  distinguished  tribute  of  respect 
paid  by  a  foreigner  and  stranger  to  the  free  institutions  of  our  coun- 
try. It  is  due  to  the  memory  and  character  of  the  donor  that  suitable 
publicity  should  be  given  to  this  noble  and  generous  act  of  public 
munificence;  it  is  due,  also,  as  the  acknowledgment  of  the  grateful 
sense  of  Congress,  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  for 
whose  benefit  the  bequest  was  made;  and  it  is  in  an  especial  manner 
necessary  in  order  to  call  the  attention  of  men  distinguished  for  learn- 
ing and  talents  in  all  parts  of  the  Union  to  the  subject,  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  an  expression  of  their  views  and  opinions  in  regard  to  the 
plan  and  organization  of  the  institution  proposed  to  be  established. 
This  splendid  benefaction  confers  immortality  upon  the  individual 
by  whom  it  was  bestowed,  and  does  honor  to  the  age  in  which  we  live. 


136  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  CHAPIN  concluded  by  expressing  the  hope  that  the  motion  to 
print  would  be  adopted  by  the  House  without  a  dissenting  voice. 

Mr.  JAMES  H.  PARKER  said  the  House  had  not  entirely  got  out  of  a 
debate  which  had  arisen  upon  a  bill  which  was  intended  to  provide  for 
their  own  pay,  in  reference  to  the  alleged  excessive  expenditures  of 
the  contingent  fund  of  the  House  for  the  item  of  printing.  A  great 
deal  of  complaint  was  made  on  the  occasion  alluded  to,  because  of  the 
number  of  President's  messages  ordered  to  be  printed  by  the  House. 
He  was  so  case-hardened  that  he  would  upon  a  like  occasion  do  the 
same  thing  again.  He  was,  however,  not  prepared  to  vote  for  the 
proposition  before  the  House.  The  report  was  doubtless  an  able  one, 
but  he  could  see  no  reason  why  five  times  the  number  which  were  nec- 
essary for  the  information  of  the  House  should  be  printed.  It  would 
be  recollected  that  a  report  had  been  made  in  the  Senate  on  this  sub- 
ject which  had  been  published  in  all  the  newspapers  he  had  seen. 
They  would  not  be  called  upon  to  make  any  disposition  of  these  funds, 
because  the}7  had  not  yet  received  them,  and  if  they  ever  did  it  would 
perhaps  be  fifteen  or  twenty  years  first.  Upon  the  whole  he  did  not 
consider  it  at  all  important  that  an  extra  number  of  this  report  should 
be  published. 

The  motion  to  print  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  report  was  then 
agreed  to. 

February  5,  1836.— Senate. 

The  resolution  to  authorize  and  enable  the  President  to  assert  and 
prosecute  with  effect  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy 
bequeathed  to  them  by  James  Smithson,  was  considered  as  in  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole;  and, 

On  motion  by  Mr.  WILLIAM  C.  PRESTON, 

Laid  on  the  table. 
April  30,  1836.— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  WILLIAM  C.  PRESTON,  the  Senate  took  up  the  reso- 
lution authorizing  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  appoint  an  agent 
or  agents  to  prosecute  and  receive  from  the  British  court  of  chancery 
the  legacy  bequeathed  to  the  United  States  by  the  late  James  Smithson 
of  London,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  at  Washington  city  an 
institution  for  the  increase  of  knowledge  among  men,  to  be  called  the 
Smithsonian  University. 

Mr.  PRESTON  said  that  by  this  will  it  was  intended  that  this  Gov- 
ernment should  become  the  beneficiaries  of  this  legacy,  and  contended 
that  if  they  had  not  the  competence  to  receive  it  by  the  Constitution, 
the  act  of  no  individual  could  confer  the  power  on  them  to  do  so.  He 
claimed  that  they  had  not  the  power  to  receive  the  money  for  national 
objects,  and  if  so,  the  expending  of  it  for  another  object  was  a  still  higher 
power.  He  controverted  the  position  that  if  they  could  not  receive  it 
as  the  beneficiary  legatee,  they  might  receive  it  as  the  fiduciary  agent. 


TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,  1835-1837.  137 

If  they  had  not  the  power  to  establish  a  university  without  the  power 
conferred  on  them  by  a  grant,  they  could  not  have  it  with  the  grant; 
or  what  they  could  not  exercise  directly,  they  could  not  exercise  as 
trustee.  He  referred  to  a  report  made  by  Mr.  Adams  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  in  which  the  genealogy  of  Mr.  Smithson  was  given 
and  traced  through  the  line  of  the  illustrious  Percys  and  Seymours  of 
England.  He  thought  this  donation  had  been  partly  made  with  a 
view  to  immortalize  the  donor,  and  that  it  was  too  cheap  a  way  of 
conferring  immortality.  There  was  danger  of  their  imaginations 
being  run  away  with  by  the  associations  of  Chevy  Chase  ballads,  etc., 
and  he  had  no  idea  of  this  District  being  used  as  a  fulcrum  to  raise 
foreigners  to  immortality  by  getting  Congress  as  the  parens  patrice  of 
the  District  of  Columbia  to  accept  donations  from  them. 

The  committee  had  misconceived  the  facts;  the  bequest  was  to  the 
United  States  of  America  to  found  a  university  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  under  the  title  of  the  "Smithsonian  University,"  and  the 
execution  of  the  terms  of  the  legacy  was  to  redound  to  the  purposes 
of  the  donation,  which  was  for  the  benefit  of  all  mankind.  It  was 
general  in  its  terms,  and  not  limited  to  the  District  of  Columbia;  it 
was  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States,  and  could  not  be  received  by 
Congress. 

Mr.  B.  F.  LEIGH  said  he  would  thank  the  gentleman  to  inform  the 
Senate  that  the  report  he  had  referred  to  was  made  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, and  not  by  a  committee  of  the  Senate.  The  report  of  the 
Senate's  committee  was  simply  a  statement  of  matters  of  fact.  Mr. 
Leigh  explained  the  provisions  of  the  will,  which  were  simply  these: 
The  testator,  James  Smithson,  bequeathed  to  his  nephew,  James  Henry 
Hungerford,  a  legacy  of  £100,000,  providing  that  if  Mr.  Hungerford 
should  die  without  children  the  legacy  should  inure  to  the  United 
States,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  at  the  city  of  Washington  an 
institution  for  the  increase  of  knowledge  among  men,  to  be  called  the 
Smithsonian  University;  and  the  Government  had  received  informa- 
tion from  the  American  consul  at  London  that  Mr.  Hungerford  had 
lately  died  without  ever  having  been  married  and  without  leaving  any 
children.  It  now  became  necessary,  Mr.  Leigh  said,  for  Congress  to 
determine  whether  it  was  competent  for  the  United  States  to  receive 
this  money,  and,  if  they  should  receive  it,  to  take  measures  for  carry- 
ing the  intentions  of  the  testator  into  effect.  The  committee  to  whom 
this  subject  had  been  referred  were  all  of  opinion,  with  the  exception 
of  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina  (Mr.  Preston),  that  it  was 
proper  for  the  United  States  to  receive  this  money.  They  had  not 
considered  the  question  at  all,  whether  it  was  in  the  power  of  Con- 
gress to  establish  a  national  university,  nor  was  it  necessary  they 
should  do  so.  They  looked  upon  this  bequest  as  having  been  made 
simply  for  the  benefit  of  one  of  the  cities  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 


138  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  which  Congress  was  the  constitutional  guardian,  and  could  receive 
and  apply  the  money  in  that  form.  Congress  was  the  jiarens patrice 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  in  the  sense  laid  down  by  Blackstone,  a 
power  which  necessarily  belonged  to  every  government,  and  could 
therefore  very  properly  receive  this  trust  for  a  charitable  purpose  in 
the  District  of  Columbia.  Congress  had,  in  fact,  exercised  this  power 
of  parens  patrice  of  the  District  in  the  establishment  of  an  orphans' 
court,  in  the  erection  and  support  of  a  penitentiary,  and  could  create 
an  establishment  to  take  care  of  lunatics;  and  indeed,  if  it  did  not  pos- 
sess this  power,  in  what  a  deplorable  condition  would  this  District  be. 
The  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  undoubtedly  possessed  this 
power,  and  of  course  Congress  derived  it  as  to  the  District  from  their 
deeds  of  cession.  He  did  not  look  upon  this  legacy  to  be  for  the 
benefit  of  the  United  States,  but  for  the  benefit  of  one  of  the  cities  of 
the  District,  over  which  Congress  was  guardian,  and  he  had  therefore 
no  difficulty  in  voting  for  the  bill. 

Mr.  PRESTON  was  aware  of  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  cited 
by  the  Senator  from  Virginia  (Mr.  Leigh),  that  the  people  of  this 
District  might  be  taxed  without  representation,  and  he  had  no  doubt 
that  these  corporations  could  exercise  a  trust;  but  this  was  not  a  trust 
to  the  city  of  Washington.  The  United  States  was  the  cestui  qui  trust, 
and  not  the  city  of  Washington.  The  corporation  of  the  city  of 
Washington  could  not  enforce  this  claim  in  a  court  of  chancery  in 
England.  If  an  institution  of  the  kind  was  desired,  he  would  prefer 
it  to  be  established  out  of  our  own  funds,  and  not  have  Congress 
pander  to  the  paltry  vanity  of  an  individual.  If  they  accepted  this 
donation,  every  whippersnapper  vagabond  that  had  been  traducing 
our  country  might  think  proper  to  have  his  name  distinguished  in  the 
same  way.  It  was  not  consistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  country  to 
accept  even  the  grant  of  a  man  of  noble  birth  or  lineage. 

Mr.  J.  M.  CLAYTON  said  the  Senator  from  South  Carolina  (Mr.  Cal- 
houn)  had  considered  this  as  a  donation  to  the  United  States.  It  was 
not  so.  The  United  States  was  merely  named  in  the  will  as  the  trustee, 
and  was  to  receive  no  benefit  whatever.  It  was  merely  a  charitable 
object  to  establish  an  university  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  They 
had  established  similar  institutions  within  the  District  of  Columbia 
by  acts  of  Congress,  and  no  one  doubted  the  power  to  permit  persons 
from  other  places  to  be  educated  in  them. 

Mr.  J.  C.  CALHOUN  said,  if  his  memory  served  him,  there  was  oppo- 
sition made  to  the  passage  of  those  acts. 

Mr.  CLAYTON  said  he  believed  there  was  some  objection  made  to  the 
policy,  but  not  to  the  power  of  making  the  donation.  It  was  to  be 
located  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  persons  in  the  city  would  be 
more  benefited  by  it  than  any  others. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  was  of  opinion  that  this  donation  was  made  expressly 


TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1835-1837.  139 

to  the  United  States.  By  reading  the  terms  in  which  the  bequest  was 
made,  it  was  impossible  to  conceive  otherwise.  The  bequest  was  "to 
the  United  States  of  America,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing,  at  the 
city  of  Washington,  an  institution  for  the  increase  of  knowledge 
among  men."  Now,  take  out  the  words  "the  city  of  Washington," 
and  the  donation  was  clearly  to  the  United  States.  The  words  "the 
city  of  Washington  "  were  only  used  to  designate  the  place  where  the 
university  was  to  be  established,  and  not  by  any  stretch  of  the  mean- 
ing of  language  to  be  considered  as  making  the  donation  to  the  city. 
He  understood  the  Senators  on  all  hands  to  agree  that  it  was  not  in 
the  power  of  Congress  to  establish  a  national  university,  and  they  all 
agreed  that  they  could  establish  a  university  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Now,  on  this  principle,  they  could  not  receive  the  bequest,  for  the 
District  of  Columbia  was  not  even  named  in  it,  the  city  of  Washington 
being  only  designated  as  the  place  where  the  university  was  to  be 
established,  and  the  bequest  being  expressly  made  to  the  United 
States.  He  thought  that  acting  under  this  legacy  would  be  as  much 
the  establishment  of  a  national  university  as  if  they  appropriated 
money  for  the  purpose;  and  he  would  indeed  much  rather  appro- 
priate the  money,  for  he  thought  it  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  the 
United  States  to  receive  presents  of  this  kind  from  anyone.  He 
could  never  pass  through  the  Rotunda  of  the  Capitol  without  having 
his  feelings  outraged  by  seeing  that  statue  of  Mr.  Jefferson  which  had 
been  placed  there  contrary  to  their  consent. 

Mr.  S.  L.  SOUTHARD  said  that  the  Senator  from  South  Corolina  was 
mistaken  in  saying  that  every  Senator  agreed  that  it  was  not  in  the 
power  of  Congress  to  establish  a  national  university.  He,  for  one, 
believed  that  Congress  had  the  unquestionable  right  to  do  so.  This, 
however,  did  not  involve  the  constitutionality  of  the  question  before 
them,  as,  in  his  opinion,  the  most  rigid  construction  of  the  Constitu- 
tion would  not  be  adverse  to  the  bill.  Congress  had  the  same  right  to 
establish  this  university  as  they  had  to  charter  a  college  in  George- 
town or  Alexandria. 

Mr.  JAMES  BUCHANAN  believed  that  Congress  had  the  power  to 
receive  and  apply  this  money  to  the  purposes  intended  by  the  testator, 
without  involving  the  question  whether  they  had  the  power  to  estab- 
lish a  national  university  or  not.  There  was  no  question  but  that 
James  Smithson,  in  his  lifetime,  had  a  right  to  establish  a  university 
at  the  city  of  Washington,  and  to  call  it  the  Smithsonian  University; 
or  a  national  university,  if  he  pleased;  and  Congress,  by  receiving 
and  applying  this  bequest,  would  only  act  as  the  trustee  of  the  city  of 
Washington,  for  whose  benefit  it  was  made. 

Mr.  R.  J.  WALKER  would  not  discuss  the  question  whether  this  was 
a  national  university,  because  he  believed  that  question  was  not 
involved.  But  he  should  vote  for  the  bill  on  the  ground  that  Con- 


140  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

gross  would  bo  doing  manifest  injustice  to  the  citizens  of  the  city  of 
Washington  by  refusing  to  accept  the  donation.  It  was  true  that  it 
operated  for  the  benefit  of  all  mankind,  but  not  more  so  than  a  uni- 
versity established  at  Princeton  or  any  other  place.  The  Senator  from 
South  Carolina  [Mr.  Calhoun]  had  said  they  ought  to  read  the  will  as 
if  the  words  "at  Washington"  were  left  out.  He  [Mr.  Walker]  did 
not  think  so.  They  ought  to  read  it  just  as  it  was  in  connection  with 
the  whole,  and  give  it  its  true  construction,  which  was  that  the  United 
States  was  only  designated  as  the  trustee,  and  the  people  of  the  city 
of  Washington  had  a  right  to  call  upon  Congress,  as  the  representa- 
tives of  the  United  States,  to  execute  the  trust. 

Mr.  JOHN  DAVIS  said  this  man  Smithson,  it  was  said,  had  devised 
£100,000  for  the  establishment  of  a  university  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton to  diffuse  knowledge  among  men.  It  seemed  to  be  taken  for 
granted  that  it  was  for  the  establishment  of  a  university,  although  he 
believed  the  word  university  was  not  to  be  found  in  the  will.  He 
could  not  infer  why  it  was  so  construed,  as  there  were  other  means  of 
diffusing  knowledge  among  men  besides  doing  it  through  the  medium 
of  universities,  and  he  therefore  thought  the  discussion  as  to  the  par- 
ticular design  of  the  gift  premature.  He  did  not  regard  it  as  a  gift 
or  bequest  to  the  Government.  If  he  did,  he  would  have  all  the  feel- 
ings evinced  by  the  Senator  from  South  Carolina  [Mr.  Preston].  The 
testator  had  not  specified  what  special  purpose  it  was  to  be  applied  to, 
nor  when  the  fund  was  to  be  used,  and  Congress  might  defer  using  it 
until  it  became  large  enough  to  be  used  advantageously  to  the  purposes 
of  diffusing  knowledge  among  mankind.  If  they  denied  the  right  to 
establish  a  university,  they  denied  the  right  to  establish  all  institutions 
of  charity.  The  same  question  involved  in  this  was  also  involved  in 
the  incorporation  of  institutions  which  had  been  incorporated  by  them 
in  this  District.  The  only  question  now  under  consideration  was 
whether  they  should  receive  this  money.  He  would  vote  for  it,  and 
if  they  could  not  devise  some  appropriate  disposition  of  it  after  it 
was  received,  he  would  be  willing  to  send  it  back  by  the  first  return 
packet. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  asked  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Davis] 
what  construction  he  would  put  upon  the  will  if  the  words  "at 
Washington"  had  been  left  out  of  it? 

Mr.  DAVIS  replied  that  he  would  put  the  same  construction  on  it 
then  as  he  did  now.  His  first  inquiry  would  be  whether  it  was  for  a 
charitable  purpose,  and  if  there  was  no  power  to  establish  the  institu- 
tion in  any  of  the  States,  he  would  establish  it  in  the  District  of 
Columbia;  and  if  the  power  to  establish  it  there  was  doubted,  he  would 
establish  it  in  one  of  the  Territories.  He  deemed  the  establishment  of 
institutions  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  a  vital  principle  of  a  repub- 
lican government.  They  might  as  well  say  that  delivering  lectures  in 
any  of  the  sciences  was  a  national  institution  as  to  call  this  one. 


TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,  1835-1837.  141 

Mr.  PRESTON  said  the  declaration  of  the  Senator  from  New  Jersey 
[Mr.  Southard]  had  satisfied  him  that  this  was  a  national  university. 
There  was  no  difference  between  a  university  in  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia for  the  benefit  of  all  mankind  and  a  national  university.  That 
Senator  had  not  distinguished  between  the  power  of  erecting  build- 
ings and  the  use  to  which  the}'  are  appropriated.  They  had  the  power 
to  erect  buildings  in  loco  parentis  patrim  for  the  benefit  of  the  District 
of  Columbia;  they  might  erect  buildings  for  the  maintenance  of  pau- 
pers of  the  District;  but  if  the  people  of  the  District,  in  this  case, 
were  to  have  any  benefit  peculiar  to  the  place,  it  was  in  the  erection  of 
the  buildings  alone.  He  asked  if  the  buildings  of  the  Post-Office 
Department  were  erected  by  Congress  as  theparenspatrice  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia?  Had  they  the  right,  asparens  patrim  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  to  erect  this  building  for  the  benefit  humani  generis 
of  this  District,  when  it  was,  in  fact,  a  general  charity  to  mankind, 
including  the  confederacy,  and  not  confined  to  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia \  He  was  against  the  power,  and  would  be  against  the  policy,  if 
they  had  the  power. 

After  some  further  remarks  from  Mr.  LEIGH  and  Mr.  PRESTON,  the 
question  was  taken  on  ordering  the  resolution  to  be  engrossed  for  a 
third  reading,  and  decided  in  the  affirmative — yeas  31,  nays  7,  as 
follows: 

Yeas. — Messrs.  Benton,  Black,  Buchanan,  Clay,  Clayton,  Crittenden,  Cuthbert, 
Davis,  Ewing  of  Ohio,  Goldsboro,  Grundy,  Hendricks,  Hubbard,  Kent,  King  of 
Alabama,  Knight,  Leigh,  Linn,  Mangum,  Moore,  Naudain,  Nicholas,  Porter,  Pren- 
tiss,  Rives,  Robbing,  Southard,  Swift,  Tallmadge,  Tomlinson,  Walker— 31. 

Nays. — Messrs.  Calhoun,  Ewing  of  Illinois,  Hill,  King  of  Georgia,  Preston,  Rob- 
inson, White — 7. 
May  2,  1836— Senate. 

Resolution  passed. 
May  10,  1836— House. 

The  resolution  (S.  No.  4)  from  the  Senate  was  committed  to  the 
Committee  of  the  Whole. 

A  motion  was  made  by  Mr.  J.  QUINCY  ADAMS  that  the  rule  be  sus- 
pended to  enable  him  to  make  a  motion  that  said  resolution  be  the 
special  order  of  the  day  on  Tuesday,  the  17th  instant,  from  11  o'clock 
a.  m.  to  1  p.  m. ;  which  motion  to  suspend  was  disagreed  to  by  the 
House. 
June  25,  1836— House. 

In  Committee  of  the  Whole,  Senate  resolution  No.  4  was  considered 
and  amended. 

The  amendments  made  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  one  of  which 
amendments  changed  the  Senate  resolution  into  the  form  of  a  bill  to 
authorize  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  assert  and  prosecute 
the  right  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy  of  James  Smithson,  late 
of  London,  were  reported  to  the  House,  and  were  concurred  in. 

The  bill  was  passed. 


142  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

June  25,  1836— Senate. 

The  Senate  concurred  in  the  amendments  made  by  the  House  in 
Senate  resolution  No.  4. 
July  1,  1836— 

An  act  to  authorize  and  enable  the  President  to  assert  and  prosecute  with  effect  the 
claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy  bequeathed  to  them  by  James  Smithson, 
late  of  London,  deceased,  to  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  President 
of  the  United  States  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  constitute  and 
appoint  an  agent  or  agents  to  assert  and  prosecute  for  and  in  behalf 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  their  name  or  otherwise,  as  may  be  advis- 
able, in  the  court  of  chancery,  or  other  proper  tribunal  of  England, 
the  right  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy  bequeathed  to  them  by  the 
last  will  and  testament  of  James  Smithson,  late  of  London,  deceased, 
for  the  purpose  of  founding  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men,  and  to  empower  such  agent  or  agents  so 
appointed  to  receive  and  grant  acquittances  for  all  such  sum  or  sums 
of  money,  or  other  funds,  as  may  or  shall  be  decreed  or  adjudged  to 
the  United  States  for  or  on  account  of  said  legacy. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  agent  or  agents 
shall,  before  receiving  any  part  of  said  legacy,  give  a  bond  or  bonds, 
in  the  penal  sum  of  $500,000,  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States, 
and  his  successors  in  office,  with  good  and  sufficient  securities,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for  the  faithful  per- 
formance of  the  duties  of  the  said  agency  and  for  the  faithful  remit- 
tance to  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  of  all  and  every  sum  or 
sums  of  money  or  other  funds  which  he  or  they  may  receive  for  pay- 
ment in  whole  or  in  part  of  the  said  legacy.  And  the  Treasurer  of 
the  United  States  is  hereby  authorized  and  required  to  keep  safely 
all  sums  of  money  or  other  funds  which  may  be  received  by  him  in 
virtue  of  the  said  bequest,  and  to  account  therefor  separately  from 
all  other  accounts  of  his  office,  and  subject  to  such  further  disposal 
thereof  as  may  be  hereafter  provided  by  Congress. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  any  and  all  sums  of  money 
and  other  funds  which  shall  be  received  for  or  on  account  of  the  said 
legacy  shall  be -applied,  in  such  manner  as  Congress  may  hereafter 
direct,  to  the  purpose  of  founding  and  endowing  at  Washington,  under 
the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an  establishment  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  to  which  application 
of  the  said  moneys  and  other  funds  the  faith  of  the  United  States  is 
hereby  pledged. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  to  the  end  that  the  claim  to 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  143 

the  said  bequest  may  be  prosecuted  with  effect,  and  the  necessary 
expenses  in  prosecuting  the  same  be  defrayed,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  apply  to  that  purpose 
any  sum  not  exceeding  $10,000  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not 
otherwise  appropriated. 
(Stat,  V,  64.) 


TWENTY-FIFTH  CONGRESS— 1837-1839. 

BEQUEST   OF   JAMES   SMITHSON. 
September,  1837— House. 

The  sum  of  $10,000  provided  in  the  act  of  July  1,  1836,  having 
proved  insufficient,  the  Secretary  of  State  asked  an  additional  appro- 
priation by  Congress. 

John  Farsyth  to  C.  C.  Cambreleng. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
Washington,  September  14,  18S7. 

SIR:  It  will  be  seen  by  the  annexed  statement  that  of  the  appropriation  made  in 
the  year  1836  to  prosecute  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy  bequeathed 
by  James  Smithson,  of  London,  there  remained  unexpended  on  the  31st  day  of  July 
last  but  $4,000.  As  that  sum  will  not  probably  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessary 
expenditures  until  an  appropriation  could  be  made  at  the  next  session  of  Congress 
and  placed  in  London,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  to  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means  the  necessity  of  providing  for  them  by  an  appropriation  at  this  session. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTE. 
Hon.  C.  C.  CAMBRELENG, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives. 

STATEMENT   OF   THE   SMITHSONIAN    FUND. 

Amount  of  appropriation  made  in  1836 $10, 000 

Mr.  Rush's  account  for  salary  for  one  year,  to  the  31st  of  July,  1837. .  $3, 000 
Mr.  Rush's  account  for  incidental  and  contingent  expenses  for  the 

same  period 2, 000 

Amount  of  solicitor's  bill,  £200  4s.,  say 1, 000 

6,000 


Amount  remaining  of  the  appropriation  of  1836 4, 000 

[Same  to  Mr.  Silas  Wright,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Finance,  Senate. 


John  Forsyth  to  C.  C.  Cambreleng. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
Washington,  September  19,  1837. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  a  letter  received  at  this  Department  from  Mr. 
Richard  Rush,  agent  of  the  United  States  in  London  for  the  prosecution  of  their 
claim  to  the  property  bequeathed  by  the  late  James  Smithson,  together  with  the  bill 
pf  Messrs.  Clarke,  Fynmore,  and  Flaclgate,  solicitors,  paid  by  him. 


144  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

I  also  inclose  a  letter  from  Mr.  Daniel  Brent,  consul  of  the  United  States  at  Paris, 
in  relation  to  payments  made  by  him  in  endeavoring  to  secure  property  supposed  by 
him  to  constitute  a  part  of  that  bequeathed  by  Mr.  Smithson,  with  a  copy  of  Mr. 
Rush's  answer  to  his  application  for  reimbursement.  I  would  suggest  $10,000  as  the 
amount  necessary  to  be  appropriated  for  the  continuation  of  the  prosecution  of  the 
claim  of  the  United  States,  and  that  it  is  of  urgent  necessity  that  it  be  made  at  this 
session,  in  order  that  funds  may  be  transmitted  to  the  bankers  of  the  United  States 
in  London  to  meet  the  drafts  that  may  necessarily  be  made  upon  them  for  the 
expenses  to  be  incurred  therein.  * 

I  have  to  request  that  the  papers  inclosed  may  be  shown  to  the  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Finance  of  the  Senate  and  that  they  may  be  returned  to  this  Depart- 
ment. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FOESYTH. 
Hon.  C.  C.  CAMBRELENG, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives. 

October  16,  1837. 

An  act  making  further  appropriations  for  the  year  1837. 

For  defraying  the  expenses  attending  the  prosecution  of  the  claim 
of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy  bequeathed  by  the  late  James 
Smithson,  of  London,  $5,000. 

(Stat,  V,  207.) 

March  5,  1838— House. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  TIMOTHY  CHILDS, 

Resolved,  That  the  President  be  requested  to  communicate  to  this  House  (if  the 
same  can  be  done  without  prejudice  to  the  public  service)  all  the  documents  and 
information  in  his  possession  relative  to  the  prosecution  of  the  claim  to  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest;  also,  what  duty  has  been  performed,  and  remains  to  be  performed, 
by  the  agent  employed  at  London  in  reference  to  said  claim,  and  how  the  money 
heretofore  appropriated  by  Congress  has  been  applied. 
May  21,  1838— House. 

Memorial  of  Walter  R.  Johnson  relative  to  the  Smithson  bequest 
presented.     (See  p.  146.) 
June  28,  1838— House. 

Mr.  ABRAHAM  RENCHER  submitted  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  inquire  into  the  expediency  of 
authorizing  a  temporary  investment  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  as  soon  as  it  shall  be 
received  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Agreed  to. 
July  2,  1838— House. 

Mr.  C.  C.  CAMBRELENG,  from  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 
reported: 

[H.  No.  863.] 

A  bill  to  provide  for  the  investment  of  money  received  under  the  will  of  the  late  James  Smithson, 

of  London. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc,.,  That  all  money  arising  from  the  bequest  of  the  late  James 
Smithson,  of  London,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  at  Washington,  in  this  District,  an 
institution  to  be  denominated  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  shall  be  paid  into  the 


TWENTY -FIFTH    CONGRESS.    1837-1839.  145 

Treasury,  and  invested  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the  approbation  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  stock  of  the  United  States,  to  be  created  for 
that  purpose,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  payable 
annually;  that  the  certificates  for  said  stock  shall  be  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  to  the  President,  who  shall  hold  the  same  in  trust  for  the  uses  specified  in 
the  last  will  and  testament  of  said  Smithson,  until  provision  is  made  by  law  for 
carrying  the  purpose  of  said  bequest  into  effect;  and  that  the  annual  interest 
accruing  on  the  stock  aforesaid  shall  be  in  like  manner  invested  for  the  benefit  of 
said  Institution. 
July  7,  1838. 

The  following  section  providing  for  the  investment  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  became  a  law: 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United  [States  for  the  year  1838, 
and  tor  other  purposes. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  the  money  arising  from  the  bequest  of 
the  late  James  Smithson,  of  London,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  at  Washington,  in 
this  District,  an  institution  to  be  denominated  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which 
may  be  paid  into  the  Treasury,  is  hereby  appropriated,  and  shall  be  invested  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the  approbation  of  the  President  of  United 
States,  in  stocks  of  States,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  five  per  centum 
per  annum,  which  said  stocks  shall  be  held  by  the  said  Secretary  in  trust  for  the 
uses  specified  in  the  last  will  and  testament  of  said  Smithson,  until  provision  is 
made  by  law  for  carrying  the  purpose  of  said  bequest  into  effect;  and  that  the 
annual  interest  accruing  on  the  stock  aforesaid  shall  be  in  like  manner  invested  for 
the  benefit  of  said  Institution. 

(Stat,  V,  267.) 

July  9,  1838— House. 

Mr.  W.  B.  CALHOUN,  of  Massachusetts,  submitted  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  requested  to  cause  to  be  laid 
before  the  House  during  the  first  week  of  the  next  session  of  Congress  all  such 
communications,  papers,  documents,  etc.,  now  La  the  possession  of  the  Executive, 
or  which  can  be  obtained,  as  shall  elucidate  the  origin  and  object  of  the  Smithsonian 
bequest,  and  the  origin,  progress,  and  consummation  of  the  process  by  which  that 
bequest  has  been  recovered,  and  whatever  may  be  connected  with  the  subject. 

Agreed  to. 
December  10,  1838— Senate. 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

WASHINGTON,  December  6,  1838. 
To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 

The  act  of  the  1st  July,  1836,  to  enable  the  Executive  to  assert  and 
prosecute  with  effect  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  legacy 
bequeathed  to  them  by  James  Smithson,  late  of  London,  having 
received  its  entire  execution,  and  the  amount  recovered  and  paid  into 
the  Treasury  having,  agreeably  to  an  act  of  the  last  session,  been 
invested  in  State  stocks,  I  deem  it  proper  to  invite  the  attention  of 
Congress  to  the  obligation  now  devolving  upon  the  United  States  to 
fulfill  the  object  of  the  bequest.  In  order  to  obtain  such  information 
H.  Doc.  732 10 


146  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

sis  might  serve  to  facilitate  its  attainment,  the  Secretary  of  State  was 
directed  in  July  last  to  apply  to  persons  versed  in  science  and  familiar 
with  the  subject  of  public  education  for  their  views  as  to  the  mode  of 
disposing  of  the  fund  best  calculated  to  meet  the  intentions  of  the 
testator  and  prove  most  beneficial  to  mankind.  Copies  of  the  circular 
letter  written  in  compliance  with  these  directions  and  of  the  answers ' 
to  it  received  at  the  Department  of  State  are  herewith  communicated 
for  the  consideration  of  Congress. 

M.  VAN  BUREN. 

Ordered  to  be  printed  with  the  accompanying  documents. 
December  10,  1838— House. 

Two  messages  from  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
To  the  House  of  Representatives  of  tlie  United  States: 

I  herewith  transmit  to  the  House  of  Representatives  reports  from 
the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  accom- 
panying documents,  in  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  the 
9th  of  July  last. 

M.  VAN  BUREN. 

WASHINGTON,  December  7,  1838. 

Referred  to  a  select  committee. 

Mr.  John  Q.  Adams,  Mr.  F.  O.  J.  Smith,  Mr.  Charles  Ogle,  Mr. 
Charles  Shepard,  of  North  Carolina,  Mr.  Orrin  Holt,  Mr.  Waddy 
Thompson,  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Hunter,  of  Ohio,  Mr.  John  P.  Kennedy,  and 
Mr.  James  Garland,  of  Virginia,  were  appointed  said  select  committee. 

For  second  message  see  Senate  proceedings,  December  10. 

Referred  to  the  select  committee  last  appointed. 
December  20,  1838— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  presented  a  memorial  of  Charles  Lewis 
Fleischmann,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  showing  the  importance 
of  and  the  benefits  which  may  arise  from  the  establishment  of  a 
national  agricultural  school  as  a  branch  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution; 
which  memorial  was  referred  to  the  select  committee  appointed  on 
two  messages  from  the  President  in  relation  to  the  Smithsonian 
bequest.  (See  p.  155.) 

On  motion  of  Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS, 

Ordered,  That  the  memorial  of  Walter  R.  Johnson  for  an  institution  for  experi- 
ments in  physical  sciences,  presented  May  21, 1838,  be  referred  to  the  select  committee 
appointed  on  two  messages  from  the  President  in  relation  to  the  Smithsonian  bequest. 

Memorial  of  Prof.  Walter  R.  Johnson: 

The  memorial  of  the  undersigned,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  respectfully 
represents— 

That,  having  been  for  many  years  devoted  to  the  investigation  and  elucidation  of 
those  departments  of  science  which  pertain  to  the  practice  of  the  useful  arts;  and 
having,  as  he  conceives,  witnessed  on  various  occasions  the  serious  detriment  which 

1  Printed  in  Smithsonian  Miscellaneous  Collections  No.  328,  p.  837. 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  147 

the  public  interest  has  suffered  from  the  want  of  a  national  institution  to  encourage 
and  facilitate  the  cultivation  of  those  departments  of  knowledge  on  which  these  arts 
are  founded,  he  has  at  this  time  ventured  to  present  himself  as  a  memorialist  before 
your  honorable  bodies,  and  to  ask  permission  to  set  forth  the  importance  and  necessity 
of  such  an  institution  to  the  country,  and  its  claims  to  the  countenance  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States. 

In  a  clear  comprehension  of  the  internal  resources  of  the  country  the  whole  nation 
possesses  a  deep  and  a  growing  interest,  and  in  those  vast  portions  of  territory  con- 
stituting the  public  domain  the  Government  has  a  stake  of  immense  magnitude. 
But  great  as  these  interests  are,  and  much  as  they  demand  the  services  of  men  pro- 
fessionally devoted  to  their  elucidation,  the  United  States  as  yet  possess  no  institu- 
tion appropriated  to  the  formation  of  those  habits  and  the  acquisition  of  thatjekill 
which  might  insure  the  success  of  such  researches. 

The  want  of  an  institution  for  these  purposes  is  daily  rendered  more  striking,  in 
proportion  as  the  enterprise  of  our  citizens  is  enlarged,  and  as  a  reliance  on  our  own  re- 
sources becomes  the  more  obviously  necessary.  But  the  determination  of  the  value 
of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country  is  far  from  being  the  only  motive  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  institution  for  prosecuting  researches  in  physical  science.  Those 
resources  require  to  be  applied  and  improved,  as  well  as  discovered  and  described. 

A  further  purpose,  therefore,  to  be  effected  by  such  an  institution  is  the  enlarging 
of  those  resources  by  the  introduction  of  improvements  in  agriculture  and  by  natu- 
ralizing the  productions  of  other  climates  to  the  soil  of  our  widely  extended  territory, 
the  encouraging  of  those  arts  which  are  essential  to  our  national  prosperity  and  inde- 
pendence, the  diffusing  of  important  information  respecting  the  commercial  value  of 
our  different  resources,  the  examining  of  questions  in  every  department  of  physical 
research  connected  with  the  public  service,  and  the  preventing  of  those  impostures 
to  which  both  individuals  and  the  public  are  liable  while  important  physical  truths 
remain  unexplained. 

Motives  of  higher  import  are  not  wanting;  inducements  drawn  from  an  exalted 
patriotism  might  be  presented  in  favor  of  such  measures  as  might  place  our  national 
resources,  institutions,  and  arms  of  defense  above  a  dependence  on  the  science  of 
foreign  nations. 

In  recognizing  the  important  truth  that  the  power,  freedom,  and  happiness  of 
nations  are  essentially  connected  with  a  comprehension  of  their  own  natural  advan- 
tages, not  less  than  with  the  wisdom,  firmness,  and  prudence  of  those  who  are  exalted 
to  civil  authority,  we  discover  at  once  the  vast  magnitude  of  the  obligation  imposed 
on  the  people  of  this  Union  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  resources  of 
their  country. 

It  is  said,  and  said  truly,  that  every  freeman  should  understand  the  civil  constitu- 
tions of  the  country  which  secure  his  rights;  and  is  it  less  imperative  to  understand 
its  physical  constitution,  which  secures  his  existence? 

Whoever  loves  his  country  would  see  her  great,  powerful — loved  at  home  and 
respected  abroad.  And  what  element  in  her  greatness,  her  power,  her  loveliness,  her 
respectability  is  more  sure  to  win  the  affections  than  the  rich  abundance  of  her 
natural  advantages  and  the  ability  of  her  citizens  to  comprehend,  to  develop,  and 
enjoy  them? 

It  is  a  mark  of  a  meek  colonial  dependence  to  remain  ignorant  of  all  but  the  most 
obvious  features  and  productions  of  a  country,  and  it  is  an  evidence  of  something 
worse  than  colonial  dependence  for  a  nation  professing  to  be  independent  to  receive 
from  foreigners  all  the  knowledge  that  they  ever  acquire  of  the  natural  features  and 
resources  of  the  country,  and  of  their  application  to  useful  purposes.  Why  need  we 
cite  the  examples  of  antiquity?  Why  go  to  India,  to  Africa,  to  New  Holland  to  seek 
illustrations  of  this  truth?  What  is  the  condition  of  the  colonies  still  remaining  on 
this  continent  in  regard  to  a  knowledge  of  their  respective  territories?  With  what 


148  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

jealousy  did  the  courts  of  Madrid  and  Lisbon  spread  for  three  centuries  a  midnight 
of  ignorance  with  regard  to  the  arts  over  the  fairest  portions  of  the  globe! 

And  what  was  the  state  of  the  useful  arts  in  those  countries  at  the  moment  when 
they  at  last  greeted  the  uncertain  dawn  of  a  questionable  liberty?  What  is  their 
degree  of  weakness  and  irresolution,  even  at  this  day,  superinduced  by  an  habitual 
neglect  of  the  bounties  of  nature  and  the  achievements  of  art?  How  utterly  at  the 
mercy  of  strangers,  how  little  competent  to  assert  the  dignity  of  any  national  charac- 
ter are  most  of  the  Spanish- American  republics!  It  is  not  pretended  that  ignorance 
of  their  resources  is  the  only  cause  of  this  degradation,  but  that  the  former  may  at 
least  be  considered  a  fair  index  to  mark  and  measure  the  latter. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  What  great  national  interests  will  be  benefited  by  an  insti- 
tution like  that  now  proposed?  The  reply  is  easy. 

Wherever,  in  prosecuting  his  designs,  man  has  occasion  to  call  to  his  aid  the  ener- 
gies of  nature,  there  will  researches  in  physical  science  find  an  appropriate  sphere 
of  action;  and  wherever  any  national  interest  involves  the  production  or  use  of 
material  objects,  there  must  the  energies  of  nature  be  more  or  less  constantly  put  in 
requisition. 

Among  the  prominent  interests  affected  by  the  existence  and  operation  of  an  insti- 
tution for  physical  researches  are  those  of  agriculture,  of  the  Army,  the  Navy,  the 
public  domain,  engineering  and  topography;  architecture— civil,  military,  and  naval; 
the  mining  industry  of  the  country  and  its  interests  in  the  success  of  the  inventive 
genius  of  its  citizens.  To  these  must  be  added  commerce  and  manufactures. 

That  all  these  subjects  are  regarded  as  public  interests  is,  perhaps,  sufficiently 
evinced  by  the  fact  that  in  the  distribution  of  the  subjects  of  legislation  in  Congress 
each,  with  the  exception  of  mining,  is  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  merit  the 
attention  of  a  separate  standing  committee  of  each  House.  Thus  there  is  in  each 
House  a  committee  on  agricuture,  on  military  affairs,  on  naval  affairs,  on  the  public 
lands,  on  roads  and  canals,  on  public  buildings,  on  patents  and  the  patent  office,  on 
commerce,  and  on  manufactures. 

The  foregoing  statement  is  made  in  order  to  show  that,  in  asking  the  attention  of 
the  national  authorities  to  this  subject,  there  is  no  design  to  obtrude  upon  their 
notice  matters  not  already  within  the  acknowledged  and  long  conceded  sphere  of 
constitutional  action ;  that  there  is  no  attempt  to  introduce  a  course  of  legislation  on 
concerns  foreign  to  those  great  interests  of  the  nation  for  the  protection  of  which 
the  fundamental  law  has  invested  the  legislature  with  ample  powers. 

1.  In  no  department  of  industry  is  the  need  of  experimental  science  more  evident 
than  in  that  of  agriculture.  The  labor  of  research  and  observation  in  this  depart- 
ment belongs  alike  to  the  botanist,  the  zoologist,  and  the  chemist.  The  first  should 
investigate  the  physiology  and  habitudes  of  all  those  vegetable  productions  which 
constitute  so  large  a  portion  of  the  products  of  farming  operations,  together  with  the 
accidents,  blights,  and  diseases  to  which  they  are  liable,  the  insects  by  which  their 
growth  or  usefulness  may  be  affected,  and  the  method  of  securing  and  reducing  to  a 
merchantable  form  the  crops  of  each  vegetable  when  matured.  The  introduction  of 
exotic  plants  and  the  treatment  which  may  insure  their  success  in  our  climate,  with 
the  method  of  regulating  and  varying  the  succession  of  crops  to  avoid  the  exhaus- 
tion of  soils,  would  appropriately  fall  under  the  same  branch  of  the  agricultural 
department. 

The  practicability  and  the  proper  methods  of  cultivating  the  vine,  the  olive,  the 
mulberry,  the  sugar  beet,  the  sisal  and  Manila  hemp,  the  New  Zealand  flax,  and 
other  fibrous  vegetables  fit  to  furnish  textures  and  cordage,  would  also  appropriately 
fall  under  the  botanical  division  of  agricultural  science. 

The  collections  in  this  department  would  exhibit  samples  of  not  only  the  ordinary 
and  the  rare  specimens  of  each  plant,  but  also  the  diseased  individuals  and  the  vege- 
table monsters  of  each  class,  displaying,  when  practicable,  the  cause  of  such  disease 


TWENTY -FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  149 

or  monstrosity.  Under  the  botanical  division  is  necessarily  included,  also,  whatever 
pertains  to  horticulture  and  the  management  of  fruit  in  all  its  varieties. 

Zoology  applied  to  agricultural  purposes  would  make  known  the  rearing  and 
treatment  of  every  species  of  useful  domestic  animals,  whether  bird  or  quadruped; 
the  kinds  of  labor  to  which  any  of  them  may  be  applied  while  living;  the  diseases, 
contagious  or  otherwise,  to  which  they  may  be  liable;  the  value  and  uses  of  their 
living  products,  as  milk,  wool,  hair,  or  feathers,  and  the  importance  to  man  of  their 
flesh,  sinews,  bones,  horns,  and  pelage,  when  slaughtered. 

The  best  methods  of  domesticating  or  naturalizing  desirable  species  of  animals  not 
now  in  use  in  this  country,  and  improving  the  breeds  of  all  such  as  may  be  suscep- 
tible of  melioration,  would  likewise  come  under  the  cognizance  of  this  department. 
To  the  same  would  pertain  an  examination  of  such  of  the  inferior  races  of  animals 
which  are  either  useful,  as  the  bee  and  the  silkworm,  or  noxious  and  destructive,  as 
the  Hessian  fly,  the  locust,  the  weevil,  and  the  canker  worm,  as  well  as  of  those 
parasitic  insects  which  often  prove  so  annoying  and  destructive  to  the  larger  animals, 
together  with  the  methods  of  their  extermination.  In  short,  an  agricultural  study 
of  animal  beings  must  deal  with  the  physiology  and  structure  of  each  race  in  every 
stage  of  its  existence.  How  wide  is  this  field  of  inquiry,  and  how  momentous  to  the 
interests  of  agriculture,  needs  not  to  be  demonstrated. 

But  to  the  chemist  is  assigned,  in  connection  with  agriculture,  a  branch  of  duty 
not  less  important,  and,  if  anything,  more  difficult,  than  to  either  of  the  preceding. 
To  him  belongs  not  only  the  duty  of  ascertaining  the  constituents  of  every  soil,  and 
the  ingredients  which  render  it  either  barren  or  fertile,  which  adapt  it  to  peculiar 
productions,  which  cause  it  to  require  more  or  less  labor  in  the  tillage,  but  also  that 
of  determining  the  nature  of  the  dressing  which  may  restore  it  wrhen  exhausted, 
whether  the  same  should  consist  of  animal,  vegetable,  or  mineral  substances,  and  in 
what  proportions.  He  must  also  examine  the  constituents,  immediate  and  ultimate, 
of  each  vegetable,  and  trace  the  relation  between  the  character  of  a  soil  and  that  of 
the  vegetable  substances  which  it  is  capable  of  producing. 

In  various  parts  of  our  country  it  is  well  known  that  shell  and  other  limestones, 
marl,  gypsum,  and  alluvial  deposits  of  various  kinds  are  resorted  to  for  furnishing 
the  dressings  of  worn-out  or  barren  soils;  and  yet  it  is  equally  well  known  that  not 
every  soil  is  alike  benefited  by  the  same  dressing.  Even  among  the  marls,  some 
produce  an  effect  absolutely  injurious  on  the  very  soils  which  others  would  fertilize 
in  a  high  degree.  Hence  the  importance  of  designating,  by  means  of  chemical 
analysis,  the  fertilizing  or  nonfertilizing  properties  of  every  compost  used  in  the 
dressing  of  land,  its  adaptation  to  each  soil,  and  its  utility  as  applied  to  each  produc- 
tion which  that  soil  is  designed  to  yield. 

Though  almost  unknown  in  our  country,  and  unapplied  to  its  industry,  the  subject 
of  agricultural  chemistry  has  not  been  deemed  unworthy  to  engage  the  best  talents 
of  European  chemists.  In  proof  of  this,  we  need  only  recur  to  the  names  of  Henry 
and  Ure  and  the  immortal  Davy. 

The  three  branches  of  agricultural  science  above  described  would  in  their  several 
collections  present  an  exhibition  of  exceeding  interest,  and  one  every  way  worthy  to 
fix  the  attention  of  the  multitudes  of  citizens  who  annually  visit  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment, as  well  as  of  the  assembled  representatives  of  the  people. 

Stored  in  appropriate  receptacles  would  be  found  the  botanical  treasures  of  every 
portion  of  our  Territory  and  the  useful  products  of  every  foreign  clime;  so  that, 
while  our  conservatory  of  arts  and  trades,  now  rising  with  increased  splendor  from 
the  ashes  of  its  late  conflagration,  shall  receive  the  monuments  of  inventive  genius, 
the  contemplated  depository  of  our  natural  riches  would  soon  vie  with  it  in  curiosi- 
ties and  in  usefulness. 

2.  Of  the  importance  to  the  military  interests  of  the  country  of  an  institution  like 
that  herein  proposed  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  when  we  take  into  view  the  great 


150  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

number  of  practical  subjects  which,  in  that  service,  it  is  necessary  to  determine  by 
actual  experiment.  Questions  relating  to  the  form,  construction,  and  efficiency  of 
ordnance  and  arms  of  every  description,  the  effect  of  projectiles  as  related  to  their 
weight,  bulk,  and  velocity  and  to  the  charges  by  which  they  are  projected,  or  to  the 
length,  weight,  windage  and  other  circumstances  of  the  guns  employed  to  the  dura- 
bility of  the  latter  as  dependent  on  the  quality  of  metal  used  in  their  fabrication, 
or  on  the  method  of  casting  and  subsequent  preparation  for  service,  are  often  pre- 
sented for  solution. 

In  connection  with  the  products  of  a  national  foundry,  should  such  an  establish- 
ment be  authorized  the  prosecution  of  experiments  would  be  of  the  utmost  conse- 
quence, and  they  certainly  can  not  be  less  important  when  the  ordnance  for  our  Army 
and  Navy  is  manufactured  entirely  by  contract.  Much  of  that  skill  which  is  required 
in  the  fabrication  of  small  arms  is  dependent  on  a  just  application  of  scientific  prin- 
ciples, and  careful  researches  into  the  nature  of  the  materials  and  the  best  methods 
of  working  them  is  often  demanded.  Nor  are  inquiries  for  this  department  of  public 
service  confined  to  one  or  a  few  materials.  Iron,  copper,  and  zinc,  brass,  and  many 
other  alloys;  materials  for  tents,  clothing,  and  accouterments;  the  whole  range  of 
substances  employed  in  pyrotechny;  the  materials  for  constructing  fortifications, 
whether  on  the  seaboard  or  in  the  interior;  for  gun  carriages  and  other  vehicles;  for 
portable  bridges,  and  for  every  species  of  camp  equipage,  are  among  the  objects  of 
attention  in  this  connection.  Nor  must  the  influence  of  heat,  moisture,  and  other 
causes  in  destroying  the  various  materials  employed  in  the  military  service  or  the 
means  of  preventing  their  injurious  effects  be  omitted. 

The  interests  of  the  Army  then  require  many  series  of  experimental  inquiries. 
And  though  for  the  purposes  of  educating  youth  to  the  profession  of  arms  it  is 
admitted  that  we  have  an  institution  which  has  received  many  high  encomiums  for 
excellence,  yet  it  is  certain  that  original  investigations  of  physical  truth  are  not  the 
objects  contemplated  or  mainly  pursued  in  that  establishment.  Consequently  its 
existence  in  full  activity  and  usefulness  does  not  diminish  the  necessity  of  a  national 
institution  for  the  purposes  now  proposed. 

3.  To  the  naval  service  of  the  country  the  subject  offers  a  great  variety  of  impor- 
tant considerations.  The  whole  business  of  navigation,  whether  for  commercial  or 
for  warlike  purposes,  ought  to  be  founded  on  the  most  accurate  scientific  principles; 
and  every  motive  which  should  impel  the  mechanic  or  engineer  to  guide  his  practice 
by  the  lights  of  science  is  equally  or  more  urgent  on  the  mariner.  In  the  prosecution 
of  his  adventurous  enterprise  the  latter  must  encounter  every  element  of  nature. 
Taking,  as  we  now  do,  steam  navigation  into  the  account,  we  find  him  engaged  at 
the  same  moment  in  a  conflict  between  fire,  air,  earth,  water,  light,  heat,  electricity, 
galvanism,  magnetism,  chemical  action,  and  the  gravitating  forces  of  the  earth,  the 
ocean,  and  the  atmosphere. 

To  enable  him  to  contend  successfully  against  these  various  forces,  he  must,  in 
addition  to  the  principles  of  the  art  of  navigation,  with  no  mean  modicum  of  astron- 
omy, bring  to  his  aid  an  extensive  range  of  physical  sciences.  Not  that  a  staunch, 
well-equipped  vessel  must  necessarily  require  in  him  who  directs  her  course  all  these 
qualifications;  the  above  remarks  are  intended  to  apply  to  nautical  science  and  prac- 
tice as  a  whole,  embracing  whatever  belongs  to  the  naval  profession.  This  requires 
investigations  to  be  made  into  the  good  qualities  and  the  defects  of  different  species 
of  timber,  the  influence  of  the  season  of  cutting  on  the  durability  of  its  various 
kinds,  and  the  most  effective  and  economical  methods  of  preventing  decay. 

Among  other  materials  for  naval  use  requiring  attention  are  those  of  cordage,  in 
all  their  varieties,  from  the  rigid  hempen  ropes  of  our  own  manufactories  to  the 
rude  coir  cable  of  the  east,  buoyant  and  elastic,  floating  clear  of  a  rocky  bottom, 
where  the  heavier  hempen  line  would  be  chafed  and  destroyed;  and  from  the  deli- 
cate production  of  Manila  to  the  stouter  staple  of  the  sisal  hemp  of  Yucatan. 

Far  from  being  distinctly  known  and  their  several  qualities  clearly  discriminated, 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGEESS,   1837-1839.  151 

these  different  materials  have  hitherto  been  scarcely  distinguished  by  their  proper 
names,  even  among  our  mariners  and  merchants.  And  the  names,  characters,  and 
habitudes  of  the  plants  which  produce  the  textile  fibers  have,  if  possible,  been  less 
clearly  understood  than  the  peculiar  properties  of  the  cordage  itself.  Thus  the  name 
"sea  grass"  is  sometimes  applied  to  the  fibers  of  a  fleshy  perennial  plant  of  the 
agave  genus,  which  grows  on  dry,  rocky  hills,  far  in  the  interior  of  the  country.  The 
influence  of  heat  and  moisture  on  all  the  different  materials  employed  for  either 
cordage,  sails,  hammocks,  bags,  or  clothing  presents  a  wide  field  for  useful  research. 
The  relative  strength  and  durability  of  tarred  and  white  cordage  has  already  engaged 
attention  in  Europe,  but  further  inquiries  spring  up  as  new  materials  are  introduced. 

Not  less  important  than  either  of  the  preceding  topics  is  that  of  the  strength  and 
other  properties  of  iron,  as  applicable  to  the  fabrication  of  chain  cables  and  smaller 
chains  for  standing  or  running  rigging  (the  latter  particularly  for  steam  vessels),  and 
of  bolts  and  anchors  for  all  the  various  sea  and  river  craft.  Not  only  the  strength 
and  elasticity  but  the  chemical  purity  also  of  this  material  and  its  power  to  resist 
corrosion  are  objects  of  deep  interest. 

The  naval  and  commercial  marine  interests  are  alike  involved  in  an  inquiry  into 
the  possibility  of  obtaining  an  economical  substitute  for  copper  for  the  sheathing  of 
vessels,  and  whether  that  material  itself  may  yet  be  defended  from  the  corrosion 
which  now  causes  so  heavy  a  charge  on  the  Government  as  well  as  on  the  private 
shipowner.  A  movable  galvanic  armature  has  been  suggested  for  this  purpose,  but 
awaits  a  trial  of  its  efficacy. 

Other  subjects  of  inquiry  likewise  press  upon  the  attention,  such  as  the  most  effi- 
cient and  economical  forms  of  pumps  and  the  best  methods  of  working  them;  the 
best  modes  of  heating,  ventilating,  and  disinfecting  vessels  at  sea,  and  of  freeing 
them  from  vermin;  of  preserving  every  species  of  provision  on  long  voyages;  the 
practicability  of  obtaining  fresh  water  by  any  convenient  apparatus  for  distillation 
on  shipboard;  and  the  most  effective  means  of  securing  ships  from  electrical  dis- 
charges. Time  would  fail  us  to  enumerate  all  the  beneficial  results  of  an  enlightened 
application  of  science  to  the  operations  of  dock  yards,  to  the  construction  and  use  of 
dry  docks,  screw  docks,  floating  docks,  and  marine  railways. 

To  show  that  the  importance  of  science  to  the  naval  interest  is  not  herein  overrated, 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that  a  single  division  of  science  applicable  to  this 
service  of  naval  construction,  that  of  the  influence  of  form  on  the  flotation  and  motion 
of  solid  bodies  in  liquids,  has  not  been  thought  unworthy  to  occupy  the  attention  of 
some  of  the  ablest  philosophers  and  experimenters  of  France,  Sweden,  and  England. 
The  names  of  Bossut,  of  Lagherjelm,  and  of  Beaufort  are  vouchers  for  the  truth  of 
this  assertion.  The  labor  of  the  last-named  author,  in  which  it  appears  that  hia 
wife  was  a  frequent  participator,  was  truly  herculean;  and  the  splendid  publication 
and  gratuitous  distribution  by  their  son  of  the  thirty  years'  scientific  labors  of  his  • 
parents  is  a  method  of  building  a  monument  as  novel  and  touching  as  it  is  liberal 
and  affectionate,  while  the  monument  itself  is  more  honorable,  perhaps,  than  any 
which  the  pencils,  burins,  and  chisels  of  Britain  have  ever  produced. 

4.  If  from  the  public  defense,  both  military  and  naval,  we  pass  to  the  public  rev- 
enues, especially  to  that  part  which  is  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  public  domain, 
we  readily  find  ample  reason  to  sustain  a  call  for  scientific  investigations. 

The  agricultural  value,  the  geological  structure,  the  mineral  resources,  the  botani- 
cal productions,  the  supplies  of  water  for  manufacturing  purposes,  the  true  geo- 
graphical position,  and  the  force  and  present  direction  of  terrestrial  magnetism  in  the 
regions  where  the  public  lands  are  situated  are  circumstances  to  be  attentively 
examined  in  prosecuting  a  survey  of  those  lands. 

The  analytical  chemist  will  decide  the  value,  for  mining  purposes,  of  those  regions, 
which  the  geologist  and  mineralogist  shall  have  explored;  while  the  engineer  will 
note  whatever  advantages  and  facilities  may  be  offered  for  internal  communications. 

The  formation  of  a  geological  and  [mineralogical  collection  would  result,  of  course, 


152  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

from  the  surveys  and  examinations  contemplated  in  the  foregoing  remarks.  And 
none,  surely,  can  doubt  the  ability  of  our  country  to  furnish  collections  which  may 
stand  in  competition  with  the  richest  and  most  celebrated  in  Europe.  Though  it  is 
true  that  mineralogical  exploration,  the  art  of  mining,  and  the  chemical  analysis  of 
minerals  are  almost  in  their  infancy  amongst  us,  and  though  it  will  be  remembered 
that  even  geological  inquiries  in  this  country  have  not  surpassed  the  time  of  a  single 
human  life,  since  the  father1  of  American  geology  is  still  among  the  living;  and 
though,  as  a  natural  consequence,  we  yet  know  comparatively  little  respecting  the 
treasures  of  our  mountains  and  forests  and  prairies,  still,  enough  is  already  known 
to  warrant  the  brightest  anticipations  for  the  future. 

As  it  regards  mineral  fuel,  the  American  continent  appears  to  be  peculiarly  dis- 
tinguished. In  one  or  another  of  its  varieties  that  material  is  found  in  Nova  Scotia, 
in  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri;  on  the  Yellowstone  River  on  the 
eastern,  and  the  Columbia  on  the  western,  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  in  the 
Province  of  Durango,  in  Mexico;  in  the  island  of  Cuba;  on  the  lofty  Andes  of  Peru; 
at  the  Cerro  di  Pasco  and  Huallanca,  bordering  on  perpetual  snow,  and  near  the 
level  of  the  sea  at  the  city  of  Concepcion,  on  the  coast  of  Chile.  But  in  the  Central 
and  Western  States  of  this  Union  the  greatest  abundance  and  variety  of  this  fuel  has 
hitherto  been  discovered.  It  is  hardly  more  than  thirty  years  since  so  little  was 
known  of  the  coal  of  Pennsylvania  that  a  wealthy  and  enterprising  citizen  who  had 
caused  a  wagonload  of  excellent  anthracite  to  be  transported  from  the  valley  of 
Wyoming  to  Philadelphia  at  an  expense  of  $50  a  ton,  and  had  parceled  it  out  for 
trial  among  'his  friends,  was  soon  beset  by  the  latter  with  rebuke  and  ridicule  for 
having,  as  they  alleged,  attempted  to  palm  upon  them  a  heap  of  black  stones,  under 
pretense  of  their  being  coal,  while  in  fact  they  could  no  more  ignite  them  than  if 
they  had  been  so  much  granite.  A  fortunate  occurrence  at  length  dissipated  their 
incredulity  and  saved  the  credit  of  the  worthy  citizen;  and  the  results  of  that  interest 
which  was  thus  awakened  on  the  subject  have  led  to  a  knowledge  of  the  mineral 
resources  of  that  State  far  more  accurate  than  had  ever  previously  existed. 

A  view  of  the  map  of  Pennsylvania  presents  us  with  nearly  the  form  of  a  parallelo- 
gram, of  which  the  eastern  end  is  replaced  by  the  irregular  line  traced  by  the  course 
of  the  Delaware  River.  If  lines  were  drawn  parallel  to  the  western  boundary  of  the 
State,  running  north  and  south,  1  mile  apart,  so  as  to  divide  the  whole  State  into 
strips  1  mile  wide,  proceeding  eastward  and  ending  with  the  first  of  those  lines  which 
should  strike  the  Delaware  River,  every  one  of  those  belts  would,  it  is  confidently 
believed,  contain  some  portion  of  a  coal  field;  and  if  these  dividing  lines  were  crossed 
by  others  a  mile  apart,  running  east  and  west,  dividing  the  State  throughout  its 
whole  breadth  into  similar  strips,  every  one  of  the  latter,  except  perhaps  a  few  on 
the  northern  border,  would  also  contain  more  or  less  coal;  and  we  could  scarcely 
draw  over  the  surface  of  that  State,  in  any  direction,  a  straight  line  equal  in  length 
to  the  breadth  of  the  State  without  traversing  a  bed  of  iron  ore,  or  of  limestone,  or 
of  both.  It  is  not  doubted  that  equally  interesting  proofs  of  the  prodigality  of  nature 
toward  our  country  may  be  found  in  other  States  and  Territories  of  the  Union,  nor 
is  it  necessary  to  dwell  on  the  importance  of  obtaining  accurate  information  respect- 
ing them. 

In  regard  to  our  extensive  lead  mines,  the  value  of  such  information  will  be  readily 
perceived  by  comparing  the  present  abundant  supply  of  that  article  with  the  condi- 
tion of  things  when  it  was  obtained  only  by  importation,  and  when  organ  tubes  of 
that  metal  were  taken  from  the  churches  to  yield  a  scanty  supply  of  bullets  to  Wash- 
ington's little  army  at  Cambridge. 

'William  Maclure,  esq.,  author  of  Geology  of  the  United  States,  resident  in  the 
city  of  Mexico;  April,  1838. 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  153 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  the  importance  of  obtaining  accurate  information 
respecting  the  metals  employed  for  coin.  Whatever  materials  the  financial  wisdom 
of  the  nation  shall  at  length  decide  to  render  current  as  the  medium  of  exchange 
and  the  standard  of  value,  our  mines  of  the  precious  metals,  their  nature,  extent,  and 
richness,  must  ever  remain  objects  of  deep  interest,  both  to  individuals  and  to  the 
public. 

The  value  to  be  attached  to  our  materials  for  architectural  constructions  and  other 
ornamental  purposes  yet  remains  to  be  fully  developed.  Enough,  however,  is  known 
to  assure  us  that  we  have  among  our  marbles  for  massive  structures  those  which  may 
vie  with  the  Pentelicum  of  Greece;  for  ornamental  furniture,  with  the  variegated 
species  of  Egypt;  and  for  beautiful  statuary,  with  the  snow-white  Cararra  of  Italy. 
With  lithographic  limestone  we  need  no  longer  call  on  Germany  to  supply  us.  Our 
mineral  colors,  hydraulic  cements,  and  fire  clays  need  only  be  better  understood  in 
order  to  supersede  entirely  similar* articles  from  abroad. 

A  patriotic  resolution  of  one  branch  of  the  National  Legislature  has  recently  decreed 
that  the  bust  of  one  of  our  most  eminent  revolutionary  statesmen  shall  henceforth 
rest  on  a  massive  fragment  of  that  iron  mountain  found  in  the  rich  and  productive 
region  which,  by  a  bloodless  and  honorable  purchase,  his  sagacious  counsels  annexed 
to  our  beloved  country.  Would  that  our  thirty  years  of  possession  had  taught  us 
other  uses  of  that  ore  than  to  lie  in  unshaped  masses  as  pedestals  for  our  patriots. 
Then  might  we  boast  some  greater  share  of  that  real  national  independence,  to  the 
attainment  of  which  the  whole  life  of  our  Jefferson  was  devoted. 

5.  Passing  to  the  interests  of  the  country,  as  involved  in  her  internal  improve- 
ments, we  find  much  to  occupy  the  attention  of  scientific  inquirers;  and  as  the  reve- 
nues of  the  nation  are  more  or  less  directly  benefited  by  those  improvements,  it  is 
perhaps  but  reasonable  that  the  science  to  design  and  the  skill  to  execute  those  works 
should  be  supplied  by  means  of  a  national  institution.     To  a  limited  extent  our  prac- 
tice has  sanctioned  this  course.     Surveyors  and  engineers  in  the  service  of  the  Gov- 
ernment have,  in  a  few  cases,  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  State  authorities. 
For  reasons  sufficiently  obvious,  however,  no  permanent  reliance  can  be  placed  on 
such  a  diversion  of  military  officers  from  the  peculiar  duties  for  which  the  Govern- 
ment has  caused  them  to  be  educated. 

Incidental  to  the  subject  of  internal  commerce  is  that  of  locomotion,  whether  on 
land  or  on  water,  embracing  every  inquiry  relative  to  steam  navigation,  the  causes 
of  explosions,  and  the  methods  proposed  for  insuring  safety. 

Another  incident  to  this  division  of  the  subject  is  the  introduction  into  our  mining 
and  metallurgic  processes  of  those  improvements  which  may  free  our  country  from  a 
dependence  on  foreign  skill,  foreign  shipping,  foreign  insurance,  commission,  and 
brokerage  for  every  yard  of  railroad  iron  which  is  laid  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  Over  our  very  richest  beds  of  iron  ore  and  coal  and  limestone 
are  laid  bars  of  foreign  iron,  extending  far  away  and  crossing  each  other  in  various 
directions,  while  through  their  gratings  the  country  looks  out  at  an  importunate  cred- 
itor beyond  the  Atlantic.  No  small  portion  of  the  hundred  millions  which  have 
been  borrowed  from  Europe  for  the  purposes  of  internal  improvement  have  been 
applied  to  the  procuring  of  this  article — an  article  which  it  requires  no  very  daring 
spirit  of  prophecy  to  assure  us  will  one  day  be  exported  in  immense  quantities  from 
the  United  States. 

6.  In  reference  to  the  subject  of  architecture  and  public  buildings,  the  acquisition 
of  information  by  experiment  would  often  prove  a  most  economical  investment  of  a 
moderate  portion  of  the  means  devoted  to  such  constructions.     Besides  all  the  inter- 
esting inquiries  relating  to  the  form,  strength,  and  durability  of  materials,  the  per- 
manency of  foundations,  and  the  adhesion  of  mortars  and  cements,  we  have  various 
questions  concerning  the  influence  of  temperature  in  the  expansion  of  building  ma- 
terials and  of  the  proper  forces  to  be  opposed  to  such  expansions,  as  well  as  to  other 


154  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

disturbing  causes  which  might  endanger  the  stability  of  large  structures.  A  compe- 
tent knowledge  of  these  various  subjects  would  enable  our  architects  to  insure  the 
permanency  of  their  works  without  involving  the  expenditure  of  enormous  sums,  either 
to  replace  ill-constructed,  tottering  edifices  or  to  surmount  imaginary  impossibilities. 

Other  subjects  of  inquiry,  incidental  to  the  department  of  art  now  referred  to, 
would  also  merit  attention.  An  understanding  of  the  laws  which  regulate  the  motions 
and  reverberations  of  sound  would  not  be  found  unprofitable  to  those  who  construct 
halls  for  the  sessions  of  legislative  and  judicial  bodies.  Exemplifications  of  this 
statement  are  but  too  well  known  at  the  seat  of  government. 

Many  of  the  truths  which  experimental  research  might  develop  would  be  equally 
applicable  to  every  species  of  architecture,  whether  civil,  military,  or  naval.  Many 
would  have  reference  chiefly  to  buildings  on  land,  while  others  would  pertain  exclu- 
sively to  submarine  constructions,  such  as  the  foundations  of  piers  and  docks,  sea 
walls,  and  breakwaters. 

7.  That  the  country  has  such  an  interest  in  the  inventive  genius  of  its  citizens  as 
would  authorize  the  establishment  of  an  institution  capable  of  testing  the  value,  as 
well  as  of  proving  the  novelty,  of  any  invention  seems  to  have  been  fully  admitted 
by  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States. 

Several  appropriations  have,  indeed,  already  been  made  for  special  purposes  of 
this  nature,  and  others  have  been  recently  asked  for  objects  highly  deserving  of  con- 
sideration, as  connected  with  the  welfare  and  safety  of  the  public.  The  advantages 
to  be  expected  from  this  particular  application  of  scientific  labor  are  not  limited  to 
any  one  great  interest.  In  every  branch  of  the  public  service  inventions  and  improve- 
ments may  be  found  beneficial,  and  in  all  of  them  may  investigations  be  deemed 
necessary  before  an  impartial  decision  can  be  anticipated. 

8.  The  bearing  of  numerous  investigations  on  the  vast  and  complicated  interests  of 
commerce  is,  perhaps,  too  obvious  to  require  even  the  slightest  elucidation.     What- 
ever facilitates  navigation,  such  as  improvements  in  steamboats  or  other  vessels; 
whatever  diminishes  the  risks  attendant  on  its  prosecution,  as  improvements  in 
charts,  beacons,  light-houses,   telegraphs,  and  lifeboats,   and  whatever  transmits 
rapidly  information,  or  funds,  or  persons,  or  merchandise,  is  essentially  interwoven 
with  the  prosperity  of  commerce. 

9.  And  since  all  the  facilities  and  improvements  in  commerce,  all  the  elements  and 
productions  and  moving  forces  of  nature,  all  the  inventions  of  ingenuity,  all  the 
obscure  movements  of  mining  industry,  all  the  skill  of  the  architect,  all  the  science 
of  the  engineer,  and  all  the  productions  of  the  agriculturist  are  directly  or  indirectly 
conducive  to  the  manufacturing  and  mechanical  interests  of  the  country,  there  can 
not  exist  a  doubt  of  the  value  to  those  interests  of  an  institution  for  researches  in 
practical  science. 

It  is  by  no  means  supposed  by  your  memorialist  that  all  the  ramifications  of  each 
of  the  great  interests,  which  have  now  been  shown  to  have  a  stake  in  the  advance- 
ment of  useful  knowledge,  would  come  simultaneously  under  investigation. 
Researches  in  each  would  naturally  follow  in  the  order  of  its  relative  importance 
and  of  the  facilities  for  its  examination.  To  obtain  these  facilities  would  be  a  pri- 
mary step  in  the  operations  of  the  establishment. 

The  foundation  of  an  institution  for  practical  science  is,  in  itself,  no  novel  project 
for  the  enlightened  government  of  a  civilized  nation  to  entertain.  What  an  intelli- 
gent stranger  might,  perhaps,  consider  more  remarkable  in  the  case  is  the  fact  that 
so  long  a  period  has  been  allowed  to  elapse  without  witnessing  an  attempt  to  erect 
in  our  country  such  an  institution.  If  examples  were  required,  we  might  find  them 
in  England,  in  her  Royal  Institution  and  Society  of  Arts;  in  Scotland,  in  the  Ander- 
sonian  Institution,  at  Glasgow;  in  France,  in  her  Polytechnic  School  and  School  of 
Mines;  and  in  Prussia,  in  her  "  Gewerbverein,"  at  Berlin.  To  these  might  be  added 
some  local  establishments  in  our  own  country.  But  even  if  no  precedent  existed,  it 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  155 

would  be  no  valid  argument  against  a  measure  prompted  by  reason,  recommended 
by  utility,  sanctioned  by  our  national  position,  and  demanded  by  so  many  important 
public  interests. 

For  the  accomplishment  of  an  object  so  comprehensive  in  its  design,  a  considerable 
amount  of  means  would  doubtless  be  required;  and  your  memorialist  would  have 
hesitated  tp  offer  at  this  time  his  views  on  a  plan  for  augmenting  the  public  expend- 
itures had  such  been  deemed  a  necessary  consequence.  And  though  firmly  per- 
suaded that,  either  for  the  public  or  for  individuals,  no  fund  is  more  safe  or  productive 
than  that  of  useful  knowledge,  and  that  in  none  other  could  a  more  judicious  invest- 
ment be  made,  yet  it  is  believed  that  even  the  admission  of  these  truths  is  not 
required  in  order  to  obtain  means  applicable  to  the  purposes  now  contemplated. 

A  considerable  fund  has  been  represented  as  likely  to  be  soon  forthcoming,  through 
the  hands  of  an  agent  specially  delegated  to  Europe,  under  provision  of  law  for  that 
service,  to  obtain  a  legacy  left  to  the  United  States  for  the  express  purpose  of  found- 
ing an  institution  for  the  "increased  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  While, 
therefore,  your  memorialist  would  solicit  your  honorable  bodies  to  establish  by  law 
an  institution  for  the  purposes  herein  contemplated,  he  would  also  respectfully  sub- 
mit the  propriety  of  inquiring  whether  such  purposes  be  not  the  most  appropriate 
to  which  the  Smithsonian  legacy  can  be  devoted,  whenever  the  same  shall  have 
been  received  in  the  United  States;  and  should  this  be  determined  in  the  affirmative, 
then  to  apply  said  legacy  to  the  carrying  into  execution  of  said  law  and  to  the  pro- 
motion of  the  several  objects  herein  set  forth. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

WALTER  R.  JOHNSON. 
January  9,  1839— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  JOHN  QUTNCY  ADAMS,  from  the  select  committee 
appointed  on  two  messages  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  in 
relation  to  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  it  was — 

Ordered,  That  the  memorial  of  Charles  Lewis  Fleischmann  be  printed,  and  that 
the  drawings  accompanying  the  same  be  lithographed. 

PATENT  OFFICE,  Washington,  December  8,  1838. 
The  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 

The  memorial  of  Charles  Lewis  Fleischmann,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
respectfully  represents: 

That  your  memorialist  had  the  honor  of  laying  before  Congress,  at  their  last  ses- 
sion (see  document  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Twenty -fifth  Congress,  second 
session,  No.  334),  a  memorial  on  the  subject  of  agriculture,  in  which  he  endeavored 
to  show  the  utility  and  importance  of  establishing  an  agricultural  school  at  the  seat 
of  government;  while  at  the  same  time  he  entertained  doubts  whether  Congress 
were  constitutionally  empowered  to  effect  so  desirable  an  object.  This  object,  how- 
ever, can  now  be  attained  without  involving  any  constitutional  questions,  as  Congress 
has  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  for  ' '  the  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  mankind,"  a  bequest  bestowed  in  terms  so  general  that  it  can  not  fail 
to  embrace  the  object  of  this  memorial,  and  it  is  left  solely  to  the  wisdom  of  Congress 
to  designate  the  particular  branch  of  knowledge  which  they  may  please  to  select  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  intention  of  the  testator,  and  thus  attain  the 
end  of  his  enlightened  philanthropy  and  accomplish  the  object  of  his  munificent 
benefaction. 

As  the  Government  are  annually  adding  vast  tracts  of  valuable  lands  to  the  public 
domain,  Congress  will  doubtless  regard  the  consideration  of  agriculture  as  among  its 
first  duties,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  important  means  of  promoting  the  welfare  and 
prosperity  of  the  country — a  country  blessed  beyond  all  others  by  the  bounty  of 


156  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

nature  and  the  patriotism  of  its  citizens,  and  surpassed  in  the  freedom  of  her 
institutions  only  hy  the  diversity  and  fertility  of  her  soil. 

It  is  a  self-evident  proposition  that  agriculture  is  the  basis  of  civilization  as  well  as 
l>opulation.  A  neglect  of  this  great  truth  has  doomed  the  aborigines  of  this  country 
again  to  the  desert,  and  dwindled  down  their  countless  hosts  to  a  few  feeble  tribes— 
a  few  solitary  and  starving  stragglers  roaming  at  large  like  the  beasts  of  prey  they 
once  pursued  in  the  chase. 

The  Romans,  though  a  warlike  nation,  considered  agriculture  as  one  of  the  chief 
sources  of  their  wealth  and  welfare,  and  regarded  its  systematical  pursuit  as  both 
honorable  and  patriotic.  Cincinnatus  was  twice  called  from  his  plow  to  the  consul- 
ship, and  once  to  the  dictatorship,  returning  each  time  again  to  his  plow. 

The  American  Cincinnatus,  who  has  so  well  earned  the  title  of  "  Father  of  his 
Country,"  resembled  the  Roman  patriot  not  less  in  his  principles  and  pursuits  than 
his  fortunes  and  honors.  Twice  called  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  his  country,  and 
once  to  the  chieftaincy  of  her  armies,  he  returned  again  and  again  to  his  plow. 

The  governments  of  Europe  in  the  eighth  century,  to  save  the  soil  from  deteriora- 
tion and  prevent  emigration,  were  obliged  to  establish  by  law  the  "three-field  sys- 
tem," viz,  fallow,  wheat  or  rye,  and  barley  or  oats,  which  may  still  be  traced  in 
France  and  Germany.  To  this  law  Europe  owes  her  advanced  state  of  civilization. 

As  the  population  became  more  dense  a  higher  degree  of  knowledge  in  agriculture 
was  required,  and  several  efforts  were  made  to  accomplish  it,  among  others  the 
establishing  of  professorships  in  universities  to  teach  agriculture  to  statesmen,  law- 
yers, theologians,  and  physicians.  This  gave  rise  to  the  perfection  of  agriculture  as 
a  science,  but  as  universities  are  not  calculated,  in  many  respects,  to  educate  agri- 
culturists, agricultural  schools  were  established  to  illustrate  theory  by  practice, 
which  had  the  desired  effect. 

This  brief  historical  sketch  shows  the  gradual  rise  of  European  agriculture,  which 
the  science  of  chemistry  and  physiology  is  now  bringing  to  the  greatest  perfection. 

Let  us  now  compare  the  general  system  of  agriculture  of  this  country  with  that  of 
Europe,  and  we  shall  find  that  the  one  adopted  here  is  the  system  of  deterioration 
and  emigration. 

That  the  effect  of  such  a  system  will  and  must  have  a  very  injurious  influence  on 
the  prosperity  of  a  country  is  obvious.  Unfortunately  the  cause  does  not  arise  alone 
from  the  insufficient  knowledge  of  agriculture,  but  also  from  the  passion  for  wealth. 

Wealth  has  always  been  the  object  of  the  ambition  of  individuals  as  well  as  of 
nations,  notwithstanding  the  sound  arguments  of  moralists.  This  passion,  however, 
kept  in  proper  limits,  gives  impulse  to  prosperity;  but  as  soon  as  it  degenerates  into 
wild  speculations  it  is  then  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  liberty,  independence,  and 
prosperity  of  mankind. 

But  when  wealth  is  produced  by  agriculture  it  banishes  idleness  and  the  vices  con- 
nected with  it;  it  renders  the  greatest  portion  of  the  population  strong,  healthy,  and 
industrious;  it  is  the  source  of  domestic  happiness  and  contentment,  and  of  all  the 
other  social  virtues;  it  renders  nations  powerful;  it  attaches  its  citizens  to  their  native 
soil,  and  the  success  of  the  national  affairs  is  their  highest  interest. 

To  direct  the  besetting  passion  for  wealth  properly,  and  to  promote  the  prosperity 
of  every  individual  as  well  as  of  the  whole  nation,  it  is  necessary  to  teach  the  great 
mass  of  the  population  (the  agricultural  class)  how  to  gain  the  greatest  clear  and 
annual  profit,  under  all  existing  circumstances,  from  agriculture;  and  what  will  be 
the  most  efficient  means  of  checking  the  rapidly  increasing  evil  of  exhausting  and 
abandoning  the  soil. 

The  prosperity  of  the  whole  Union  has  not  hitherto,  it  seems,  suffered  by  this 
system  of  unsteadiness;  but  that  is  no  proof  of  the  welfare  of  the  separate  States,  for, 
in  proportion  as  the  far  West  improves  and  prospers,  the  Atlantic  States  are  declin- 
ing; and  it  shows  that  the  welfare  of  a  State  depends  on  the  stability  of  its  cultivators, 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  157 

contented  with  their  portion,  and  manifesting  a  determination  to  identify  themselves 
with  the  land  of  their  fathers  (not  thirsting  after  supposed  fairylands,  cultivated 
without  labor),  a  living  example  of  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  wealthy  sons  of  the 
Keystone  State,  Pennsylvania. 

It  would  be  ridiculous  to  suggest  the  improvement  of  agriculture  in  this  country  by 
laws  among  a  free,  independent,  and  enlightened  people,  who  are  already  aware  of 
the  want  of  instruction  and  are  seeking  for  it.  The  different  State  governments, 
the  agricultural  societies,  and  the  agricultural  journals  have  all  signally  promoted 
the  interests  of  different  branches  of  agriculture.  It  wants  only  the  knowledge  of  the 
means  of  putting  the  improved  parts  of  this  great  and  useful  machine  together,  so 
that  every  part  may  operate  according  to  the  law  of  science  to  produce  the  desired 
effect. 

A  beginning  only  is  wanted,  and  the  science  of  agriculture  will  spread  over  the 
whole  Union,  like  all  useful  improvements.  Congress,  always  acting  wisely  for  the 
welfare  of  their  country,  will  doubtless  apply  a  portion  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy  to 
the  promotion  of  agriculture  by  establishing  an  agricultural  institution,  which  would 
be  an  enduring  monument  in  honor  of  the  testator. 

Your  memorialist,  therefore,  presents  a  plan  of  such  an  institution,  with  designs 
for  the  buildings  and  estimates  for  all  the  requisites. 

Such  an  institution,  being  the  first  in  the  United  States,  would  be  the  nursery  of 
scientific  agriculturists  for  the  whole  Union ;  their  education  should  therefore  be  as 
perfect  as  possible,  to  enable  them  to  qualify  themselves  to  serve  as  directors,  profes- 
sors, and  superintendents  for  similar  establishments. 

This  institution  is  calculated  for  100  pupils;  and  the  number  should  be  increased 
by  degrees,  from  the  profits  of  the  farm. 

The  lectures  should  be  free  and  the  price  of  board  moderate,  as  half  of  the  num- 
ber of  the  pupils  should  be  practically  employed  every  day  on  the  farm. 

For  the  convenience  of  medical  attendance  in  cases  of  sickness,  together  with  the 
facility  for  attendance  at  divine  worship,  this  institution  should  be  located  within  the 
boundary  of  the  city  of  Washington. 

AGRICULTURAL  INSTITUTION. 

The  object  of  such  an  institution  should  be  to  show  how  to  gain  .the  highest  clear 
and  permanent  profit  from  agriculture,  under  any  circumstances. 

That  such  results  are  not  effected  by  the  mere  imitation  of  a  certain  tillage  in  every 
climate,  of  different  soils  and  localities,  is  obvious;  it  needs,  therefore,  rules  and  laws 
founded  on  experience  and  science.  To  design  such  rules  and  laws,  it  requires  scien- 
tific and  practical  knowledge.  Therefore  the  institution  of  an  agricultural  school 
must  be  theoretical  and  practical.  The  theoretical  instruction  has  to  extend  not 
only  to  the  principal  and  secondary  departments,  but  also  to  all  the  auxiliary  sciences 
which  influence  agriculture,  directly  or  indirectly,  viz: 

PRINCIPAL   DEPARTMENT. 

I.  Agronomy,  the  science  which  treats  of  the  different  primitive  earths  and  other 
substances  of  which  the  soil  is  composed,  viz,  silex,  alumen,  lime,  magnesia,  iron, 
vegetable  matter,  etc. 

The  naming  of  the  soils,  from  the  mixture  of  the  primitive  earths,  and  their  value, 
as  resulting  from  this  mixture. 

II.  Agriculture,  the  science  teaching  the  cultivation  of  the  respective  soils  in  such 
manner  as  to  produce  the  most  perfect  crops.     This  is  divided  into  two  parts: 

1.  Chemical  agriculture,  treating  of — 

(a)  Manures  in  general. 

(b)  Vegetable  manures. 

(c)  Mineral  manures. 


158  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

2.  Mechanical  agriculture,  treating  of— 

(a)  Agricultural  implements. 

(b)  Modes  of  plowing. 

(c)  The  cultivation  of  new  land. 

(d)  Fencing. 

(e)  Draining. 
(/)   Irrigation. 

(g)  Culture  of  meadows. 
(h)  Culture  of  pasture  lands. 

III.  Vegetable  productions,  teaching  the  culture  of— 

(a)  Cereal  grasses. 

(b)  Leguminous  field  plants. 

(c)  Plants  cultivated  for  their  roots. 

(d)  Herbage  plants. 

(e)  Grasses. 

(/)  Plants  used  in  arts  and  manufactures;  such  as  flax,  tinctorial  plants, 

oleaginous  plants,  hops,  tobacco,  medicinal  plants,  etc. 
(g)  The  vine. 
(h)  The  mulberry. 
(i)  Fruit  trees. 

IV.  Animals  used  or  reared  by  the  agriculturist— 

(a)  Horses. 

(b)  Mules. 

(c)  Cattle— 

1.  Dairy. 

2.  Fattening. 

(d)  Sheep,  and  particularly  the  knowledge  of  the  different  kinds  of  wool. 

(e)  Breeding  and  rearing  swine. 
(/)   Fowls. 

(g)  Silkworms.   ' 
(h)  Bees. 

V.  Economy,  or  the  manner  of  arranging  and  conducting  a  farm,  treating  of — 

(o,)  Labor  in  general. 

(6)  Labor  with  horses  and  oxen. 

(c)  Labor  performed  by  men. 

(d)  Conducting  a  farm. 

(e)  Bookkeeping. 

(/)  The  arrangement  of  a  farm;  the  nature  and  quantity  of  manure  required 

for  a  certain  system  of  rotation  of  crops. 
(g)  Change  of  system. 
(h)  The  different  systems  of  rotations. 

SECONDARY    DEPARTMENT. 

1.  Veterinary. 

2.  Technological  agriculture,  such  as  the  making  of  sugar  from  beets,  making 
cider,  burning  lime,  etc. 

3.  Culture  of  forest  trees. 

4.  Agricultural  architecture,  and 

5.  Civil  engineering  as  connected  with  agriculture. 

AUXILIARY  SCIENCES. 

1.  Chemistry. 

2.  Natural  philosophy. 

3.  Mineralogy  and  geology. 

4.  Botany  and  physiology  of  plants. 

5.  Zoology. 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,  1837-1839.  159 

6.  Study  of  the  properties  of  the  atmosphere. 

7.  Mathematical  sciences — 

(a)  Arithmetic. 

(6)  Theoretical  and  practical  geometry. 

(c)  Mechanics. 

8.  Drawing  of  machines,  animals,  plants,  and  landscapes. 
To  illustrate  the  sciences  there  should  be — 

1.  An  extensive  farm,  with  a  field  for  experiments,  workshops,  beet-sugar  manu- 
factory, mill,  etc. 

2.  A  botanical  garden. 

3.  A  collection  of  the  best  and  most  approved  implements  or  models  of  them. 

4.  A  library. 

5.  A  collection  of  minerals,  properly  arranged  according  to  their  chemical  charac- 
ters and  with  relation  to  their  different  soils. 

6.  An  apparatus  for  mathematical  and  physical  instruction. 

7.  A  collection  of  skeletons  of  domestic  animals  for  the  study  of  comparative  anat- 
omy and  the  veterinary  art, 

8.  A  collection  of  insects. 

9.  A  collection  of  seeds. 

10.  A  laboratory,  with  apparatus  for  chemical  experiments. 

THE   FARM. 

The  farm  serves  for  the  practical  accomplishment  of  the  theory.  It  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  give  a  practical  illustration  of  all  the  objects  and  manipula- 
tions treated  of  in  the  course  of  the  lectures  and  according  to  the  different  periods 
and  seasons. 

The  husbandry  of  such  an  institution  must  therefore  be  extensive  and  complicated, 
so  as  to  show  all  branches  of  agriculture  in  their  full  extent.  The  operations  which 
are  not  possible  to  be  shown  on  a  large  scale  should  be  exhibited  on  the  experimen- 
tal field.  It  should  contain — 

Six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  for  cultivation,  which  should  be  divided  in  two 
equal  portions  to  show  two  different  systems  of  rotations.  First,  a  system  which 
has  for  its  object  to  gain  as  many  different  products  as  possible  and  to  procure  the 
manure  by  stall  feeding,  a  system  which  is  favorable  where  labor  and  capital  are 
plenty,  land  valuable,  and  a  ready  market  for  the  vegetable  and  animal  products. 

Rotation  for  the  above-mentioned  system,  viz:  1,  sugar  beet,  potatoes,  turnips,  etc., 
with  manure;  2,  barley;  3,  clover;  4,  wheat;  5,  indian  corn,  with  manure;  6,  wheat; 

7,  tares  and  oats;  8,  rye. 

The  second  system,  favorable  when  labor  and  capital  are  scarce,  land  plenty,  and 
the  object  a  grazing  farm.  The  rotation  of  crops  for  this  system  would  be,  viz:  1, 
indian  corn,  with  manure;  2,  barley;  3,  clover;  4,  wheat;  5,  grass;  6,  grass;  7,  grass; 

8,  oats. 

As  rotation  of  crops  depends  upon  the  soil,  climate,  and  many  other  circumstances, 
two  rotations  are  given  here,  for  illustration,  to  enable  us  to  estimate  the  probable 
want  of  cattle,  etc. 

One  hundred  acres  of  meadow,  to  show  how  natural  meadows  can  be  improved  by 
draining,  irrigation,  manuring,  etc. 

Eighty  acres  pasturage,  to  show  the  difference  between  artificial  and  natural  pas- 
ture and  the  manner  of  improving  it. 

A  vineyard'  of  4  acres,  for  the  culture  of  the  indigenous  and  foreign  vine;  the  man- 
ner of  making  wine. 

A  hop  garden  of  4  acres,  to  show  the  culture  of  the  best  kinds;  the  manner  of  tak- 
ing the  crop,  drying,  and  bagging. 

For  experimental  fields,  40  acres,  to  show  the  culture  of  all  plants  useful  in  agricul- 


160  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

ture;  to  try  new  kinds;  and  also  for  experiments  on  manure,  rotation  of  crops,  and 
new  agricultural  implements. 

A  vegetable  garden,  6  acres,  for  the  supply  of  the  institution,  and  to  show  the  dif- 
ferent varieties  of  vegetables  useful  in  husbandry  and  the  best  culture  of  them. 

A  mulberry  plantation  of  6  acres,  which  should  contain  all  the  varieties  of  the 
mulberry,  to  show  the  culture  of  them,  and  would  serve  also  to  supply  the  cocoonery 
with  leaves. 

An  orchard  and  nursery  of  20  acres.  The  greatest  portion  of  this  area  should  be 
destined  for  a  nursery  to  show  the  manner  of  raising  and  improving  fruit  trees.  The 
fruits  of  the  orchard  should  supply  the  establishment  and  show  the  process  of 
making  cider. 

Five  hundred  acres  of  woodland,  to  supply  the  establishment  with  fuel,  and  to  show 
the  culture  of  forest  trees  (a  knowledge  very  much  wanted  in  the  United  States),  the 
manner  of  burning  charcoal,  etc. 

A  lx)tanical  garden  of  3  acres  should  contain  all  indigenous  plants  which  might 
be  probably  useful  and  introduced  in  agriculture;  also,  the  imported  plants  and  seeds 
from  foreign  countries,  by  our  navy  officers,  consuls,  etc. ;  the  medical  plants  for  hus- 
bandry, etc. 

A   BEET-SUGAR  MANUFACTORY. 

The  recent  improvement  in  extracting  sugar  from  the  beet  root  has  so  much  sim- 
plified the  process  that  it  will  undoubtedly  become  a  general  business,  so  that  every 
farmer  will  produce  his  own  sugar,  or  at  least  raise  and  dry  the  beet  for  market. 
The  object  of  this  institution  should  be  to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  so  important  a 
discovery,  and  therefore  it  should  have  a  manufactory  for  extracting  the  sugar  from 
the  root,  raised  for  that  purpose  by  the  institution  and  neighborhood. 


A  large  institution  of  this  description  should  grind  its  own  flour  and  corn  meal; 
consequently  it  becomes  necessary  to  erect  a  mill,  with  two  pairs  of  stones,  which 
will  also  serve  to  show  the  pupils  the  management  and  construction  of  mills. 

WORKSHOPS. 

To  give  the  pupils  a  knowledge  of  the  manner  of  constructing  agricultural  imple- 
ments, as  well  as  to  enable  them  to  estimate  the  costs  of  machines,  buildings,  etc., 
and  to  apply  the  acquired  theoretical  principles  of  mechanics  practically,  there 
should  be  five  workshops,  viz:  Machine  shop,  wagon  maker's  shop,  blacksmith's 
shop,  cooper's  shop,  and  carpenter's  shop. 

Each  of  these  shops  should  be  conducted  by  a  skillful  mechanic,  who  could  attend 
to  the  work  required  by  the  establishment  as  well  as  teach  the  pupils  the  use  of  tools. 

The  pupils  should  learn  how  to  forge,  to  shoe  a  horse,  to  make  a  wheel  or  wagon, 
to  stock  a  plow,  and  to  build  outhouses.  It  is  not  intended  to  make  them  masters  of 
these  trades,  but  to  enable  them  in  case  of  necessity  to  construct  anything  belonging 
to  a  farm. 

STEAM    ENGINE. 

The  mill,  the  apparatus  of  the  sugar-beet  manufactory,  the  straw-cutter,  the 
thrashing  machine,  the  machinery  of  the  workshops,  and  the  pump  which  supplies 
through  a  reservoir  the  whole  establishment  with  water  should  be  put  in  operation 
by  an  engine  of  12  horsepower. 

BUILDINGS. 

The  buildings  for  such  an  object  should  be  substantial,  plain,  and  economical. 
To  this  establishment  would  be  required,  viz:  an  institute  or  main  building.  (See  plan 
Nos.  1  and  2.)  The  annexed  plan  (No.  3)  shows:  (a)  horse  stable,  (b)  ox  stable, 


TWENTY -FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  161 

(c)  calf  stable,  (d)  hospital  stable,  (e)  cowhouse,  (/)  dairy,  root,  and  steaming  house, 
(y)  piggeries  and  poultry  house,  (h)  sheep  shed,  (i)  barn  and  stack  yard,  (k)  gran- 
ary and  cart  shed,  (/)  shed  for  the  gristmill,  straw  cutter,  and  threshing  machine, 
(  m )  workshops,  (ri)  beet-sugar  manufactory,  (o)  engine  with  reservoir  and  pump, 
(p)  bee  house  and  cocoonery. 

LIVE  STOCK. 

Working  cattle. — Should  the  two  given  rotations  of  crops  be  adopted  for  640  acres 
of  land  under  cultivation,  14  horses  and  24  oxen  would  be  required  to  perform  the 
necessary  work. 

For  procuring  the  necessary  manure  for  the  two  systems  already  mentioned,  and 
to  show  the  breeding,  rearing,  and  fattening  of  live  stock,  extensively,  there  should 
be  2  stud  horses  (for  light  and  heavy  breeds),  16  breeding  mares  (exclusive  of  the 
working  horses),  160  neat  cattle,  1,200  sheep,  50  swine. 

The  live  stock  should  consist  of  the  most  choice  foreign  and  native  breeds. 

IMPLEMENTS. 

A  collection  of  the  most  important  and  approved  implements  should  be  at  hand, 
viz:  swing  and  wheel  ploughs,  cultivators,  horse  hoes,  sowing  machine,  harrows, 
rollers,  horse  rakes,  reaping  and  mowing  machine,  carts  and  wagons,  straw  cutter, 
threshing  machine,  corn  sheller,  root  chopper,  harnesses,  &c. 

PERSONS   REQUISITE   TO    MANAGE   THIS    INSTITUTION. 

A  director,  who  should  have  the  entire  control  over  the  whole  establishment. 

A  treasurer  and  two  clerks,  to  keep  the  accounts  and  attend  to  all  the  transactions 
of  the  institution. 

For  the  tuition  of  the  pupils,  there  should  be  five  professors,  and  a  teacher  for  the 
lower  branches,  exclusive  of  the  director,  who  should  lecture  on  the  higher  branches 
of  agriculture. 

The  practical  manipulations  are  illustrated  by — 

A  superintendent  of  the  farm. 

A  superintendent  of  the  stables,  who  also  teaches  riding  and  breaking  horses. 

A  superintendent  of  the  sugar-beet  manufactory. 

A  machinist. 

A  gardener. 

A  shepherd. 

The  domestic  affairs  of  the  institution  should  be  attended  to  by  a  steward. 

The  prosperity  of  such  an  institution  depends  entirely  on  the  director,  who  must 
have  received  a  theoretical  and  practical  education  at  an  agricultural  school,  and  must 
have  enriched  his  knowledge  by  extensive  practice  and  by  traveling.  He  should  be 
acquainted  with  the  principal  living  languages,  to  inform  himself  and  his  pupils  of 
the  progress  of  agriculture  in  other  countries. 

The  professors  should  be  well  versed  in  their  sciences,  and  acquainted  with  agricul- 
ture; as  the  tuition  of  a  science,  with  regard  to  the  practical  applications,  demands 
not  only  an  entire  knowledge  of  the  sciences,  but  also  of  the  object  to  which  it  is 
applied. 

The  superintendents  of  the  different  branches  should  be  practical  men,  and  free 
from  the  prejudice  of  book-farming. 

Every  individual  connected  with  the  establishment  should  possess  the  best  moral 
character. 

CONDITIONS  OF   ADMISSION. 

Every  applicant  for  admission  should  present  a  certificate  of  his  moral  character, 
and  be  examined,  possessing  an  ordinary  English  education,  and  capable  of  compre- 
H.  Doo.  7X-2- — 11 


Hi  2  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

bending  a  impulur  course  <»f  lectures.  Physical  strength  l>eing  requisite  to  perform 
the  work  required  on  the  farm,  they  should  be  at  least  of  the  age  of  14  years. 

The  number  of  pupils  should  not  exceed  100  at  the  commencement  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  should  IK?  divided  into  three  classes. 

The  free,  or  third  claws,  not  exceeding  twenty  in  numtxjr,  should  obligate  themselves 
to  Htay  two  years  and  perform  the  work  of  the  farm,  where  they  should  receive 
Iwanl  and  lodging  free,  every  evening  have  a  lecture  on  the  work  performed  during 
the  day,  and  also  be  exercised  in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  Their  employ- 
ment should  be  so  arranged  that  everyone  may  become  acquainted  with  all  the  dif- 
ferent branches  of  the  institution.  Should  the  pupils  of  this  class  desire  to  enter  a 
higher  class  after  the  first  year,  they  should  prove  their  capacity  by  an  examination; 
and  they  will  then  be  obliged,  like  the  pupils  of  the  second  and  first  classes,  to  pay 
for  l>oard. 

The  second  class,  not  exceeding  sixty  in  number  should  stay  two  years,  to  acquire 
a  theoretical  and  practical  knowledge  of  agriculture  and  all  the  branches  connected 
with  it.  The  pupil  of  this  class  is  obliged  to  attend  to  the  different  work  every 
other  day.  Should  a  pupil  of  this  class  desire  to  enter  the  first  class,  he  should  be 
examined  as  to  his  capacity. 

The  first  class,  intended  for  twenty  pupils.  In  this  class  such  pupils  only  should 
l>e  admitted  as  have  been  two  years  in  the  second  class,  and  desire  to  perfect  them- 
selves as  professors  for  similar  establishments.  The  pupils  of  this  class  should  have 
the  sui>erintendency  of  other  pupils. 

ORDER   OF   THE    DAY. 

The  signal  for  the  hour  of  rising  and  retiring,  as  well  as  for  the  different  meals,  and 
the  commencement  and  termination  of  the  work,  should  be  given  by  a  bell. 

The  hour  for  rising  in  spring  and  summer  should  be  half  past  4  o'clock;  in  fall 
and  winter,  half  past  5  o'clock. 

One-quarter  of  an  hour  after  rising,  the  bell  should  ring  for  breakfast;  after  which 
the  pupils  proceed  to  their  different  occupations  in  the  stables,  field,  barn,  garden, 
work-shops,  etc.,  according  to  directions  given  the  evening  before. 

At  10  o'clock  a.  m.  the  pupils  should  be  summoned  by  the  bell  from  their  work, 
to  their  rooms,  when  they  prepare  themselves  for  dinner,  and  having  a  recess  until 
1  o'clock  p.  m.,  at  which  hour  the  pupils  return  to  their  work,  during  the  spring, 
fall,  and  winter  seasons;  and  at  3  o'clock  p.  m.  during  the  summer  season,  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  the  day. 

The  bell  should  ring  for  supper  during  the  spring,  summer,  and  fall  at  6  o'clock; 
during  the  winter,  at  5  o'clock,  which  would  give  recess  till  7  o'clock,  when  supper 
should  be  ready. 

After  supper,  at  about  8  o'clock,  all  the  pupils  should  proceed  to  the  museum, 
where  the  report  of  the  day's  work  is  read  and  illustrated;  and  at  the  same  time  the 
order  for  the  next  day's  work  is  communicated  to  the  pupils  who  have  remained  at 
home.  They  remain  till  9  o'clock  employed  in  writing  their  journals,  reading,  etc., 
at  which  hour  the  Ixjll  should  ring  for  bed. 

Half  of  the  number  of  the  pupils  should  each  day  be  exempt  from  outdoor  work, 
and  remain  at  home  engaged  in  theoretical  studies.  They  assemble,  after  having 
taken  breakfast  with  the  rest  of  the  pupils,  at  the  museum,  where  they  study  their 
lessons.  At  7  o'clock  a.  in.  in  fall  and  winter  and  at  6  o'clock  a.  m.  in  summer  and 
spring  they  should  proceed  to  the  riding  school  and  horse  stable,  where  they  receive 
lectures  on  horsemanship,  and  breeding  horses,  etc. 

After  this,  they  should  return  to  the  lecture  rooms,  where  lectures  on  the  differ- 
ent sciences  are  given  until  11  o'clock. 

At  half  past  11  o'clock  a.  m.  they  should  take  dinner  with  the  rest  of  the  pupils, 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  163 

and   have  recess  until  1  o'clock,  when  the  regular  lectures  recommence  till  6  o'clock 
p.  m. 

Supper  at  7  o'clock,  as  already  mentioned. 

On  Sundays  the  pupils  will  l>e  accompanied  to  church  by  their  professors. 

Estimate  of  cost. 

1 ,360  acres  of  land,  fenced  in,  at  $30  per  acre $40, 800 

The  buildings,  inclusive  of  the  furniture  of  the  institute 60, 000 

Livestock 20,000 

Implements,  harness,  a  large  balance  scale,  etc 5, 000 

Apparatus  of  the  beet-sugar  manufactory 4, 000 

Grist  mill 1 , 500 

Pump,  water  reservoir,  and  hydrants 800 

Steam  engine  of  12  horsepower 1, 500 

Tools,  lathes  for  workshops 600 

Library 1,500 

Physical  and  chemical  apparatus,  collection  of  minerals,  bisects,  skeletons,  etc  3, 000 

Floating  capital 20, 000 


Making 158,  700 

The  expense  for  a  steward,  and  servants  required  for  the  service  of  the  pupils  and 
professors,  should  be  paid  from  the  income  of  board. 

The  treasurer  and  clerks,  and  the  superintendents  of  the  different  branches  of  the 
farm,  should  be  paid  from  the  revenue  of  the  farm,  of  the  manufactory,  etc.,  and  the 
surplus  should  be  applied  for  the  accommodation  of  more  pupils,  for  the  increase  of 
the  library,  apparatus,  etc. 

The  salary  of  the  director  should  be,  $2,000;  the  salary  of  five  professors,  $5,000; 
and  that  of  a  teacher,  $600,  making $7,600,  exclusive  of  freeboard  and  lodging;  which, 
together  with  the  salaries,  would  require  a  capital  of  $140,000  at  6  per  cent. 

The  total  sum  required  for  this  institution  would  amount  to  $298,700. 

CHAKLES  LEWIS  FLEISCHMANN, 
Graduate  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  School  of  Bavaria, 

and  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
January  10,  1839— Senate. 

Mr.  ASHEE  ROBBINS  offered  concurrent  resolution  (S.  7): 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  concurring),  That  a  joint  committee  be  appointed, 
consisting  of  seven  members  of  the  Senate  and  such  a  number  of  said  House  as  they 
shall  appoint,  to  consider  the  expediency  of  providing  an  institution  of  learning,  to 
be  established  in  the  city  of  Washington,  for  the  application  of  the  legacy  bequeathed 
by  Mr.  James  Smithson,  of  London,  to  the  United  States  in  trust  for  that  purpose; 
also  to  consider  the  expediency  of  a  charter  for  such  an  institution,  together  with 
the  powers  and  privileges  which  in  their  opinion  the  said  ckarter  ought  to  confer; 
also  to  consider  the  expediency  of  ways  and  means  to  be  provided  by  Congress, 
other  than  said  legacy,  but  in  addition  thereto,  and  in  aid  of  said  benevolent  inten- 
tion; and  to  report  by  bill  or  bills,  or  otherwise. 

Mr.  ROBBINS  remarked: 

"The  motive  to  this  noble  legacy  was,  as  the  will  expresses  it,  'The 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.'  Noble,  indeed,  it 
was  in  every  point  of  view;  noble  as  coming  from  a  stranger  with 
whom  this  country  had  no  personal  relations;  speaking  at  once  his  high 
sense  of  our  merit  while  it  proclaimed  his  own;  noble  in  amount,  and 


164  CONGRESSIONAL   PKOCEEDING8. 

may  be  made  effective  to  its  beneficent  purpose;  but,  above  all,  noble 
for  its  destination — 'the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,'  leaving  it  to  the  wisdom  of  Congress  to  devise  and  provide  the 
institution  that  should  be  most  effective  to  this  end.  It  ought  to  be  an 
institution  whose  effects  upon  the  country  will  make  it  a  living  monu- 
ment to  the  honor  of  the  illustrious  donor  in  all  time  to  come.  Such 
an  institution,  I  conceive,  may  be  devised,  of  which,  however,  at  pres- 
ent there  is  no  model  either  in  this  country  or  in  Europe,  giving  such 
a  course  of  education  and  discipline  as  would  give  to  the  faculties  of 
the  human  mind  an  improvement  and  power  far  beyond  what  they 
obtain  by  the  ordinary  systems  of  education,  and  far  beyond  what  they 
afterwards  attain  in  any  of  the  professional  pursuits.  Such  an  insti- 
tution, as  to  its  principle,  suggested  itself  to  the  sagacious  and  far-see- 
ing mind  of  Bacon  as  one  of  the  greatest  importance.  But  while  his 
other  suggestions  have  been  followed  out  with  such  wonderful  success 
in  extending  the  boundaries  of  physical  science  this  has  been  over- 
looked and  neglected.  One  reason  is  that  the  other  suggestions  were 
more  elaborately  explained  by  him;  there,  too,  he  not  only  pointed  out 
the  path,  but  he  led  the  way  in  it  himself.  Besides,  those  other  sug- 
gestions could  be  carried  out  by  individual  exertion  and  enterprise, 
independently  of  the  existing  establishments  of  learning,  or  they  could 
be  grafted  on  and  made  a  part  of  those  establishments.  But  this 
required  an  original  plan  of  education  and  a  new  foundation  for  its 
execution,  where  the  young  mind  would  be  trained  by  a  course  of 
education  and  discipline  that  would  unfold  and  perfect  all  his  faculties; 
where  genius  would  plume  his  young  wings  and  prepare  himself  to 
take  the  noblest  flights.  The  idea,  however,  was  not  entirely  original 
with  Bacon,  for  it  would  be  in  effect  but  the  revival  of  that  system  of 
education  and  discipline  which  produced  such  wonderful  improvement 
and  power  of  the  human  mind  in  Greece  and  Rome,  and  especially  in 
Greece.  Its  effects  here,  I  am  persuaded,  would  be  many  and  glorious. 
Of  these  I  shall  now  indicate  only  one,  but  that  one  whose  importance 
all  must  admit.  In  its  progress  and  ultimately  it  would  give  to  our 
country,  I  have  no  doubt,  a  national  literature  of  a  high  and  immortal 
character.  However  mortifying  to  our  national  pride  it  is  to  say  it,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  we  have  not  a  national  literature  of  that  charac- 
ter; nor  is  it  possible  we  ever  should  have,  as  it  appears  to  me,  on  our 
present  systems  of  education.  Not  that  our  literature,  such  as  it  is,  is 
inferior  to  that  of  other  nations  produced  at  the  present  day.  No; 
mediocrity  is  the  character  of  all  literary  works  of  the  present  day,  go 
where  you  will.  It  is  so  in  England,  it  is  so  in  France,  the  two  most 
literary  nations  of  Europe.  It  is  true  learned  men  and  great  scholars 
are  everywhere  to  be  found;  indeed,  they  may  be  said  to  abound  more 
than  ever;  the  whole  world,  too,  has  become  a  reading  world;  the 
growth  of  the  press  is  prodigious;  but  it  is  all  ephemeral  and  evanes- 


TWENTY -FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  165 

cent — all  destined  to  the  grave  of  oblivion.  Nor  is  it  that  our  coun- 
trymen have  not  the  gift  of  genius  for  literary  works  of  that  high  and 
immortal  character.  Probably  no  people  were  ever  blessed  with  it  in 
a  greater  degree — of  which  everywhere  we  see  the  indications  and  the 
evidence;  but  what  signifies  genius  for  an  art  without  discipline,  without 
knowledge  of  its  principles  and  skill  in  that  art  ? 

Vis  consili  expers,  mole  ruit  sua; 

Vim  temperatam,  Dii  quoque  provebunt, 

In  majus. 

"Literature  is  now  everywhere  mediocre — because  the  arts  of  litera- 
ture are  nowhere  cultivated,  but  everywhere  neglected — and  appar- 
ently despised.  I  recollect  to  have  seen  in  a  late  and  leading  periodical 
of  Great  Britain  an  article  in  which  the  writer  congratulates  the  age 
upon  having  thrown  off  the  shackles  of  composition,  and  says  (in  a 
tone  of  triumph)  that  no  one  now  thinks  of  writing  like  Junius  (as  if 
it  was  an  easy  matter,  but  beneath  him,  to  write  like  Junius),  except, 
he  adds,  some  junior  sophister  in  the  country  corresponding  with  the 
editor  of  some  village  newspaper.  The  whole  tribe  of  present  writers 
seem  by  their  silence  to  receive  this  description  as  eulogy,  as  a 
tribute  of  praise  properly  paid  to  their  merit,  while  in  truth  it  is  the 
characteristic  of  a  barbarous  age,  or  of  one  declining  to  barbarism;  it 
is  the  very  description  applied  to  mark  the  decline  and  last  glimmer- 
ing of  letters  in  Greece' and  Rome. 

"The  object  of  education  is  twofold — knowledge  and  ability;  both 
are  important,  but  ability  by  far  the  more  so.  Knowledge  is  so  far 
important  as  it  is  subsidiary  to  the  acquiring  of  ability,  and  no  fur- 
ther, except  as  a  source  of  mental  pleasure  to  the  individual.  It  is 
ability  that  makes  itself  to  be  felt  by  society ;  it  is  ability  that  wields 
the  scepter  over  the  human  heart  and  the  human  intellect.  Now,  it  is 
a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  knowledge  imparts  ability  of  course. 
It  does,  indeed,  impart  ability  of  a  certain  kind;  for  by  exercising  the 
attention  and  the  memory  it  improves  the  capacity  for  acquiring; 
but  the  capacity  to  acquire  is  not  ability  to  originate  and  produce. 
No:  ability  can  only  be  given  by  the  appropriate  studies,  accompanied 
with  the  appropriate  exercises,  directed  by  a  certain  rule,  and  conducted 
infallibly  to  a  certain  result. 

"In  all  the  celebrated  schools  of  Athens  this  was  the  plan  of  educa- 
tion; and  there  the  ingenious  youth,  blessed  with  faculties  of  promise, 
never  failed  to  attain  the  eminence  aspired  to,  unless  his  perseverance 
failed.  Hence  the  mighty  effects  of  those  schools;  hence  that  immense 
tide  of  great  men  whi(*h  they  poured  forth  in  all  the  departments  of 
science  and  letters,  and  especially  of  letters;  and  hence,  too,  the 
astonishing  perfection  of  their  works.  A  celebrated  writer,  filled  with 
astonishment  at  the  splendor  as  well  as  the  number  of  the  works 
produced  by  the  scholars  of  these  schools,  ascribes  the  event  to  the 


166  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

hand  of  a  wonder-working  Providence,  interposed  in  honor  of  human 
nature,  to  show  to  what  perfection  the  species  might  ascend.  Hut 
there  was  nothing  of  miracle  in  it;  the  means  were  adequate  to  the  end. 
It  is  no  wonder  at  all  that  such  schools  gave  to  Athens  her  Thucydides 
in  history,  her  Plato  in  ethics,  her  Sophocles  to  her  drama,  and  her 
Demosthenes  to  her  forum  and  her  popular  assemblies;  and  gave  to 
her  besides  that  host  of  rivals  to  these,  and  almost  their  equals.  It 
was  the  natural  and  necessary  effect  of  such  a  system  of  education; 
and  especially  with  a  people  who  held,  as  the  Athenians  did,  all  other 
human  considerations  as  cheap  in  comparison  with  the  glory  of  letters 
and  the  arts. 

"It  is  true  this  their  high  and  brilliant  career  of  literary  glory  was 
but  of  short  duration;  for  soon  as  it  had  attained  its  meridian  blaze  it 
was  suddenly  arrested;  for  the  tyrant  came  and  laid  the  proud  freedom 
of  Athens  in  the  dust,  and  the  Athenians  were  a  people  with  whom  the 
love  of  glory  could  not  survive  the  loss  of  freedom.  For  freedom  was 
the  breast  at  which  that  love  was  fed;  freedom  was  the  element  in 
which  it  lived  and  had  its  being;  freedom  gave  to  it  the  fields  where 
its  most  splendid  triumphs  were  achieved.  The  genius  of  Athens  now 
drooped;  fell  from  its  lofty  flights  down  to  tame  mediocrity,  to 
ephemeral  works  born  but  to  languish  and  to  die;  and  so  remained 
during  the  long  rule  of  that  ruthless  despotism,  the  Macedonian,  and 
until  the  Roman  came  to  put  it  down,  and  to  merge  Greece  in  the 
Roman  empire.  Athens  now  was  partially  restored  again  to  freedom. 
Her  school^,  which  had  been  closed,  or  which  had  existed  only  in  form, 
revived  with  something  of  their  former  effect.  They  again  gave  forth 
some  works  worthy  of  their  former  fame,  though  of  less  transcendent 
merit;  and  they  now  gave  to  Rome  the  Roman  eloquence  and  literature. 

Graecia  capta  serum  Victorem  cepit,  et  artes 
Intulit  agresti  satio: 

and,  if  we  are  wise  to  profit  by  their  example,  may  yet  give  to  us  an 
equal  eloquence  and  literature. 

"  I  mention  these  things  to  show  what  encouragement  we  have  to 
this  enterprise — what  well-grounded  hope  of  success.  We  have  only 
to  tread  the  path  that  led  the  Athenian  to  his  glory,  and  to  open  that 
path  to  the  youth  of  our  country.  All  the  animating  influences  of 
freedom  exist  here  in  still  greater  force  than  they  existed  there;  for 
while  it  is  not  less  absolute  here,  it  is  better  regulated — better  com- 
bined with  order  and  security.  Neither  is  the  gift  of  genius  wanting 
here;  the  gleams  of  this  precious  ore  are  seen  to  break  out  here  and 
there  all  over  the  surface  of  our  society;  the  animus  acer  et  siMlmis  is 
daily  displayed  by  our  countrymen  in  all  the  forms  of  daring  and 
enterprise;  the  eagle,  their  emblem,  is  not  more  daring  in  his  flights. 
And  if  the  love  of  fame,  which  was  the  ruling  passion  of  the  Greek,  is 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  167 

not  now  so  strong  with  us,  it  is  because  the  want  of  the  means,  the 
want  of  plain  and  sure  directions  for  its  pursuits,  begets  a  despair  of 
its  attainment.  The  Greek  had  these  means,  had  these  plain  and  sure 
directions,  and  it  was  the  certainty  of  success  by  perseverance  and  by 
their  guide  that  kindled  and  sustained  his  passion  and  made  it  his 
ruling  passion.  This  passion  is  now  burning  in  the  young  bosoms  of 
thousands  of  our  youth;  but  it  is,  as  I  have  said,  vis  consili  eatpers,  and 
struggles  in  vain  because  it  struggles  blindlj'  for  the  fame  it  pants 
after.  Let  this  Athenian  mode  of  education  be  adopted  in  this 
instance;  let  it  produce  but  a  few  examples  of  eminent  success  (as  I 
have  no  doubt  it  speedily  would),  and  thousands  would  rush  to  the 
path  that  has  led  to  that  success;  and  members  now  of  this  body  are 
yet  young  enough  to  live  to  see  a  new  era  arising  in  our  land — another 
golden  age  of  literature  no  less  splendid  than  any  that  had  gone 
before  it,  not  excepting  even  the  Athenian. 

"I  know  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  Athenians  had  something 
peculiar  in  their  genius  which  gave  to  them  their  unparalleled  success. 
But  we  have  seen  that  when,  with  the  loss  of  freedom,  they  lost  their 
literary  glory,  they  fell  back  to  the  ordinary  level  of  mankind,  and 
were  not  at  all  distinguished  for  literary  merit  from  the  mass  of 
nations.  So  it  was  not  nature,  but  the  means  adopted  to  assist  and 
improve  nature,  that  gave  to  them  their  preeminence,  and  their 
success  was  but  in  exact  proportion  to  the  perfection  and  use  of  those 
means. 

"I  could  wish,  if  all  were  agreed  in  it,  that  this  institution  should 
make  one  of  a  number  of  colleges  to  constitute  a  university  to  be  estab- 
lished here,  and  to  be  endowed  in  a  manner  worthy  of  this  great  nation 
and  their  immense  resources.  This  object,  recommended  by  Washing- 
ton in  one  of  his  early  communications  to  Congress,  has  not,  as  it 
appears  to  me,  received  the  attention  it  merits.  For  such  an  establish- 
ment, formed  and  conducted  as  it  might  be,  would  be  attended  with 
great  and  glorious  results  to  this  country,  not  only  by  its  direct  oper- 
ation in  elevating  the  standard  of  education,  but  by  forming  a  central 
point,  a  local  head  to  all  the  learning  of  the  country,  such  as  the  most 
learned  nations  of  Europe  have,  and  from  which  they  derive  the  great- 
est advantages.  But  as  opinions  are  divided  upon  this  subject — not,  I 
should  hope,  as  to  the  great  desirableness  of  such  an  establishment, 
but  as  to  the  constitutional  competency  of  Congress  to  undertake  it — 
I  will  not  embarrass  my  present  object  by  involving  it  with  that  sub- 
ject. This,  as  an  independent  institution,  may  hereafter  be  made  a 
part  of  such  a  university,  should  one  be  established;  but  it  is  now  to  be 
looked  at  only  as  an  independent  institution.  Still  I  shotdd  hope  that 
the  liberality  of  Congress  would  so  far  concur  with  the  generosity  of 
this  foreign  benefactor  as  to  give  full  effect  to  his  beneficent  purpose; 
and  would  not  only  give  the  grounds  convenient  for  the  accominoda- 


168  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

tion  and  location  of  the  buildings,  but  would  also  make  an  appropria- 
tion of  money  therefor  sufficient  to  cover  the  cost  of  their  erection; 
leaving  the  whole  amount  of  the  legacy  as  a  fund,  the  proceeds  of 
which  to  be  applied  to  the  accumulation  of  books  and  apparatus,  and 
to  the  support  of  the  instruction  and  government  of  the  institution; 
otherwise  the  whole  thing,  I  fear,  will  prove  a  failure  by  the  expense 
of  the  outfits;  at  least  when  compared  to  the  results  which  it  might  be 
made  to  produce.  For,  though  the  salaries  of  instruction  should  not 
be  overlarge,  yet  they  should  be  so  liberal  as  to  command  the  services 
of  the  ablest  instructors  in  every  department  embraced  by  the  plan  of 
education.  This  is  not  the  occasion  for  a  detail  in  full  of  the  plan  of 
education  which  I  should  wish  to  see  adopted;  I  will,  however,  beg 
leave  to  give  its  outline,  premising  that  my  object  would  be  to  give 
both  learning  and  ability,  but  ability  as  the  primary  object.  Ability, 
as  I  have  stated,  can  only  be  given,  as  I  am  fully  persuaded,  by  appro- 
priate exercises  directed  by  a  certain  rule;  that  is,  by  the  principles  of 
the  art,  whatever  that  art  may  be.  So  that  exercises  would  be  the 
Alpha  and  Omega  of  my  system.  The  studies  should  be  combined  of 
science  and  literature  with  its  appropriate  arts.  As  to  science,  they 
should  be  restricted  to  science  properly  so  called — to  pure  original 
science — with  some  of  the  practical  branches  thereof  not  necessary  now 
to  be  indicated,  excluding  professory  learning  altogether.  As  to  lit- 
erature, the  studies  should  be  given  to  select  models  of  a  perfect  liter- 
ature, and  to  all  those  arts  by  which  that  perfect  literature  has  been 
produced  and  may  be  reproduced,  accompanied  by  all  those  exercises, 
regularly  and  ardently  pursued,  by  which  power  and  skill  is  given  in 
those  arts.  The  preliminary  studies  to  qualify  for  admission  should 
also  be  prescribed.  I  would  have  a  model  school  for  this  preparation 
annexed  to  this  institution  and  made  a  part  of  the  establishment. 

"Such  an  institution,  conducted  by  great  masters,  as  I  should  hope 
the  instructors  to  be — and  without  such,  indeed,  nothing  great  in  educa- 
tion can  be  accomplished,  whatever  the  system  may  be,  but,  conducted 
by  great  masters,  would  make  the  illustrious  stranger,  the  founder  of 
the  institution,  as  I  think,  one  of  the  greatest  of  benefactors  to  our 
country  and  to  mankind,  and  to  be  worshipped  almost,  here  at  least, 
as  the  patron  saint  of  education." 

Mr.  WILLIAM  C.  PRESTON  rose  and  said: 

"Unquestionably  the  subject  to  which  my  venerable  friend,  the 
honorable  Senator  from  Rhode  Island,  has  called  the  attention  of  the 
Senate  is  one  of  great  importance,  demanding  the  grave  consideration 
of  Congress.  As  it  is  in  the  order  of  Providence  that  as  the  mind  is 
enlarged  our  moral  nature  is  also  exalted,  there  can  be  no  object  more 
beneficent  or  dignified  than  that  which  the  acceptance  of  this  legacy 
presents  to  us.  And  surely,  Mr.  President,  the  establishment  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institute  could  not  commence  under  more  favorable 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGBESS,   1837-1839.  169 

auspices  than  to  have  attracted  the  care  of  the  honorable  Senator,  who 
in  every  way  is  so  eminently  qualified  to  take  charge  of  whatever  con- 
cerns the  interest  of  learning  or  of  charity.  No  one  has  more  expe- 
rience in  his  own  heart,  or  more  exemplified  in  his  own  character  the 
benign  influences  of  education,  than  the  honorable  gentleman;  and  no 
one,  therefore,  in  this  body  was  so  fit  to  have  submitted  the  resolution 
before  you,  or  to  cast  the  foundations  of  an  institution  whose  duration, 
we  may  hope,  will  bear  a  proportion  to  its  enlarged  objects.  1  am  sure 
I  but  speak  the  sentiments  of  all  the  Senators  when  I  offer  him  my 
earnest  thanks  for  the  lead  he  takes  in  this  matter.  Nor  can  I  forbear 
also  to  thank  him  for  introducing  those  elegant  and  elevated  topics 
which  carry  us  fora  moment  into  regions  of  calm  and  serene  air,  above 
the  smoke  and  din  of  our  accustomed  and  more  strenuous  efforts  on 
this  floor.  It  is  pleasant  to  repose  upon  the  green  spot  he  has  pre- 
sented to  us. 

"I  rejoice  that  this  subject  demands  our  attention  at  this  session. 
After  a  long  term  of  useful  and  honorable  public  service,  my  honorable 
friend  is  now  about  to  terminate  his  cooperation  with  us  on  this  floor. 
It  is  his  last  session.  It  is  a  fortunate,  as  it  is  a  most  just  and  fit  termina- 
tion of  his  official  productions,  that  he  at  once  finishes  and  perfects 
them  by  inscribing  his  name  where  it  will  be  most  appropriately 
placed — upon  an  institution  for  the  promotion  of  knowledge." 
January  11,  1839— Senate. 

Mr.  ASHER  ROBBINS'S  resolution  was  adopted,  and  Mr.  A.  Robbins, 
Mr.  W.  C.  Preston,  Mr.  W.  C.  Rives,  Mr.  James  Buchanan,  Mr.  T.  H. 
Benton,  Mr.  S.  L.  Southard,  and  Mr..  R.  H.  Bayard  were  appointed 
as  committee. 

January  12,  1839— House. 

The  concurrent  resolution  from  the  Senate  (S.  7)  "concerning  the 
legacy  bequeathed  by  Mr.  James  bmithson,  of  London,  to  the  United 
States,  in  trust,  for  an  institution  of  learning,  to  be  established  in  the 
city  of  Washington,"  was  concurred  in  by  the  House. 

Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  Mr.  F.  O.  J.  Smith,  Mr.  Charles  Ogle, 
Mr.  Charles  Shepard,  Mr.  Orrin  Holt,  Mr.  Waddy  Thompson,  Mr. 
W.  H.  Hunter  of  Ohio,  Mr.  John  P.  Kennedy,  and  Mr.  James  Gar- 
land of  Virginia,  were  appointed  said  committee. 
January  14,  1839— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  GEORGE  M.  KEIM — 

Resolved  (the  Senate  concurring  therein),  That  the  joint  committee  on  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest  he  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  propriety  of  establishing  a  professor- 
ship of  the  German  language  as  a  part  of  the  literary  instruction  in  the  intended 
Smithsonian  Institute. 

January  16,  1839— Senate. 

The  Keim  resolution  of  the  House,  of  January  14,  was  laid  on  the 
table. 


170  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

January  26,  1839— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  from  the  joint  committee  on  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest,  reported  the  following  resolutions,  viz: 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  —     —  dollars,  being  the  amount  deposited  in  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States,  proceeding  from  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson  to  the 
United  States  of  America  for  the  purpose  of  establishing,  at  the  city  of  Washington, 
an  institution  to  bear  his  name,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,  together  with  what  additional  sum  or  sums  may  hereafter  accrue  from  the  same 
bequest  and  so  much  of  the  interest  as  has  become  or  may  become  due  on  the  first- 
named  principal  sum,  until  the  — —  day  of  —  — ,  ought  to  be  constituted  a  perma- 
nent fund,  to  be  invested  in  a  corporate  body  of  trustees,  to  remain  under  the  pledge 
of  faith  of  the  United  States,  undiminished  and  unimpaired. 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  said  fund  ought  to  be  so  invested  that  the  faith  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  pledged  for  its  preservation  unimpaired,  and  for  its  yielding  an  inter- 
est or  income,  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent  a  year,  to  be  appropriated,  from  time  to 
time,  by  Congress,  to  the  declared  purpose  of  the  founder;  and  that  all  appropriations 
so  made  shall  be  exclusively  from  the  interest  or  income  of  the  fund,  and  not  from 
any  part  of  the  principal  thereof. 

3.  Resolved,  That  the  first  appropriations  from  the  interest  or  income  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  ought  to  be  for  the  erection  and  establishment,  at  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, of  an  astronomical  observatory,  provided  with  the  best  and  most  approved 
instruments  and  books  for  the  continual  observation,  calculation,  and  recording  of 
the  remarkable  phenomena  of  the  heavens,  for  the  periodical  publication  of  the 
observations  thus  made,  and  of  a  nautical  almanac  for  the  use  of  the  mariners  of 
the  United  States  and  of  all  other  navigating  nations. 

The  resolutions  were  laid  on  the  table. 

Mr.  ADAMS,  from  the  same  committee,  reported  the  following 
resolution;  which  was  read  and  agreed  to  by  the  House,  viz: 

Resolved  (the  Senate  concurring  herein) ,  That  the  joint  committee  of  both  Houses  on 
the  bequest  of  James  Smithson  be  authorized  to  employ  a  clerk,  and  to  cause  to  be 
printed  such  papers  as  they  may  deem  necessary. 

Ordered,  That  the  clerk  request  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate  in  the  said  resolution. 

January  28,  1839— Senate. 

The  Senate  concurred  in  the  House  resolution  of  January  26. 
February  16,  1839— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Smithsonian 
Bequest,  reported  a  bill  (H.  1160)  to  provide  for  the  disposal  and 
management  of  the  sum  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson  to  the  United 
States  for  the  establishment  of  an  institution  for  the  increase  and  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge  among  men;  read,  and  committed  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole. 

Mr.  ADAMS,  from  the  same  committee,  reported  another  bill  (H. 
1161)  to  provide  for  the  disposal  and  management  of  the  sum  be- 
queathed by  James  Smithson  to  the  United  States  for  the  establish- 
ment of  an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men;  read,  and  committed  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

[These  bills  appear  in  the  Senate  proceedings  of  February  18,  1839, 
as  S.  292  and  S.  293.  J 


TWENTY -FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  171 

February  18,  1839— Senate. 

Mr.  ASHER  ROBBINS,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Smithsonian 
Bequest,  submitted  resolutions: 

1.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  United  States,  they  having  accepted  the 
trust  under  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson,  of  London,  to  execute  that  trust  bona  fide, 
according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  testator. 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  trust  being  to  found  an  institution  in  the  city  of  Washington 
for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  the  kind  of  institution  which 
will  have  the  effect  intended  and  described,  in  the  most  eminent  degree,  will  be  the 
kind  of  institution  which  ought,  in  good  faith,  to  be  adopted,  as  being  most  in 
accordance  with  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  testator. 

3.  Resolved,  That  all  experience  having  shown  scientific  and  literary  institutions  to 
be  by  far  the  most  effectual  means  to  the  end  of  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge 
among  men,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  should  be  a  scientific  and  literary  institu- 
tion, formed  upon  a  model  the  best  calculated  to  make  those  means  the  most  effec- 
tual to  that  end. 

4.  Resolved,  That  to  apply  said  trust  fund  to  the  erection  and  support  of  an  observ- 
atory would  not  be  to  fulfill  bona  fide  the  intention  of  the  testator,  nor  would  it  com- 
port with  the  dignity  of  the  United  States  to  owe  such  an  establishment  to  foreign 
eleemosynary  means. 

Mr.  ROBBINS,  from  the  committee  appointed  on  the  part  of  the 
Senate  on  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  also  reported  S.  292  and  S.  293  bills: 

[S.  292.] 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  all  sum  or  sums  of  money  heretofore  received,  or  which 
shall  hereafter  be  received,  under  and  in  pursuance  of  the  last  will  and  testament  of 
the  late  James  Smithson,  deceased,  of  London,  and  all  fund  or  funds,  stock  or  stocks, 
or  evidence  or  evidences  of  public  debt  whatsoever,  in  which  said  sum  or  sums  of 
money  have  been,  or  shall  hereafter  be,  invested,  shall  be,  and  are  hereby,  consti- 
tuted and  declared  to  be  a  fund  to  be  named  or  styled  "the  Smithsonian  fund,"  and 
shall  be  under  the  management  and  control  of  nine  trustees,  to  be  styled  "the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,"  subject,  however,  to  such  rules,  regulations, 
and  restrictions  as  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  may  or  shall,  from  time  to  time, 
make,  ordain,  or  establish;  and  said  trustees  shall  constitute  a  portion  of  such  corpo- 
ration as  shall  hereafter  be  created  by  Congress  for  the  government  of  an  institution 
for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  trustees  shall  hold  their  offices  for 
the  term  of  one  year,  and  until  their  successors  be  appointed,  and  shall  be  appointed 

annually  on  or  before  the day  of ,  in  the  following  manner,  that  is  to  say: 

three  of  the  said  trustees  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Senate  and  three  by  the  House  of 
Representatives,  in  such  manner  as  the  said  Houses  shall  respectively  determine, 
and  the  remaining  three  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States; 
and  the  trustees  so  appointed,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  meet  together,  in  the  city 

<  if  Washington,  on  the day  of next  succeeding  their  appointment,  and 

shall  elect  one  of  their  own  body  as  president  of  said  board;  they  shall  have  author- 
ity to  appoint  a  clerk  and  printer  and  fix  their  respective  compensations,  and  make 
and  establish  such  rules  and  regulations  for  their  own  government  as  they  may  deem 
necessary  or  proper;  hold  one  or  more  sessions  for  the  transaction  of  business  during 
the  recess  of  Congress,  and  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  as  they  may  deem  proper;  they 
shall  keep  a  journal  of  their  proceedings,  and  report  the  same,  or  an  attested  copy 

thereof,  to  both  Houses  of  Congress  on  or  before  the day  of in  each  and 

every  year. 


172  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  expenditures  made  by  the  said  board  shall 
be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and  all  the  accounts 
thereof  shall  be  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  audited,  under  his 
direction,  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department;  and  the  said  board 
shall  report  to  Congress,  at  every  session  thereof,  the  state  of  the  Smithsonian  fund, 
and  a  fall  statement  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures  during  the  preceding  year. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it,  further  enacted,  That  the  said  trustees  be,  and  they  are  hereby, 
specially  authorized  and  directed  to  prepare  such  a  charter  of  incorporation,  and  such 
a  plan  of  an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  as  to 
them  may  appear  best  adapted  to  carry  into  effect  the  bona  fide  intention  of  the  tes- 
tator, the  said  James  Smithson,  and  to  report  the  same  for  the  consideration  and 
action  of  Congress  at  the  next  session  thereof. 

[S.  293.] 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Vice- President  of  the  United  States,  the  Chief  Justice 
of  the  United  States,  the  Secretaries  of  State  and  of  the  Treasury,  the  Attorney- 
General  of  the  United  States,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington,  all  during 
the  time  when  they  shall  hold  their  respective  offices,  together  with  three  members 
of  the  Senate  and  four  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  be  annually 
elected  by  their  respective  Houses  on  the  fourth  Wednesday  of  December,  shall  be, 
and  hereby  are,  constituted  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  by  the  style  and  title  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men,  with  perpetual  succession  and  the  usual  powers,  duties,  and  liabilities 
incident  to  corporations. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  corporation  so  constituted  shall  have 
power  to  appoint  from  citizens  of  the  United  States,  other  than  members  of  the 
board,  a  secretary  and  a  treasurer,  to  hold  their  offices  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
board,  and  removable  at  their  pleasure,  and  others  to  be  appointed  in  their  places, 
and  to  fix  their  compensations.  And  the  secretary  and  the  treasurer  only  shall 
receive  pecuniary  compensation  for  their  services,  and  those  of  the  members  of  the 
board  of  trustees  shall  be  gratuitous.  And  the  offices  of  secretary  and  treasurer  may, 
at  the  discretion  of  the  board  of  trustees,  be  held  by  the  same  person.  The  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  their 
respective  offices,  and  the  treasurer  shall  give  bond,  with  the  penalty  of  $50,000, 
with  sureties,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for  the  safe  custody 
and  faithful  application  of  all  the  funds  of  the  Institution  which  may  come  to  his 
hands  or  be  at  his  disposal. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  —  —  placed  in  the  Treasury  of  the 

United  States  on  the day  of  —  —  as  the  proceeds  in  part  of  the  bequest  of 

James  Smithson  to  the  United  States,  together  with  all  sums  which  may  hereafter  be 
realized,  shall  be  passed  hereafter  to  the  credit  of  a  fund,  to  be  denominated  the 
Smithsonian  fund,  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  And  the  faith  of  the 
United  States  is  hereby  pledged  for  the  preservation  of  the  said  fund  undiminished 
and  unimpaired,  to  bear  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  a  year,  payable  on  the 
first  days  of  January  and  July  to  the  treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund,  to  be  applied  to  the  purposes  of  the  fund,  conformably  to  the  laws  and 
subject  to  the  revision  and  regulation  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  no  part  of  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  prin- 
cipal or  interest,  shall  be  applied  to  any  school,  college,  university,  institute  of  edu- 
cation, or  ecclesiastical  establishment. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  appropriations  to  be  made  from  time  to 
time  by  Congress  to  the  purposes  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  as  declared  by  the 
testator,  shall  be  exclusively  from  the  accruing  interest,  and  not  from  the  principal  of 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  173 

the  said  fund:  I'r»ri<l,-<l,  That  Congress  shall  retain  the  power  of  investing,  at  their 
discretion,  the  principal  of  said  fund  in  any  other  manner  so  as  to  secure  not  less 
than  a  yearly  interest  of  six  per  centum. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $30,000,  part  of  the  first  year's 
interest  accruing  on  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appro- 
priated toward  the  erection  and  establishment  at  the  city  of  Washington  of  an 
astronomical  observatory  adapted  to  the  most  effective  and  continual  observation  of 
the  phenomena  of  the  heavens;  to  be  provided  with  the  necessary,  best,  and  most 
perfect  instruments  and  books  for  the  periodical  publication  of  the  said  observa- 
tions, and  for  the  annual  composition  and  publication  of  a  nautical  almanac. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  observatory  shall  be  erected  under 
the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  subject  to  the  approbation  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States;  and  the  site  of  the  same  shall  be  selected  upon 
land,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  belonging  to  the  United  States;  and  the  land  neces- 
sary for  the  same,  and  for  any  other  buildings  proper  to  be  connected  with  the  said 
observatory  and  the  appurtenances  thereof,  is  hereby  granted,  and  shall  be  duly  con- 
veyed, as  a  deed  of  gift,  to  the  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  to  their  suc- 
cessors forever,  in  aid  of  the  purposes  of  the  said  Institution. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  expenditures  made  by  the  said  board 
shall  be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  all  the 
accounts  thereof  shall  be  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  audited, 
under  his  direction,  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department;  and  the 
said  board  shall  report  to  Congress,  at  every  session  thereof,  the  state  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund,  and  a  full  statement  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures  during  the  pre- 
ceding year. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  first  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  shall  be  held  at  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  third  Monday  of  January 
next,  and  that,  in  the  meantime,  the  custody  of  the  said  fund,  and  the  expenditures 
under  the  appropriation  herein  made,  shall  be  held  and  authorized  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  subject  to  the  approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
February  25,  1839— Senate. 

The  bill  (S.  292),  was  considered  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

The  Senate  having  taken  up  this  bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Robbins 
providing  for  the  appointment  of  nine  commissioners  annually — three 
by  the  Senate,  three  by  the  House,  and  the  other  three  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States — to  take  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  to 
draw  up  an  act  of  incorporation  for  the  Institution,  and  to  constitute 
a  portion  of  its  board  of  trustees  when  incorporated — 

Mr.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  said:  This  is  a  bill  making  provision  for  the 
common  benefit  of  all  mankind;  but  we  are  restricted  in  our  powers. 
The  question  whether  we  have  the  power  to  establish  a  university  or 
not  was  a  subject  of  consideration  at  an  early  stage  of  our  Govern- 
ment, and  President  Washington  decided  that  Congress  had  the  power. 
But  the  question  was  voted  down  and  never  revived.  And  now  what 
would  we  do  ?  We  accept  a  fund  from  a  foreigner,  and  would  do  what 
we  are  not  authorized  to  do  by  the  Constitution.  We  would  enlarge 
our  grant  of  power  derived  from  the  States  of  this  Union.  Sir,  can 
you  show  me  a  word  that  goes  to  invest  us  with  such  a  power  ?  I  not 
only  regard  the  measure  proposed  as  unconstitutional,  but  to  me  it 
appears  to  involve  a  species  of  meanness  which  I  can  not  describe,  a 


174  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

want  of  dignity  wholly  unworthy  of  this  Government.  Some  years 
ago  we  accepted  a  statue  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  which  is  no  more  like  him 
than  I  am,  and  we  made  a  tacit  admission,  by  its  acceptance,  that  we 
were  too  stingy  to  purchase  one  worthy  of  the  man  and  of  the  nation. 
And  now  what  would  we  do  by  this  ?  We  would  accept  a  donation  from 
a  foreigner  to  do  with  it  what  we  have  no  right  to  do,  and  just  as  if 
we  were  not  rich  enough  ourselves  to  do  what  is  proposed,  or  too 
mean  to  do  it  if  it  were  in  our  power.  Sir,  we  are  rich  enough  our- 
selves; and  if  we  are  not,  this  bequest  can  not  give  us  the  power. 

Mr.  T.  H.  BENTON.  My  mind  is  not  made  up  on  a  single  point  rela- 
tive to  this  bill,  and  I  would  suggest  the  propriety  of  laying  it  on  the 
table. 

Mr.  K.  J.  WALKER.  The  same  objections  which  lie  equally  against 
this  bill  and  the  acceptance  of  the  fund  were  urged  upon  the  Senate 
when  the  question  of  accepting  it  was  before  them,  with  the  same 
earnestness  by  Senators  as  now,  and  after  a  protracted  debate  the 
question  was  decided  against  them,  their  whole  number  being  only  five 
or  six.  A  vast  majority  of  the  Senate  did  not  think  we  were  humili- 
ated by  accepting  from  an  individual  any  amount  of  money  which  he 
might  think  proper  to  bestow  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  in  this 
District  an  institution  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men; 
and  no  government  has  considered  itself  humiliated  by  its  accept- 
ance of  such  donations;  and  if,  instead  of  $500,000,  it  amounted  to 
$20,000000,  for  these  great  and  noble  purposes,  I  would  glory  in 
receiving  it,  and  in  applying  it  to  these  great  purposes  alone.  But 
it  is  now  too  late  to  urge  these  objections.  We  have  prosecuted  the 
suit,  and  have  actually  received  the  money;  and  now,  when  we  have 
received  it,  shall  we  refuse  to  perform  the  trust  which  we  took  upon 
ourselves  by  its  acceptance  ?  It  would  be  a  fraud  on  those  from  whom 
we  received  it.  On  what  ground  did  the  court  of  chancery  give  over 
the  fund  ?  Only  on  the  ground  that  we  would  carry  into  effect  the 
will  of  the  testator;  and  it  would  be  a  violation  of  good  faith  for  us 
now  to  refuse  to  carry  it  into  effect. 

And  what  are  the  constitutional  objections?  Sir,  we  find  no  diffi- 
culty in  building  railroads  and  bridges  in  the  District,  or  in  incorpo- 
rating colleges  and  other  institutions,  and  it  is  but  now  that  a  difficulty 
has  arisen  in  establishing  an  institution  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men.  We  incorporated  the  Columbian  College  of  this  city, 
but  is  it  only  the  District  of  Columbia  that  sends  to  that  institution? 
No,  sir;  it  is  known  to  every  member  that  its  benefits  are  open  to  the 
whole  world,  and  arc  actually  extended  throughout  the  Union.  Its 
students  come  from  every  part  of  the  United  States.  And  that  was 
an  infinitely  stronger  case  than  this,  for  there  we  gave  money,  while 
here  we  give  none;  and  all  that  is  asked  of  us  is  that  we  honestly 
comply  with  the  obligations  under  which  we  have  entered  with  the 
Government  through  whom  we  received  the  money. 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  175 

Mr.  BENTON.  I  do  not  agree  with  the  Senator  from  Mississippi 
that  our  decision  at  the  last  session  to  accept  this  fund  is  obligatory, 
or  that  we  are  at  all  committed  in  respect  to  establishing  this  institu- 
tion. I  have  believed  always  that  this  Government  has  no  right  to 
accept  a  donation  in  money;  and,  as  the  Senator  from  South  Carolina 
has  remarked,  this  question  of  our  power  to  establish  a  national  liter- 
ary institution  was  among  the  earliest  which  were  settled  under  our 
Government;  and  the  arguments  then  urged  against  it  have  remained 
unanswered.  If  we  now  proceed  to  establish  such  an  institution  with 
this  fund,  it  will  in  effect  amount  to  this,  that  this  donation  has  pur- 
chased our  acquiescence  in  a  violation  of  the  Constitution.  For  half 
a  century  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  acquiesced  in  the  uncon- 
stitutionality  of  our  establishing  such  an  institution;  and  if  we  now 
proceed  to  do  it,  an  infraction  of  the  Constitution  will  in  effect  have 
been  purchased. 

Mr.  AMBROSE  H.  SEVIER.  There  is  one  difficulty  in  the  way  of  these 
objects  in  regard  to  the  disposition  that  is  to  be  made  of  this  money. 
It  has  been  sent  for  and  obtained,  and  is  now  actuall}7  invested  in  State 
stocks.  What  are  we  to  do  with  it?  Here  is  a  benevolent  man,  who 
from  motives  of  benevolence  compliments  this  country  by  bestowing 
upon  it  a  donation  for  benevolent  purposes,  and,  viewing  it  in  that 
light,  we  have  passed  an  act  of  Congress  to  receive  it,  and  it  is  already 
received  and  invested.  Shall  we  now  return  it?  It  is  to  be  appro- 
priated and  used  within  our  own  limits  of  10  miles  square,  where  we 
have  exclusive  and  sole  jurisdiction,  and  shall  it  be  said  we  have  no 
power  to  establish  such  an  institution  within  those  limits?  Sir,  the 
bill  may  be  defective  so  .as  to  require  amendment,  but  as  to  the  power 
of  receiving  the  money  and  appropriating  it  to  such  a  purpose  there 
can  be  no  doubt  at  all  about  it.  This  fund  was  given  to  us  in  trust  for 
the  benefit  of  the  world,  which  showed  that  this  man  had  full  faith  in 
us,  arid  within  the  10  miles  square  this  Government  is  no  more  limited 
in  regard  to  such  a  subject  than  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  is  limited 
while  acting  within  her  own  boundaries. 

Mr.  SILAS  WRIGHT.  I  have  not  been  able  to  listen  very  attentive!}7 
to  the  debate,  but  as  far  as  I  can  judge  the  subject  seems  to  involve 
great  principles,  which  require  full  and  mature  consideration.  This 
bill  merely  provides  for  appointing  a  commission  of  nine  persons,  three 
of  whom  are  to  be  appointed  by  the  Senate,  three  by  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  the  other  three  by  the  President,  and  to  do  what  ? 
I  believe  they  are  to  draw  up  a  charter  of  incorporation  for  the  insti- 
tution within  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  this  is  their  commission, 
for  I  understand  they  are  to  have  no  other  duty  or  power,  with  the 
exception  of  a  power  to  appoint  a  printer.  And  if  a  charter  for  an 
institution  of  that  sort  must  be  {malty  considered  and  passed  by  Con- 
gress it  did  not  seem  necessary  to  appoint  such  a  commission  simply 
to  draw  up  a  bill  of  incorporation,  ancj  if  it  were  necessary  I  do  not 


176  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

see  why  they  should  want  a  printer,  for  that  can  not  involve  any  great 
principles. 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  No  man  can  suppose  that  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  can  perform  the  functions  of  such  an  institution.  I, 
however,  spoke  of  what  was  proper  and  within  our  power,  and  of  that 
alone.  The  Senator  from  Arkansas  appears  to  think  that  we  have  the 
power  to  do  what  we  please  within  the  District  of  Columbia,  provided 
the  means  are  granted  to  us.  But,  in  the  first  place,  we  must  look 
carefully  at  the  extent  of  our  own  power.  This  Government  is  a  trust, 
established  by  the  States,  with  a  specific  capacity,  education  not 
included,  and  all  the  powers  which  are  not  granted  are  expressly 
reserved  to  the  States.  And  when  they  were  granted,  it  was  with  the 
profoundest  jealous}7,  for  it  was  apprehended  that  they  would  be  so 
great  as  to  utterly  absorb  the  State  governments.  And  now,  after  the 
question  of  the  power  of  the  General  Government  on  the  subject  of 
education  has  been  settled  for  fifty  years,  a  foreigner  makes  a  donation 
to  the  Government  in  trust  for  this  object;  and  the  question  arises, 
Can  we  accept  it?  Sir,  we  have  no  more  right  to  do  this  than  to  estab- 
lish a  national  institution  in  Virginia  or  Maryland.  The  government 
of  Pennsylvania  is  a  government  of  unlimited  power  within  its  bounda- 
ries, and  a  donation  there  made  to  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  is 
in  a  very  different  condition  from  one  made  to  ours,  which  is  wisely 
limited,  because  it  might  otherwise  absorb  all  the  power  of  the  States. 

When  the  charter  for  Columbian  College  was  passed  I  was  absent; 
but  I  understood  that  it  was  established  on  funds  collected  from  all 
the  Baptists  throughout  the  United  States.  Yet  I  never  recognized 
the  power  of  Congress  to  establish  that  institution.  But  here  what  are 
we  going  to  do?  We  are  to  accept  a  donation,  to  do  with  it  what  the 
Constitution  does  not  allow.  But,  it  is  asked,  what  are  we  to  do  with 
the  money?  There  is  no  difficulty  in  that;  it  must  be  returned  to  the 
heirs.  This  is  a  question  of  vast  magnitude,  and  no  one  knows  the 
consequences  which  may  grow  out  of  it.  I  have  heard  a  gentleman 
from  Philadelphia  say  that  of  all  the  curses  of  that  city  the  Girard 
donation  was  the  greatest.  Here  we  are  to  commence  with  half  a  mil- 
lion, and  no  one  knows  how  much  more  is  to  be  added.  Sir,  I  trust 
this  measure  will  be  met  decidedly  and  voted  down. 

Mr.  SEVIER.  The  power  of  this  Government  within  this  District  is 
just  as  ample  as  that  of  any  State  within  its  limits.  It  is  declared  to 
be  exclusive,  and  we  have  as  much  right  to  do  anything  within  the 
District  of  Columbia  as  any  State  has  to  do  the  same  thing  within  her 
limits.  And  what  is  now  proposed  ?  You  are  merely  put  in  posses- 
sion of  half  a  million,  over  which  you  are  made  the  trustees,  for 
philanthropic  and  patriotic  purposes,  and  the  whole  object  now  is  to 
execute  that  trust  in  a  proper  manner.  Sir,  I  should  be  opposed 
to  the  bill  if  it  were  going  to  take  any  power  from  the  States;  but  it 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  177 

has  no  such  purpose,  and  can  have  no  such  effect.  I  am,  however, 
not  anxious  in  regard  to  the  fate  of  this  bill. 

Mr.  R.  J.  WALKEK.  In  reply  to  the  Senator  from  South  Carolina, 
I  wish  to  know  whether  we  have  no  power  to  incorporate  companies 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  whether  we  have  not  done  it  again 
and  again.  We. have  incorporated  companies  for  banks,  bridges, 
railroads,  and  others  of  almost  every  variety.  Then  we  have  the 
power,  and  our  whole  history  shows  that  we  have  the  power,  to  grant 
incorporations  in  the  District.  And  what  is  the  difference?  If  we 
could  incorporate  a  Baptist  institution  can  not  we  incorporate  a 
Smithsonian  institution?  Did  we  not  incorporate  the  Georgetown 
College,  and  can  we  not  incorporate  the  Smithsonian  college?  Sir, 
there  is  no  novelty  at  all  in  this  matter  so  far  as  it  has  any  relation 
whatever  to  our  power. 

For  the  purpose  of  showing  the  former  unanimity  of  most  of  the 
Senate  on  this  subject  Mr.  Walker  read  the  joint  resolution  of  Con- 
gress authorizing  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  prosecute  and 
obtain  this  legacy,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  in  the  Senate  on  the  question 
of  ordering  it  to  be  engrossed;  for  which  there  were,  yeas  31,  nays  7. 
The  District  of  Columbia  (said  Mr.  Walker)  not  having  a  government 
in  itself,  the  Government  of  the  United  States  received  this  bequest  as 
the  government  of  the  District;  and  now  we  propose  to  incorporate 
an  institution,  that  the  intention  of  the  testator  may  be  carried  into 
effect;  and  would  it  not  be  ridiculous  for  us  to  pass  a  bill,  by  an  almost 
unanimous  vote,  to  prosecute  for  and  obtain  the  fund,  which  has  been 
carried  successfully  into  effect,  now  to  turn  round,  in  less  than  two 
years,  and  declare  that  vast  majorities  in  Congress  had  been  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  subject  on  which  they  acted  and  had  violated  an  organic 
law  of  the  country  in  accepting  this  bequest?  Sir,  the  nation  would 
be  disgraced  by  such  a  proceeding.  We  have  received  the  money, 
and  we  are  bound  by  the  most  solemn  obligation,  at  least  to  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  the  real  beneficiary,  to  carry  this  bequest  into  effect. 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  This  bequest  was  not  made  to  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, but  to  all  mankind.  I  believe  the  second  thoughts  of  Congress 
are  better  than  the  first,  and  I  believe  there  will  now  be  a  decided  vote 
against  this  measure  after  full  reflection. 

Mr.  J.  M.  NILES.  One  wrong  step  is  no  reason  why  we  should  take 
another,  and  I  submit  to  the  Senate  whether  the  main  argument  in 
favor  of  this  measure  is  sustained.  Sir,  what  is  that  argument?  It 
is  that  the  whole  of  this  matter  is  for  the  District  of  Columbia.  Sir, 
if  you  stand  on  that  ground  you  will  practice  a  base  fraud  on  the 
legatee.  He  meant  this  donation  for  the  whole  world,  and  now  the 
argument  is  that  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  this  District.  The  true  ques- 
tion is  whether  we  will  have  a  national  institution,  and  that  is  to  be 
decided  by  looking  at  the  terms  of  this  grant.  It  is  a  trust  committed 
H.  Doc.  732 12 


178  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

to  the  United  States,  in  the  very  execution  of  which  we  are  to  act  for 
the  United  States.  Sir,  the  question  is  altogether  too  clear  for  argu- 
ment. I  had  not  the  privilege  of  voting  against  the  acceptance  of  this 
fund,  and  I  now  wish  to  record  my  vote  against  the  whole  proceeding. 

Mr.  J.  J.  CRITTENDEN.  It  was  my  lot  some  few  years  ago  to  be  a 
member  of  Congress  when  this  subject  was  under  consideration,  and, 
as  far  as  1  can  recollect,  we  then  came  to  the  conclusion  that  all  the 
objections  which  are  now  made  to  our  accepting  and  executing  this 
trust  were  fallacious  and  unfounded.  I  am  now  only  surprised  that 
the  Senator  from  Connecticut  should  be  worked  up  into  so  high  excite- 
ment by  this  subject.  But  I  ask  whether  it  is  not  perfectly  compe- 
tent in  us  to  lay  a  tax  on  this  District  of  $500,000  for  the  establishment 
of  such  an  institution.  We  hold  exclusive  legislation  over  the  Dis- 
trict, including  the  power  to  tax  it,  and  if  this  could  be  done  in  com- 
pliance with  the  wishes  of  the  District,  and  at  their  own  expense,  could 
there  be  any  constitutional  objection  to  our  doing  it  for  them  ?  Sir, 
it  is  evident  there  could  not;  and  when  the  requisite  fund  is  a  donation 
does  that  circumstance  offer  any  ground  whatever  for  a  constitutional 
objection?  If  by  taxation  of  the  people  of  the  District  Congress 
have  an  unquestionable  and  indisputable  power  to  effect  this  object 
does  it  make  any  difference,  as  it  respects  that  power,  whether  the 
fund  is  a  donation  or  a  tax  ?  None  whatever,  and  I  see  no  force  at  all 
in  these  objections.  They  arise  from  a  constitutional  delicacy  of 
which  I  have  no  perception,  and  I  should  be  sorry  if  this  trust  should 
be  injured  by  the  indulgence  of  such  scruples. 

And  what  are  we  to  do?  "Oh,"  say  gentlemen,  "send  the  money 
back,  and  surrender  it  to  the  heirs  of  the  donor."  With  respect  to  the 
money,  that  with  this  country  is  but  of  little  account;  but  consider 
what  sort  of  an  answer  you  will  have  to  make  to  the  high  court  of 
chancery  in  England.  You  must  send  Mr.  Rush  to  report  to  the  court 
of  chancery  that  from  solemn  considerations  we  have  found  out  that 
we  are  not  entitled  to  receive  this  donation  and  cany  the  intention  of 
the  donor  into  effect,  in  doing  which  I  do  not  consider  that  we  would 
be  at  all  degraded.  The  money  itself  is  of  no  consideration  to  this 
Government;  but  here  is  a  beneficent  object,  in  the  promotion  of  which 
a  philanthropic  foreigner  asks  you  to  act  in  his  behalf,  in  a  local  dis- 
trict of  your  own  country,  over  which  you  are  the  only  legislators, 
and  in  doing  this  we  are  not  acting  under  any  ordinary  treaties,  but  in 
the  great  cause  of  humanity.  Sir,  I  see  no  difficulty,  and  I  trust 
that  the  decided  majority  which  appeared  in  favor  of  this  measure  in 
its  incipient  stage  will  now  not  be  at  all  diminished. 

Mr.  BENTON.  The  argument  is  that  we  are  to  act  in  this  case  as  the 
government  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  But  if  I  understand  the 
bequest,  the  money  is  given  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
not  to  those  of  the  District  alone.  Consequently,  if  we  accept  the 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGKESS,   1837-1839.  179 

donation,  it  must  be  used  for  a  national  institution,  and  not  one  for 
the  District  alone.  Banks,  colleges,  and  other  institutions  are  incor- 
porated by  us  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  not  as  national  institutions, 
but  for  the  local  benefit  of  the  District.  I,  sir,  voted  for  banks  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  but  in  no  case  was  it  for  a  national  bank;  and 
such  is  the  precise  distinction  in  the  case  now  before  us.  The  argu- 
ment is  that  we  may  receive  money  as  trustees  to  be  used  for  purposes 
entirely  different  from  what  the  testator  contemplated.  To  this  I 
object,  and  especially  because  it  places  the  United  States  Government 
in  the  aspect  of  a  moneyed  power. 

Mr.  R.  H.  BAYARD.  I  was  not  a  member  of  the  Senate  when  the  joint 
resolution  was  passed  by  which  we  accepted  this  trust,  and  I  am  not 
quite  certain  whether  I  should  have  been  in  favor  of  it  or  not.  But  it 
is  rather  late,  after  having  accepted  the  trust,  to  start  this  constitu- 
tional difficulty.  I  do  not  altogether  approve  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  money  was  obtained  through  the  English  courts,  and  if  it  could  be 
properly  returned  I  should  be  in  favor  of  it,  not  for  any  consideration 
of  our  want  of  constitutional  power,  but  for  the  manner  in  which  it 
was  obtained.  But  it  is  too  late  to  return  it. 

But  it  is  argued  that  there  is  no  power  in  this  Government  to  accept 
and  administer  this  trust,  and  therefore  the  money  is  now  to  be 
returned.  This  Government  is  one  of  mere  trust  power,  but  in  one 
capacity  it  acts  as  the  Government  of  the  whole  United  States,  and  in 
another  as  the  Government  of  this  District.  Its  power  over  the  United 
States  is  limited,  but  over  this  District  it  is  unlimited;  and  there  can 
therefore  be  no  doubt  of  its  full  sovereignty  over  it,  so  far  as  relates 
to  general  grounds.  But  it  is  a  mistake  that  this  donation  is  for  the 
benefit  of  the  United  States.  The  views  of  the  testator  were  much 
more  extensive,  and  he  expressly  declared  that  his  object  was  to  diffuse 
knowledge  among  men.  The  testator  must  have  understood  perfectly 
well  the  nature  of  our  institutions,  and  he  knew  not  only  that  this 
Government  could  act  for  the  United  States  as  such,  with  power  to 
operate  in  this  District,  but  he  knew,  moreover,  that  this  District  was 
eminently  calculated  for  the  more  comprehensive  purpose  which  he 
had  in  view,  because  it  is  not  trammeled  by  political  or  religious 
restrictions.  And  the  reason  why  the  United  States  should  be  induced 
to  accept  this  bequest  is  not  because  it  is  for  the  District  altogether, 
but  because  it  may  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  world,  and  the  motive  and  the  object  which  the  testator  had  in  view 
were  to  select  a  place  where  there  is  perfect  freedom  of  opinion  in 
politics  and  religion,  and  the  motive  of  the  United  States  in  accepting 
it  is  that  the  people  of  the  District  and  of  the  United  States  may  obtain 
its  general  benefits.  I  therefore  do  not  see  any  difficulty  in  this  Gov- 
ernment accepting  it. 

And  the  question  now  is,  what  is  to  be  done?     There  is  an  evident 


180  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

necessity  for  a  corporation  for  the  purpose  of  administering  the  means 
of  effecting  the  object  proposed.  I  do  not  know  as  it  ought  to  be  the 
basis  of  a  great  national  institution,  but  we  may  incorporate  it  with  a 
view  to  insure  the  benefits  contemplated;  and,  in  order  to  effect  that, 
it  is  a  question  whether  you  will  refer  the  subject  to  a  committee  who 
may  present  plans  to  Congress  to  carry  the  purpose  into  execution,  or 
whether  you  will  trust  it  with  a  commission,  who,  in  the  meantime, 
may  have  power  over  the  fund  and  at  a  future  period  may  present  to 
Congress  such  a  plan  for  its  administration  as  they  may  think  best. 
The  object  of  the  bill  introduced  by  the  Senator  from  Rhode  Island  is, 
inasmuch  as  the  business  can  not  be  managed  by  a  standing  committee 
during  the  recess  of  Congress,  to  establish  a  board  of  trustees  for  this 
purpose;  and  the  sole  object  of  the  bill  is  to  establish  such  a  board  of 
trustees  over  the  fund,  who  shall  also  prepare  and  present  to  Congress, 
at  its  next  session,  or  at  some  future  period  when  it  shall  be  prepared, 
a  plan  for  such  an  incorporation;  and  that  is  all  that  the  bill  proposes. 

Mr.  WRIGHT.  I  understood  and  I  meant  to  say  that  this  bill  involves 
none  of  the  great  principles  that  have  been  brought  into  this  discus- 
sion, but  simply  provides  for  preparing  a  charter.  But  I  find  I  was 
mistaken.  The  scope  of  the  bill  is  larger  than  I  supposed.  I  would 
now  say  nothing  about  these  great  principles,  but  about  the  bill  itself; 
and  I  would  suggest  the  propriety  of  now  passing  a  bill  not  involv- 
ing any  great  question  of  principle.  I  find  the  bill  provides  for  a 
commission  of  nine  persons,  who  are  to  have  charge  of  the  fund; 
and,  further,  these  nine  are  to  constitute  a  component  part  of  any 
incorporation  hereafter  established  for  the  institution.  All  this  goes 
materially  farther  than  I  had  supposed.  What  necessity  is  there  for 
appointing  these  nine  trustees  now?  This  fund  is  to  be  invested  under 
the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  For  what  valuable 
purpose,  then,  are  we  to  hang  this  machinery  on  this  great  donation  ? 
Is  it  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  constitute  nine  men  the  draftsmen 
of  an  act  of  incorporation?  And,  in  the  meantime,  shall  we  con- 
fer on  these  nine  persons  very  extensive  powers?  It  is  provided  by 
the  bill  that  they  shall  have  the  management  of  the  fund,  under  such 
regulations  and  restrictions  as  Congress  shall  from  time  to  time  pre- 
scribe. But  these  nine  are  also  to  be  officers  of  the  corporation  when- 
ever its  officers  are  appointed.  But  are  they  to  be  such  officers  under 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States?  If  they  are  to  be  so,  it  is  a 
perfectly  new  mode  of  appointment,  and  one  the  pertinency  or 
propriety  of  which  I  am  unable  to  discover.  Three  of  them  are  to 
be  chosen  by  the  Senate  annually,  three  by  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives annually,  and  the  other  three  by  the  President  annually. 

And  if  this,  as  we  are  told,  is  to  be  an  institution  for  the  District 
of  Columbia,  or  an  ordinary  college,  why  is  this  machinery  necessary? 


TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1837-1839.  181 

And  why  this  new  method  of  appointment?  Is  there  anything  of  this 
in  connection  with  the  Georgetown  College  or  the  Columbian  College  ? 
Does  not  this  point  out  this  new  institution  to  be  a  national  institution  ? 
Every  branch  of  the  Government  is  to  be  represented  (except  the  judi- 
ciary), and  these  representatives  are  to  have  the  power  to  appoint  a 
printer  to  that  board  of  trustees,  and  to  fix  his  compensation,  and  also 
a  clerk,  and  to  fix  his  compensation;  and  they  are  to  have  power  to 
make  regulations  for  their  own  government,  and  they  will  be  com- 
pelled to  meet  at  least  once  during  the  recess  of  Congress,  and  as  much 
of tener  as  they  please;  and  for  what?  I  speak  now  of  the  practical 
operation  of  the  measure.  In  Pennsylvania  a  bequest  has  been  made 
and  appropriated  to  a  similar  purpose;  and  have  any  of  us  failed  to 
hear  of  the  abuses  of  that  bequest  in  the  engrafting  of  offices  and 
incomes  upon  it?  And  what  will  be  the  income  of  this  Smithsonian 
fund?  It  will  be  $25,000  or  $30,000,  out  of  which  you  must  pay  your 
commission,  printer,  and  clerk;  and  how  much  do  you  suppose  you 
will  have  of  the  product  of  the  fund  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  mankind?  And  is  it  necessary  that  a  commission  should  sit 
eight  or  nine  months  to  frame  a  bill  ?  This  is  something  which  has 
not  been  practiced  heretofore;  and  is  it  wise  to  pass  such  a  bill?  It  is 
with  great  caution  that  Congress  should  proceed  on  that  subject,  but 
I  see  no  necessity  for  taxing  this  charity  with  the  expenses  growing 
out  of  this  bill  for  the  simple  purpose  of  presenting  to  Congress  the 
form  of  an  incorporation;  and  I  ask  those  who  argue  that  this  Institu- 
tion is  to  be  established  for  this  District  as  a  college,  whether  they  can 
vote  for  this  bill. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  HENRY  HUBBARD,  that  the  bill  lie  on  the  table, 
it  was  determined  in  the  affirmative — yeas,  20;  nays,  15". 

On  motion  by  Mr.  HUBBARD,  the  yeas  and  nays  being  desired  by 
one-fifth  of  the  Senators  present;  those  who  voted  in  the  affirmative 
were: 

Messrs.  Allen,  Bayard,  Benton,  Brown,  Calhoun,  Clay  of  Alabama, 
Hubbard,  King,  Lyon,  Morris,  Mouton,  Niles,  Norvell,  Roane,  Rob- 
nson,  Smith  of  Connecticut,  Strange,  Williams  of  Maine,  Williams 
of  Mississippi,  Wright. 

Those  who  voted  in  the  negative  were: 

Messrs.  Clay  of  Kentucky,  Davis,  Fulton,  Knight,  Linn,  Merrick, 
Prentiss,  Preston,  Rives,  Robbins,  Ruggles,  Sevier,  Smith  of  Indiana, 
Walker,  Young. 

Ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 
February  28,  1839 — Senate. 

Mr.  ASHER  ROBBINS  submitted  a  motion: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate,  That  the  mayor  and  city  council  of  the  city  of  Washington 
be,  and  hereby  are,  authorized  to  prepare  and  report  a  plan  of  an  institution,  to  be 


182  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

called  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  l>e  founded  on  the  Inquest  of  Mr.  Jamee 

Smithson,  of  London,  and  to  report  the  same  to  the  Senate  at  the  next  session  of 

Congress. 

March  1,  1839— Senate. 

The  Senate  considered  the  motion  submitted  February  28  by  Mr. 
Robbins  respecting  a  Smithsonian  Institution;  and,  on  motion  by 
Mr.  C.  C.  CLAY,  of  Alabama,  ordered  that  it  lie  on  the  table. 

March  3,  1839. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1839. 

For  carrying  into  effect  the  acts  relating  to  the  Smithsonian  legacy, 
$10,000,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  fund  arising  from  that  legacy. 
(Stat.  V,  316.) 


TWENTY-SIXTH  CONGRESS,  1839-1841. 

HEQUE8T   OF   JAMES    SMITHSON. 

December  30,  1839 — House. 

Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  introduced  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  dis- 
posal and  management  of  the  fund  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson, 
deceased,  to  the  United  States,  for  the  establishment  of  an  institution 
for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  Referred  to 
a  select  committee  of  nine  members,  viz: 

Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  Mr.  Charles  Ogle,  Mr.  Charles  Shepard, 
Mr.  James  Garland  of  Virginia,  Mr.  Dixon  H.  Lewis,  Mr.  Albert 
Smith  of  Maine,  Mr.  D.  D.  Barnard,  Mr.  Thomas  Cor  win,  and  Mr. 
John  Campbell  of  South  Carolina. 
February  5,  1840— House. 

Memorial  of  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Smithsonian  bequest  was  referred  to  the  select  committee 
appointed  December  30,  1839. 

MAYOR'S  OFFICE,  Washington,  January  15,  1S40. 

SIR:  In  compliance  with  the  instructions  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  corpo- 
ration of  this  city  to  represent  their  interests  before  Congress,  I  have  the  honor  to 
request  you  to  present  the  inclosed  memorial  to  the  House. 

The  great  interest  you  have  taken  in  the  subject  to  which  the  memorial  relates 
has  induced  the  committee  to  make  this  request. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

PETER  FORCE. 
Hon.  J.  Q.  ADAMS, 

House  of  Representatives,  United  States. 


To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled  : 

The  memorial  of  the  undersigned,  a  committee  appointed  by  the  corporation  of 
Washington,  respectfully  represents: 

That  they  have  been  instructed  to  express  to  your  honorable  bodies  the  earnest 
desire  of  the  city  councils,  as  well  as  of  the  citizens  of  Washington,  that  the  benevo- 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  183 

lent  design  of  the  late  James  Sinithson,  of  England,  should  be  carried  into  execution 
as  soon  as  practicable  by  the  establishment  of  an  institution  in  their  city  for  the 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  As  this  is  a  matter  which  more  immediately 
concerns  the  people  of  Washington,  where,  according  to  the  desire  and  instruction  of 
the  testator,  the  institution  is  to  be  founded,  they  necessarily  feel  a  deep  solicitude  on 
the  subject  and  are  anxious  that  Congress  would  take  it  into  serious  and  immediate 
consideration,  in  order  that  the  benefit  intended  to  be  conferred  may  be  enjoyed  at  as 
early  a  period  as  possible.  They  need  not  suggest  that,  in  addition  to  the  intellectual 
advantages  of  which  the  contemplated  institution  promises  to  be  productive,  it  will 
be  the  means,  they  believe,  of  adding  greatly  to  the  reputation  of  the  metropolis  and 
of  giving  to  it  a  new  source  of  attraction.  Though  this  motive  may  appear  to  be 
selfish,  it  is  nevertheless  one  which  all  who  take  an  interest  in  the  welfare  and  pros- 
perity of  the  capital  of  their  country  must  necessarily  feel.  But  your  memorialists 
are  influenced  by  loftier  and  philanthropic  motives  in  wishing  to  see  the  instruc- 
tions of  Mr.  Smithson  carried  into  effect.  It  is  impossible  to  calculate  the  amount 
of  good  which  an  institution  properly  founded  and  judiciously  organized,  as  they 
have  no  doubt  this  will  be,  is  susceptible  of  promoting  the  improvement  of  the  intel- 
lect, taste,  and  morals  of  the  great  community  of  this  country;  for  though  the  foun- 
tain may  be  here,  its  streams  will  flow  through  all  parts  of  the  Republic  and  fertilize 
and  i  n  i  prove  its  remotest  borders.  It  is  not  for  the  memorialists  to  point  out  the  char- 
acter of  such  an  institution  as  should  be  established  in  accordance  with  the  design  of 
him  who  made  the  bequest,  because  they  know  it  is  in  much  abler  hands,  and  there- 
fore it  would  be  presumptuous  in  them  to  attempt  it.  All  they  desire  is  to  see  it 
speedily  commenced  and  the  design  fully  carried  out,  and  in  this  desire  they  believe 
they  are  joined  by  all  who  feel  an  interest  in  the  diffusion  of  human  knowledge  and 
the  intellectual  improvement  of  their  fellow-men. 

Your  memorialists  respectfully  pray  that,  for  the  benefit  of  their  countrymen,  and 
the  special  advantage  which  will  result  from  it  to  Washington,  the  subject  may  claim 
the  immediate  attention  of  Congress,  and  that  a  plan  will  be  devised  and  adopted 
during  the  present  session,  which  will  accord  with  the  intentions  of  the  testator,  and, 
when  carried  into  execution,  be  attended  with  all  the  blessings  and  advantages  which 
are  expected  to  flow  from  an  institution  already  founded  and  wisely  organized. 

And  so  they  wrill  ever  pray. 

PETER  FORCE. 

Cn.   W.  GOLDSBOBOUGH. 

GEO.  WATTERSTON. 
JOHN  W.  MAURY. 
JOHN  WILSON. 
GEORGE  ADAMS. 
SAMUEL  BYINGTON. 

Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  presented  a  memorial  of  Constantino  S. 
Raline.sque,  of  Philadelphia,  professor  of  historical  and  natural  sci- 
ences, praying  that  the  benevolent  intentions  of  James  Smithson  may 
be  speedily  realized,  by  the  immediate  establishment  of  an  institution 
for  the  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge  among  men;  which  was  referred 
to  the  select  committee  on  the  Smithsonian  bequest. 
February  13,  1840— Senate. 

Mr.  HENRY  CLAY,  of  Kentucky,  presented  the  petition  of  the  Ken- 
tucky State  Agricultural  Society,  praying  the  endowment  of  an  agri- 
cultural school  or  college  out  of  the  funds  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy; 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture. 


184  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

February  27,  1840— House. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS  asked  Mr.  GEORGE  W.  CRABB  (who  was  entitled  to 
the  floor)  to  give  way  to  allow  him  to  present  a  report  from  the  select 
committee  on  the  Smithsonian  bequest.  It  was  a  subject  which  had 
excited  a  good  deal  of  public  interest;  and  he  merely  wished  to  make 
the  report,  and  have  it  printed,  which  would  occupy  but  a  few 
moments  of  the  time  of  the  House. 

Mr.  CRABB  said  if  it  was  the  universal  consent  of  the  House  to 
receive  the  report  at  that  time,  he  had  no  objection  to  give  way  for 
the  purpose.     But  objection  was  made. 
March  5,  1840— House 

Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  from  the  committee  to  which  was 
referred  the  bill  to  provide  for  the  disposal  and  management  of  the 
fund  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson  to  the  United  States  for  the 
establishment  of  an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men,  reported  an  amendatory  bill,  accompanied  by  a 
report,  which  were  committed  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

The  select  committee  report  the  bill  with  sundry  amendments. 

And  inasmuch  as  the  subject  of  this  bill,  and  the  bequest  itself,  and 
the  institution  to  the  establishment  of  which,  at  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, it  was  devoted  by  the  testator,  involve  considerations  and  prin- 
ciples other  than  those  which  usually  regulate  the  legislation  of 
Congress;  and  as  the  purposes  of  the  bequest  have,  as  yet,  been  but 
imperfectly  made  known  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
probably  to  a  large  portion  of  the  members  of  the  House,  the  com- 
mittee submit  to  the  indulgence  of  the  House  a  statement  of  the  mate- 
rial facts  which  have  hitherto  occurred  in  the  tender  of  this  fund  to 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  their  acceptance  of  it,  and  an  expo- 
sition of  the  motives  which  have  prevailed  with  the  committee  to 
propose  the  disposal  of  the  fund,  and  the  provisions  for  its  mainte- 
nance and  management,  as  they  are  set  forth  in  the  several  sections 
of  the  accompanying  bill. 

[Mr.  Adams  then  quotes  message  of  President  Andrew  Jackson,  dated  December 
17,  1835,  the  correspondence  of  Mr.  Vail  and  Clarke  Fvnmore  &  Fladgate,  James 
Smithson's  will,  etc.,  and  then  proceeds:] 

This  message  was  referred,  in  the  Senate,  to  their  Committee  on 
the  Judiciary,  which,  on  the  5th  of  January,  1836,  presented  a  report 
favorable  to  the  acceptance  of  the  bequest,  and  a  joint  resolution  to 
authorize  and  enable  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  assert  and 
prosecute,  with  effect,  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  this  bequest, 
in  the  court  of  chancery,  or  other  proper  tribunal  of  England.  By 
this  joint  resolution,  adopted  on  the  2d  of  May,  1836,  the  faith  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  was  pledged,  that  any  and  all  sums 
of  money  which  should  be  received  for  or  on  account  of  the  said 
legacy  should  be  applied  to  the  purpose  of  founding  and  endowing  at 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  185 

Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an  estab- 
lishment for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  the  same  message  of  the  President 
was,  on  the  21st  of  December,  1835,  referred  to  a  select  committee  of 
nine  members,  which,  on  the  19th  of  Januaiy,  1836,  reported  a  bill, 
together  with  a  statement  of  facts  and  principles  connected  with  the 
origin  and  acceptance  of  this  bequest,  which  the  present  committee 
ask  leave  to  refer  to  the  consideration  of  the  house  as  a  part  of  their 
own  report. 

[Mr.  Adams  here  quotes  his  own  report  of  January  19,  1836,  and  proceeds:] 

The  bill  accompanying  this  report  was,  in  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives, substituted  in  the  place  of  the  joint  resolution  which  had  been 
received  from  the  Senate.  It  authorized  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  appoint  an  agent  or  agents  to  prosecute,  in  the  court  of 
chancery,  in  England,  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  the  bequest  of 
Mr.  Smithson,  and  to  recover  and  pay  over  the  amount  of  the  same 
into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  This  bill  passed  in  the  House 
without  opposition;  was  concurred  in,  without  amendment,  by  the 
Senate;  and,  on  the  1st  of  July,  1836,  received  the  approbation  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

The  third  section  of  this  act  is  in  the  following  words: 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  any  and  all  sums  of  money,  and  other  funds  which 
shall  be  received  for,  or  on  account  of,  the  said  legacy,  shall  be  applied  in  such  man- 
ner as  Congress  may  hereafter  direct,  to  the  purpose  of  founding  and  endowing,  at 
Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an  establishment  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  to  which  application  of  the  said 
moneys,  and  other  funds,  the  faith  of  the  United  States  is  hereby  pledged. 

By  virtue  of  this  act  the  President  of  the  United  States  did,  shortly 
after  its  passage,  appoint  Richard  Rush,  of  Pennsylvania,  the  agent 
for  recovering  the  funds  in  England;  which  was  accordingly  done  by 
a  decree  of  the  English  court  of  chancery;  and  on  the  1st  of  September, 
1838,  the  sum  of  $508,315.46  was  deposited,  in  gold,  at  the  mint  of 
the  United  States  at  Philadelphia,  being  the  proceeds  then  recovered 
of  the  bequest;  a  further  sum  having  been  reserved  by  the  English 
court  of  chancery  for  the  payment  of  a  life  annuity  to  the  mother  of 
Henry  James  Hungerford. 

By  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  July  7,  1838,  to  pro- 
vide for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United  States  at 
West  Point  for  the  year  1838,  it  was  enacted — 

That  all  the  money  arising  from  the  bequest  of  the  late  James  Smithson,  of  Lon- 
don, for  the  purpose  of  founding  at  Washington,  in  this  District,  an  institution  to  be 
denominated  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  may  be  paid  into  the  Treasury,  is 
hereby  appropriated,  and  shall  be  invested  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  stocks  of  States,  bearing  interest 
at  not  less  than  five  per  centum  per  annum;  which  said  stocks  shall  be  held  by  the 


186  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

said  Secretary,  in  trust,  for  the  uses  specified  in  the  last  will  and  testament  of  said 
Smithson,  until  provision  is  made  by  law  for  carrying  the  purpose  of  said  bequest 
into  effect;  and  that  the  annual  interest  accruing  on  the  stock  aforesaid  shall  be  in 
like  manner  invested  for  the  benefit  of  said  Institution. 

Under  this  authority,  thus  granted  before  the  money  was  received 
into  the  Treasury,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  did,  on  the  4th  of 
September,  1838,  invest  $499,500  by  the  purchase  of  500  bonds  of  the 
State  of  Arkansas  for  $1,000  each,  bearing  G  per  cent  interest,  payable 
semiannually  on  the  1st  of  January  and  July  of  each  year,  from  the 
said  4th  of  September;  and  the  further  sum  of  $8,270.67  was  applied 
to  the  purchase  of  eight  bonds  of  the  State  of  Michigan,  bearing  6  per 
cent  interest,  payable  semiannually  on  the  first  Mondays  in  January 
and  July  from  the  1st  of  May,  1838;  the  interest  on  all  these  bonds 
being  payable  at  the  city  of  New  York. 

By  these  transactions  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  United  States 
became  creditors  of  the  States  of  Arkansas  and  of  Michigan  to  the 
amount  of  the  purchase  of  their  respective  bonds,  and  made  themselves 
responsible  to  the  Smithsonian  fund  for  the  punctual  payment  of  the 
principal  and  interest  of  said  bonds;  the  faith  of  the  United  States 
having  been  already  pledged  for  the  faithful  application  of  the  fund 
itself  to  the  purposes  of  the  testator — the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men. 

At  the  last  session  of  Congress  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
by  a  message  to  both  Houses  of  the  6th  of  December,  1838,  informed 
them  that  the  act  of  the  1st  of  July,  1836,  to  enable  the  Executive  to 
assert  and  prosecute  with  effect  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the 
legacy  bequeathed  to  them  by  James  Smithson,  had  received  its  entire 
execution;  and  that  the  amount  recovered  and  paid  into  the  Trcasuiy 
having,  agreeably  to  an  act  of  the  preceding  session,  been  invested  in 
State  stocks,  he  deemed  it  proper  to  invite  the  attention  of  Congress 
to  the  obligation  devolving  upon  the  United  States  to  fulfill  the  object 
of  the  bequest.  He  added  that  in  order  to  obtain  such  information 
as  might  serve  to  facilitate  its  attainment  the  Secretary  of  State  had 
been  directed  to  apply  to  persons  versed  in  science  and  familiar  with 
the  subject  of  public  education  for  their  views  as  to  the  mode  of  dispos- 
ing of  the  fund  best  calculated  to  meet  the  intention  of  the  testator 
and  prove  most  beneficial  to  mankind.  Copies  of  the  circular  from 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and  of  the  answers  to  it  received  at  that  Depart- 
ment, were  communicated  with  the  message  for  the  consideration  of 
Congress;  and  for  the  whole  correspondence  this  committee  respect- 
fully refer  the  House  to  document  No.  11  of  the  Executive  documents 
of  the  Third  session  of  the  Twenty -fifth  Congress. 

On  the  following  day  (the  7th  of  December,  1838)  another  message 
was  transmitted  by  the  President  to  the  House  of  Representatives, 
with  reports  from  the  Secretaries  of  State'  and  of  the  Treasury,  in 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGBESS,   1839-1841.  187 

compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  the  9th  of  July  preced- 
ing, requesting  the  President  to  cause  to  be  laid  before  the  House  all 
such  communications,  documents,  etc. ,  in  the  possession  of  the  Execu- 
tive, or  which  could  be  obtained,  as  should  elucidate  the  origin,  prog- 
ress, and  consummation  of  the  process  by  which  the  Smithsonian 
bequest  had  been  recovered,  and  whatever  might  be  connected  with 
the  subject.  For  this  message  and  accompanying  documents  the  com- 
mittee refer  the  House  to  No.  10  of  the  Executive  documents  of  the 
last  session. 

On  the  10th  of  December,  1838,  these  two  messages,  of  the  6th  and 
7th  of  that  month,  were  referred  to  a  select  committee  of  the  House, 
which  proceeded  at  sundry  meetings  to  consider  and  discuss  the 
principles  upon  which  it  might  be  desirable  to  establish  the  foundation 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  so  as  best  to  fulfill  the  benevolent  pur- 
pose of  the  testator;  to  return,  by  the  most  effective  acknowledgment, 
the  signal  honor  done  to  our  country  and  her  institutions  by  the  com- 
mitment of  this  great  and  most  honorable  trust  to  the  United  States 
of  America;  to  prove  them  worthy  of  that  trust  by  the  dignity,  dis- 
interestedness, and  propriety  of  all  their  provisions  for  the  disposal 
of  the  funds;  and  finally  to  organize  an  establishment  which  by  its 
ultimate  results  would  in  the  impartial  judgment  of  mankind,  our 
own  contemporaries,  and  of  future  ages,  at  once  accomplish  the  glori- 
ous purpose  of  the  testator — the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men,  and  justify  to  the  eyes  of  posterity  the  confidence 
reposed  in  these  United  States  by  the  testator  in  selecting  them  for 
his  agents  and  trustees  to  accomplish,  when  he  should  be  no  more  on 
earth,  his  great  design  for  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  man. 

A  variety  of  projects  for  disposing  of  the  funds  had  been  presented 
by  individuals,  in  memorials  to  the  House,  which  were  referred  to  the 
committee  for  consideration.  No  one  of  them  appeared  to  the  com- 
mittee adapted  to  accomplish  the  purpose  of  the  testator.  They  gen- 
erally contemplated  the  establishment  of  a  school,  college,  or  university. 
They  proposed  expenditures  absorbing  in  the  erection  of  buildings 
the  capital  of  the  fund  itself  or  a  very  large  portion  of  it,  leaving 
little  or  nothing  to  be  invested  as  a  perpetual  annuity  for  future  and 
continual  appropriations,  contributing  to  the  improvement  of  future 
ages  as  well  as  of  the  present  generation;  and  in  most  of  the  projects 
there  might  be  perceived  purposes  of  personal  accommodation  and 
emolument  to  the  projector  more  adapted  to  the  promotion  of  his  own 
interest  than  to  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

The  committee  from  the  earliest  of  their  meetings  had  agreed  that. 
in  the  report  to  be  made  to  the  House  it  should  be  recommended  that 
no  part  of  the  funds  should  be  applied  to  the  establishment  or  support 
of  any  school,  college,  university,  or  ecclesiastical  establishment. 
The}-  had  also  agreed  to  recommend  as  a  fundamental  principle  for  the 


188  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

organization  of  the  institution  and  the  management  of  its  funds  that 
the  capital  amount  of  the  bequest  should  be  preserved  entire  and  unim- 
paired, so  invested  as  to  yield  an  income  of  6  per  cent  a  year,  which 
income  only  should  be  annually  appropriated  by  Congress  and  a  con- 
siderable portion  even  of  those  appropriations  be  constituted  as  funds 
from  the  interest  of  which  expenditures  applicable  to  the  purposes  of 
the  bequest  might  be  provided  for,  and  the  capital  of  the  bequest 
itself  be  annually  rather  increased  than  diminished. 

While  the  committee  of  the  House  were  engaged  in  deliberating 
upon  the  means  of  carrying  into  effect  these  principles  by  special 
enactment,  to  be  proposed  in  their  report,  on  the  12th  of  January, 
1839,  the  subject  was  taken  up  for  consideration  by  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  At  the  motion  of  a  distinguished  member  of  that  body 
the  following  joint  resolution  was  adopted: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring) ,  That  a  joint  commit- 
tee be  appointed,  consisting  of  seven  members  of  the  Senate,  and  such  a  number  of 
said  House  as  they  shall  appoint,  to  consider  the  expediency  of  providing  an  institu- 
tion of  learning,  to  be  established  in  the  city  of  Washington,  for  the  application  of 
the  legacy  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson,  of  London,  to  the  United  States,  in  trust 
for  that  purpose;  also,  to  consider  the  expediency  of  a  charter  for  such  institution, 
together  with  the  powers  and  privileges  which,  in  their  opinion,  the  said  charter 
ought  to  confer;  also,  to  consider  the  expediency  of  ways  and  means  to  be  provided 
by  Congress,  other  than  said  legacy,  but  in  addition  thereto,  and  in  aid  of  said  benevo- 
lent intention ;  and  to  report  by  bill  or  bills  in  the  premises. 

This  resolution  superseded  at  once  all  that  had  been  done  by  the 
House  and  its  committee  upon  the  two  messages  of  the  President  of 
the  6th  and  7th  of  December,  1838.  It  contemplated  an  institution  of 
learning  at  the  cit\T  of  Washington,  the  establishment  of  which  should 
not  only  absorb  the  whole  fund  bequeathed  by  Mr.  Smithson,  but  large 
appropriations  of  the  public  moneys  of  the  nation. 

In  deference,  however,  and  courtesy  to  the  Senate,  the  House  imme- 
diately concurred  in  their  resolution;  and  the  same  members  to  whom, 
as  a  select  committee  of  the  House,  the  two  messages  of  the  President 
had  been  referred,  were  appointed  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the 
House  under  the  joint  resolution. 

Several  meetings  of  the  joint  committee  were  held  and  some  discus- 
sion was  entertained;  but  the  propositions  of  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  part  of  the  Senate  were  so  widely  at  variance  with  the 
principles  upon  which  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  House  had 
previously  agreed  that  it  soon  became  apparent  that  further  joint 
deliberation  offered  no  prospect  of  a  result  in  which  both  committees 
would  concur.  The  committee  on  the  part  of  the  House  was  notified 
that  the  chairman  of  the  Senate's  committee  was  authorized  by  them 
to  propose  any  measure  on  their  part  which  he  might  deem  proper, 
and  to  agree  to  any  joint  report  in  which  the  committee  on  the  part  of 
the  House  might  concur. 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  189 

On  the  26th  of  January,  1839,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  House,  by  their  direction,  reported  to  the  House  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  the  sum  of dollars,  being  the  amount  deposited  in  the  Treas- 
ury of  the  United  States,  proceeding  from  the  bequest  of  James  Smiihson  to  the  United 
States  of  America,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  an  insti- 
tution to  bear  his  name,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men, 
together  with  what  additional  sum  or  sums  may  hereafter  accrue  from  the  same 
bequest,  and  so  much  of  the  interest  as  has  become,  or  may  become  due  on  the  first- 
named  principal  sum,  until  the day  of ,  ought  to  be  constituted  a  perma- 
nent fund,  to  be  invested  in  a  corporate  body  of  trustees,  to  remain,  under  the  pledge 
of  faith  of  the  United  States,  undiminished  and  unimpaired. 

Resolved,  That  the  said  fund  ought  so  to  be  invested  that  the  faith  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  pledged  for  its  preservation,  unimpaired,  and  for  its  yielding  an 
interest  or  income  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent  a  year,  to  be  appropriated  from  time  to 
time,  by  Congress,  to  the  declared  purpose  of  the  founder;  and  that  all  appropria- 
tions so  made  shall  be  exclusively  from  the  interest  or  income  of  the  fund,  and  not 
from  any  part  of  the  principal  thereof. 

Resolved,  That  the  first  appropriations  from  the  interest  or  income  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  ought  to  be  for  the  erection  and  establishment,  at  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, of  an  astronomical  observatory,  provided  with  the  best  and  most  approved 
instruments  and  books,  for  the  continual  observation,  calculation,  and  recording  of 
the  remarkable  phenomena  of  the  heavens,  for  the  periodical  publication  of  the 
observations  thus  made,  and  of  a  nautical  almanac,  for  the  use  of  the  mariners  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  all  other  navigating  nations. 

These  resolutions  were  ordered  to  be  printed,  and  laid  on  the  table 
for  consideration. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  1839,  the  following  resolutions  were  sub- 
mitted by  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  House,  to 
the  joint  committee  for  consideration: 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  education  of  the  children  and  youth  of  these  United  States 
has  for  its  object,  not  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  but  the 
endowment  of  individuals  of  both  sexes  with  useful  knowledge  already  acquired,  and 
suited  to  their  respective  conditions. 

2.  That  the  declared  object  of  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson  to  the  United  States 
of  America  being  the  foundation,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  of  an  establishment  ' '  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  no  appropriation  of  any  part  of 
the  fund  to  the  purpose  of  educating  the  children  or  youth  of  these  United  States 
would  fulfill  the  intent  of  the  testator. 

3.  That  the  education  of  the  children  of  these  United  States  is  a  duty  of  solemn 
and  indispensable  obligation  incumbent  upon  their  parents  and  guardians,  not  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  but  to  qualify  them  for  the 
enjoyment  of  their  rights,  and  the  performance  of  their  duties  throughout  life. 

4.  That  the  United  States  of  America,  having,  by  their  Congress,  accepted  as  a 
trust  a  large  and  liberal  bequest  from  a  foreigner,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men,  and  having  pledged  their  faith  for  the  application  of  the 
proceeds  of  that  bequest  to  the  declared  purpose  of  the  testator,  would  neither  fulfill 
that  purpose  nor  redeem  their  pledge,  by  appropriating  a  fund,  devised  for  the 
benefit  of  mankind,  to  the  education  of  their  own  children. 

5.  Resolved,  therefore,  That  no  part  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  ought  to  be  applied  to 
the  education  of  the  children  or  youth  of  the  United  States,  nor  to  any  school,  college, 
university,  or  institute  of  education. 


190  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

After  the  meetings  of  the  joint  committee  had  ceased,  the  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  by^  virtue  of  the  authority 
given  him  by  his  colleagues,  presented  to  the  committee  on  the  part 
of  the  House  counter  resolutions,  disapproving  of  the  application  of 
any  part  of  the  Smithsonian  funds  to  the  establishment  of  an  astro- 
nomical observatory,  and  urging  the  application  of  them  to  the  founda- 
tion of  a  university  or  institution  of  learning. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  House,  on  the 
13th  of  February,  1839,  the  above  resolutions,  which  had  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  joint  committee  on  the  6th,  were  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  members  present  at  the  meeting. 

As  it  was  thus  ascertained  that  the  views  of  the  chairman  of  the 
Senate's  committee  could  neither  obtain  the  assent  of  the  committee 
on  the  part  of  the  House,  nor  be  conformable  to  theirs,  it  was  agreed 
that  the  chairman  of  the  Senate's  committee  should  prepare  a  bill 
which  he  would  wish  to  have  reported,  and  that  the  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  House  should  also  cause  to  be  prepared  a  bill  presenting 
the  principles  upon  which  they  had  agreed,  and  that  both  the  bills 
should  be  reported  together  to  both  Houses  of  Congress  for  considera- 
tion. The  two  bills  were  accordingly  reported  to  both  Houses:  To 
the  House  on  the  16th  of  February,  1839,  where  they  were  twice  read 
and  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  on  the  state  of  the 
Union.  They  are  numbered  1160  and  1161  among  the  bills  of  the 
House  of  the  last  session,  but  from  the  lateness  of  the  time  when  they 
were  reported,  and  the  pressure  of  other  indispensable  or  more  urgent 
business,  they  were  not  taken  up  for  consideration  in  the  Committee 
of  the  Whole,  and  remained  without  further  action  of  the  House  upon 
either  of  them  at  the  close  of  the  session. 

The  bill  prepared  by  the  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  Senate  was  taken  up  in  that  body  on  the  25th  of  February 
and  after  full  debate,  by  a  vote  of  20  to  15,  laid  on  the  table.  On 
the  19th  and  20th  of  February,  the  Senator  who  had  been  the  chair- 
man of  the  joint  committee  introduced  in  the  Senate  a  resolution  to 
authorize  the  mayor  and  city  council  of  the  city  of  Washington  to 
prepare  a  plan  of  an  institution,  to  be  called  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, and  to  report  the  same  to  the  Senate  at  the  next  session,  which 
resolution  was,  on  the  1st  of  March,  1839,  laid  on  the  table. 

The  bill  prepared  by  direction  of  the  joint  committee  on  the  part  of 
the  House,  and  reported  to  both  Houses,  was  never  acted  upon  by  the 
Senate.  The  bill  referred  to  this  committee  was  nearly  a  transcript 
from  it,  and  embraces  the  principles  deemed  by  the  committee  of  the 
House,  which  at  the  last  session  reported  the  bill,  of  primary  import- 
ance for  the  organization  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  the  man- 
ner the  most  effective  for  accomplishing  the  purposes  of  the  testator. 

The  first  of  these  principles  is,  that  the  capital  sum  of  the  Smithso- 


TWENTY -SIXTH    CONGKESS,   1839-1841.  191 

nian  fund  should  be  preserved  entire  and  unimpaired,  invested  in  such 
manner  as  to  secure  a  yearly  income  of  6  per  cent,  and  a  perpetual 
annuity  for  yearly  appropriation  for  all  future  time.  The  reasons  for 
this  are  so  obvious  and  so  urgent,  that  it  was  scarcely  to  be  anticipated 
they  would  meet  with  any  deliberate  opposition.  The  object  of  the 
testator's  bequest  is  as  comprehensive  as  the  human  mind,  and  as 
durable  as  the  existence  of  the  race  of  man  upon  earth.  The  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  is,  in  its  nature,  progressive  to  the  end  of 
time.  An  institution  which  should  exhaust  in  its  first  establishment 
and  organization  the  whole,  or  the  principal  part  of  the  bequest,  would 
necessarily  be  confined  within  limits  exceedingly  narrow,  compared 
with  the  vast  design  of  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge.  It  would 
also,  as  may  be  concluded  from  uniform  experience,  be  unable  for  any 
long  series  of  years  to  sustain  itself,  but  would  gradually  sink  into 
insignificance  and  apathy,  or  require  continual  support  from  public 
or  private  munificence.  The  Smithsonian  fund  exceeds  half  a  million 
of  dollars;  by  investing  it  safely,  under  the  guaranty  of  the  nation's 
faith,  to  yield  a  yearly  income  of  6  per  cent,  it  places  at  the  disposal  of 
Congress  a  sum  of  more  than  $30,000  to  be  applied  every  year  to  any 
object  promotive  of  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge.  The 
means  of  attaining  this  end  will,  from  the  very  progressive  nature  of 
knowledge,  vary  from  time  to  time.  Knowledge,  in  her  progress  over 
the  world  of  mind,  pours,  like  the  father  of  the  floods,  her  waters  into 
the  ocean  of  time,  swollen  by  the  tributary  accession  of  unnumbered 
streams. 

This  was  among  the  principal  considerations,  connecting  the  first  of 
these  fundamental  principles  with  the  second — that  no  part  of  the 
Smithsonian  fund,  principal  or  interest,  shall  be  applied  to  any  school, 
college,  university,  institute  of  education,  or  ecclesiastical  establishment. 

There  are  in  these  United  States  95  universities  and  colleges,  besides 
high  schools,  academies,  and  common  schools  without  number.  The 
object  of  all  these  institutions  is  one  and  the  same — education  from 
infancy  to  manhood.  The  subjects  of  instruction  are  all  the  depart- 
ments of  human  science,  from  the  primer  and  the  spelling  book  to  the 
theory  of  infinites  and  the  mechanism  of  the  heavens.  They  are  vari- 
ously graduated  and  adapted  to  the  capacities  and  wants  of  the 
expanding  mind,  from  the  moment  when  the  child  becomes  capable  of 
receiving  instruction  to  the  full  formation  of  adult  age,  and  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  citizen  for  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  active  life, 
and  the  exercise  of  the  faculties  thus  acquired  for  the  benefit  of  the 
individual  himself  and  of  his  fellow-creatures  in  the  social  relations  of 
life.  The.  ultimate  object  of  them  all  is  instruction — the  communica- 
tion of  knowledge  already  possessed — and  not  the  discovery  of  new 
truths  or  the  invention  of  new  instruments  for  the  enlargement  of 
human  power.  This  was  evidently  the  purpose  of  Mr.  Sniithson;  and 


192  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

this  the  committee  of  the  House,  which  reported  their  bill  at  the  last 
session  of  Congress,  unanimously  believed  to  be  entirely  distinct  from 
that  of  the  establishment  of  any  institution  whatever  devoted  to  the 
education  of  children  or  of  youth. 

In  this  point  of  view  the  bequest  of  Mr.  Smithson  assumed,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  committee,  an  interest  of  the  highest  order  peculiar  to 
itself,  most  happily  adapted  to  the  character  of  our  republican  institu- 
tions, and  destined,  if  administered  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was 
bestowed,  to  command  the  grateful  acclamations  of  future  ages  and  to 
illuminate  the  path  of  man  upon  earth  with  rays  of  knowledge  still 
gathering  with  the  revolving  lapse  of  time. 

They  believed  that  an  institute  of  learning  for  education  in  the  city 
of  Washington  was  in  no  wise  needed,  there  being  already  there  a  col- 
lege with  a  charter  from  Congress,  founded  at  great  expense,  provided 
with  all  the  apparatus  for  scientific  instruction,  furnished  with  learned, 
skillful,  and  assiduous  professors  and  teachers  in  every  department  of 
university  studies,  and  yet  scarcely  able  to  sustain  its  own  existence. 
In  the  adjoining  town  of  Georgetown  there  is  also  a  college,  and  there 
is,  perhaps,  no  part  of  the  United  States  where  there  is  less  occasion 
for  the  institution  of  a  new  university  or  college.  By  the  express 
terms  of  the  bequest  the  Smithsonian  Institution  must  be  located  at 
the  city  of  Washington.  A  new  university  here  could  not  fail  either 
to  prove  useless  itself  or  to  destroy  the  existing  college  and  materially 
to  injure  the  neighboring  college  at  Georgetown. 

If,  indeed,  an  institution  of  learning  were  a  suitable  object  for  the 
application  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  it  would  doubtless  be  practicable 
to  ingraft  the  existing  Columbian  College  upon  it  and  thereby,  instead 
of  affecting  injuriously  its  interests  and  prospects,  to  enlarge  its  sphere 
of  usefulness  and  relieve  it  at  the  same  time  from  the  embarrassment 
under  which  it  labors.  But  while  it  would  be  manifestly  unjust  to 
that  college  to  establish  in  its  immediate  vicinity  a  rival  institution 
more  richly  endowed  from  foreign  funds,  it  might  be  deemed  an  appli- 
cation not  less  exceptionable  of  those  funds  to  the  relief  or  assistance 
of  one  particular  establishment  in  this  city,  narrowing  down  the  gen- 
eral purpose  of  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge  among  men  to 
the  special  benefit  and  emolument  of  one  overburdened  seminary  of 
learning. 

Among  the  reasons  for  discarding  all  institutions  of  education  from 
the  purview  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  the  committee  of  the  House 
at  the  last  session  were  not  insensible  to  the  consideration  that  the 
acceptance  of  a  bequest,  coupled  with  a  trust  for  the  increase  and  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge  among  men,  by  the  United  States  of  America, 
imported  a  career  of  action  in  the  execution  of  the  trust  more  compre- 
hensive in  its  object,  more  extensive  in  its  design,  and  therefore  more 
appropriate  for  the  exercise  of  national  powers  than  the  mere  educa- 
tion of  children. 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGKESS,   1839-1841.  193 

The  education  of  children  is,  in  all  civilized  and  Christian  communi- 
ties, in  the  first  instance,  a  solemn  and  imperative  duty  of  their 
parents.  It  stands  in  the  first  rank  of  domestic  and  family  duties; 
and  so  far  as  it  connects  itself  with  social  relations  and  becomes  a 
subject  of  legislation  it  belongs  to  that  class  of  interests  and  concerns 
which,  under  our  complicated  system  of  government,  are  considered 
as  exclusively  confined  to  the  authorities  of  the  separate  States. 
Whether  Congress  possess,  under  the  Constitution,  the  power  to 
establish  a  national  university  is  at  least  a  matter  of  doubt;  and 
although  they  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  whatever  over 
the  District  of  Columbia,  in  which  the  city  of  Washington  is  situated, 
yet  tin  institute  of  learning  coextensive  only  with  the  District  of 
Columbia  must  necessarily  be  confined,  in  all  its  administrations,  as 
much  within  that  District  as  the  universities  and  colleges  within  the 
several  States  are  limited  by  their  respective  jurisdictions.  Nor  did 
it  seem  to  the  committee  altogether  consistent  with  the  self-respect  of 
a  great  confederated  nation  to  receive  from  the  hands  of  a  foreigner 
a  liberal  fund  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  through- 
out the  world  of  man,  and  apply  it  to  the  schooling  of  their  own 
children. 

The  peculiar  expressions  used  by  the  testator  himself,  in  the  indica- 
tion of  the  ultimate  result  of  his  purpose,  and  the  selection  of  his 
trustee,  concur  in  confirming  this  view  of  the  subject.  Had  it  been 
his  intention  to  found  a  college  or  university  for  the  purposes  of  edu- 
cation, it  seems  impossible  that  he  should  have  avoided  the  use  of 
words  necessarily  importing  them.  The  words  school,  college,  uni- 
versity, institution  of  learning,  would  have  been  those  most  appropri- 
ate to  the  specification  of  his  design;  and  it  is  not  imaginable  that, 
having  such  an  intention,  he  should  studiously  have  avoided  the  use  of 
every  word  most  appropriate  for  its  designation.  The  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men  present  neither  the  idea  of  knowl- 
edge already  acquired  to  be  taught,  nor  of  childhood  or  youth  to  be 
instructed;  but  of  new  discovery;  of  progress  in  the  march  of  the 
human  mind;  of  accession  to  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical 
powers  of  the  human  race;  of  dissemination  throughout  the  inhabited 
globe. 

And  if  education  had  been  his  design,  why  should  he  have  selected 
the  city  of  Washington  for  the  seat  of  his  institute,  and  the  United 
States  of  America  for  his  trustees  ?  In  the  land  of  his  nativity  there 
were  children  and  youth  needing  and  destitute  of  the  blessings  of  edu- 
cation, in  multitudes  far  exceeding  those  which  might  have  been 
found  in  the  city  of  Washington  or  throughout  the  North  American 
Union.  In  the  land  of  his  habitation  and  of  his  decease  there  swarmed 
around  him,  ever  present  to  his  eyes,  numberless  children  and  minors, 
to  whom  an  institute  of  learning  would  have  been  far  more  beneficial 
H.  Doc.  732 13 


194  CONGRESSIONAL    PKOCEEDINGS. 

than  it  could  possibly  be  to  the  children  of  the  city  of  Washington  or 
of  the  whole  United  States.  Mr.  Smithson  had  no  personal  relations 
with  this  country;  he  had  never  visited  its  shores;  nor  from  the  pro- 
visions of  his  will,  nor  from  anything  that  has  been  ascertained  of  his 
life,  does  it  appear  that  he  was  ever  intimate,  or  even  acquainted,  with 
any  one  native  citizen  of  this  Union.  Why,  then,  should  he  devote 
the  whole  of  an  ample  fortune  to  the  education  of  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  children  in  a  hemisphere  distant  from  that  in  which 
he  was  born,  had  lived,  and  was  to  die,  and  with  which  he  could  have 
no  sympathy  other  than  that  of  a  common  nature  and  common  princi- 
ples of  moral  and  political  truth? 

Mr.  Smithson's  bequest  was  not  to  the  city  of  Washington,  but  to 
the  United  States  of  America.  His  reasons  for  fixing  the  seat  of  his 
institution  at  Washington  obviously  was  that  there  is  the  seat  of  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States;  and  there  the  Congress,  by  whose  legis- 
lation, and  the  Executive,  through  whose  agency,  the  trust  committed 
to  the  honor,  intelligence,  and  good  faith  of  the  nation,  is  to  be  ful- 
filled. The  peculiar  powers  by  which  Congress  is  enabled  to  dis- 
charge this  trust  in  all  its  magnitude  are  vested  in  them  by  their 
authority  of  exclusive  legislation  over  the  District  of  Columbia;  but, 
in  the  execution  of  the  trust,  the  obligation  incumbent  upon  them  by 
the  will  of  the  testator,  and  by  their  recorded  pledge  of  the  nation's 
faith,  is  so  to  organize  and  so  to  superintend  the  conduct  of  the  insti- 
tution as  to  spread  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  it  not  only  over 
the  whole  surface  of  this  Union,  but  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  Smithsonian  fund  appeared  to  the  committee  of  the  House, 
which  at  the  last  session  reported  the  bill,  equivalent  to  a  considerable 
yearly  donation  to  the  United  States  to  be  expended  in  furnishing  the 
means  and  in  rewarding  the  accomplishment  of  new  discoveries  and 
inventions  throughout  the  whole  range  of  science  and  of  art.  The 
specific  means  of  attaining  directly  or  indirectly  this  end  are  as  various 
as  the  arts  and  sciences  themselves,  and  as  prolific  as  the  imagination 
of  man.  Among  the  many  establishments  which  were  suggested  to 
them,  or  which  occurred  to  their  own  consideration,  which  would  be 
strictly  included  within  the  express  language  of  the  will  and  the 
undoubted  intention  of  the  testator,  that  upon  which  they  rested  as 
first  deserving,  and  for  a  succession  of  several  years,  the  application 
of  the  annual  income  of  the  fund,  was  an  astronomical  observatory  of 
the  most  enlarged  and  liberal  character,  with  provisions  for  the  most 
effective  continual  observation  of  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens;  for 
the  actual  calculations  and  periodical  publication  of  the  results  of  those 
observations,  and  for  affording  to  the  navigators  of  our  own  and  of 
all  other  maritime  nations  our  contribution  of  all  the  facilities  which 
the  detected  secrets  of  the  starry  universe  can  furnish  to  the  wander- 
ing pilgrim  of  this  sublunary  sphere.  It  was  not  the  intention  or 
expectation  of  the  committee  that  the  appropriations  from  the  Smith- 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGKESS,   1839-1841.  195 

sonian  fund  should  be  confined  exclusively  to  this  object.  Far  other- 
wise; the  improvement  of  all  the  arts  and  sciences  was  embraced  in  the 
letter  and  in  the  spirit  of  Mr.  Smithson's  bequest;  and  that  was  one  of 
the  principal  reasons  which  induced  the  committee  to  recommend,  as  a 
fundamental  principal  for  the  organization  and  conduct  of  the  institu- 
tion, that  perpetuity  and  a  regular  income  should  be  irrevocably 
secured  to  the  fund  and  yearly  appropriations  made  only  from  the 
accruing  income.  A  botanical  garden,  a  cabinet  of  natural  history,  a 
museum  of  mineralogy,  conchology,  or  geology,  a  general  accumulating 
library — all  institutions  of  which  there  are  numerous  examples  among 
the  civilized  Christian  nations,  and  of  most  of  which  our  own  country 
is  not  entirely  destitute;  all  are  undoubtedly  included  within  the  com- 
prehensive grasp  of  Mr.  Smithson's  design;  all  may  receive  in  turn, 
and  with  progressive  utility  and  power,  liberal  contributions  from  the 
continually  growing  income  of  the  trust.  Nor  did  the  committee 
believe  that  the  moral  or  political  sciences,  the  philosophy  of  lan- 
guage, the  natural  history  of  speech,  the  graces  of  polite  literature, 
the  mechanic  or  the  liberal  arts,  were  to  be  excluded  from  the  benefits 
prepared  for  posterity  by  the  perpetuation  of  this  fund.  Whatever 
personal  preference  Mr.  Smithson  may,  during  his  life,  have  enter- 
tained for  the  cultivation  of  the  natural  sciences,  no  such  preference 
encumbers  his  bequest  or  is  indicated  by  his  will.  It  is  knowledge, 
the  source  of  all  human  wisdom  and  of  all  beneficent  power;  knowl- 
edge, as  far  transcending  the  postulated  lever  of  Archimedes  as  the 
universe  transcends  this  speck  of  earth  upon  its  face;  knowledge,  the 
attribute  of  Omnipotence,  of  which  man  alone  in  the  physical  and 
material  world  is  permitted  to  participate;  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  which  among  men  is  the  result  to  which  the  ample  fortune  of  Mr. 
Smithson  is  devoted,  and  for  the  accomplishment  of  which  he  selects 
the  United  States  of  America  as  his  trustees  and  their  National  Gov- 
ernment as  his  agents.  Let  not,  then,  any  branch  or  department  of 
human  knowledge  be  excluded  from  its  equitable  share  of  this  bene- 
faction. But  it  is  believed  that  no  one  science  deserves  or  requires 
the  immediate  application  of  the  accrued  and  accruing  income  of  the 
fund  so  urgently  as  practical  astronomy. 

The  express  object  of  an  observatory  is  the  increase  of  knowledge 
by  new  discovery.  The  physical  relations  between  the  firmament  of 
heaven  and  the  globe  allotted  by  the  Creator  of  all  to  be  the  abode  of 
man  are  discoverable  only  by  the  organ  of  the  eye.  Many  of  these 
relations  are  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  human  life,  and  perhaps 
of  the  earth  itself.  Who  can  conceive  the  idea  of  a  world  without  a 
sun  but  must  connect  with  it  the  extinction  of  light  and  heat,  of  all 
animal  life,  of  all  vegetation  and  production,  leaving  the  lifeless  clod 
of  matter  to  return  to  the  primitive  state  of  chaos  or  to  be  consumed 
by  elemental  fire?  The  influence  of  the  moon,  of  the  planets,  our  next 


196  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

door  neighbors  of  the  solar  system,  of  the  fixed  stars,  scattered  over 
the  blue  expanse  in  multitudes  exceeding  the  power  of  human  compu- 
tation, and  at  distances  of  which  imagination  herself  can  form  no  dis- 
tinct conception;  the  influence  of  all  these  upon  the  globe  which  we 
inhabit,  and  upon  the  condition  of  man,  its  dying  and  deathless  inhab- 
itant, is  great  and  mysterious,  and  in  the  search  for  final  causes  to  a 
great  degree  inscrutable  to  his  finite  and  limited  faculties.  The  extent 
to  which  they  arc  discoverable  is  and  must  remain  unknown;  but  to 
the  vigilance  of  11  sleepless  eye,  to  the  toil  of  a  tireless  hand,  and  to  the 
meditations  of  a  thinking,  combining,  and  analyzing  mind  secrets  are 
successively  revealed,  not  only  of  the  deepest  import  to  the  welfare  of 
man  in  his  earthly  career,  but  which  seem  to  lift  him  from  the  earth 
to  the  threshold  of  his  eternal  abode,  to  lead  him  blindfold  up  to  the 
council  chamber  of  Omnipotence,  and  there,  stripping  the  bandage 
from  his  eyes,  bid  him  look  undazzled  at  the  throne  of  God. 

In  the  history  of  the  human  species  (so  far  as  it  is  known  to  us), 
astronomical  observation  was  one  of  the  first  objects  of  pursuit  for  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge.  In  the  first  chapter  of  the  Sacred  Volume 
we  are  told  that,  in  the  process  of  creation,  "God  said,  let  there  be 
lights  in  the  firmament  of  the  heavens,  to  divide  the  day  from  the 
night;  and  let  them  be  for  signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days  and 
years."  By  the  special  appointment,  then,  of  the  Creator,  they  were 
made  the  standards  for  the  measurement  of  time  upon  earth.  They 
were  made  for  more;  not  only  for  seasons,  for  days,  and  years — but 
for  signs.  Signs  of  what?  It  may  be  that  the  word  in  this  passage 
has  reference  to  the  signs  of  the  Egyptian  zodiac,  to  mark  the  succes- 
sion of  solar  months;  or  it  may  indicate  a  more  latent  connection 
between  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  of  the  nature  of  judicial  astrology. 
These  relations  are  not  only  apparent  to  the  most  superficial  observa- 
tion of  man,  but  many  of  them  remain  inexhaustible  funds  of  successive 
discovery — perhaps  as  long  as  the  continued  existence  of  man  upon 
earth.  What  an  unknown  world  of  mind,  for  example,  is  yet  teeming 
in  the  womb  of  time,  to  be  revealed  in  tracing  the  causes  of  the  sym- 
pathy between  the  magnet  and  the  pole — that  unseen,  immaterial  spirit, 
which  walks  with  us  through  the  most  entangled  forests,  over  the  most 
interminable  wilderness,  and  across  everjr  region  of  the  pathless  deep, 
by  day,  by  night,  in  the  calm  serene  of  a  cloudless  sky,  and  in  the 
howling  of  the  hurricane  or  the  typhoon.  Who  can  witness  the  move- 
ments of  that  tremulous  needle,  poised  upon  its  center,  still  tending 
to  the  polar  star,  but  obedient  to  His  distant  hand,  armed  with  a  metallic 
guide,  round  every  point  of  the  compass,  at  the  fiat  of  His  will,  without 
feeling  a  thrill  of  amazement  approaching  to  superstition?  The  dis- 
covery of  the  attractive  power  of  the  magnet  was  made  before  the 
invention  of  the  alphabet  or  the  age  of  hieroglyphics.  No  record  of 
the  event  is  found  upon  the  annals  of  human  history;  but  seven  hun- 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  197 

dred  years  have  scarcely  passed  away  since  its  polarity  was  first  known 
to  the  civilized  European  man.  It  was  by  observation  of  the  periodical 
revolution  of  the  earth  in  her  orbit  round  the  sun,  compared  with  her 
daily  revolution  round  her  axis,  that  was  disclosed  the  fact  that  hei 
annual  period  was  composed  of  365  of  her  daily  revolutions,  or,  in 
other  words,  that  the  year  was  composed  of  365  days;  but  the  shep- 
herds of  Egypt,  watching  their  flocks  by  night,  could  not  but  observe 
the  movements  of  the  dog  star — next  to  the  sun,  the  most  brilliant  of 
the  luminaries  of  heaven.  They  worshiped  that  star  as  a  god;  and 
losing  sight  of  him  for  about  forty  days  every  year,  during  his  con- 
junction with  the  sun,  they  watched  with  intense  anxiety  for  his 
reappearance  in  the  sky,  and  with  that  day  commenced  their  year.  By 
this  practice,  it  failed  not  soon  to  be  found  that,  although  the  reap- 
pearance of  the  star,  for  three  successive  years,  was  at  the  end  of  365 
days,  it  would  on  the  fourth  year  be  delayed  one  day  longer;  and  after 
repeated  observation  of  this  phenomenon,  they  added  six  hours  to  the 
computed  duration  of  the  year,  and  established  the  canicular  period 
of  four  years,  consisting  of  1,461  days.  It  was  not  until  the  days  of 
Julius  Caesar  that  this  computation  of  time  was  adopted  in  the  Roman 
calendar;  and  fifteen  centuries  from  that  time  had  elapsed  before  the 
yearly  celebration  of  the  Christian  paschal  festivals,  founded  upon  the 
Passover  of  the  Levitical  law,  revealed  the  fact  that  the  annual  revo- 
lution of  the  earth,  in  her  orbit  round  the  sun,  is  not  precisely  of  365 
days  and  one-quarter,  but  of  between  11  and  12  minutes  less;  and  thus 
the  duration  of  the  year  was  ascertained,  as  a  measure  of  time,  to  an 
accuracy  of  three  or  four  seconds,  more  or  less — a  mistake  which 
would  scarcely  amount  to  one  day  in  20,000  years. 

It  is,  then,  to  the  successive  discoveries  of  persevering  astronomical 
observation  through  a  period  of  fifty  centuries  that  we  are  indebted 
for  a  fixed  and  permanent  standard  for  the  measurement  of  time. 
And  by  the  same  science  has  man  acquired,  so  far  as  he  possesses  it,  a 
standard  for  the  measurement  of  space.  A  standard  for  the  measure- 
ment of  the  dimensions  and  distances  of  the  fixed  stars  from  ourselves 
is  yet  to  be  found;  and,  if  ever  found,  will  be  through  the  means  of 
astronomical  observation.  The  influence  of  all  these  discoveries  upon 
the  condition  of  man  is,  no  doubt,  infinitely  diversified  in  relative 
importance;  but  all,  even  the  minutest,  contribute  to  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge.  There  is  no  richer  field  of  science  opened  to 
the  exploration  of  man  in  search  of  knowledge  than  astronomical 
observation;  nor  is  there,  in  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  any  duty 
more  impressively  incumbent  upon  all  human  governments  than  that 
of  furnishing  means  and  facilities  and  rewards  to  those  who  devote 
the  labors  of  their  lives  to  the  indefatigable  industry,  the  unceasing 
vigilance,  and  the  bright  intelligence  indispensable  to  success  in  these 
pursuits. 


198  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  committee  will  add,  that  at  no  period  of  human  history  has  the 
general  impulse  of  the  learned  world  been  more  intensely  directed  to 
the  cultivation  of  this  science  than  in  the  present  age.  It  was  an 
observation  of  Voltaire  that  if  the  whole  human  race  could  be  assembled 
in  one  mass  from  the  creation  of  man  to  his  time,  in  the  graduation  of 
genius  among  them  all,  Isaac  Newton  would  stand  at  their  head.  But 
the  discoveries  of  Newton  were  the  results  of  calculations  founded 
upon  the  observations  of  others — of  Copernicus,  of  Tycho  Brahe,  of 
Kepler,  of  Flamsteed;  and  among  their  producing  causes,  not  the 
least  was  the  erection  and  establishment  of  the  royal  observatory  of 
Greenwich. 

The  original  purpose  of  this  institution,  first  commenced  in  1676, 
under  the  patronage  of  Charles  II,  and  the  most  glorious  incident  of 
his  life,  was  for  the  finding  out  the  so  much  desired  longitudes  of 
places  for  the  perfecting  the  art  of  navigation;  and  the  inscription 
still  existing  above  the  original  door  of  the  observatory  declares  that 
it  was  built  for  the  benefit  of  astronomy  and  navigation;  so  intimately 
connected  together  are  the  abstract  science  and  the  practical  art  that 
without  the  help  of  the  astronomer  the  seaman  could  not  urge  his  bark 
in  safety  one  inch  beyond  the  sight  of  the  shore. 

The  discovery  of  the  longitudes  of  places,  the  benefit  of  astronomy 
and  navigation,  were  thus  the  declared  objects  of  the  erecting  of  the 
Greenwich  Observatory,  and  of  the  appointment,  in  the  person  of 
Flamsteed,  of  an  astronomical  observator  with  a  salary  of  one  hundred 
pounds  sterling  a  year,  leaving  him  to  provide  himself  with  all  the 
instruments  and  books  necessary  for  the  performance  of  his  duties. 
And  what  were  the  first  fruits  of  this  institution?  (1)  An  increased 
accuracy  of  observation,  by  the  attachment  of  telescopes  to  graduated 
instruments,  and  by  the  use  of  a  clock  to  note  the  time  at  which  stars 
and  planets  passed,  by  their  apparent  diurnal  motion,  across  the  mid- 
dle of  the  field  of  view  of  the  telescope.  (2)  A  catalogue  of  the  places 
of  3,310  stars,  with  a  name  affixed  to  each  of  them,  the  selection  and 
nomenclature  of  which  have  served  as  the  basis  to  every  catalogue 
since  that  time.  Nor  is  it  an  uninteresting  incident  in  the  progressive 
history  of  astronomical  knowledge  that  when,  100  years  later,  Hersehel 
discovered  that  the  star  which  bears  his  name  was  a  planet,  he  found 
it  as  a  fixed  star  upon  the  catalogue  of  Flamsteed.  (3)  Many  of 
Flamsteed's  observations  of  the  moon,  reduced  as  well  as  was  then 
practicable,  were,  at  Newton's  request,  communicated  to  him,  to  aid 
in  perfecting  the  theory  deduced  from  the  principle  of  universal  grav- 
itation. "The  time,"  as  has  been  well  observed  by  the  present  astron- 
omer royal,  the  Reverend  George  Biddell  Airy,  "the  time  at  which 
these  observations  were  made  was  a  most  critical  one — when  the  most 
accurate  observations  that  had  been  made  were  needed  for  the  support 
of  the  most  extensive  philosophical  theory  that  man  had  invented." 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  199 

Since  the  death  of  Flamsteed,  the  office  of  astronomer  royal  has  been 
successively  filled  by  Doctor  Halley,  who  has  given  his  name  to  the 
most  splendid  comet  of  the  solar  system,  by  computing  its  orbit  and 
predicting  its  return  after  a  period  of  about  seventy -five  years,  already 
twice  verified;  then  by  Bradley,  immortalized  by  the  two  discoveries 
of  the  aberration  of  light  and  the  nutation  of  the  earth's  axis;  by 
Bliss,  Maskelyne,  and  Pond;  the  present  successor  of  whom  is 
Mr.  Airy — like  all  his  predecessors,  among  the  most  eminent  astron- 
omers of  the  age.  For  the  space  of  nearly  two  centuries  this  institu- 
tion has  existed  and  has  been  the  seat  of  continuous  observations, 
scarcely  interrupted  by  the  intervals  between  the  cessation  of  the 
labors  of  one  observator  and  the  commencement  of  those  of  his  suc- 
cessor, an  arrangement  made  by  the  means  of  assistants,  which  has 
contributed  to  distinguish  the  system  of  observations  pursued  at 
Greenwich  from  that  followed  at  every  other  observatory. 

From  such  small  beginnings  originated  and  thus  illustrious  has 
been  the  career  of  the  royal  observatory  of  Greenwich.  Originally 
attached  to  the  ordnance  department,  it  was  in  1816  or  1817  trans- 
ferred to  the  department  of  the  admiralty.  The  estimates  for  the 
annual  expense  of  the  observatory  are  inserted  under  the  "scientific 
branch  "  of  the  admiralty  account  in  the  Parliamentary  estimates  and 
are  voted  annually  by  Parliament. 

The  committee  of  the  House  take  the  liberty  of  annexing  to  this 
report  extracts  of  a  communication  from  the  present  astronomer 
royal,  Mr.  Airy,  received  in  the  course  of  the  last  summer  by  their 
chairman,  and  containing  much  valuable  information  concerning  the 
royal  observatory  at  Greenwich,  and  relating  to  other  astronomical 
observatories  within  the  British  dominions  and  under  the  patronage 
of  the  British  Government. 

The  history  of  the  royal  observatory  of  France  would  present  an 
exhibition  not  less  interesting  of  the  benefits  conferred  upon  mankind 
by  the  slightest  notices  bestowed  by  the  rulers  of  mankind  upon  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge;  and  the  names  of  the  four  Cassinis  would  range 
in  honorable  distinction  by  the  side  of  those  of  Flamsteed,  Halle}'. 
Bradley,  and  Maskelyne. 

Within  the  last  century  the  other  governments  of  Europe  have 
emulated  with  those  of  France  and  England  in  erecting  and  endowing 
astronomical  observatories,  the  number  of  which  in  that  quarter  of 
the  globe  is  not  less  at  this  time  than  120,  while  throughout  the  whole 
range  of  these  United  States  there  is  not  one. 

In  the  British  islands  alone  there  are  observatories  at  the  univer- 
sities of  Cambridge  and  Oxford;  at  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  in  Scot- 
land, and  at  Dublin  and  Armagh,  in  Ireland,  all  of  which  receive 
some  patronage  from  the  Government.  And,  in  addition  to  which, 
there  has  been  erected,  under  the  same  patronage,  an  observatory  at 


200  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  already  made  illustrious  by  the  labors  of  Sir 
John  Herschel. 

Among  the  munificent  patrons  of  science,  and  particularly  of  prac- 
tical astronomy,  adding  a  brighter  luster  than  that  of  the  diamond  or 
the  ruby  to  the  imperial  crown,  is  the  present  Emperor  of  all  the 
Russias.  There  was,  during  the  reign  of  his  predecessor,  a  small 
observatory  at  St.  Petersburg,  at  which  the  eminent  German  astrono- 
mer Schubert,  author  of  a  profoundly  learned  and  also  of  the  best 
popular  system  of  astronomy  extant,  presided. 

But  no  longer  since  than  the  7th  of  August  last  the  inauguration 
took  place  of  the  new  observatory  of  Pulkowa,  near  St.  Petersburg, 
a  spot  selected  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas  himself  for  the  establishment 
founded  under  his  auspices,  and  constituting  perhaps  the  most  perfect 
and  best  appointed  institution  of  this  nature  extant  in  the  world.  In 
November  last  an  account  of  this  event,  and  a  long  and  detailed 
description  of  the  observatory  itself,  was  communicated  by  Mr.  Arago 
to  the  National  Institute  of  France;  and  the  reporter  of  this  discourse 
of  Mr.  Arago,  in  one  of  the  periodical  journals  of  Paris,  observes  that 
its  details  would  be  read  with  interest  and  give  an  idea  of  the  exer- 
tions made  in  that  land  of  serfs  for  the  progress  of  the  sciences.  "We 
acknowledge,"  adds  the  journalist,  "that  the  reading  of  this  article 
would  have  been  very  little  flattering  to  our  national  self-love  if  the 
honorable  Mr.  Arago  had  not  immediately  informed  us  that,  by  the 
accomplished  labors  of  Mr.  Gambay,  the  observatory  of  Paris  has  no 
reason  to  shrink  from  a  comparison  with  this  new  model  of  observa- 
tories at  Pulkowa." 

The  committee  of  the  House  can  not  but  consider  these  circumstances 
as  indicating,  in  an  eminent  degree,  that  intense  and  ardent  thirst  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  which,  among  all  the  nations 
of  Christendom,  however  politically  governed,  forms  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  characteristics  of  the  age  in  which  we  live.  Here  is  the 
sovereign  of  the  mightiest  empire  and  the  most  absolute  government 
upon  earth,  ruling  over  a  land  of  serfs,  gathering  a  radiance  of  glory 
around  his  throne  by  founding  and  endowing  the  most  costly  and  most 
complete  establishment  for  astronomical  observation  on  the  face  oi  the 
earth.  This  is  undertaken  and  accomplished  under  hyperborean 
skies — in  the  region  so  proximate  to  the  pole  that  it  offers  to  the 
inspection  of  the  human  eye  only  a  scanty  portion  of  the  northern 
hemisphere,  with  an  atmosphere  so  chilled  with  cold,  veiled  writh  clouds, 
and  obscured  with  vapors  that  it  yields  scarcely  sixty  days  in  the 
year  when  observation  of  the  heavenly  bodies  is  practicable.  And  this 
event  is  honorably  noticed  in  the  National  Institute  of  France,  one  of 
the  most  learned  and  talented  assemblies  of  men  upon  the  globe — 
noticed  as  an  occurrence  in  the  annals  of  science — noticed  for  honor 
and  for  emulation.  The  journalist  of  a  free  country,  applauding  the 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  201 

exertions  of  a  land  of  serfs  to  promote  the  progress  of  science,  avows 
that  he  should  blush  for  his  own  country  had  he  not  at  hand  the  evidence 
of  her  exertions  not  less  strenuous  for  the  advancement  of  the  same 
cause. 

The  committee  of  the  House,  in  applying  to  their  own  country  that 
sensibility  to  the  national  honor  which  the  French  journalist  attributes 
to  self-love,  would  gladly  seek  for  its  gratification  in  the  same  assur- 
ance that  she  is  not  lagging  behind  in  the  race  of  honor,  but  that,  in 
casting  their  eyes  around  over  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  their 
native  land,  they  must  blush  to  acknowledge  that  not  a  single  edifice 
deserving  the  name  of  an  astronomical  observatory  is  to  be  seen. 

The  bill  reported  by  the  committee  of  this  House,  at  the  last  session 
of  Congress,  bears  testimony  to  their  earnest  desire  that  this  reproach 
might  be  removed  from  the  people  of  the  North  American  Union. 
That  bill  was  unaccompanied  with  a  report,  because  other  views  of  the 
disposal  of  the  fund  bequeathed  to  the  United  States  by  Mr.  Smithson 
had  been  entertained  by  the  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  Senate,  in  which  views  his  colleagues  of  the  same  commit 
tee  acquiesced.  As  a  compromise  of  irreconcilable  opinions,  it  became 
necessary,  therefore,  to  agree  that  the  two  bills  should  be  reported 
together  to  both  Houses;  and  as  it  was  obvious  that  the  remnant  of 
time  to  the  close  of  that  session  would  be  so  absorbed  by  other  and 
indispensable  business  that  it  would  be  impossible  deliberately  to 
discuss  either  of  the  bills  in  the  House,  and  to  avoid,  in  deference 
to  the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  and  to  their  chairman,  any 
unnecessary  display  of  argument  against  their  bill,  it  was  reported  by 
the  committee  of  the  House,  together  with  their  own  bill,  without 
commentary  upon  either.  The  object  of  the  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  for  the  disposal  of  the  Smithsonian 
fund,  was  the  establishment  of  an  institution  of  learning,  or  great 
national  university,  by  the  authority  of  Congress,  which  would  not 
only  absorb  the  whole  bequest,  but  would  require  the  superaddition 
of  large  and  frequent  appropriations  of  public  moneys  for  its  main- 
tenance and  support.  The  bill  of  that  committee,  reported  to  the 
Senate,  was  actually  taken  up  in  that  body,  and,  after  deliberate  dis- 
cussion of  its  merits,  was  by  them  rejected.  The  immediate  conse- 
quence of  the  interposition  of  that  body  upon  a  subject  which  had  been 
already  several  weeks  under  the  consideration  of  a  select  committee  of 
this  House,  was  to  prevent  the  possible  action  of  Congress  for  the  ful- 
fillment, at  that  session,  of  the  trust  committed  to  them. 

Four  members  of  the  committee  of  the  House,  at  the  last  session  of 
Congress,  are  also  members  of  the  present  committee.  Retaining 
their  opinions  in  favor  of  the  bill  then  reported  by  the  committee  on 
the  part  of  the  House,  they  see  no  cause  to  regret  the  delay  to  the 
final  action  of  Congress  upon  the  disposal  of  the  bequest,  occasioned 


202  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

by  the  appointment  and  proceedings  of  the  joint  committee  of  both 
Houses  at  the  last  session.  To  the  faithful  performance  by  Congress 
of  the  solemn  duties  imposed  on  them  by  the  acceptance  of  this  fund 
and  trust  to  the  honor  and  pledged  faith  of  the  nation,  it  was  wise  and 
just  to  do  nothing  with  precipitation.  The  routine  of  the  ordinary 
business  of  Congress  furnished  neither  principle  nor  precedent  for 
efficient  legislation  upon  this  subject;  the  trust  was  as  delicate  as  it 
was  important  to  the  memory  of  the  testator,  and  honorable  to  the 
good  name  of  the  trustee.  An  error  in  the  first  organization  of  the 
institution  might,  in  its  consequences,  at  once  defeat  the  noble  purpose 
of  the  founder,  fail  in  the  express  object  of  his  bounty — the  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men — and  react,  most  injuriously, 
upon  the  reputation  of  our  beloved  country,  by  demonstrating  to  the 
world  of  mankind,  of  this  and  after  ages,  that  the  generous  confidence 
of  this  friend  of  man  in  her  upright  and  intelligent  ardor  in  the  pur- 
suit of  knowledge  was  misplaced. 

It  was  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  bequest  itself  that  the  settlement  of 
the  principles  upon  which  the  institution  should  be  founded  should  be 
calm  and  considerate,  and,  above  all,  disinterested;  separated  from  all 
projects  of  individuals,  and,  perhaps,  communities,  for  provisions  of 
emolument  to  themselves;  separated  from  all  speculative,  patent  inven- 
tions and  discoveries  in  embryo,  which,  after  wasting  time  and  money 
upon  the  false  conceptions  of  genius,  may  never  come  to  the  birth; 
separate,  in  fine,  from  all  schools,  colleges,  universities,  institutes  of 
education,  or  ecclesiastical  establishments. 

It  was  particularly  desirable  that  the  exclusion  of  all  institutes  for 
education  from  a  participation  in  the  disposal  of  these  funds  should  be 
fully  considered  and  debated  before  its  adoption  as  a  fundamental 
principle  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  because  the  first  impression 
upon  the  public  mind,  whether  learned  or  illiterate,  in  this  country, 
very  extensively,  was,  upon  the  first  publication  of  Mr.  Smithson's 
will,  that  the  express  design  of  his  bequest  was  to  bestow  his  large 
fortune  to  the  cause  of  education;  and  that  a  school,  college,  or  uni- 
versity, was  the  only  mode  of  providing  for  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men. 

It  is,  then,  to  be  considered  as  a  circumstance  propitious  to  the  final 
disposal  of  this  fund,  by  the  organization  of  an  institution  the  best 
adapted  to  accomplish  the  design  of  the  testator,  that  this  first  but 
erroneous  impression  of  that  design — an  institute  of  learning,  a  uni- 
versity, upon  the  foundation  of  which  the  whole  fund  should  be 
lavished,  and  yet  prove  inadequate  to  its  purpose  without  large  appro- 
priations of  public  moneys  in  its  aid — should  have  been  presented  to 
the  consideration  of  Congress,  referred  to  a  numerous  joint  commit- 
tee of  both  Houses,  there  discussed,  reported  for  the  deliberation  of 
both  Houses,  fully  debated  in  the  House  where  it  originated,  and 
there  decisively  rejected. 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,    1839-1841.  203 

This  committee  concur  entirely  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee  of 
the  House  at  the  last  session  of  Congress,  that  the  express  language  of 
Mr.  Smithson's  will  indicates  a  design  not  only  distinct,  but  widely 
different  from  the  schooling  of  children.  Besides  the  reasons  assigned 
in  the  resolutions  of  the  former  committee  for  withholding  any  por- 
tion of  these  funds  from  any  institute  of  education,  it  is  apparent  that 
the  fund  itself,  large  and  liberal  as  it  is,  could  be  applied  only  to  an 
establishment  extremely  partial  and  limited,  not  only  with  regard  to 
the  instruction  to  be  given,  but  to  the  persons  who  could  be  benefited 
by  it.  For  a  national  university,  besides  the  utter  inadequateness  of 
the  fund  for  such  an  establishment,  all  its  benefits  would  necessarily 
be  confined  to  a  very  small  number  of  students  from  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington and  its  immediate  vicinity,  together  with  a  number  scarcely 
larger,  who,  at  an  expense  which  none  but  tbe  wealthy  could  afford, 
might  resort  from  distant  parts  of  the  Union  to  Washington  for  learn- 
ing, which,  after  all,  they  could  acquire  with  equal  proficiency  in  the 
colleges  of  their  own  respective  States.  A  school  devoted  to  any  par- 
ticular branch  of  science — as,  for  example,  a  military  or  naval  school, 
a  farm  school,  or  school  of  mechanic  arts,  a  school  of  law,  physic,  or 
divinity,  a  school  of  mines,  of  natural  history,  of  metaphysics,  litera- 
ture, morals  or  politics — however  effective  for  teaching  these  several 
branches  of  science,  would  be  available  only  for  a  very  small  number 
of  individuals,  and  very  ill-adapted  to  promote  the  increase  and  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  among  men.  If  education  had  been  the  peculiar 
object  of  Mr.  Smithson's  solicitude,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  he 
would  have  been  desirous  of  diffusing  the  benefits  of  his  institution 
among  all  classes  of  the  community  as  extensively  as  might  be  possi- 
ble; that  he  would  have  devoted  it  to  the  endowment  of  primary 
schools,  of  infant  or  Sunday  schools,  of  institutions,  in  fine,  where 
the  recipients  of  his  bounty  would  have  been  at  once  in  great  numbers, 
and  of  the  class  of  society  which  preeminently  needs  the  blessing  of 
elementary  instruction.  It  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  an  excellent 
disposal  of  his  ample  fortune,  and  would  indirectly  have  contributed 
to  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  But  had  this 
been  his  design,  he  could  neither  have  located  his  institution  at  the 
city  of  Washington  nor  have  selected  for  trustees  and  agents  to  fulfill 
his  design  the  United  States  of  America. 

In  proposing  that  an  astronomical  observatory  should  be  the  first 
object  for  the  application  of  the  annual  income  from  the  Smithsonian 
bequest,  and  that  the  appropriations  should  be  confined  to  that  object 
until  an  establishment  of  that  character  shall  be  completed,  not  inferior 
for  efficiency  to  any  other  devoted  to  the  same  science  in  any  part  of 
the  world,  this  committee  have  been  not  altogether  uninfluenced  by 
anticipations  of  the  impression  which  it  will  make  upon  the  reputation 
of  these  United  States  throughout  the  learned  and  scientific  world. 


204  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

As  a  commercial  and  navigating  nation,  they  stand  already  in  the  first 
rank  of  Christian  communities.  To  the  science  of  geography,  so  far 
as  it  can  be  improved  by  adventurous  enterprise  in  exploring  the 
unfrequented  paths  of  every  ocean,  they  have  contributed  their  share 
of  private  and  individual  exertion.  The  expedition  now  floating  upon 
a  distent  sea  in  search  of  new  discoveries  upon  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  affords  a  signal  testimonial  of  the  interest  taken  by  this  Gov- 
ernment in  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  geographical  knowledge. 
Nor  has  astronomy  been  wholly  neglected  in  the  instructions  given  for 
the  conduct  of  the  expedition.  But  there  exists  no  permanent  estab- 
lishment throughout  the  Union  for  systematic  continual  observation 
of  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens;  for  the  mathematical  calculations  to 
furnish  the  practical  results  of  observation;  and  for  periodical  publi- 
cation, for  the  benefit  of  the  commercial,  navigating,  and  scientific 
world,  of  the  fruits  of  this  combined  observation  and  calculation.  To 
supply  this  deficiency,  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson  fortunately 
furnishes  the  means,  without  needing  the  assistance  of  any  contribu- 
tion from  the  public  funds  of  the  nation.  Should  the  Government  of 
the  Union,  responding  to  an  impulse  of  emulation  in  laudable  pursuits 
which  may  be  kindled  in  the  minds  of  this  ambitious  people  by  suc- 
cessful results  in  the  application  of  the  Smithsonian  funds,  hereafter 
be  disposed  to  appropriate  some  portion  of  the  moneys  levied  upon 
the  people  themselves  to  the  advancement  of  astronomical  or  geo- 
graphical knowledge,  there  will  be  ample  field  for  demonstrating  to 
the  world  that  the  United  States  of  America  were  not  only  worthy  of 
the  honor  done  them  by  a  generous  foreigner  in  selecting  them  as 
the  administrators  of  his  bequest  for  the  improvement  of  the  condition 
of  man,  but  that  the  American  people  themselves  will  require  a  liberal 
application  of  their  own  revenues,  levied  upon  themselves,  to  the  same 
lofty-spirited  purpose.  The  committee  are  of  opinion  that  it  will 
be  expedient  to  keep  the  Smithsonian  bequest  within  itself,  resting 
upon  its  own  resources,  and  reserving  to  the  memory  of  the  founder 
himself  whatever  of  credit  or  of  gratitude  may  be  due  to  the  success- 
ful accomplishment  of  his  benevolent  design.  Not  a  ray  of  glory  can 
be  concentrated  upon  him  but  will  be  reflected  back  upon  those  whom 
he  selected  as  his  administrators  and  trustees. 

With  these  observations,  the  committee  submit  the  bill  and  proposed 
amendments  to  the  consideration  of  the  House: 

SECTION  1 .  Be  it  enacted  etc..,  That  the  Vice-Preaident  of  the  United  States,  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States,  the  Secretaries  of  State,  of  the  Treasury,  of  War,  and 
of  the  Navy,  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city 
of  Washington,  all  during  the  time  when  they  shall  hold  their  respective  offices, 
together  with  three  members  of  the  Senate  and  four  members  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, to  be  annually  elected  by  their  respective  Houses  on  the  second  Wednes- 
day of  December,  and  to  continue  in  office  until  others  are  elected  in  their  stead, 
shall  be,  and  hereby  are,  constituted  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  by  the  style  and 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  205 

title  of  the  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men,  with  perpetual  succession,  and  the  usual  powers,  duties,  and 
liabilities  incident  to  corporations. 

SET.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  corporation  so  constituted  shall  have 
power  to  appoint,  from  citizens  of  the  United  States  other  than  members  of  the  board, 
a  secretary  and  a  treasurer,  to  hold  their  offices  during  the  pleasure  of  the  board,  and 
removable  at  their  pleasure,  and  others  to  be  appointed  in  their  places,  and  to  fix 
their  compensations.  And  the  secretary  and  treasurer  only  shall  receive  pecuniary 
compensation  for  their  services,  and  those  of  the  members  of  the  board  of  trustees 
shall  be  gratuitous.  And  the  offices  of  secretary  and  treasurer  may,  at  the  discretion 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  be  held  by  the  same  person.  The  secretary  and  treasurer 
shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices;  and  the 
treasurer  shall  give  bond,  with  the  penalty  of  $50,000  with  sureties  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for  the  safe  custody  and  faithful  application  of  all 
the  funds  of  the  Institution  which  may  come  to  his  hands  or  be  at  his  disposal. 

SBC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $508,318.46  placed  in  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1838,  as  the  proceeds,  in  part,  of 
the  bequest  of  James  Smithson  to  the  United  States,  together  with  all  sums  which 
have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  realized,  shall  be  passed  hereafter  to  the  credit  of  a 
fund,  to  be  denominated  the  Smithsonian  fund,  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States.  And  the  faith  of  the  United  States  is  hereby  pledged  for  the  preservation 
of  the  said  fund  undiminished  and  unimpaired,  to  bear  interest  at  the  rate  of  six 
per  cent  a  year,  payable  on  the  first  days  of  January  and  July  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  to  be  applied  to  the  purposes  of  the  fund, 
conformably  to  the  laws,  and  subject  to  the  revision  and  regulations  of  the  board  of 
trustees. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  no  part  of  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  princi- 
pal or  interest,  shall  be  applied  to  any  school,  college,  university,  institute  of  educa- 
tion, or  ecclesiastical  establishment. 

SEC-.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  appropriations  to  be  made  from  time  to 
time  by  Congress,  to  the  purposes  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  as  declared  by  the 
testator,  shall  be  exclusively  from  the  accruing  interest,  and  not  from  the  principal, 
of  the  said  fund:  Provided,  That  Congress  shall  retain  the  power  of  investing,  at  their 
discretion,  the  principal  of  said  fund  in  any  other  manner  so  as  to  secure  not  less  than 
a  yearly  interest  of  six  per  cent. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $30,000,  part  of  the  first  year's 
interest  accruing  on  the  same  Smithsonian  fund,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appro- 
priated towards  the  erection  and  establishment,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  of  an 
astronomical  observatory  adapted  to  the  most  effective  and  continual  observations 
of  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens;  to  be  provided  with  the  necessary,  best,  and 
most  perfect  instruments  and  books  for  the  periodical  publication  of  the  said  observa- 
tions and  for  the  annual  composition  and  publication  of  a  nautical  almanac. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  observatory  shall  be  erected  under 
the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  subject  to  the  approbation  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  And  the  site  for  the  same  shall  be  selected  upon  land 
in  the  city  of  Washington  belonging  to  the  United  States;  and  the  land  necessary  for 
the  same,  and  for  any  other  buildings  proper  to  be  connected  with  the  said  observa- 
tory and  the  appurtenances  thereof,  is  hereby  granted,  and  shall  be  duly  conveyed, 
as  a  deed  of  gift,  to  the  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  to  their  successors  for- 
ever, in  aid  of  the  purposes  of  the  said  Institution. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  expenditures  made  by  the  said  board  shall 
be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and  all  the  accounts 
thereof  shall  be  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  audited,  under  his 
direction,  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department;  and  the  said  board  shall 


206  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

report  to  Congress,  at  every  session  thereof,  the  state  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  and  a 
full  statement  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures  during  the  preceding  year. 

SEC.  9.  And  tie  it  further  enacted,  That  the  first  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  shall  be  held  at  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  third of  — 

next;  and  that,  in  the  meantime,  the  custody  of  the  said  fund,  and  the  expenditures 
under  the  appropriation  herein  made,  shall  be  held  and  authorized  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  subject  to  the  approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  shall  be  a  board  of  visitors,  to  be  annu- 
ally appointed,  consisting  of  nine  members;  two  of  whom  to  be  commissioned  officers 
of  the  Army,  to  l>e  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  War;  two  commissioned  officers  of 
the  Navy,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  the  mayors  for  the  time  being 
of  the  cities  of  Alexandria  and  of  Georgetown,  within  the  District  of  Columbia;  and  one 
citizen  of  each  of  the  cities  of  Washington,  and  Alexandria,  and  Georgetown,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Avho  shall  meet  on  the  first  Monday 
of  February,  at  eleven  o'clock,  before  noon,  at  the  said  astronomical  observatory, 
and  visit  and  inspect  the  condition  of  the  said  observatory,  and  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  generally.  They  shall  choose  among  themselves  a  chairman,  and  shall 
make  report  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  the  said  condition  of  the  institu- 
tion, specifically  indicating  in  what  respect  the  institution  has,  during  the  preceding 
year,  contributed  to  the  purpose  of  the  founder — the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men.  To  this  board  the  astronomical  observator  shall  make  a  report  to 
the  same  effect,  so  far  as  regards  the  astronomical  branch  of  the  institution;  which 
report  shall  be  annexed  to  that  of  the  board  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
who  shall  communicate  the  said  reports  to  Congress.  The  services  of  the  members 
of  the  said  board  shall  be  gratuitous;  but  the  expenses  incidental  to  their  meeting 
and  the  performance  of  their  duties  shall  be  included  in  the  annual  estimates  of  the 
War  and  Navy  Departments,  alternately,  and  paid  from  the  contingent  expenses 
thereof  respectively. 

SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  is  reserved  to  Congress  the  right  of 
altering,  amending,  adding  to,  or  repealing,  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act,  which 
shall  be  found  inconvenient  upon  experience:  Provided,  That  no  contract  or  indi- 
vidual right,  made  or  acquired  under  such  provisions,  shall  thereby  be  impaired  or 
divested. 

SEC.  12.  And  be  it  furtJier  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $60,000  from  the  second  and 
third  years'  interest  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appro- 
priated, to  be  invested  so  as  to  yield  a  yearly  income  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent  a 
year;  from  which  yearly  income  shall  be  paid  the  compensation  of  an  astronomical 
>bservator,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  the  incidental  and  contingent  expenses  of 
repairs  upon  the  buildings,  as  they  may  be  required. 


APPENDIX  TO  REPORT  OF  SELECT  COMMITTEE. 

Estimate  of  the  expense  of  erecting  an  astronomical  observatory  of  the  first  class,  and  of  sup- 
porting it  by  appropriations  from  the  income  of  the  Smithsonian  fund. 

In  the  letter  of  October  11,  1838,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  communicated  to  Con- 
gress with  the  message  of  the  President  of  the  6th  of  December  of  that  year,  a 
conjectural  estimate  was  given  of  the  expense  of  establishing  and  maintaining  a  per- 
manent astronomical  observatory,  and  of  the  periodical  publication  of  the  results  of 
the  observations  there  made,  and  of  a  nautical  almanac.  That  estimate  contemplated 
the  income  of  seven  years  of  the  fund  as  indispensably  necessary  for  completing  and 
organizing  the  establishment  in  such  manner  as  to  avoid  all  encroachment  on  the 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  207 

capital  of  the  Smithsonian  fund;  to  increase  it  by  providing  from  its  income  perma- 
nent funds  for  the  discharge  of  the  most  of  constantly  accruing  expenditures  incident 
to  it;  and  to  relieve  the  fund  itself  forever  after  from  any  further  contribution  to  this 
branch  of  the  institution. 

Further  reflection  and  the  information  received  of  the  expenses  actually  chargeable 
upon  the  Greenwich  Observatory,  and  defrayed  by  the  British  Government,  have 
led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  estimate  was  yet  not  sufficiently  liberal;  and  that,  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  above  purposes,  not  less  than  ten  years  of  the  income  will 
be  required  exclusively  for  this  object.  But  of  this  large  sum  an  overbearing  pro- 
portion will,  while  providing  for  all  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  establishment,  at 
the  same  time  increase  the  capital  of  the  fund  by  the  value  of  the  buildings  erected, 
and  of  the  instruments  and  books  purchased,  and  by  the  amount  of  the  funds,  from 
the  interest  of  which  the  observing  astronomer,  his  assistants,  and  all  the  persons  to 
be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  observatory,  shall  receive  their  compensation. 
The  following  is  a  gross  estimate  of  the  sums  which,  it  is  believed,  will  be  required  for 
the  full  execution  of  the  plan  presented  in  the  bill  herewith  reported: 

ESTIMATE   CF    THE    APPROPRIATIONS     FROM    THE    ANNUAL    INCOME    OF     THE    SMITHSONIAN 
FUND,  ASSUMED  TO   BE  $30,000. 

For  the  purchase  of  land  and  construction  of  the  necessary  buildings — one 

year $30, 000 

For  a  fund,   from  the  yearly    income  of  which  the  compensation  of  the 

observing  astronomer  shall  be  paid,  two  years 60, 000 

The  interest  of  this  sum  will  be  $3,600  a  year,  of  which  $3,000  a  year 
may  be  fixed  as  the  salary  of  the  astronomer,  and  $600  for  the  inciden- 
tal and  contingent  expenses  of  repairs  upon  the  buildings,  as  they  may 
be  required. 

For  a  fund,  from  the  yearly  income  of  wThich  four  assistants  to  the  astron- 
omer, and  two  laborers  necessary  for  attendance  on  him,  for  the  care  and 

preservation  of  the  buildings — four  years .' 120, 000 

The  income  would  be  $7,200  a  year,  of  which  $6,000  a  year  might  be 
for  the  compensation  of  four  assistants,  at  $1,500  a  year  each,  and  two 
laborers,  each  at  $600  a  year. 

For  the  purchase  and  procurement  of  instruments — one  year 30, 000 

Of  this,  $20,000  might  be  applied  to  furnish  an  assortment  of  the  best 
instruments  to  be  procured,  and  $10,000  a  fund,  from  the  interest  of 
which  other  instruments  may  be  from  time  to  time  procured,  as  occa- 
sions for  the  use  of  them  may  arise,  and  for  repairs  of  the  instruments, 
as  needed. 

For  the  library — one  year 30, 000 

$10,000  for  first  supply;  $20,000  for  a  fund  for  an  income  of  $1,200  a 
year,  for  a  constant  supply  of  new  works  and  periodical  publications 
upon  science  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  or  in  America. 
Estimate  for  a  fund,   from  the  income  of  which   $1,800  a  year  shall  be 
defrayed— the  expense  of  the  yearly  publication  of  the  observations,  and 
of  a  nautical  almanac — one  year 30, 000 


John  Q.  Adams  to  Christopher  Hughes. 

WASHINGTON,  April  10,  1839. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  wish  to  obtain  information  upon  the  following  points  relating  to  the 
royal  observatory  at  Greenwich: 

1.  By  whom,  and  at  whose  expense,  was  the  royal  observatory  at  Greenwich 
built?  At  whose  expense  is  it  maintained? 


208  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

2.  What  art-  the  buildings  connected  with  it,  and  how  much  land  is  there  around 
it  belonging  to  it? 

3.  Has  it  at  any  time  been  rebuilt,  or  has  its  construction  been  in  any  wise  altered? 

4.  By  whom  is  the  astronomer  royal  appointed  and  paid?     What  is  the  amount 
of  his  compensation? 

5.  What  are  his  duties  and   in  what  manner  are  they  prescribed?    Is  there  a 
standing  instruction  to  regulate  his  observations?    Is  he  required  to  make  reports; 
and  if  so,  to  whom? 

6.  Are  there  any  other  persons  attached  to  the  observatory  as  assistants,  calcula- 
tors, or  servants?    If  so,  what  are  their  duties  and  their  compensation? 

7.  What  are  the  instruments  used  at  the  observatory?    By  whom,  and  at  whose 
expense,  are  they  furnished?    What  was  their  cost,  and  by  whom  were  they  made? 
A  list  of  them,  with  their  prices,  and  their  maker's  name,  would  be  very  acceptable. 

8.  Is  there  any  library  belonging  to  the  establishment?    If  so,  consisting  of  what 
books? 

9.  Who  is  now  the  most  eminent  mathematical  and  astronomical   instrument 
maker  in  London?    Is,  there  any  successor  to  Troughton? 

If  you  can  obtain  me  any  information  of  the  same,  or  similar  particulars  with 
regard  to  any  of  the  public  observatories  in  any  part  of  the  Continent  of  Europe,  I 
shall  owe  you  another  obligation  for  the  communication  of  them. 

I  am,  my  dear  sir,  with  the  highest  esteem  and  respect,  your  friend  and  servant, 

JOHN  Q.  ADAMS. 

CHRISTOPHER  HUGHES,  Esq. 


Ansurrs  f>if  the  Astronomer  Royal,  the  Rev.  George  B.  Airy,  to  Mr.  Adams's  ffimxlioiix, 
dated  April  10,  1839. 

1.  The  royal  observatory  at  Greenwich  was  built,  at  the  expense  of  the  Govern- 
ment, in  the  reign  of  Charles  II  (about  1670),  and  the  buildings  have  always  been 
repaired  or  extended  at  the  expense  of  the  Government.  The  instruments  used  by 
Flamsteed,  the  first  astronomer  royal,  were  not  furnished  by  the  Government  and 
were  taken  away  by  his  executors.  Since  that  time  the  instruments  have  always 
been  furnished  by  the  Government,  except  in  two  instances  where  instruments  have 
been  presented.  The  observations  are  now  printed  at  the  expense  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Thus  every  expense  connected  with  the  observatory  is  defrayed  by  the 
Government.  The  observatory  was  at  first  connected  with  the  ordnance  department 
of  the  executive  (I  believe  from  the  accidental  circumstance  that  Sir  Jonas  Moor, 
the  personal  friend  of  Flamsteed  and  one  of  the  original  proposers  of  the  observa- 
tory, was  then  master-general  of  the  ordnance).  In  the  year  1816  or  1817  it  was 
transferred  to  the  admiralty  department.  The  estimates  for  the  annual  expense  of 
the  observatory  are  inserted  under  the  "scientific  branch"  of  the  admiralty  account 
in  the  Parliamentary  estimates  and  are  voted  annually  by  Parliament. 

In  the  original  institution  of  the  observatory  no  provision  was  made  for  the  print- 
ing of  the  observations  or  for  the  communication  of  the  results  to  the  public  in  any 
way,  and  no  obligation  to  that  effect  was  imposed  on  the  astronomer  royal.  When 
Flamsteed  had  held  the  office  about  thirty  years  and  had  published  nothing,  the 
Royal  Society  applied  to  the  Queen  to  appoint  a  board  of  visitors  (one  of  them  being 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  the  president  of  the  Royal  Society)  to  superintend  the  observatory 
generally  and  with  power  to  require  a  publication  of  the  observations.  (For  a  full 
detail  of  the  quarrel  which  followed  I  would  refer  to  Baily's  Account  of  the  Life, 
etc.,  of  John  Flamsteed,  which  may  probably  be  found  in  the  libraries  of  the  scien- 
tific bodies  in  America. )  An  edition  of  the  observations  was  printed  by  them;  but 
another  edition  was  afterwards  printed  by  Flamsteed  himself.  Halley,  the  next 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  209 

astronomer  royal,  printed  nothing  of  observations.  Bradley  and  Bliss  left  manu- 
scripts; but  the  right  of  the  Government  to  them  was  disputed,  and  they  were  ulti- 
mately printed  by  the  University  of  Oxford.  It  was  not  till  1767,  on  Maskelyne'a 
accession,  that  the  King  (George  III),  on  the  petition  of  the  Royal  Society,  ordered 
that  the  observations  should  be  printed  annually;  and  since  that  time  there  has 
been  no  doubt  that  the  observations  are  the  property  of  the  Government  and  are  to 
be  printed  annually. 

The  board  of  visitors  above  alluded  to  existed  without  alteration  (as  I  believe)  till 
1830;  and  it  was  by  that  board  (as  I  imagine)  that  representations  were  made  to  the 
Government  which  led  to  the  purchase  of  instruments  in  Halley's  time,  to  the  regu- 
lar printing  of  the  observations  in  Maskelyne's  time,  etc.  The  president  and  council 
of  the  Royal  Society  (or  part  of  them),  with  a  number  of  persons  invited  by  them, 
either  fellows  of  the  society  or  strangers,  met  once  a  year  at  the  royal  observatory, 
inspected  the  instruments,  and  discussed  the  general  business  of  the  observatory. 
They  had,  I  believe,  no  power  except  to  recommend  measures  to  the  executive. 
The  meeting  was  rather  numerous.  In  1830  the  old  board  was  abolished  and  a  new 
one  appointed  by  name  from  the  Royal  and  Astronomical  societies.1  Vacancies  are 
filled  up  by  the  president  of  that  society  in  which  the  vacancies  occur.  This  board 
has  no  power  to  invite  assessors;  its  powers  as  to  making  representations,  etc.,  are 
the  same  as  those  of  the  old  board.  On  the  first  appointment  of  the  new  board 
there  was  exhibited  in  it  a  rather  vexatious  spirit  toward  the  then  astronomer  royal, 
Mr.  Pond.  Since  my  appointment  as  astronomer  royal  the  board  has  scarcely  inter- 
fered in  anything,  except  in  matters  which  I  have  myself  suggested. 

The  visitors  receive  no  pay.  Lately  it  has  been  ordered  that  their  bare  expenses 
be  paid. 

I  have  given  a  rather  comprehensive  answer  to  No.  1,  touching  upon  the  subjects 
of  other  questions,  and  embracing  points  not  at  all  alluded  to  in  the  questions, 
because,  probably,  there  is  no  other  active  institution  whose  history  serves  so  well 
to  suggest  the  points  to  which  attention  ought  to  be  given  in  founding  a  new  institu- 
tion of  similar  character,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  the  charges  which,  in  future  years, 
may  be  required  in  all  the  branches  of  the  institution. 

I  omitted  to  mention  that  the  astronomer  royal's  account  of  disbursements,  and 
bills  for  expenses  of  all  kinds  connected  with  the  observatory,  were  formerly  audited 
by  the  board  of  visitors.  This  audit  was  found  to  be  insufficient;  and  the  accounts 
are  now  transmitted,  in  the  same  way  as  those  of  any  other  department  under  the 
admiralty,  to  the  Government  offices. 

2.  For  a  plan  of  the  building  first  erected,  I  refer  again  to  Baily's  "Account,  etc.," 
cited  above.  There  were  a  small  house,  one  large  room  above  it,  covering  nearly 
the  whole  hoase,  with  lofty  windows  on  all  sides,  intended,  I  suppose,  for  gazing 
astronomical  observations  (but  quite  useless  for  the  purposes  of  modern  astronomy), 
a  garden  or  lawn  about  80  feet  square,  and  a  small  low  building  in  one  corner  of  it, 
in  which  Flamsteed's  really  useful  instruments  were  placed.  The  place  was  very 
small.  The  situation,  in  the  middle  of  the  royal  park  of  Greenwich,  has  probably 
prevented  the  necessity  for  inclosure  so  large  as  would  elsewhere  be  required,  inas- 
much as  it  was  impossible  that  houses  could  be  built  close  to  the  inclosure.  The 
history  in  Halley's  time  is  so  defective  that  I  am  not  certain  whether  the  building, 
which  is  to  this  time  the  principal  observing  building,  was  erected  then  or  not, 
but  I  should  think  that  it  was.  It  was  certainly  erected  before  1750,  when  Bradley's 
regular  observations  begin.  It  consists  of  a  room  about  20  feet  square  for  the  transit, 

1  With  a  few  official  persons,  as  the  presidents  of  the  two  societies,  two  professors 
of  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  two  professors  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  ex 
officio;  the  whole  number  of  the  visitors  being  about  19.     This  fluctuates,  because 
all  ex-presidents  are  members  of  the  board. 
H.  Doc.  732 U 


210  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

and  a  similar  room  for  the  quadrants  (both  on  the  ground  floor  and  with  no  rooms 
above  them) ,  and  a  central  computing  room,  with  room  for  an  assistant  above.  It 
is  not  connected  with  the  dwelling  house.  When  this  was  erected  the  inclosure 
was  nearly  doubled.  In  Dr.  Maskelyne's  time  two  small  detached  rooms  were  cov- 
ered with" revolving  domes  for  equatorial  instruments.  Their  situation  is  particularly 
unfavorable.  In  the  beginning  of  Dr.  Maskelyne's  time  the  dwelling  house  was 
extended.  About  the  end  of  Dr.  Maskelyne's  time  the  observing  building  was 
extended  in  preparation  fora  mural  circle,  which  was  not  erected  till  after  his  death, 
and  some  new  buildings  were  erected  for  library,  etc.,  and  for  assistants'  apart- 
ments. A  building  was  erected,  to  be  covered  with  a  revolving  dome  (called  the 
south  dome) .  An  addition  was  made  to  the  inclosure.  The  whole  inclosure  was  now 
about  half  an  acre.  It  covered  the  whole  of  the  small  steep  hill  on  which  the  observ- 
atory stands,  quite  to  the  isthmus  or  neck  that  connects  it  with  the  table-land  of  the 
higher  side  of  the  park.  About  1817  part  of  the  steep  dell  behind  the  hill  was 
inclosed  as  a  garden  for  the  astronomer  royal.  In  1837  part  of  the  table-land 
beyond  the  dell  was  inclosed  for  the  erection  of  a  magnetic  observatory.  The 
dwelling  house,  which  was  too  small,  was  enlarged  in  1836.  Thus  the  present  state 
of  the  buildings  and  grounds  (1839)  is  nearly  as  follows:  Whole  inclosure  about  2} 
acres,  of  which  1  acre  or  more  can  never  be  available  for  buildings  on  account  of  the 
steepness  of  the  ground,  and  is  used  as  a  garden  and  waste  ground.  Whole  set  of 
buildings:  (1)  Dwelling  house  of  the  astronomer  royal,  with  the  great  room  above 
part  of  it;  (2)  two  domes  (east  and  west  domes),  detached;  (3)  detached  range  of 
buildings,  including  Flamsteed's  small  room,  the  quadrant  room  (not  used  now),  the 
transit  room,  the  circle  room,  the  library,  the  chronometer  room,  the  south  dome, 
the  computing  room,  some  assistants'  apartments  (not  for  their  dwelling,  but  for 
their  comfort  or  repose  in  the  intervals  of  observation);  (4)  magnetic  observatory, 
detached;  (5)  carpenter's  shop,  gardener's  shop,  and  other  outhouses. 

The  extent  of  ground  would  not  be  sufficient  if  there  were  not  the  safety  from  being 
surrounded  by  buildings  which  is  given  by  the  locality  within  a  royal  park. 

3.  The  construction  of  the  observatory  has  been  altered  almost  entirely  by  addi- 
tions.    Nearly  the  whole  of  the  original  work  remains.     The  collection  of  buildings 
is  now  exceedingly  irregular  and  in  some  respects  inconvenient. 

4.  The  astronomer  royal  is  appointed  by  the  first  lord  of  the  treasury ;  but  his  con- 
nection with  the  admiralty  is  so  close  that  the  first  lord  of  the  admiralty  probably  has 
the  principal  influence  in  his  appointment.     He  holds  his  office  by  warrant  under 
the  sign  manual  of  the  sovereign.     The  salary  was  formerly  £100.     Bradley  and  Bliss 
both  held  it  with  professorships  at  Oxford;  but  the  salary  has  gradually  been  raised 
and  is  now  £800  (subject  to  a  deduction  for  a  fund  for  superannuation),  and  it  is 
expected  that  the  astronomer  royal  shall  hold  no  other  office.  • 

5.  The  duties  of  the  astronomer  royal  are  not  very  definite;  but  undoubtedly  he 
is  to  attend  to  the  main  points  of  astronomy  to  the  best  of  his  judgment  rather  than 
to  anything  of  a  discursive  nature.     The  appointment  originated  in  the  desire  of  dis- 
covering means  of  finding  the  longitude  at  sea,  and  therefore  anything  applying  to 
longitude  would  specially  require  his  attention.     In  this  way  the  trials  of  chronome- 
ters first  became  a  part  of  his  duty,  from  which  by  degrees  it  arose  that  the  care  and 
regular  supply  of  chronometers  for  the  royal  navy  were  imposed  upon  him,  to  the 
great  injury  of  the  astronomical  efficiency  of  the  observatory.     Lately,  the  chronome- 
ter business  has  been  confined  to  rating  the  chronometers  on  trial  for  purchase  or 
navy  chronometers  brought  on  shore,  with  occasional  supplies  of  chronometers  to 
ships  by  direction  of  the  admiralty,  and  with  general  superintendence  of  the  repairs. 

The  duties  are  prescribed,  first,  by  the  Queen's  warrant,  which  merely  directs  the 
astronomer  to  apply  himself  with  diligence  to  observing  the  heavenly  bodies  for  find- 
ing out  the  so-much-desired  longitude  at  sea  (the  same  words  as  in  the  warrant 
originally  given  to  Flamsteed);  second,  by  the  official  instructions  given  by  the 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  211 

admiralty  board  ( who  have  been  empowered  to  issue  instructions  by  the  Queen  in 
council),  which  enter  a  little  more  minutely  into  the  duties,  but  necessarily  leave  the 
course  of  astronomical  observations  very  indefinite.1 

The  board  of  admiralty  sometimes  call  on  the  astronomer  royal  for  a  report,  but 
it  is  rather  upon  such  matters  as  the  state  of  the  buildings  and  instruments,  the  con- 
duct of  the  assistants,  etc. ,  than  upon  the  nature  of  the  astronomical  observations. 

I  have  myself  introduced  the  rule  of  reading  a  report  to  the  board  of  visitors  at 
their  annual  meeting  at  the  observatory,  applying  as  well  to  the  astronomical  labors 
as  to  the  general  occurrences  at  the  observatory;  and  this  report  they  have  each 
year  ordered  to  be  printed.  (Copies  accompany  this  paper.)  If  this  custom  be 
continued  there  will  probably  be  found  a  more  complete  series  of  annuals  of  the 
observatory  than  has  hitherto  existed. 

6.  Besides  the   astronomer  royal   there  are  six  assistants  and  a  laborer,  and  a 
watchman;   also  a  gate  porter   (some  old  sailor  from  Greenwich  hospital).     The 
duties  of  the  assistants  are  to  observe  and  compute,  entirely  under  the  direction  of 
the  astronomer  royal.     None  of  these  persons  reside  within  the  precincts  of  the 
observatory  or  even  within  the  park.     They  find  houses  for  themselves,  from  the 
salaries  mentioned  below  (part  of  the  salary  being  considered  as  compensation  for 
want  of  dwelling  house). 

The  salaries  are:  First  assistant,  £350;  second  assistant,  £220  (in  future  instances 
this  is  to  be  £190);  third  assistant,  £190;  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  assistants,  £130 
each;  laborer,  £43;  gate  porter,  £15  12s.;  watchman,  £32  10s. 

7.  The  instruments  in  use  at  this  time  are:  A  transit  instrument  10  feet  long, 
constructed  by  Trough  ton,  bought  by  the  Government;  price,  I  think,  £300. 

Mural  circle,  6  feet  diameter,  constructed  by  Troughton,  bought  by  the  Govern- 
ment; price,  I  believe,  £600. 2 

Zenith  tube,  or  zenith  sector,  of  small  range,  for  the  observation  of  Draconis  only, 
which  passes  very  near  to  the  zenith  of  Greenwich;  purchased  by  the  Government. 
I  know  not  the  price. 

The  eastern  equatorial,  or  Shuckburg's  equatorial,  constructed  by  Ramsden; 
presented  by  Lord  Liverpool. 

The  western  equatorial;  a  very  worthless  instrument. 

The  southern  equatorial,  or  Sheepshanks' s  equatorial.  The  object-glass  made  by  a 
Parisian  artist  (I  think  by  Cauchoix);  presented  by  the  Rev.  R.  Sheepshanks;  the 
mounting  by  Mr.  T.  Grubb,  of  Dublin,  at  the  expense  of  the  Government;  its  cost, 
£205. 

Several  telescopes;  prices  unknown — some  probably  exceeding  £100. 

Several  clocks;  the  most  expensive  cost,  I  believe,  £200. 

I  ought  not  to  omit  that  there  is  machinery  for  raising  a  large  ball  (5  feet  in 
diameter),  on  the  top  of  the  house,  and  dropping  it  precisely  at  1  o'clock  every  day 
as  a  signal  by  which  the  chronometers  on  board  the  ships  in  the  River  Thames  may 
be  rated.  It  was  erected  at  the  expense  of  the  Government;  I  know  not  the  cost. 

Besides  these,  there  is  the  magnetic  apparatus,  yet  imperfect;  the  expense  hitherto 
incurred  has  been  £30  or  £40. 

8.  There  is  a  library,  covering  the  walls  of  a  room  20  feet  square.     It  consists 
principally  of  the  transactions  of  societies,  of  mathematical  and  astronomical  works, 
works  on  the  literature  of  astronomy,  nautical  astronomy,  voyages,  etc.     In  these 
respects  it  is  a  very  good  library.     It  has  been  collected  partly  at  the  expense  of  the 
Government,  and  partly  from  the  presents  of  private  persons  and  official  bodies. 

1  The  board  of  visitors  are  empowered  by  their  warrant,  under  the  royal  sign  man- 
ual, to  direct  the  astronomer  royal  to  make  such  observations  as  they  may  think  fit; 
but  I  am  not  aware  that  they  have  ever  exercised  this  power. 

'•*  Another  mural  circle  of  the  same  size,  constructed  by  Jones,  has  lately  been  sent 
from  the  royal  observatory  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


212  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

9.  The  best  instrument  makers  in  London  at  the  present  time  are  William  Simms 
(successor  of  Troughton,  formerly  his  partner),  136  Fleet  street;  Thomas  Jones,  62 
Charing  Cross;  George  Dolland,  59  St.  Paul's  churchyard.  Dolland  is  principally 
known  for  his  telescopes  and  optical  instruments;  he  has  had  little  experience  in  the 
construction  of  large  graduated  instruments.  I  know  no  maker  who  can  be  consid- 
ered as  successor  to  Troughton  in  originality  and  boldness  of  ideas. 

The  whole  annual  expense  of  the  observatory  to  the  Government,  including  sal- 
aries, additions  and  repairs  to  buildings,  additions  and  repairs  to  instrument*?,  and 
printing,  exceeds  £3,000. 

MISCELLANEOUS    INFORMATION    RELATING   TO    OTHER   OBSERVATORIES. 

1.  The  observatory  at  Cambridge  was  built  partly  by  private  subscription,  partly 
by  grant  from  the  funds  of  the  university,  in  1820,  at  an  expense  of  about  £20,000. 
It  is  maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  university. 

That  at  Oxford,  I  believe,  was  built  from  the  funds  l>equeathed  for  that  purpose 
by  Dr.  Radcliffe. 

Those  at  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  were  commenced  by  private  subscription  and 
afterwards  assisted  by  the  Government. 

That  at  Armagh  was  built  from  funds  bequeathed. 

That  at  Dublin  in  like  manner. 

I  know  not  how  those  at  Oxford,  Armagh,  and  Dublin  are  maintained,  but  I  believe 
that  the  salaries  of  the  observers,  as  well  as  the  general  support  and  repairs  of  the 
buildings  and  instruments,  are  defrayed  from  the  bequests. 

2.  In  the  whole  of  these  (Glasgow  excepted,  which  is  not  much  advanced)  there 
is  a  dwelling  house  for  the  astronomer,  and  in  some  there  are  dwellings  for  assistants, 
connected  in  all  cases  by  building  under  the  same  roof,  or  by  inclosed  passages,  with 
the  observatory. 

The  inclosure  of  land  about  the  Cambridge  observatory  is  7  acres. 

That  at  Oxford,  a  field  perhaps  not  so  large. 

That  at  Dublin,  about  30  acres. 

The  new  Russian  observatory  at  Pulkowa,  about  50  acres. 

3.  I  do  not  think  that  either  of  the  observatories  which  I  have  mentioned  has 
undergone  great  alteration.     The  Cambridge  observatory,  built  in  1820,  has  not  itself 
undergone  any  alteration,  but  on  occasions  of  the  presentation  of  a  large  telescope 
(20  feet  long  and  12  inches  in  aperture)  a  new  detached  building  was  erected  for  it. 
I  may  remark  that  the  Cambridge  observatory  was  built  on  a  plan  architecturally 
symmetrical,  which  arrangement  I  should  deprecate  in  any  new  observatory  on 
account  of  the  difficulties  which  it  presents  to  all  future  alterations. 

4.  The  astronomer  at  Cambridge  is  the  Plumian  professor.     This  officer  is  elected 
by  the  trustees  of  the  estate  bequeathed  by  a  Dr.  Plume,  and  is  paid  by  the  rent  of 
the  estate,  amounting  to  about  £300  per  annum.     When  I  was  elected  to  that  office 
in  1827,  I  represented  to  the  senate  of  the  Cambridge  University  that  this  sum  was 
not  sufficient  remuneration  for  the  duties  of  the  observatory,  and  the  senate  increased 
the  payment  to  £500  by  annual  grant  from  the  funds  of  the  university. 

The  astronomers  at  Oxford  and  Dublin  are  appointed  by  the  trustees  of  certain 
estates,  and  are  paid  from  their  rents.  I  believe  that  the  astronomer  at  Armagh  is 
elected  and  paid  in  the  same  manner. 

For  the  appointment  of  the  astronomer  at  Edinburgh  the  consent  of  the  Govern- 
ment is  necessary.  I  know  not  how  he  is  paid. 

5.  I  do  not  think  that  in  any  of  these  instances  there  is  any  distinct  set  of  instruc- 
tions or  definition  of  duties.     At  Cambridge  there  is  a  board  of  visitors  which  meets 
at  least  three  times  in  each  year  at  the  observatory,  one  of  these  meetings  being 
attended  also  by  other  members  of  the  university  and  strangers.     I  introduced  at 
Cambridge  the  custom  of  reading  a  report  to  the  visitors  at  each  regular  meeting. 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  213 

The  visitors  are  required  to  make  a  report  once  a  year  to  the  senate  of  the 
university. 

In  instituting  a  new  observatory  it  appears  to  me  very  desirable  that  there  should 
be  appointed  a  body  like  the  board  of  visitors  at  Greenwich  and  at  Cambridge,  with 
power  to  require  reports  from  the  astronomer  and  perhaps  to  direct  him  in  some 
degree,  and  with  the  duty  of  reporting  to  the  governing  body. 

The  visitors  of  the  Cambridge  Observatory  are  all  members  of  the  senate  of  the  uni- 
versity. The  visitors  of  the  Greenwich  Observatory  are  persons  living  in  different 
parts  of  England. 

6.  At  Cambridge  Observatory  there  are  two  assistants  and  a  laborer. 
At  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  the  same. 

At  Edinburgh,  Dublin,  and  Armagh,  I  believe,  one  assistant  each. 
Their  duties  are  to  observe  and  to  calculate,  under  the  direction  of  the  astronomer. 
The  salaries  of  the  Cambridge  assistants  are,  I  think,  £80  each  per  annum,  with 
apartments. 

7.  The  instruments  at  Cambridge  Observatory  are: 

A  mural  circle,  8  feet  in  diameter,  made  by  Troughton;  price,  £1,050. 

A  transit  instrument,  10  feet  long,  made  by  Dolland;  price,  I  believe,  £600. 

An  equatorial  5-foot  telescope,  made  by  Jones;  price,  about  £750  (many  complaints 
of  this  price) . 

Several  small  instruments,  telescopes,  etc. 

Three  clocks;  one  cost  £100  to  £120. 

A  20-foot  telescope,  presented  by  the  Duke  of  Northumberland. 

At  Oxford  there  are  some  quadrants,  not  used;  and  also  a  circle,  4  feet  diameter, 
made  by  Jones;  and  an  old  transit. 

At  Edinburgh:  A  mural  circle,  4  feet  in  diameter,  made  by  Simms;  and  a  transit, 
made  by  Repsold,  of  Hamburg. 

At  Armagh:  A  mural  circle,  4  feet  in  diameter,  made  by  Jones;  and  a  transit 
(maker  not  known) . 

At  Dublin:  An  altitude  and  azimuth  instrument;  the  vertical  circle,  8  feet  in  diam- 
eter, made  by  Ramsden;  and  a  transit. 

I  may  remark  that,  in  the  construction  of  instruments,  expense  may  frequently  be 
avoided  by  leaving  some  points  to  the  discretion  of  the  instrument  maker.  As 
an  instance:  When  I  superintended  the  equatorial  mounting  of  the  20-foot  telescope 
at  Cambridge  I  found  occasion  for  a  5-foot  circle,  and  I  directed  it  to  be  cast  in,  one 
piece  of  bell  metal.  It  appears  to  answer  perfectly  well.  Mr.  Simms  is  quite  satis- 
fied with  it,  and  thinks  it  possible  that  it  might  be  made,  at  still  less  expense,  of 
cast  iron.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Simms  has  had,  I  believe,  two  orders  for  large  cir- 
cles; and  when  I  have  urged  him  to  have  each  cast  in  one  piece  he  has  expressed 
his  wish  to  do  so;  but  has  informed  me  that  his  orders  were  to  make  them  "like  the 
Greenwich  circles,"  and  has  therefore  considered  himself  compelled  to  put  them 
together  in  many  pieces,  in  the  same  way  as  the  Greenwich  circles,  at  much  greater 
expense  than  would  have  been  implied  in  the  construction  mentioned  above. 

G.  B.  AIRY. 

JUNE  8,  1839. 

Since  writing  the  answers  above,  I  have  received  from  Mr.  Simms  the  following 
list  of  prices: 

The  mural  circles  for  Greenwich,  Cracow,  Brussels,  Edinburgh,  and  Lucknow,  are 
all  of  the  same  dimensions  (6  feet  in  diameter) ,  and  were  all  made  by  Troughton. 
The  price  in  each  case  was  £735.  Mr.  Simms  states  at  this  price  there  was  no  profit 
(Troughton  was  wholly  regardless  of  profit  in  constructing  these  instruments) ,  and 
that  he  would  not  like  to  undertake  one  for  less  than  £900. 

Thi>  mural  circle  for  Cambridge,  8  feet  in  diameter,  was  made  by  Troughton  for 
£1,050. 


214  CONGRESSIONAE    PROCEEDINGS. 

Troughton  was  paid  for  the  Greenwich  transit  £315,  which  sum  did  not  include 
the  object  glass.  Mr.  Simms  states  that  the  cost  now  would  be  450  guineas  for  the 
instrument  complete.  Its  length  is  10  feet. 

Troughton  received  for  the  Brussels  equatorial  450  guineas;  but  this  was  too  little; 
it  ought  to  have  been  £600.  (I  think  that  the  length  of  the  telescope  is  5  feet;  the 
diameter  of  the  declination  circle,  3  feet;  and  that  of  the  hour  circle,  2  feet,  or  2£ 
feet.) 

A  very  good  clock  for  Lucknow  cost  £80.     An  inferior  clock  £28. 

G.  B.  AIRY. 

JUNE  11,  1839. 

Mr.  ADAMS  then  reproduced  the  messages  of  the  President  and  the 
correspondence  between  Mr.  Rush,  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  and 
Mr.  Forsyth,  Secretary  of  State,  concerning  the  action  taken  to  secure 
the  bequest,  all  of  which  appears  in  its  proper  place. 

A  motion  was  made  by  Mr.  JAMES  MONROE  that  5,000  extra  copies 
of  the  report  above,  made  by  Mr.  Adams,  and  of  the  reports  of  com- 
mittees heretofore  made,  with  the  other  papers  in  relation  to  the  sub- 
ject, be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  members. 

March  19,  1840— House. 

A  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  transmitting  statements 
of  moneys  invested  in  the  stocks  of  the  several  States,  was  read  and 
laid  upon  the  table: 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  March  17,  1840. 

SIR:  This  report  is  submitted  in  obedience  to  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  9th  instant,  directing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  furnish  "a 
statement  of  all  the  public  moneys  of  the  United  States  invested  in  the  stocks  of  the 
several  States,  specifying  the  amount  invested  in  the  stocks  of  each  State;  the 
authority  by  which  each  investment  was  made;  the  terms  and  rate  of  interest  of  each 
contract;  the  security  received  for  the  payment  of  interest  and  principal  of  each  debt; 
the  rate  per  centum  given  in  the  purchase  of  the  bonds;  and  the  market  value  of  the 
bonds  at  the  times  of  the  respective  investments,  and  at  the  present  time."  I  have 
the  honor  to  state  that  this  Department  is  not  aware  that  any  "of  the  public  moneys 
of  the  United  States,"  held  in  their  own  right,  are  "invested  in  the  stocks  of  the 
several  States."  But  some  of  the  moneys  held  in  trust  by  the  United  States  have 
been  invested  in  such  stocks,  either  by  agreement  with  those  possessing  the  legal 
title,  such  as  treaty  stipulations  with  Indian  tribes;  or  by  authority  of  acts  of  Con- 
gress, such  as  that  of  the  7th  of  July,  1838,  concerning  the  moneys  received  on 
account  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest. 

******* 

There  are  no  means  here  for  ascertaining  the  market  value  of  the  State  stocks  at 
any  particular  time  with  accuracy.  Sales  of  such  stocks  are  rarely  entered  in  the 
reports  of  stock  operations  at  the  boards  of  the  brokers  in  the  principal  cities;  and 
extensive  and  tedious  correspondence  would  alone  enable  me  to  give  a  near  approxi- 
mation to  their  worth  at  the  periods  of  these  numerous  purchases.  On  examination 
of  the  files  of  a  New  York  price  current,  from  1836  to  the  present  date  (being  the 
only  paper  quoting  the  price  of  stocks  preserved  in  this  Department),  not  one-fourth 
of  the  State  stocks  held  here  could  be  found,  and  not  a  single  quotation  at  the  time 
the  bonds  were  purchased.  But  all  of  the  stocks  purchased  here  were  obtained  at 
the  lowest  price  they  could  be  had  at  the  time,  it  having  been  an  invariable  rule 
when  funds  were  received  which  the  Department  was  authorized  to  invest,  to  address 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841. 


215 


letters  to  ?uch  persons  in  the  principal  cities  as  were  supposed  to  have  stocks  for  sale, 
notifying  them  of  the  fact  and  allowing  time  to  receive  their  offers,  after  which  a 
contract  was  made  for  such  as  were  offered  on  terms  found  to  be  most  advantageous 
for  the  trust,  having  regard,  in  determining  that  fact,  to  the  interest  the  stock  yielded 
and  the  length  of  time  before  its  maturity.  The  price  given,  the  par  value,  the  rate 
of  interest,  and  the  authority  for  each  purchase  will  appear  in  the  tables  annexed. 

In  respect  to  the  security  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  and  principal  of  the 
stocks,  none  other  was  asked  beyond  the  guaranty  of  the  respective  States  in  the  acts 
authorizing  the  issue  of  the  stocks. 

I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

LEVI  WOODBURY, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Hon.  R.  M.  T.  HCNTER, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


Statement  of  the  moneys  invested  in  State  stocks  neld  in  trust  by  the  Treasury  Department, 
showing  the  time  of  the  respective  investments,  amount  invested  in  the  stocks  of  each  Stale, 
rate  of  interest  on  bonds  in  each  contract,  rale  at  which  stock  was  purchased,  and  authority 
by  which  each  investment  was  made,  etc. 


Time  of  the  respective 
investments. 

Amount  invested  in  the  stocks  of  each  State. 

Rate  of 
interest 
on  bonds 
in  each 
contract. 

Rate 
per  cent  at 
which 
bonds  were 
purchased. 

*           *           * 
1831*  September 

*                       *                       *                       * 
$500  000  00  \rkan««as  bonds 

6 
6 
6 
6 
6 

99ft 
100 
100 
98f 
73 

November  
December  
1839,  July  

8,  000.  00  Michigan  bonds  

10  000  00  Arkansas  bonds 

13,  000.  00  Arkansas  bonds    

1840,  February  

26  000.  00  Illinois  bonds 

Authority  by  which  the  investments  were  made. — Act  of  July  7,  1838,  authorizing  the  investment  of  the 
Smithsonian  bequest. 

Security  received  for  the  payment  of  interest  and  principal  of  each  debt.— Guaranty  of  the  State.  f 
Market  price  at  the  time  of  purchase. — No  means  of  ascertaining  accurately. 
Market  price  at  the  present  time. — No  means  of  ascertaining  accurately. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  March  16,  1840. 

March  23,  1840— House. 

Mr.  JAMES  MONROE,  of  New  York,  moved  resolution,  which  was 
read  and  laid  on  the  table  one  day: 

Resolved,  That  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  on  the  Smithsonian  bequest 
be  published  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  this  House. 

Mr.  GEORGE  W.  TOLAND  moved  that  4,000  extra  copies  of  the  report 
of  the  select  committee  on  the  Smithsonian  bequest  be  printed  for  the 
use  of  the  members. 

February  10,  1841 — Senate. 

Mr.  LINN  presented  bill  (S.  245)  to  appoint  trustees  for  the  invest- 
ment of  the  Smithsonian  fund: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Secretaries  of  the  State,  the  Treasury,  the  War,  and  the 
Navy  Departments,  the  Attorney -General,  and  the  Postmaster-General,  be,  and  they 


210  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

are  hereby,  constituted  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  with  power  to  invest  the 
same  in  safe  public  funds,  and  to  change  said  investment  when,  in  their  judgment,  it 
may  be  desirable:  Prodded,  however,  That  said  trustees  shall,  under  no  circumstances, 
diminish  or  expend  the  principal  of  said  fund;  but  that  all  expenses  of  investments 
of  said  fund,  or  for  other  purposes,  as  provided  by  law,  shall  be  paid  out  of  the 
interest  which  has  accrued,  or  which  may  accrue,  from  said  fund. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  said  trustees  shall  have  power  to  appoint  a 
treasurer  and  secretary  to  the  board  of  trustees,  who  shall  give  bond  in  the  penal  sum 
of  —  —  dollars  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties,  and  shall  be  removable 
from  office  at  the  pleasure  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  receive 
a  compensation  for  his  services  not  exceeding  —  —  dollars  per  annum.  The  said 
treasurer  and  secretary  shall  perform  his  duties  under  the  direction  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  and  shall  render  his  accounts  quarterly  to  the  Treasury  Department.  The 
proceedings  of  said  board  shall  be  reported  annually  to  Congress;  and  their  transac- 
tions, books,  and  papers,  shall  be  open  to  such  investigations,  and  the  board  shall 
answer  such  inquiries,  in  relation  to  their  official  action,  as  Congress,  or  a  resolution 
of  either  House,  shall  from  time  to  time  direct. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  consist  of 
one  superintendent,  who  shall  receive  a  compensation  of  —  —  dollars  per  annum, 
and  six  professors,  each  of  whom  shall  receive  a  compensation  of  —  —  dollars  per 
annum.  The  foregoing  named  officers  to  be  appointed  in  the  following  manner:  The 
National  Institution  for  the  promotion  of  science,  established  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, shall  nominate  said  officers  to  the  President,  to  be,  if  approved  by  him,  sub- 
mitted to  the  Senate  for  its  advice  and  consent.  The  said  superintendent  and 
professors  shall  hold  their  offices  during  the  term  of  four  years,  and  perform  such 
duties  as  shall  be  designated  by  the  said  National  Institution.  The  said  institution 
shall  also  prescribe  the  duties  of  such  officers,  as  it  may  find  necessary  to  appoint,  for 
the  preservation  of  the  buildings,  grounds,  and  other  property  belonging  to  the 
institution:  Provided,  however,  That  no  greater  number  of  such  officers  shall  be 
appointed  than  shall  be  approved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  at  no 
higher  compensations,  than  he  shall  approve:  And  provided  also,  That  all  contingent 
expenses  necessary  in  the  execution  of  the  duties  of  said  officers,  shall  be  approved 
by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  President  of  the  aforesaid  National  Institution. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  land  owned  by  the  United  States,  in 

the  city  of  Washington,  situated ,  and  known  by  the  name  of  the  Mall, 

be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  uses  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion. The  buildings  for  said  institution  shall  be  erected  thereon,  and  in  which  shall 
be  preserved  the  philosophical  instruments,  apparatus,  and  collections  necessary  to 
promote  the  objects  of  the  institution.  And  all  collections  of  works  of  art  and  of 
natural  history,  owned  by  the  United  States,  not  otherwise  assigned,  shall  be  depos- 
ited in  said  buildings;  and  for  the  transportation  and  arrangement  of  the  same,  the 
sum  of  $5,000  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  to  be 
expended  under  the  direction  of  the  president  and  directors  of  the  National  Institu- 
tion: Provided,  however,  That  the  grounds  herein  assigned  to  the  institution  shall  be 
kept  open  to  the  public,  free  from  all  charge,  but  under  such  regulations  as  the 
preservation  of  the  property  shall  require:  And  provided  also,  That  the  plan  of  the 
buildings  herein  authorized  shall  be  prepared  by  the  National  Institution,  and  shall 
be  submitted  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  upon  receiving  his  approba- 
tion, shall  be  erected  under  the  superintendence  of  the  National  Institution;  the  said 
buildings,  collections,  and  grounds,  shall  be  under  the  general  supervision  of  the 
National  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Library. 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  217 

February  17,  1841— Senate. 

Mr.  W.  C.  PRESTON,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  to  whom 
was  referred  the  bill  (S.  245)  to  appoint  trustees  for  the  investment  of 
the  Smithsonian  fund,  reported  it  without  amendment,  and  also  the 
following  bills  as  substitutes  therefor: 

S.  258.  Bill  to  incorporate  within  the  District  of  Columbia  the 
National  Institution  for  the  promotion  of  science. 

S.  259.  Bill  to  invest  the  proceeds  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  to 
establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  which  were  severally  read  and 
passed  to  the  second  reading. 

[S.  258.] 

A  bill  to  incorporate,  within  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  National  Institution  for  the  Promotion 
of  Science. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  Joel  R.  Poinsett,  James  K.  Paulding,  John  Quincy  Adams, 
John  J.  Abert,  Joseph  G.  Totten,  A.  O.  Dayton,  Francis  Marcoe,  Levi  Woodbury, 
William  Cranch,  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  William  J.  Stone,  and  others,  composing  the 
association  in  the  District  of  Columbia  denominated  the  National  Institution  for  the 
Promotion  of  Science,  and  their  successors  duly  elected  in  the  manner  hereinafter 
mentioned,  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  constituted  and  declared  to  be  a  body  politic 
and  corporate,  by  the  name  and  title  of  the  National  Institution  for  the  Promotion  of 
Science,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  with  all  rights  and  privileges  of  corporate 
bodies,  not  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  or  the  laws  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  in  conformity  with  the  following  rules  and  regulations: 

Article  first.  This  society  shall  be  named  "The  National  Institution  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  Science." 

Article  second.  It  shall  hold  its  meetings  at  the  city  of  Washington. 

Article  third.  It  shall  be  composed  of  resident,  corresponding,  and  honorary 
members. 

Article  fourth.  The  resident  members  shall  be  persons  residing  in  the  District  of 
Columbia;  corresponding  members  shall  be  persons  residing  out  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  who  wish  to  aid  the  institution  by  their  contributions  or  communications, 
and  the  class  of  honorary  members  shall  be  composed  of  eminent  men  residing  out 
of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Article  fifth.  Resident  members  removing  from  the  District  of  Columbia  shall,  on 
request,  be  transferred  to  the  list  of  corresponding  members,  and  vice  versa;  but  any 
corresponding  member  may,  at  his  option,  be  recorded  and  considered  a  resident 
member. 

Article  sixth.  The  officers  of  the  institution  shall  consist  of  a  president,  vice- 
president,  twelve  directors,  a  treasurer,  and  a  corresponding  and  a  recording  secretary; 
Provided,  That  no  member  shall  hold  more  than  one  of  the  offices  created  by  this 
article  at  the  same  time,  but  that  an  acceptance  of  one  shall  be  construed  as  refusal 
of  all  others. 

Article  seventh.  The  officers  shall  constitute  a  board  of  management  of  the  fiscal 
concerns  of  the  institution;  and  any  five  members  of  the  board  shall  be  a  quorum  for 
the  transaction  of  ordinary  business. 

Article  eighth.  The  secretaries  of  the  departments  of  State,  Treasury,  War,  and 
Navy,  and  the  Attorney-General  and  Postmaster-General  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  time  being,  shall,  with  their  consent,  be  directors  of  the  institution;  but,  upon  the 
refusal  of  one  or  more  of  them  to  accede  to  the  request  of  the  institution,  such  director 
or  directors  shall  be  chosen  in  the  same  manner  as  herein  provided  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  other  officers.  The  officers  shall  be  elected  for  the  term  of  one  year,  or  until 


218  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

their  successors  .shall  bo  appointed,  from  among  the  resident  members  of  the  institu- 
tion. This  election  shall  take  place  at  the  annual  meeting;  and  each  member  who 
is  duly  qualified,  and  shall  be  present  at  such  meeting,  shall  have  a  vote  in  said 
election. 

Article  ninth.  The  annual  meeting  shall  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  in  each  year, 
or  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be  convenient;  the  stated  meetings  on  the  second  Mon- 
day in  each  month,  and  special  meetings  whenever  five  resident  members  shall  con- 
cur in  a  request  to  that  effect. 

Article  tenth.  The  president,  vice-president,  or,  in  their  absence,  one  of  the  directors, 
in  order  of  seniority,  as  named  in  article  eighth,  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the 
institution;  or  if  neither  of  these  members  be  present,  the  meeting  shall  elect  its 
own  chairman. 

Article  eleventh.  The  election  of  members  shall  be  by  ballot;  the  candidate  l>eing 
nominated  to  the  corresponding  secretary,  in  writing,  at  least  one  week  before  the 
meeting  when  he  is  so  balloted  for,  and  proposed  by  any  three  directors  of  the  society. 

Article  twelfth.  Resident  members  shall,  on  admission,  subscribe  the  constitution 
of  the  institution  and  pay  to  the  treasurer  five  dollars  each,  and  annually  thereafter, 
on  the  first  Monday  in  January,  five  dollars  each,  to  aid  in  defraying  neceasary 
expenses,  and  for  such  other  purposes  as  the  board  of  management  may  direct. 

Article  thirteenth.  No  resident  member  shall  vote  at  any  stated  or  other  meeting 
of  the  institution,  on  any  question  whatever,  who  has  not  paid  his  subscription  and 
annual  dues,  or  who  shall  not  have  attended  a  meeting  of  the  institution  within  one 
year  previous  to  such  meeting. 

Article  fourteenth.  The  resident  and  corresponding  members  shall  exert  themselves 
to  procure  specimens  of  natural  history,  and  so  forth;  and  the  said  specimens  shall 
be  placed  in  the  cabinet,  under  the  superintendence  of  a  board  of  curators,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  directors.  All  such  specimens,  and  so  forth,  unless  deposited  spe- 
cially, shall  remain  in  the  cabinet;  and,  in  case  of  the  dissolution  of  the  institution, 
shall  become  the  property  of  the  United  States. 

Article  fifteenth.  The  resident  members  of  the  institution  shall  be  divided  into 
such  departments  as  may  hereafter  be  determined  upon.  The  members  composing 
each  department  shall  especially  be  charged  with  the  subjects  embraced  therein,  and 
communicate  to  the  institution  the  result  of  their  inquiries;  but  every  member  shall 
have  the  privilege  of  making  such  communications  as  he  may  think  proper  on  any 
subject  connected  with  the  designs  of  the  institution. 

Article  sixteenth.  The  various  collections  of  the  institution  shall  be  placed  in  the 
apartments  which  may  be  designated  for  that  purpose  by  a  majority  of  the  directors. 

Article  seventeenth.  This  constitution,  with  the  exceptions  of  articles  six,  eight, 
ten,  fourteen,  and  sixteen,  or  so  much  thereof  as  relates  to  the  office  of  directors, 
their  duties  privileges,  or  powers,  or  the  purposes  or  place  of  keeping  of  the  collec- 
tions of  the  institution,  shall  be  subject  to  alterations  and  additions  at  any  meeting 
of  the  institution:  Provided,  Notice  of  a  motion  for  such  alteration  or  addition  shall 
have  been  given  and  recorded  at  a  preceding  regular  meeting:  And  pronded,  further, 
That  no  alterations  or  amendments  shall  ever  be  made  in  the  above  referred  to  articles 
without  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  directors. 

Article  eighteenth.  A  code  of  by-laws  for  the  regulation  of  the  business  of  the 
board  of  management,  and  the  annual  and  other  meetings  of  the  institution,  and  for 
matters  relating  to  nonattendance,  privileges,  duties  of  officers,  and  so  forth,  shall 
be  prepared  by  a  committee  to  be  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

Article  nineteenth.  All  persons  present  at  the  adoption  of  this  constitution  shall, 
if  desirous  of  becoming  members  of  the  institution,  sign  the  same  as  evidence  of  such 
desire,  and  in  proof  of  such  membership;  and  all  members  subsequently  admitted 
shall  sign  the  same  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  society  which  they  may  attend  after 
such  admission. 


TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1839-1841.  219 

Article  twentieth.  The  institution  .«hall  have  power  to  appoint  curators  and  others 
for  the  preservation  and  arrangement  of  the  collections. 

[S.  259.] 
A  bill  to  invest  the  proceeds  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  consist  of  one  superin- 
tendent, with  a  compensation  of dollars  per  annum,  and  not  exceeding  six 

professors,  with  compensation  to  each  of dollars  per  annum,  with  such  number 

of  curators  and  assistants  as  may  be  found  necessary:  Provided,  The  number  of,  and 
the  compensation  to,  the  curators  and  assistants  shall  be  approved  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States;  all  these  officers  to  be  elected  by  the  board  of  management  of  the 
National  Institution  for  the  Promotion  of  Science,  established  at  Washington,  and 
according  to  the  form  and  manner  prescribed  for  the  electing  of  officers  of  that  insti- 
tution; but  the  election  of  professors  shall  not  be  made  until  the  buildings  are  pre- 
pared for  them  to  enter  upon  their  duties. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  officers  of  the  National  Institution  for 
the  Promotion  of  Science,  together  with  the  superintendent  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  shall  constitute  a  board  of  management  of  the  interest  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund;  and  shall  have  power  to  plan  and  erect  the  necessary  buildings,  to  lay 
out  the  grounds,  to  preserve  and  repair  the  same,  to  procure  the  necessary  books  and 
philosophical  instruments,  to  arrange  the  collections,  to  prescribe  the  duties  of  the 
professors  and  others  belonging  to  the  said  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  to  establish 
regulations  for  the  preservation  of  the  property,  and  for  a  proper  exhibition  of  the 
same:  Provided,  however,  That  no  regulation  shall  exact  a  fee  from  any  visitor:  And 
provided,  That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prevent  any  member  of 
the  National  Institution  for  the  Promotion  of  Science  from  being  an  officer  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  board  of  management  shall  have 
power  to  appoint  a  treasurer  and  secretary,  who  shall  be  entitled  to  a  compensation 

of dollars  per  annum,  who  shall  give  bond,  in  the  penal  sum  of dollars, 

for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties,  which  duties  shall  be  prescribed  by  said 
board;  but  he  shall  render  the  accounts  of  his  expenditures  quarterly  to  the 
accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department;  and  the  said  board  shall  report  its 
proceedings  in  detail  annually  to  Congress,  or  oftener,  if  required. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  works  of  art,  and  all  books  relating 
thereto,  and  all  collections  and  curiosities  belonging  to  the  United  States,  in  the  pos- 
session of  any  of  the  executive  departments,  and  not  necessarily  connected  with  the 
duties  thereof,  shall  be  transferred  to  said  institution,  to  be  there  preserved  and 
arranged. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  interest  which  has  accrued  on  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  act;  and  that  the  ground  owned  by  the  United 
States,  and  designated  in  the  plan  of  the  city  of  Washington  as  the  Mall,  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  buildings  and  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution and  the  National  Institution;  and  the  same  shall  be  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  board  of  management  of  the  National  Institution. 

CARE   OF   GOVERNMENT    COLLECTIONS. 
July  20,  1840. 

An  act  appropriating  for  the  support  of  the  Army  for  1840. 

For  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  Secretaries  of  the  War  and  Navy 
Departments  to  place  in  a  state  of  safe  preservation  the  specimens  of 


220  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

natural  history  which  are  now  deposited  in  their  respective  offices,  or 
which  may  be  brought  there  resulting  from  surveys  of  the  unexplored 
portions  of  our  own  country,  or  from  the  exploring  expedition  now 
in  the  South  Seas,  by  the  authority  and  at  the  expense  of  the  United 
States,  or  otherwise,  a  sum  not  to  exceed  $500. 
(Stat.  V,  406.) 

March  3,  1841. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  Naval  Service  for  the  year  1841. 

For  defraying  the  expense  of  transporting  to  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton and  arranging  and  preserving  the  collections  made  by  the  explor- 
ing expedition,  $5,000. 
,    (Stat.  V,  420.) 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES 
July  20,  1840. 

Be  it  resolved,  etc.,  That  the  librarian,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Committee  on  the  Library,  be  authorized  to  exchange  such  duplicates 
as  may  be  in  the  library  for  other  books  or  works. 

Second.  That  he  be  authorized,  in  the  same  way,  to  exchange 
documents. 

Third.  That  hereafter  fifty  additional  copies  of  the  documents, 
printed  by  order  of  either  House,  be  printed  and  bound  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exchange  in  foreign  countries. 

(Stat.  V,  409.) 


TWENTY-SEVENTH  CONGEESS,  1841-1843. 

BEQUEST   OF   JAMES   SMITHSON. 
September  2,  1841— House. 

Mr.  MILLARD  FILLMORE,  f  roni  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  to 
whom  resolutions  of  instruction  had  heretofore  been  referred,  reported 
a  bill  (H.  34)  to  repeal  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  entitled  "An  act  to 
provide  for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United  States 
for  the  year  1838,  and  for  other  purposes,"  passed  July,  1838,  and  to 
prohibit  any  investment  of  the  funds  of  the  United  States  in  stocks  of 
the  several  States. 

The  section  proposed  to  be  repealed  is  as  follows: 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  the  money  arising  from  the  bequest  of 
the  late  James  Smithson,  of  London,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  at  Washington,  in 
this  District,  an  institution  to  be  denominated  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which 
may  be  paid  into  the  Treasury,  is  hereby  appropriated,  and  shall  be  invested  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the  approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1841-1843.  221 

States,  in  stocks  of  States,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  5  per  centum 
per  annum,  which  said  stocks  shall  be  held  by  the  said  Secretary  in  trust  for  the 
uses  specified  in  the  last  will  and  testament  of  said  Smithson,  until  provision  is  made 
by  law  for  carrying  the  purpose  of  saic1  bequest  into  effect;  and  that  the  annual 
interest  accruing  on  the  stock  aforesaid  shall  be  in  like  manner  invested  for  the  benefit 
of  said  institution. 

Mr.  FILLMORE  asked  that  as  the  bill  contained  no  appropriation,  and 
needed  not  therefore  to  be  committed,  it  be  put  on  its  third  reading 
then. 

Passed. 
September  3,  1841— Senate. 

The  bill  from  the  House  of  September  2,  184-1,  to  repeal  the  sixth 
section  of  the  act  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the 
Military  Academy  of  the  United  States  for  the  year  1838,"  etc.,  was 
read  twice;  and,  on  the  question  of  reference  coming  up, 

Mr.  A.  H.  SEVIER  said  this  bill  was  one  of  a  most  extraordinary 
character.  It  was  to  repeal  existing  contracts,  and  to  violate  treaty 
stipulations  with  the  Indians  without  their  consent.  He  moved  to  lay 
the  bill  on  the  table. 

Mr.  W.  C.  PRESTON  appealed  to  the  Senator  to  withdraw  his  motion. 
He  was  disposed  to  entertain  a  similar  opinion  of  the  bill,  but  thought 
it  more  respectful  to  the  House  to  refer  it  to  a  committee.  He  would 
therefore  move  to  refer  it  to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

Mr.  SEVIER  said,  if  it  was  to  be  referred  at  all,  it  ought  to  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs. 

Mr.  R.  J.  WALKER  concurred  in  this  view. 

Mr.  LEVI  WOODBURT  made  some  remarks  to  the  effect  that  the  bill 
could  be  only  prospective  in  its  character,  and  would  have  no  effect  on 
existing  contracts. 

Mr.  J.  C.  CALHOUN  said  this  bill  involved  questions  of  an  important 
character,  which  it  was  very  evident  would  require  more  time  for 
their  consideration  than  could  be  devoted  to  them  at  the  present  ses- 
sion. He  would  therefore  move  to  lay  the  bill  on  the  table. 

The  motion  was  negatived. 

Mr.  SEVIER  then  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee  on  Indian 
Affairs.  Lost. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  PRESTON  was  then  agreed  to,  and  the  bill  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 
September  4,  1841. 

Act  of  Congress  to  appropriate  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  public  lands 
and  to  grant  preemption  rights  to  States,  enabling  them  to  pay  interest 
and  principal  of  the  State  bonds  held  by  the  Government. 

Included  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Missouri,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana,  Arkansas  and  Michigan. 

(Stat.  V,  453.) 


222  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

September  8,  1841— Senate. 

Mr.  GEORGE  EVANS,  from  the  Committee  on  Finance,  reported,  with 
an  amendment,  the  bill  from  the  House  to  repeal  the  sixth  section  of 
the  act  for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  for  1838, 
and  to  prohibit  the  investment  of  trust  funds  of  the  United  States  in 
the  stocks  of  the  several  States. 

The  Senate  proceeded  to  consider  the  same,  and  the  bill  was  amended, 
so  as  to  strike  out  all  after  the  enacting  clause,  and  insert: 

That  so  much  of  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  Mil- 
itary Academy  of  the  United  States  for  1838  as  requires  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
to  invest  the  annual  interest  accruing  on  the  investment  of  the  money  arising  from 
the  bequest  of  the  late  James  Smithson,  of  London,  in  the  stocks  of  the  States,  be, 
and  the  same  is  hereby,  repealed;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  invest  said 
accruing  interest  in  any  stock  of  the  United  States,  bearing  a  rate  of  interest  not  less 
than  5  per  cent  per  annum. 

Mr.  A.  H.  SEVIER  made  some  observations  in  relation  to  the  amend- 
ment not  distinctly  heard  in  the  gallery. 

Mr.  EVANS  remarked  that  the  repeal  affected  that  portion  only  of 
the  bill  of  1838  which  related  to  the  investment  of  the  funds  of  the 
institution,  and  accruing  interest  in  State  stocks ;  the  investment  to 
be  changed  to  United  States  stock. 

Mr.  J.  C.  CALHOUN  requested  the  bill  and  amendments  would  be 
read. 

The  bill  was  then  read. 

Mr.  CALHOUN  wished  to  know  what  was  to  be  done  with  the  funds 
when  there  was  no  United  States  stock  to  be  had.  If  all  authority  to 
invest  them  and  the  accruing  interest  in  other  stocks  was  repealed,  and 
there  should  be  no  United  States  stock  in  the  market,  or  in  existence, 
what  was  to  be  done  with  the  money? 

Mr.  EVANS  replied  that  all  that  had  been  taken  into  consideration  in 
committee,  and  it  was  the  unanimous  impression  that  there  would  be  a 
sufficient  supply  of  United  States  stock  in  existence  for  the  next  three 
years  at  least,  and  that  no  difficulty  could  arise  in  that  way.  If,  how- 
ever, any  difficulty  of  that  nature  should  arise,  provision  could  be  made 
by  Congress  in  time  to  meet  it. 

Mr.  ARCHIBALD  L.  LINN  considered  the  whole  thing  as  a  direct 
attack  upon  the  credit  of  the  States.  Here  was  an  act  of  Congress 
implying  on  the  very  face  of  it  a  discredit  of  State  stocks.  Was  not 
this  calculated  to  depress  State  stocks,  both  in  the  home  and  foreign 
markets? 

Mr.  EVANS  observed  that  it  was  the  standing  of  the  State  stocks  in 
those  markets  which  had  called  for  the  amendment  of  the  act  of  1838. 

Mr.  LINN  called  the  attention  of  the  Senate  to  this  fact;  that  the 
Democratic  party,  during  the  last  political  struggle  of  the  party  now 
administering  the  Government  to  get  into  power,  had  been  slandered, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1841-1843.  223 

vilified,  and  ubused  with  the  most  unfounded  charges  of  designs  to 
discredit  the  States  of  this  Union.  The  Democratic  party  had  been 
denounced  from  one  end  of  the  Union  to  the  other  for  having  pros- 
trated the  whole  credit  system.  They  were  pronounced  traitors  to 
their  country,  and  a  continued  stream  of  Arituperation  was  poured  out 
upon  them  from  June,  1839,  to  the  close  of  the  Presidential  election, 
with  a  view  of  enlisting  the  prejudices  of  every  one  connected  with 
State  stocks  against  the  continuation  of  the  Democracy  in  power. 
Yet,  what  spectacle  do  we  now  see  presented  to  the  country  ?  What 
but  that  to  be  expected  from  the  Whig  party,  which  had  so  notoriously 
proved  to  the  world  that  their  professions  out  of  power  were  one 
thing  and  their  performances  in  power  quite  another  and  a  different 
thing?  Now  that  they  have  the  first  opportunity,  they  offer  the  most 
outrageous,  treacherous,  and  fatal  stab  to  the  State  stock  credit  sys- 
tem that  ever  was  attempted  by  any  representatives  of  the  people  or 
the  States.  But  he  was  glad  the  gentleman  had  shown  the  true  char- 
acter of  their  professions  contrasted  with  their  performances. 

Mr.  LEVI  WOODBURY  considered  there  were  other  things  which 
ought  to  be  taken  in  view.  Besides  the  fatal  stab  thus  offered  to  the 
credit  of  State  stocks,  the  institution  itself  might  be  deprived  of  the 
advantage  of  investing  its  funds  in  stock  no  less  secure  than  United 
States  stock,  though  for  temporary  causes  depreciated,  but  sometimes 
yielding  an  opportunity  of  purchase  at  60  or  65,  when  United  States 
stock  might  be  at  more  than  100. 

Mr.  CLAY  said  the  relation  between  the  Government  and  the  States, 
of  the  latter  being  debtors  to  the  former,  ought  always  to  be  avoided; 
for  what  means  could  be  used  to  coerce  the  States  if  they  refused  to 
pay  ?  We  had  stocks  of  our  own  in  which  this  trust  fund  of  the  Gov- 
ernment could  be  invested.  He  should  prefer  the  adoption  of  this 
principle,  that  in  all  cases  of  trust  funds  an  account  should  be  opened 
with  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  that  the  fund  should 
be  held  in  the  Treasury,  and  it  pay  an  annual  interest  on  it  until  its 
object  was  accomplished.  He  regarded  this  Smithsonian  fund  as  a 
sacred  trust  which  the  Government  would  be  bound  to  restore  if  it 
should  ever  be  lost;  and  that  being  the  case — the  Government  being 
responsible  for  them — it  would  be  better  that  they  should  remain  in 
the  Treasury,  under  our  charge. 

Mr.  BENJAMIN  TAPPAN  was  understood  to  concur  in  this  opinion,  and 
after  some  further  remarks  by  Mr.  WOODBURY,  Mr.  CALHOUN,  and 
Mr.  SEVIER  the  amendment  was  engrossed,  the  bill  read  a  third  time, 
and  passed. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  EVANS,  its  title  was  amended  so  as  to  be,  in  effect, 
"an  act  to  repeal  a  part  of  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  for  the  support 
of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United  States  for  1838,  and  for  other 
purposes." 


224 


CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 


September  9,  1841. 

Report  of  T.  Swing,  Secretary  of  Treasury. 
State  stocks  held  by  the  Treasury  Department,  in  trust  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 



Of  what  States. 

Amount  of 
stock. 

Cost. 

Arkansas 

$500,000.00 

$499,  500.  00 

10,000.00 

10,000.00 

13,000.00 

12,  837.  50 

15,  000.  00 

10,  555.  00 

26,  000.  00 

18,980.00 

Do                                      

6,000.00 

4,223.00' 

24  000  00 

19  200  00 

8,000.00 

8,270.67 

18,000  00 

16  980.00 

620,  000.  00 

600,980.17 

September  9,  1841— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS,  the  House  took  up  the  bill  providing 
for  the  repeal  of  so  much  of  the  sixth  section  of  the  Military  Academy 
act  of  1838,  as  provides  for  the  investment  of  the  Smithsonian  funds 
in  State  stocks;  and  the  Senate  amendments  thereto  were  amended  in 
several  respects,  and  the  bill  was  returned  to  the  Senate. 

September  10,  1841— House. 

The  House  considered  the  message  from  the  Senate  in  relation  to  the 
amendments  of  the  House  to  the  amendment  of  the  Senate  to  the  bill 
H.  34,  when  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  House  concur  in  the  amendment  of  the  Senate 
to  the  first  amendment  of  this  House  to  the  amendment  of  the  Senate 
to  said  bill,  and  recede  from  their  second  amendment  to  the  amendment 
of  the  Senate  to  said  bill,  and  that  the  bill  do  pass  accordingly. 
September  11,  1841. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  so  much  of  the  sixth  section  of  an  act 
entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  Military  Academy 
of  the  United  States  for  the  year  1838,  and  for  other  purposes,"  as 
requires  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  invest  the  annual  interest 
accruing  on  the  investment  of  the  money  arising  from  the  bequest 
of  the  late  James  Smithson,  of  London,  in  the  stocks  of  States,  be, 
and  the  same  is  hereby,  repealed.  And  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
shall,  until  Congress  shall  appropriate  said  accruing  interest  to  the 
purposes  prescribed  by  the  testator  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men,  invest  said  accruing  interest  in  any  stock  of 
the  United  States,  bearing  a  rate  of  interest  not  less  than  five  per 
centum  per  annum. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  other  funds  held  in  trust 
by  the  United  States,  and  the  annual  interest  accruing  thereon,  when 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGEESS,   1841-1843.  225 

not  otherwise  required  by  treaty,  shall  in  like  manner  be  invested  in 
stocks  of  the  United  States,  bearing  a  like  rate  of  interest. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  three  clerks,  authorized 
by  the  act  of  June  23,  1836,  "to  regulate  the  deposits  of  the  public 
inonev,"  be,  and  hereby  are,  directed  to  be  retained  and  employed  in 
the  Treasury  Department,  as  provided  in  said  act,  until  the  state  of  the 
public  business  becomes  such  that  their  services  can  conveniently  be 
dispensed  with. 

(Stat.,  V.  465.) 
December  7,  1841—  Senate. 


of  the  President,  John  Tyler. 

*  *  *  I  suggest  for  your  consideration  the  propriety  of  making, 
without  further  delay,  some  specific  application  of  the  funds  derived 
under  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson,  of  England,  for  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge,  and  which  have  heretofore  been  vested  in  public  stocks, 
until  such  time  as  Congress  should  think  proper  to  give  them  a  specific 
direction.  Nor  will  you,  I  feel  confident,  permit  any  abatement  of 
the  principal  of  the  legacy  to  be  made,  should  it  turn  out  that  the 
stocks  in  which  the  investments  have  been  made  had  undergone  a 
depreciation.  *  * 
December  10,  1841—  House. 

Mr.  MILLAKU  FILLMORE  offered  a  resolution  for  the  appointment  of 
a  select  committee  on  the  Smithsonian  legacy. 

Adopted;  and  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams  of  Massachusetts,  Mr. 
Richard  W.  Habersham  of  Georgia,  Mr.  Truman  Smith  of  Connecti- 
cut, Mr.  Joseph  R.  Underwood  of  Kentucky,  Mr.  Benjamin  Randall 
of  Maine,  Mr.  Charles  J.  Ingersoll  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Robert  M.  T. 
Hunter  of  Virginia,  Mr.  George  S.  Houston  of  Alabama,  and  Mr. 
Samuel  S.  Bowne  of  New  York  were  appointed  said  committee. 
December  15,  1841—  House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  COST  JOHNSON  presented  the  memorial  of  sundry 
citizens  of  Washington  City,  praying  an  early  disposition  of  the  funds 
of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  in  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  the 
donor. 

Referred  to  the  select  committee  on  the  Smithsonian  bequest. 
December  29,  1841—  Senate. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  W.  C.  PRESTON,  it  was  ordered  that  the  President's 
message,  relative  to  the  Smithson  bequest,  be  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  the  Library  —  Mr.  W.  C.  Preston,  Mr.  Benjamin  Tappan,  Mr. 
Rut'us  Choate. 
January  3,  1842—  House. 

Resolved,  That  so  much  of  the  message  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  as  relates  to  the  Smithsonian  legacy  be  referred  to  the  select 
committee  on  that  subject, 
H.  Doc.  T32  -  15 


226  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

March  29,  1842— House. 

Mr.  CHARLES  J.  INGERSOLL  presented  a  memorial  of  Richard  Rush, 
praying  additional  compensation  for  his  services  in  recovering  the 
Smithsonian  legacy. 

Referred  to  the  committee  on  the  bequest. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS  presented  a  petition  of  B.  Birdsall,  of  the  State 
of  New  York. 

The  following  is  the  petition: 

Your  petitioner  prays  that  a  part  of  the  funds  of  the  "Smithsonian  bequest"  may  l>e 
appropriated  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and  awarding  a  system  of  annual  prizes 
for  the  l>est  original  essays  on  the  various  subjects  of  the  physical  sciences,  useful 
arts,  and  abstract  mathematics,  etc.,  and  for  such  new  discoveries  in  art  or  science 
as  shall  do  honor  to  the  nation;  the  subjects  of  the  prizes  to  be  given  or  proposed  by 
a  competent  committee. 

Your  petitioner  entertains  the  opinion  that  some  such  system  as  the  one  prayed 
for  would  exert  a  most  powerful  influence  in  favor  of  science  in  this  country,  and 
would  operate  as  an  excellent  stimulant  to  those  who  are  disposed  to  honor  their 
country  in  cultivating  and  promoting  those  branches  of  useful  science  which  serve 
to  work  out  the  distinction  between  the  savage  and  civilized  state. 

For  this  your  petitioner  most  respectfully  prays. 

B.  BIRDSALL. 

CLINTON,  February  9,  1842. 

Referred  to  the  committee  on  the  bequest. 
April  11,  1842— Senate. 

Mr.  W.  C.  PRESTON,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  reported 
a  bill  (S.  224)  to  invest  the  proceeds  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  to 
establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Read  and  passed  to  a  second  reading. 
April  12,  1842— House. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS,  from  the  committee  appointed  December  10, 
1841,  made  the  following  report,  accompanied  by  a  bill  (H.  386), 
which  was  read  the  first  and  second  time  and  committed  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole  House  on  the  state  of  the  Union: 

The  seventh  year  is  already  considerably  advanced  in  its  course 
since  the  then  President  of  the  United  States,  on  the  17th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1835,  communicated,  by  message,  to  both  Houses  of  Congress 
the  fact  of  this  bequest,  with  a  copy  of  the  will  of  James  Smithson, 
in  which  it  was  contained;  and  with  the  remark  that,  the  Executive 
having  no  authority  to  take  an^y  steps  for  accepting  the  trust,  and 
obtaining  the  funds,  the  papers  were  communicated  with  a  view  to 
such  measures  as  Congress  might  deem  necessary. 

This  message,  with  its  accompanying  correspondence  and  vouchers, 
was  referred  in  the  Senate  to  their  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  and 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  to  a  select  committee  of  nine  mem- 
bers, both  of  which  committees  reported  in  favor  of  the  acceptance 
by  Congress  of  the  bequest,  and  of  assuming,  for  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  the  solemn  obligation  of  preserving  inviolate  the  fund 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1841-1843.  227 

bequeathed  by  the  testator,  and  of  applying  the  income  derived  there- 
from faithfully  to  the  purposes  prescribed  by  him. 

Accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  July,  1836,  a  bill  which  had  previously 
been  passed  by  both  Houses  of  Congress  received  the  sanction  of  the 
President,  authorizing  him  to  appoint  an  agent  or  agents  to  recover 
the  funds  bequeathed  by  the  will  of  the  testator,  and  then  being  in 
charge  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  deposit  the 
same  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States;  and  the  faith  of  the  United 
States  was,  by  the  same  act,  expressly  pledged  for  the  faithful  per- 
formance of  the  trust  assumed  by  the  acceptance  of  the  bequest. 

An  agent  was  appointed  by  virtue  of  this  act,  who  recovered,  by  a 
decree  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  a  sum  which,  on  the  1st  of  Septem- 
ber, 1838,  was  deposited  in  gold  at  the  mint  of  the  United  States  at 
Philadelphia,  amounting  to  $508,318.46. 

By  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  of  Congress  for  the  support  of  the 
Military  Academy  of  the  United  States  and  for  other  purposes, 
approved  on  the  7th  of  July,  1838,  it  was  provided  that  all  the  money 
arising  from  the  bequest  of  the  late  James  Smithson,  of  London,  for 
the  purpose  of  founding  at  Washington,  in  this  District,  an  institution 
to  be  denominated  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  might  be  paid 
into  the  Treasury,  was  appropriated,  and  should  be  invested  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the  approbation  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  in  stocks  of  States,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of 
not  less  than  5  per  centum  per  annum;  which  said  stocks  should  be 
held  by  the  said  Secretary  in  trust  for  the  uses  specified  in  the  last 
will  and  testament  of  said  Smithson,  until  provision  should  be  made 
by  law  for  carrying  the  purpose  of  said  bequest  into  effect;  and  that 
the  annual  interest  accruing  on  the  stock  aforesaid  shall  be  in  like 
manner  invested  for  the  benefit  of  said  institution. 

Under  the  authority  and  the  requisition  of  this  act,  immediately 
after  the  deposit  at  the  mint  of  the  United  States  at  Philadelphia  of 
the  moneys  recovered  by  the  decree  of  the  court  of  chancery  in  Eng- 
land, the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  invested  in  stocks  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas  $500,000,  and  $8.000  in  stocks  of  the  State  of  Michigan,  all 
at  the  interest  of  6  per  cent;  since  which  time,  by  the  same  authority, 
$3,800  of  the  stocks  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  $3,600  of  the  State  >f 
Illinois,  $18,000  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  have  been  invested  in  like  man- 
ner, until  the  llth  of  September  last,  when  the  provision  of  the  law 
which  authorized  and  required  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  invest 
the  accruing  interest  on  the  principal  fund  in  the  stock  of  the  States 
was  repealed,  and  he  was  directed,  until  Congress  shall  appropriate 
said  accruing  interest  to  the  purposes  described  by  the  testator,  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  to  invest  said  accru- 
ing interest  in  any  stock  of  the  United  States  bearing  a  rate  of  interest 
not  less  than  5  per  centum  per  annum.  Under  this  authority  the 


228  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury  did  invest  the  sum  of  $1,291.86,  at  the  rate 
of  5£  per  cent  a  year — a  rate  of  interest  more  parsimonious  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Treasury  than  liberal  for  the  benefit  of  this  generous 
and  bountiful  fund. 

The  500  bonds,  of  $1,000  each,  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  issued  to 
the  Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  are  not  redeemable  before  the  26th 
of  October,  1860;  and  the  38  bonds  subsequently  issued  to  the  Real 
Estate  Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  not  before  the  1st  of  January, 
1861. 

The  8  bonds  of  the  State  of  Michigan  are  not  redeemable  before  the 
first  Monday  of  July,  1858. 

Twent\'-three  thousand  dollars  of  the  bonds  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
are  not  redeemable  before  the  end  of  1860;  and  $33,000  not  before 
the  1st  of  January,  1870. 

Eighteen  thousand  dollars  of  the  bonds  of  the  State  of  Ohio  are  not 
redeemable  before  the  1st  of  January,  1861. 

The  sum  of  $1,291.86,  due  by  the  United  States,  is  redeemable  at 
their  pleasure  after  the  31st  of  December,  1844. 

In  the  bill  herewith  reported,  it  is  proposed  to  settle  three  funda- 
mental principles  for  the  administration  and  management  of  the  fund 
in  all  after  time. 

First.  That  the  principal  fund  shall  be  preserved  and  maintained 
unimpaired,  with  an  income  secured  upon  it  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent 
a  year,  from  which  all  appropriations  for  the  purposes  of  the  founder 
shall  be  made. 

Second.  That  the  portions  of  the  income  already  accrued,  and  invested 
in  stocks  of  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  Ohio,  shall 
be  constituted  funds,  from  the  annual  interest  of  which  an  astronom- 
ical observator,  with  four  assistants,  and  necessary  laborers,  shall  be 
appointed  and  maintained,  without  expense  to  this  nation,  and  with  a 
considerable  increase  of  the  principal  fund  and  of  its  annual  income — 
a  principle  susceptible  of  extension  to  future  application,  which  may 
continually  increase  at  the  discretion  of  Congress  the  means  and  capa- 
bilities of  the  institution  to  promote  and  accomplish  the  great  purposes 
of  the  founder. 

The  establishment  of  this  principle  will  have  the  further  advantage 
of  relieving  the  board  of  overseers  from  the  necessity  of  using  the 
bonds  of  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  Ohio,  none 
of  which  are  redeemable  before  the  year  1858.  The  annual  interest 
upon  them,  it  can  not  bo  doubted,  will  be  hereafter,  as  it  has  been 
hitherto,  punctually  paid;  and,  independent  of  the  faith  of  the  several 
States,  respectively  pledged  to  this  punctuality,  the  4th  section  of  the 
act  of  4th  September,  1841,  to  appropriate  the  proceeds  of  the  sales 
of  the  public  lands  and  to  grant  preemption  rights,  has  furnished  to 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1841-1843.  229 

those  States  the  means  of  paying  punctually,  not  only  the  annual 
interest,  but  at  the  stipulated  time  the  principal  itself,  of  their  bonds 
without  bearing  upon  the  people  of  the  States  for  the  pressure  of  a 
single  dollar. 

The  third  principle  proposed  to  be  made  by  the  bill  fundamental,  for 
the  future  management  of  this  fund,  is  that  no  part  of  the  sums  appro- 
priated from  this  fund  shall  be  applied  to  any  institution  of  education 
or  religious  establishment.  The  reasons  for  this  exclusion  have  been 
set  forth  at  large  in  the  document  hereto  annexed,  and  which  the  com- 
mittee present  as  a  part  of  their  report.  They  submit  especially  the 
argument  contained  in  the  report  made  to  this  House  on  the  5th  of 
March,  1840,  with  confidence  in  the  opinion  that  the  appropriation  of 
any  portion  of  the  fund  to  such  institutions  or  establishments,  how- 
ever meritorious,  could  not  fail  to  divert  the  fund  from  the  real  pur- 
poses of  the  testator. 

Annexed  hereto  are  copies  of  the  bonds  of  the  several  States,  taken 
under  the  requirements  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  7th  July,  1838,  and 
of  the  United  States,  taken  by  authority  of  the  act  of  llth  September, 
1841,  with  a  tabular  statement  of  the  present  condition  of  the  funds. 

Appendix  to  report  of  Mr.  Adams: 

UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA,   STATE   OF    ILLINOIS. 

$1,000.]  Interest  six  per  cent,  [$1,000. 

CERTIFICATE  OF  ILLINOIS. 
No.  299.]  Internal  improvement  stock.  [No.  299. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  there  is  due  from  the  State  of  Illinois  to 
Thomas  Mather,  or  bearer,  one  thousand  dollars,  with  interest,  at  the  rate  of  six  per 
cent  per  annum  payable  half  yearly,  on  the  first  Mondays  of  January  and  July,  at 
the  banking  house  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  New  York,  on  presentation 
and  surrender  of  the  annexed  warrants.  The  principal  is  reimbursable  at  the  said 
banking  house,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State,  after  the  first  day  of  January,  1870. 

For  the  performance  of  all  which  the  faith  of  the  State  of  Illinois  is  irrevocably 
pledged,  agreeably  to  "An  act  to  establish  and  maintain  a  general  system  of  internal 
improvements,"  approved  February  27,  1837,  and  amendments  thereto  approved 
March  2,  1839,  and  February  1  and  3,  1840. 

Witness  my  hand,  at  Springfield,  this  1st  day  of  May,  1840. 

RICH'D  F.  BARRET, 

Fund  Commissioner. 

20  bonds  of  this  description — 6  numbered  261  to  266  inclusive,  and  the  residue 
numbered  287  to  300  inclusive. 


230  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

UNITED    STATES   OK    AMERICA,  STATE   OF    ARKANSAS. 

No.  100.]  A.  [$1,000. 

Real  Estate  Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 

Under  an  act  of  the  general  assembly  entitled  "An  act  to  establish  the  Real  Estate 
Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,"  approved  October  26, 1836,  and  an  act  supplemen- 
tary thereto  entitled  "An  act  to  increase  the  rate  of  interest  on  the  bonds  of  the 
State  issued  to  the  Real  Estate  Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,"  approved  Decem- 
ber 19,  1837. 

>%r  per  cent  stock. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  the  State  of  Arkansas  acknowledges  to  be 
indebted  to  the  Real  Estate  Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  in  the  sum  of  one  thousand 
dollars;  which  sum  the  said  State  of  Arkansas  promises  to  pay,  in  current  money  of 
the  United  States,  to  the  order  of  the  president,  directors,  and  company  of  said  bank, 
on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  October,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one, 
with  interest,  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent  per  annum,  payable  half  yearly  at  the  place 
named  in  the  endorsement  hereto,  on  the  first  days  of  January  and  July  of  each  year, 
until  the  payment  of  said  principal. 

In  testimony  whereof  the  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  has  signed,  and  the 
treasurer  of  the  State  has  countersigned,  these  presents,  and  caused  the  seal 
[L.  s.]    of  the  State  to  be  fixed  thereto,  at  Little  Rock,  this  first  day  of  January,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight. 

SAM.  C.  ROANE,  Governor. 
Countersigned : 

WM.  E.  WOODRUFF,  Treasurer. 

500  bonds  of  this  description,  numbered  1  to  500,  inclusive. 


UNITED   STATES   OF    AMERICA,  STATE    OF    ARKANSAS. 

$1,000.  \  N     ^.  (  $1,000. 

£225.  }  No-  29*'  \     £225. 

Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 
Six  per  cent  stock. 

Under  an  act  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  entitled  "An  act 
supplemental  to  an  act  to  establish  the  State  Bank  of  Arkansas,"  approved  December 
18,  1837. 

Know  all  men  that  the  State  of  Arkansas  acknowledges  to  be  indebted  to  the 
president  and  directors  of  the  Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  in  the  sum  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars;  which  sum  the  said  State  of  Arkansas  promises  to  pay,  in  current  money 
of  the  United  States,  to  the  order  of  the  president  and  directors  of  said  bank,  on  the 
first  day  of  January,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  with  interest,  at 
the  rate  of  six  per  cent  per  annum,  payable  half  yearly  at  the  place  named  in  the 
endorsement  hereto,  on  the  first  day  of  July  and  of  January,  of  each  year,  until  the 
payment  of  said  principal. 

In  testimony  whereof  the  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  has  signed,  and  the 
treasurer  of  the  State  has  countersigned,  these  presents,  and  caused  the  seal 
[L.  s.]    of  the  State  to  be  fixed  thereto,  at  Little  Rock,  this  first  day  of  January,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight. 

SAM.  C.  ROANE,  Governor. 
Countersigned: 

WM.  E.  WOODRUFF,  Treasurer. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS,   1841-1843.  231 

These  bonds  have  been  assigned  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
38  bonds  of  this  description — 13  numbered  282  to  294,  inclusive;  15  numbered  359 
to  373,  inclusive;  and  10  numbered  401  to  410,  inclusive. 


SPECIAL  CERTIFICATE. 

DETROIT  AND  PONTIAC  RAILROAD  STATE  STOCK,  STATE  OF  MICHIGAN. 
$1,000.]  Six  per  cent  stock.  [No.  92. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  the  State  of  Michigan  acknowledges  to  owe 
to  the  Detroit  and  Pontiac  Railroad  Company  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars, 
lawful  money  of  the  United  States  of  America,  which  sum  of  money  the  said  State 
promises  to  pay  to  the  said  Detroit  and  Pontiac  Railroad  Company,  or  to  their  order, 
at  the  Manhattan  Bank,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  first  Monday  of  July  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  or  at  any  time  there- 
after that  the  State  may  choose,  with  interest  thereon,  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per 
annum,  payable  at  the  said  Manhattan  Bank  half  yearly,  upon  presentation  and  the 
delivery  of  the  coupons  severally  hereunto  annexed,  to  wit:  On  the  first  Monday  of 
January  and  the  first  Monday  of  July,  in  each  and  every  year,  until  the  payment  of 
the  said  principal  sum. 

The  faith  and  credit  of  the  people  of  the  said  State  are  hereby  solemnly  pledged 
for  the  payment  of  the  interest  and  the  redemption  of  the  principal  thereof,  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  relief 
of  the  Detroit  and  Pontiac  Railroad  Company,"  approved  March  5,  A.  D.  1838. 

In  testimony  whereof  the  treasurer  of  the  State  of  Michigan  has  signed  this  cer- 
tificate, and  has  hereunto  affixed  the  seal  of  his  office,  this  first  day  of 

LL-  s- J     May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  tho  isand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight. 

HENRY  HOWARD, 
Treasurer  of  the  State  of  Michigan. 

8  bonds  of  this  description— 1  numbered  76;  the  residue  numbered  86  to  92, 
inclusive. 


UNITED   STATES   OP   AMERICA,    STATE   OF   ILLINOIS. 

$1,000.]  No.  83.  [$1,000. 

Six  per  cent  stock,  interest  half  yearly. 

Illinois  bank  and  internal  improvement  stock. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  there  is  due  from  the  State  of  Illinois  to  the 
Bank  of  Illinois,  or  bearer,  one  thousand  dollars,  lawful  money  of  the  United  States, 
with  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  payable  half  yearly,  on  the 
first  Mondays  of  January  and  July,  at  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  Philadelphia, 
or  at  its  agency  in  New  York,  at  the  option  of  the  holder,  on  the  presentation  and 
surrender  of  the  annexed  warrants.  The  principal  is  reimbursable  at  either  of  the 
above  places,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State,  after  the  year  1860.  For  the  performance 
of  all  which  the  faith  of  the  State  of  Illinois  is  irrevocably  pledged,  as  also  a  like 
amount  of  the  stock  in  the  Bank  of  Illinois,  agreeably  to  ' '  An  act  supplementary  to 
an  act  to  increase  the  capital  stock  of  certain  banks,  and  to  provide  means  to  pay 
the  interest  on  a  loan  authorized  by  an  act  entitled  an  '  Act  to  establish  and  main- 
tain a  general  system  of  internal  improvement,' "  approved  March  4,  1837. 


232  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

In  witness  whereof  the  governor,  auditor,  and  treasurer  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
have  signed  this  certificate,  and  have  caused  the  seal  of  the  said  State  to 
['"  S-J     l>e  hereunto  affixed,  this  31st  day  of  July,  1837. 

JOSEPH  DUNCAN,  Gorrnior. 
LEVI  DAVIS,  Auditor. 
JOHN   1).  WHITESIDK,  Tn'ottitrrr. 

13  bonds  of  this  description— 4  nuinlwred  70,  71,  78,  74,  and  the  residue  iiuinl>ered 
81  to  89,  inclusive. 


UNITED    STATES    OK    AMERICA,     STATE    OK    ILLINOIS. 

$1,000.]  Interest  six  per  cent.  [$1,000. 

CERTIFICATE  OF  ILLINOIS. 
No.  2460.]  Internal  improvement  slock.  [No.  2460. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  there  is  due  from  the  State  of  Illinois  to 
Nevins,  Townseiid  &  Co.,  or  bearer,  one  thousand  dollars,  lawful  money  of  the 
United  States,  with  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  payable  half 
yearly,  on  the  first  Mondays  of  January  and  July,  at  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
in  Philadelphia,  or  at  its  agency  in  New  York,  at  the  option  of  the  holder,  on  the 
presentation  and  surrender  of  the  annexed  warrants.  The  principal  is  reimbursable 
at  either  of  the  above  places,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State,  after  the  first  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 1870.  For  the  performance  of  all  which  the  faith  of  the  State  of  Illinois  is 
irrevocably  pledged,  agreeably  to  "An  act  to  establish  and  maintain  a  general  sys- 
tem of  internal  improvements."  approved  February  27,  1837. 
Witness  our  hands,  at  Vandalia,  this  first  day  of  January,  1838. 

CHAS.  OAKLEY, 
M.  M.  KAWLINGS, 
THOMAS  MATHER, 

Commissioners. 
LEVI  DAVIS,  Auditor. 

3  bonds  of  this  description— 2457,  2459,  2460. 


UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA,     STATE    OF    ILLINOIS. 

$1,000.]  Six  per  cent  stock,  interest  half  yearly.  [$1,000. 

ILLINOIS  AND  MICHIGAN. 
(.'anal  stock.     No.  1241. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  there  is  due  from  the  State  of  Illinois  to  the 
State  Bank  of  Illinois,  or  bearer,  one  thousand  dollars,  lawful  money  of  the  United 
States,  with  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  payable  half  yearly, 
on  the  first  Mondays  of  January  and  July,  at  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  Phila- 
delphia, or  at  its  agency  in  New  York,  at  the  option  of  the  holder,  on  the  presenta- 
tion and  surrender  of  the  annexed  warrants.  The  principal  is  reimbursable  at  either 
of  the  above  places,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State,  after  the  year  1860.  For  the  per- 
formance of  all  which  the  faith  of  the  State  of  Illinois  is  irrevocably  pledged,  as  also 
the  property,  tolls,  and  revenues  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  agreeably  to  an 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGKESS,    1841-1843.  233 

act  entitled    "An   act  for  the  construction  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal," 
approved  the  9th  January,  1836. 

In  witness  whereof  the  governor,  auditor,  and  treasurer  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
have  signed  this  certificate,  and  have  caused  the  seal  of  the  said  State  to 
I-1"  s'^     be  hereunto  affixed,  this  1st  day  of  July,  1839. 

THO.  CABLIN,  Governor. 
LKVI  DAVIS,  Auditor. 
JOHN  I).  WHITESIDE,  7'mw/vv. 

10  bonds  of  this  description,  numbered  1237  to  1246,  inclusive. 


UNITED    STATF8    OF    AMERICA,   STATE    OF    ILLINOIS. 

$1,000.]  Interest  six  per  cent.  [$1,000. 

CERTIFICATE  OF  ILLINOIS. 
No.  2636.]  Internal  improvement  stock.  [No.  2636. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  there  is  due  from  the  State  of  Illinois  to 
-,  or  bearer,  one  thousand  dollars,  with  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per 


cent  per  annum,  payable  half  yearly,  on  the  first  Mondays  of  January  and  July,  at 
the  banking  house  of  the  agency  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  New  York,  on 
presentation  and  surrender  of  the  annexed  warrants.  The  principal  is  reimbursable 
at  the  said  banking  house,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State,  after  the  1st  day  of  January, 
1870. 

For  the  performance  of  all  which  the  faith  of  the  State  of  Illinois  is  irrevocably 
pledged,  agreeably  to  ' '  An  act  to  establish  and  maintain  a  general  system  of  internal 
improvement, ' '  approved  February  27, 1837,  and  an  amendment,  approved  March  2, 
1839. 

Witness  our  hands,  at  Vandalia,  this  1st  day  of  July,  1839. 

CHAS.  OAKLEY, 
JOHN  TILLSON,  Jr., 

Commissioners. 

10  bonds  of  this  aescnption,  numbered  2629,  2632,  2634,  2636,  2639,  2648,  2658,  2660, 
2661,  2664. 


STATE  OK  OHIO  CANAL  STOCK. 

Transfer  office,  office  of  the  Ohio  Life  Insurance  and  Trust  Company,  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  August  7, 1841. 

Be  it  known,  that  the  State  of  Ohio  owes  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States,  in  trust  for  the  Smithsonian  fund  or  his  assigns,  the  sum  of  five  thou- 
sand dollars  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  from  the  first 
day  of  July,  1841,  inclusively,  payable  at  this  office,  half  yearly,  on  the  first  days  of  the 
months  of  January  and  July,  being  stock  created  in  pursuance  of  sundry  acts  of 
the  legislature  of  the  State  of  Ohio  passed  March  24th,  1837,  the  principal  of  which 
stock  is  reimbursable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State,  at  any  time  after  the  thirty-first 
day  of  December,  in  the  year  1860;  which  debt  is  recorded  in  this  office,  and  is  trans- 
ferable only  by  appearance  in  person  or  by  attorney,  according  to  the  rules  and  forms 
instituted  for  that  purpose. 


234  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

No.  3179.  In  testimony  whereof,  I,  J.  N.  Perkins,  cashier  of  the  Ohio  Life  Insur- 
ance and  Trust  Company,  agent,  duly  appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the 
commissioners  of  the  canal  fund  of  Ohio,  pursuant  to  authority  vested  in 

[L.  s.]  them  by  the  acts  aforementioned,  have  hereunto  subscribed  my  name  and 
affixed  the  seal  of  said  commissioners,  the  day  and  year  first  above  men- 
tioned. 

$5,000.  J-  N.  PERKINS. 

SAM.  P.  BULL,  Transfer  Office. 


STATK  OK  OHIO  ('ANAL  STOCK. 

Transfer  office,  office  of  the  Ohio  Life  Insurance  and  Trust  Company,  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  August  6, 1841. 

Be  it  known,  that  the  State  of  Ohio  owes  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  in  trust,  for  the  Smithsonian  fund,  or  his  assigns,  the  sum  of  thirteen 
thousand  dollars,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  from  the 
first  day  of  July,  1841,  inclusively,  payable  at  this  office,  half  yearly,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  months  of  January  and  July,  being  stock  created  in  pursuance  of  sundry  acts 
of  the  legislature  of  Ohio  passed  March  19, 1838,  and  March  23, 1840,  the  principal  of 
which  stock  is  reimbursable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State,  at  anytime  after  the  thirty- 
first  day  of  December,  in  the  year  1860;  which  debt  is  recorded  in  this  office,  and  is 
transferable  only  by  appearance  in  person  or  by  attorney,  according  to  the  rules  and 
forms  instituted  for  that  purpose. 

No.  3176.  In  testimony  whereof,  I,  J.  N.  Perkins,  cashier  of  the  Ohio  Life  Insur- 
ance and  Trust  Company,  agent,  duly  appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the 
commissioners  of  the  canal  fund  of  Ohio,  pursuant  to  authority  vested 
[L.  s.]  in  them  by  the  acts  aforementioned,  have  hereunto  subscribed  my  name, 
and  affixed  the  seal  of  said  commissioners,  the  day  and  year  first  above 
mentioned. 

J.  N.  PERKINS, 

Cashier  Ohio  Life  In.  and  Trust  Co. 
SAM.  P.  BULL,  Transfer  Office. 

$13,000. 


UNITED  STATES  LOAN  OK  1841. 
$1,291.86.  No.  66.  No.  66. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  September  28,  1841. 

Be  it  known  that  there  is  due  from  the  United  States  of  America  unto  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  for  the  time  being,  in  trust  for  the  Smithsonian  fund,  or  his  assigns, 
the  sum  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-one  dollars  and  eighty-six  cents, 
bearing  interest  at  five  and  a  half  per  centum  per  annum,  from  the  eighteenth  day 
of  September,  1841,  inclusively,  payable  quarter  yearly,  being  stock  created  in  pur- 
suance of  an  act  of  Congress  passed  on  the  21st  day  of  July,  1841,  entitled  "An  act 
authorizing  a  loan  not  exceeding  the  sum  of  twelve  millions  of  dollars,"  the  principal 
of  which  stock  is  reimbursable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  United  States,  at  any  time  after  the 
thirty-first  day  of  December,  1844;  which  debt  is  recorded  in  and  transferable  at  the 
office  of  the  Register  of  Treasury,  by  appearance  in  person  or  by  attorney,  according 
to  the  rules  and  forms  instituted  for  that  purpose. 

WALTER  FORWARD, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Countersigned : 

T.  L.  SMITH,  Register. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1841-1843. 
Mocks  in  which  the  Smithsonian  fund  is  invested. 


235 


Stock. 

Amount. 

Rate 
of  in- 
terest. 

When  payable. 

When  and  where 
redeemable. 

For  what  object 
issued. 

Per.ct. 

Stock  of  the  State 

838,000.00 

6 

Payable    at 

Jan.   1,   1868,  at     New 

Issued  to  Bank  of 

of  Arkansas. 

New  York. 

York. 

the  State  of  Ar- 

Do 

500,000.00 

6 

do  

Oct.  26,  1861,  at   New 

Real  Estate  Bank 

York. 

of   the  State  of 

Arkansas. 

Stock  of  the  State 

8,000.00 

c 

do  

First  Monday  of  July, 

Detroit  and   Pon- 

of  Michigan. 

1858,  at  New  York  or 

tiacR.R.Co. 

at   any   time    there- 

after, as  the  State  may 

choose. 

Stock  of  the  State 

13,  000.  00 

6 

Payable    at 

At  New  York  or  Phila- 

Bank and  internal 

of  Illinois. 

New  York 

delphia,  at  the  pleas- 

improvement 

or  Philadel- 

ure of  the  State,  after 

stock. 

phia,  at  the 

1860. 

option  of  the 

holder. 

Do  

3,000.00 

6 

do  

At  New  York  or  Phila- 

Internal improve- 

delphia, at  the  pleas- 

ment stock. 

ure  of  the  State,  after 

Jan.  1,1870. 

Do  

30,000.00 

6 

Payable    at 

At  New  York,  at  the 

Do. 

New  York. 

pleasure  of  the  State, 

after  Jan.  1,1870. 

Do. 

10,  000.  00 

6 

Payable    at 

At  New  York  or  Phila- 

Illinois and  Michi- 

New York 

delphia,  at  the  pleas- 

gan canal  stock. 

or  Philadel- 

ure of  the  State,  after 

phia,  at  the 

the  year  1860. 

option  of  the 

holder. 

Stock  of  the  State 

18,000.00 

6 

Payable    at 

At  the  pleasure  of  the 

State  of  Ohio  canal 

of  Ohio. 

New  York. 

State,   at    any    time 

stock. 

after  Dec.  31,  1860. 

Stock  of  the  United 

1,291.86 

5i 

At  the  pleasure  of  the 

States  created  by 

United  States,  at  any 

the  act  of  July 

time    after    Dec.  31, 

21,1841. 

1844. 

Amount  

628,  291.  86 

[H.  380.     Deported  by  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams.] 

SEC.  1.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  the  Secretaries  of  State,  Treasury,  War,  and  Navy,  the  Postmaster  and  Attor- 
ney Generals,  the  chief  justice  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington  shall  be,  and  hereby 
are,  constituted  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  by  the  style  and  title  of  the  trustees  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men, 
with  perpetual  succession,  and  the  usual  powers,  duties,  and  liabilities  incident  to 
corporations. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  corporation  so  constituted  shall  have 
power  to  appoint,  from  citizens  ( >f  the  United  States  other  than  members  of  the  board 


236  CONGRESSIONAL    PBOOEEDINO8. 

a  secretary  and  a  treasurer,  to  hold  their  offices  during  the  pleasure  of  the  board,  and 
removable  at  their  pleasure,  and  others  to  be  appointed  in  their  places,  and  to  fix 
from  time  to  time  their  compensation.  And  the  secretary  and  treasurer  only  shall 
receive  pecuniary  compensation  for  their  services,  and  those  of  the  members  of  the 
board  of  trustees  shall  be  gratuitous.  And  the  offices  of  secretary  and  treasurer  may, 
at  the  discretion  of  the  board  of  trustees,  be  held  by  the  same  person.  The  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  their 
respective  offices;  and  the  treasurer  shall  give  bond,  with  the  penalty  of  $50,000, 
with  sureties  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for  the  safe  custody 
and  faithful  application  of  all  the  funds  of  the  institution  which  may  come  to  his 
hands  or  be  at  his  disposal. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $508,318.46,  placed  in  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1838,  as  the  proceeds,  in  part,  of 
the  bequest  of  James  Smithson  to  the  United  States,  together  with  all  sums  which 
have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  realized  from  the  said  bequest,  shall  be  passed  here- 
after to  the  credit  of  a  fund,  to  be  denominated  the  Smithsonian  fund,  in  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States.  And  the  faith  of  the  United  States  is  hereby  pledged  for  the 
preservation  of  the  said  fund  undiminished  and  unimpaired,  to  bear  interest  at  the 
rate  of  six  per  cent  a  year,  payable  half-yearly,  on  the  first  days  of  January  and 
July,  to  the  treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  to  be  applied 
to  the  purposes  of  the  fund,  conformably  to  the  laws,  and  subject  to  the  revision  and 
regulations  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  no  part  of  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  princi- 
pal or  interest,  shall  be  applied  to  any  school,  college,  university,  other  institute  of 
education,  or  ecclesiastical  establishment. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  appropriations  to  be  made  from  time  to 
time  by  Congress,  to  the  purposes  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  as  declared  by  the 
testator,  shall  be  exclusively  from  the  accruing  interest,  and  not  from  the  principal, 
of  the  said  fund;  but  Congress  shall  retain  the  power  of  investing,  at  their  discretion, 
the  principal  of  said  fund  and  its  increase  in  any  other  manner,  so  as  to  secure  not 
less  than  a  yearly  interest  of  six  per  cent,  and  may  appropriate,  from  any  other 
unappropriated  moneys  in  the  Treasury,  sums  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  six  years 
of  the  accruing  interest  on  the  Smithsonian  fund,  to  be  repaid  from  the  said  accruing 
interest  into  the  Treasury. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  il  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $30,000,  part  of  the  accruing 
interest  on  the  same  Smithsonian  fund,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated 
towards  the  erection  and  establishment,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  of  an  astro- 
nomical observatory,  adapted  to  the  most  effective  and  continual  observations  of  the 
phenomena  of  the  heavens;  to  be  provided  with  the  necessary,  best,  and  most  perfect 
instruments  and  books,  for  the  periodical  publication  of  the  said  observations,  and  for 
the  annual  composition  and  publication  of  a  nautical  almanac. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  observatory  shall  be  erected  under 
the  direction  of  the  board  of  trustees  on  a  site  in  the  city  of  Washington  to  be  selected 
by  them;  and  should  the  same  be  on  land  belonging  to  the  United  States  so  mueh 
thereof  as  in  the  opinion  of  the  trustees  shall  be  necessary  for  the  purpose  shall  be 
conveyed  to  them  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  $10,000  taken  from  that  fund  by 
the  general  appropriation  act  of  March  3,  1839:  Provided,  That  if  no  such  suitable  site 
can  be  found  on  the  public  lands,  that  then  a  selection  of  a  site  on  private  property 
may  be  made  at  a  price  not  exceeding  one-half  cent  per  square  foot,  to  be  paid  out  of 
the  appropriation  in  the  immediately  preceding  section  of  this  act. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  expenditures  made  by  the  said  board  of 
trustees  shall  be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and  all 
the  accounts  thereof  shall  be  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  audited 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1841-1843.  237 

under  hi^  direction  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department;  and  the  said 
board  shall  report  to  Congress  at  every  session  thereof  the  state  of  the  Smithsonian 
fund  and  a  full  statement  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures  during  the  preceding 
year. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  first  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Smithsonian  fund  shall  be  held  at  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  third  Tuesday  of 
next,  and  that  in  the  meantime  the  custody  of  the  said  fund  and  the  expend- 
itures under  the  appropriations  herein  made  shall  be  held  and  authorized  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  subject  to  the  approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  shall  be  a  board  of  visitors  to  be  annu- 
ally appointed,  consisting  of  nine  members,  two  of  whom  to  be  commissioned  officers 
of  the  Army,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  War;  two  commissioned  officers  of 
the  Navy,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  the  mayors,  for  the  time 
being,  of  the  cities  of  Alexandria  and  of  Georgetown  within  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  one  citizen  of  each  of  the  cities  of  Washington,  Alexandria,  and  Georgetown,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  who  shall  meet  on  the  first  Mon- 
day of  February,  at  eleven  o'clock  before  noon,  at  the  said  astronomical  observatory, 
and  visit  and  inspect  the  condition  of  the  said  observatory  and  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  generally.  They  shall  choose  among  themselves  a  chairman  and 
shall  make  report  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  the  said  condition  of  the 
institution,  specifically  indicating  in  what  respect  the  institution  has  during  the  pre- 
ceding year  contributed  to  the  purpose  of  the  founder — the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men.  To  this  board  the  astronomical  observator  shall  make  a 
report  to  the  same  effect  so  far  as  regards  the  astronomical  branch  of  the  institution, 
which  report  shall  be  annexed  to  that  of  the  board  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  who  shall  communicate  the  said  reports  to  Congress.  The  services  of  the 
members  of  said  board  shall  be  gratuitous. 

SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  is  reserved  to  Congress  the  right  of 
altering,  amending,  adding  to,  or  repealing  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act  which 
shall  be  found  inconvenient  upon  experience:  Provided,  That  no  contract  or  indi- 
vidual right  made  or  acquired  under  such  provisions  shall  (hereby  be  impaired  or 
divested. 

SEC.  12.  And  be  ii  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $60,000  of  the  interest  accrued 

and  now  invested  in  bonds  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  and ,  bearing  an  interest 

at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent  a  year,  be,  and  it  is  hereby,  constituted  a  fund  from  the 
yearly  interest  of  which  the  compensation  shall  be  paid  of  an  astronomical  observator 
to  be  appointed  by  the  board  of  overseers,  removable  at  their  discretion,  and  another 
to  be  appointed  whenever  the  said  office  may  be  vacant.  His  compensation  shall  be 
at  the  rate  of  three  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  $600  a  year  for  the  incidental 
and  contingent  expenses  of  repairs  upon  the  buildings,  as  they  may  be  required. 

SEC.  13.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $120,000,  from  the  interest  already 
accrued  or  to  accrue  hereafter  to  that  amount,  and  yielding  yearly  interest  at  the  rate 
of  six  per  cent  a  year,  be,  and  is  hereby,  constituted  a  fund,  from  the  interest  of 
which  four  assistants  to  the  astronomer  and  laborers  necessary  for  attendance  on  him, 
for  the  care  and  preservation  of  the  buildings,  shall  be  provided  and  supported.  The 
compensation  of  the  four  assistants  to  be  at  the  rate  of  $1,500  a  year  each;  and  the 
compensation  of  the  laborers  (with  compensations  not  to  exceed  in  amount  for  the 
whole  of  those  found  necessary)  $1,200  a  year;  the  assistants  and  laborers  to  be 
appointed  and  removable  by  the  said  board  of  trustees,  at  their  discretion. 

SEC.  14.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $20,000  of  the  interest  hereafter 
to  accrue  from  the  said  Smithsonian  fund  be.  and  is  hereby,  appropriated  to  furnish 


238  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

an  assortment  of  the  best  and  most  perfect  instruments  for  astronomical  observation, 
to  be  procured  under  the  direction  of  the  astronomical  observator,  to  be  appointed 
conformably  to  the  twelfth  section  of  this  act. 

SEC.  15.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  further  sum  of  $10,000  of  the  interest 
to  accrue  on  the  said  fund  be,  and  hereby  is,  constituted  a  fund  from  the  interest  of 
which  other  instruments  may  be  from  time  to  time  procured,  as  occasions  for  the  use 
of  them  may  arise,  and  for  repairs  of  instruments,  as  needed. 

SEC.  16.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $10,000,  to  accrue  from  the  future 
interest  on  the  said  fund,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  purchase 
of  a  library  of  books  of  science  and  literature  for  the  use  of  the  observatory,  to  be 
selected  by  the  observator;  and  the  further  sum  of  $20,000  of  the  said  interest  to 
accrue  from  the  said  fund  is  hereby  constituted  a  fund  from  the  yearly  interest  of 
which  the  sum  of  $1,200  shall  be  applied  for  the  constant  supply  of  new  works, 
transactions  of  learned  societies,  and  periodical  publications  upon  science  in  other 
parts  of  the  world  or  in  America. 

SEC.  17.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  further  sum  of  $30,000  of  the  interest 
hereafter  to  accrue  from  the  said  principal  Smithsonian  fund  be,  and  hereby  is,  con- 
stituted a  fund  from  the  income  of  which,  being  $1,800  a  year,  shall  be  defrayed  the 
expense  of  the  yearly  publication  of  the  observations  made  at  the  observatory,  and 
of  a  nautical  almanac  to  be  called  the  Smithsonian  Almanac. 

SEC.  18.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  for  any  other  moneys  which  have  accrued, 
or  may  hereafter  accrue,  upon  the  said  Smithsonian  fund  not  herein  appropriated 
the  board  of  trustees  are  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem 
necessary  for  the  promotion  of  the  purpose  of  the  testator — the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men. 
April  12,  1^42— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  John  White)  presented  additional  documents  in 
support  of  the  memorial  of  Richard  Rush,  which  were  referred  to  the 
Committee  of  Claims. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ADAMS,  it  was  then  ordered  that  the  committee 
on  the    Smithsonian  bequest   be  discharged  from  the  memorial  of 
Richard  Rush,  and  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  Claims. 
June  8,  1842— Senate. 

Mr.  E.  W.  HUBARD,  from  the  Committee  on  Claims,  reported  House 
bill  479  for  the  relief  of  Richard  Rush.     Committed  to  Committee  of 
the  Whole. 
July  18,  1842— Senate. 

The  bill  S.  224  was  considered  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  WILLIAM  ALLEN, 

Ordered,  That  it  lie  on  the  table. 

[This  bill  is  the  same  as  S.   259,  introduced  into  the  Senate  by 
Mr.  Preston,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  on  February  17, 
1841.] 
August  5,  1842— House. 

Bill  H.  479,  for  the  relief  of  Richard  Rush,  was  reported. 
August  27,  1842— House. 

A  petition  of  Henry  L.  Ellsworth,  Elisha  Whittlesey,  J.  S.  Skin- 
ner, and  others,  on  behalf  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  the  United 
States,  was  laid  on  the  table. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1841-1843.  239 

The  memorial  of  the  undersigned  respectfully  represents:  That  they,  and  those  asso- 
ciated with  them,  have  formed  a  society  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  be  called 
"The  Agricultural  Society  of  the  United  States,"  which  is  designed  in  various  ways 
to  promote  the  improvement  of  American  husbandry. 

For  that  purpose  they  have  adopted  a  constitution,  and  applied  to  Congress  for  an 
act  of  incorporation.  The  objects  of  the  society  are  fully  explained  in  the  constitu- 
tion, a  copy  of  which  has  been  laid  before  Congress.  One  of  these  is  the  establishment 
of  a  school  and  farm  in  this  District,  with  a  course  of  lectures  for  instruction  and 
experiments  to  advance  the  condition  of  agriculture  throughout  the  Union,  and 
thus  diffuse  wider  among  men  that  knowledge  so  essential  to  the  improvement  of  this 
most  important  pursuit. 

They  therefore,  in  pursuance  of  a  resolve *  adopted  by  said  society,  a  copy  of  which 
is  hereto  annexed,  pray  Congress  to  set  apart  and  apply  to  the  above  objects  the 
residue  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  or  such  portion  of  it  as  in  the  opinion  of  Congress 
can  be  most  usefully  and  properly  expended  in  that  manner. 

HENRY  ELLSWORTH. 

ELISHA  WHITTLESEY. 

J.  S.  SKINNER. 

JNO.  A.  SMITH. 

ALEXANDER  HUNTER. 
WASHINGTON,  December,  1841. 

December  23,  1842— House. 

Passed  H.  479. 
March  1,  1843— Senate. 

Passed  H.  479. 
March  3,  1843. 

Act  approved  by  the  President. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  pay,  out  of  any  money  in  the 
Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  Richard  Rush,  the  sum  of  $3,815.73,  for 
extra  services  in  converting  the  Smithsonian  funds  received  by  him  as  the  agent  of 
the  United  States  into  gold  coin,  and  for  his  aid  and  supervision  in  transporting  the 
same  from  London  to  the  mint  at  Philadelphia. 

(Stat.,  VI,  892.) 

UNITED    STATES    EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 

August  4,  1842. 

Act  for  naval  service  for  1842. 

For  the  transportation,  arrangement,  and  preservation  of  articles 
brought  and  to  be  brought  by  the  exploring  expedition,  $20,000,  if  so 
much  be  necessary. 

(Stat,  V,  501.) 

1  Vide  fifteenth  article  of  constitution,  presented  August  27, 1842: 
"ART.  15.  The  said  board  (board  of  control)  shall  also  be  instructed  to  make  efforts 
to  obtain  funds  for  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  school  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, and,  appurtenant  thereto,  a  course  of  public  lectures  on  agriculture,  chemistry, 
botany,  mineralogy,  geology,  and  entomology  as  appropriate  sciences  to  the  great 
business  of  agriculture,  and  an  experimental  farm,  which,  with  the  buildings  and 
improvements  thereon,  shall  be  set  apart  forever  as  an  establishment  for  the  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 


240  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

August  26,  1842. 

An  Act  to  provide  for  publishing  an  account  of  the  discoveries  made  by  Lieutenant 
Wilkes,  of  the  United  States  Navy. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  there  shall  be  published,  under  the  super- 
vision and  direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  "an  account 
of  the  discoveries  made  by  the  exploring  expedition  under  the  command 
of  Lieutenant  Wilkes,  of  the  United  States  Navy,"  which  account  shall 
be  prepared  with  illustrations  and  published  in  a  form  similar  to  the 
Voyage  of  the  Astrolabe,  lately  published  by  the  Government  of 
France. 

SEC.  2.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  when  such  account  shall  have 
been  written,  and  the  illustrations  for  the  same  shall  have  been  pre- 
pared, an  advertisement  shall  be  inserted  in  the  papers  publishing  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  inviting  proposals  for  printing  100  copies 
of  the  same  for  the  United  States,  to  be  delivered  to  the  Librarian  of 
Congress  in  a  time  and  at  a  price  to  be  stipulated  in  such  contract; 
and  the  contract  shall  be  made  with  and  given  to  the  person  offering 
and  giving  sufficient  assurance  to  perform  the  work  at  the  lowest 
price ;  and  on  such  contract  being  made  the ' '  account "  shall  be  delivered 
to  such  contractor. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  until  other  provision  be 
made  by  law  for  the  safe  keeping  and  arrangement  of  such  objects  of 
natural  history  as  may  be  in  possession  of  the  Government,  the  same 
shall  be  deposited  and  arranged  in  the  upper  room  of  the  Patent 
Office  under  the  care  of  such  person  as  may  be  appointed  by  the  Joint 
Committee  on  the  Library. 

(Star,,  V,  534.) 
December  24,  1842. 

Civil  and  diplomatic;  ac-t  for  1843. 

For  expenses  attending  the  preparation  of  the  results  and  account 
of  the  exploring  expedition,  for  the  publication  thereof  ordered  by 
Congress,  $20,000. 

(Stat.,  V,  596.) 
March  3,  1843. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1844. 

And  the  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  are  hereby  authorized 
and  directed,  in  the  settlement  of  the  accounts  of  the  officers  attached 
to  the  late  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  to  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  the  South  Seas,  who  were  employed  in  the  scientific  duties,  to 
allow  and  credit  them  with  extra  pay,  equal  to  that  allowed  to  the 
officers  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Coast  Survey. 

(Stat,  V,  636.) 

For  preparing  and  publishing  charts,  and  otherwise  carrying  into 
effect  the  act  of  August  26,  1842,  for  publishing  an  account  of  the 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  241 

discoveries  of  the  exploring  expedition,  under  the  supervision  and 
direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  $20,000. 
(Stat.,  V,  645.) 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  CONGRESS,  1843-1845. 

BEQUEST   OF  JAMES   SMITHSON. 

December  5,  1843 — Senate. 

Message  of  the  President,  John  Tylei\ 

*  *  *  In  connection  with  its  other  interests,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  whole  country,  I  recommend  that  at  your  present  session  you 
adopt  such  measures,  in  order  to  carry  into  effect  the  Smithsonian 
bequest,  as  in  your  judgment  will  be  the  best  calculated  to  consum- 
mate the  liberal  intent  of  the  testator. 
December  15,  1843— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  RUFUS  CHOATE,  the  message  of  the  President  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library — Mr.  Rufus  Choate,  Mr. 
Benjamin  Tappan,  and  Mr.  John  McP.  Berrien. 
January  2,  1844 — House. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS  presented  resolution,  and  the  rule  requiring  the 
same  to  lie  upon  the  table  one  day  being  dispensed  with  it  was  con- 
sidered and  agreed  to: 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be  directed  to  report  to  this  House  the 
present  state  and  condition  of  the  funds  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson  to  the  United 
States,  for  the  establishment  at  the  city  of  Washington  of  an  institution  for  the  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  with  a  statement  of  what  payments  of  inter- 
est have  been  received,  and  what,  if  any,  have  been  refused  or  withheld  on  the  State 
stocks  in  which  the  said  funds  were  invested;  the  amount  of  interest  so  withheld  or 
refused  to  be  paid ;  and  what  measures  have  been  taken  by  the  Secretary  to  recover 
the  same;  also  by  whose  agency  the  said  investments  were  made;  with  copies  of  any 
correspondence' of  the  Treasury  Department  with  such  agents  relating  thereto. 

February  2,  1844— House. 

Mr.  HENRY  WILLIAMS  presented  a  petition  of  Horatio  C.  Merriam,  of 
Massachusetts,  that  a  portion  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest  be  applied  to 
promote  agricultural  education,  that  science  being  heretofore  neglected 
in  the  systems  of  education  in  this  country.  Referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Agriculture. 
February  19,  1844— House. 

The  SPEAKER  laid  before  the  House  the  following  communication : 
A  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  answer  to  a  resolu- 
tion of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  3d  of  January  last,  trans- 
mitting statements  showing  the  present  state  and  condition  of  the 
funds  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson  to  the  United  States;  the  pay- 
ments of  interest  that  have  been  received,  and  what  have  been  refused 
or  withheld  on  the  State  stocks  in  which  the  said  funds  were  invested, 
H.  Doc.  732 16 


242  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

and  the  amount  of  interest  so  withheld;  and  stating  what  measures 
had  been  taken  to  recover  the  interest  withheld;  also,  accompanied 
with  copies  of  the  correspondence  in  relation  to  the  purchase  of  State 
stocks  for  the  fund;  which  letter  and  accompanying  documents  were, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  referred  to  a  select  committee 
of  nine  members. 

Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  Mr.  Geo.  S.  Houston,  Mr.  A.  H.  Chappell, 
Mr.  Richard  French,  Mr.  Wm.  Lucas,  Mr.  Francis  Brengle,1  Mr.  Jacob 
S.  Yost,  Mr.  E.  D.  Potter,  and  Mr.  John  Wethered1  were  appointed 
the  said  committee. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  February  17, 1844- 

SIR:  In  compliance  with  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  3d 
of  January  last,  I  have  the-  honor  to  transmit  the  accompanying  statements  A,  B,  C, 
showing  "the  present  state  and  condition  of  the  funds  bequeathed  by  James  Smith- 
son  to  the  United  States,  for  the  establishment  of  an  institution  for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  the  payments  of  interest  that  have  been  received, 
and  what  have  been  refused  or  withheld  on  the  State  stocks  in  which  the  said  funds 
were  invested,  and  the  amount  of  interest  so  withheld." 

I  have  the  honor  further  to  report,  in  compliance  with  the  resolution,  that  the 
only  measures  taken  to  recover  the  interest  so  withheld  were,  by  retaining  in  the 
Treasury  the  amounts  stated  in  statement  C,  under  the  provisions  of  the  fourth  sec- 
tion of  the  act  of  4th  September,  1841;  there  being  no  other  means  by  which  the 
department  could  compel  the  payment  of  interest  then  in  arrear. 

The  resolution  also  requires  to  be  reported  "by  whose  agency  the  said  investments 
were  made,  with  copies  of  any  correspondence  of  the  Treasury  Department  with 
such  agents  relating  thereto." 

In  reply  to  this,  I  have  the  honor  to  state  that  it  does  not  appear  that  any  agent 
was  ever  appointed  to  make  these  investments.  The  correspondence  in  relation  to 
the  purchase  of  State  stocks,  for  the  fund,  appears  to  have  been  principally  with 
stockbrokers;  and  copies  are  annexed,  marked  from  D  No.  1  to  D  No.  63. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant,  J.  C.  SPENCER, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Hon.  J.  W.  JONES, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

1This  committee,  though  ordered,  was  not  actually  appointed  until  Mr.  Brengle 
and  Mr.  Wethered  took  their  seats. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1843-1845. 


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249 


250  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

Dl  TRKAMTKY  DEPARTMENT,  July  I//,  1838. 

SIR:  The  public  service  at  the  West  will  probably  require,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  considerable  sums  of  money  for  disbursements  on  account  of  the  Army  and 
Indian  Department.  Should  your  bank  find  it  convenient  to  meet  drafts  for  any 
part  of  the  balance  due  from  you  to  the  United  States,  payable  at  its  counter,  I  will 
cheerfully  direct  the  Treasurer  to  place  such  drafts  upon  you  for  such  amounts  as 
you  shall  advise  me  immediately  will  l>e  paid  by  your  bank.  They  will  probably  be 
required  in  specie.  The  sums  paid  will  be  carried  to  the  credit  of  your  bank,  and 
stop  interest  from  the  date  of  payment.  Should  your  bank  have  at  command  State 
stocks  which  it  wishes  to  dispose  of  in  discharge  of  its  proportion  of  the  two  last 
installments  of  the  bonds  of  the  State  Bank  of  Indiana  to  the  United  States,  and  will 
describe  their  character,  and  the  lowest  price  at  which  they  will  be  sold  upon  pay- 
ment in  the  mode  mentioned,  this  Department,  having  funds  to  invest  in  State  stocky 
will  be  glad  to  receive  a  proposition  on  the  subject  at  your  earliest  convenience. 

These  suggestions  are  made  under  the  belief  that  some  benefit  ma>  result  to  all 
parties  by  such  arrangement. 

lam,  &c.,  L.  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  'I'reasury. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  BRANCH  OF  THE  STATE  BANK  OF  INDIANA,  Madison. 

(A  similar  letter  was  addressed  to  president  of  the  Bank  of  Michigan;  president  of 
the  Planters'  Bank  of  Mississippi ;  president  of  the  branch  of  the  Bank  of  the  State 
of  Alabama,  at  Mobile;  president  of  the  Agricultural  Bank  of  Mississippi;  president 
of  the  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank  of  Michigan;  president  of  the  branch  of  State 
Bank  of  Indiana,  atLawrenceburg;  president  of  the  branch  of  State  Bank  of  Indiana, 
at  Xew  Albany.) 

D2. 

Kiifdcf  of  a.  letter  from  the  president  of  the  branch  bank,  Madison,  Indiana,  dated  Wash- 
ington, Auguxt  3,  1838,  in  reply  to  the  letter  from  the  Department  dated  July  14,  18S8. 

The  branch  of  the  State  Bank'  of  Indiana,  at  Madison,  will  furnish  your  Depart- 
ment with  Indiana  5  per  cent  internal-improvement  bonds,  principal  and  interest 
payable  in  Xew  York,  to  the  full  amount  of  the  debt  that  branch  owes  your  Depart- 
ment, at  par. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  7mw/,ry. 


AGRICULTURAL  BANK,  NATCHEZ,  July  36,  1838. 

SIR:  Your  favor  of  the  14th  instant,  addressed  to  the  president  of  this  bank,  has 
been  received.  After  thanking  you  for  the  suggestions  it  contains,  I  am  to  inform 
you  that  our  agent  in  the  North,  Alvarez  Fish,  esq.,  formerly  our  president,  is 
instructed  to  open  a  negotiation  for  the  purchase  of  $600,000  of  the  bonds  of  this 
State,  now  being  offered  in  the  Northern  market,  provided  he  can  dispose  of  them  to 
the  Government  in  liquidation  of  the  balance  due  the  Treasury,  and  to  correspond 
with  you  upon  the  subject.  Our  directory  feel  somewhat  sanguine  of  the  success  of 
these  negotiations,  which  will  supersede  the  necessity  of  our  making  arrangements  to 
meet  the  drafts  of  the  Treasurer  here,  and  will  be  a  more  convenient  mode  of  pay- 
ment for  us. 

Very  respectfully,  your  ol>edient  servant, 

A.  P.  MERRILL,  <"<»*////  . 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   134.3-1*  io.  251 

1)4.  .W/,r.' 

The  money  bequeathed  by  the  late  James  Sinithsou,  esq.,  of  London,  for  founding 
an  institute  in  the  city  of  Washington,  amounting  to  about  half  a  million  of  dollars, 
will,  it  is  expected,  be  received  during  the  present  month.  By  an  act  passed  July  7, 
1838,  the  undersigned  is  directed  to  invest  the  same  "in  stocks  of  States  bearing 
interest  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  five  per  cent  per  annum."  He  is  now  prepared 
to  receive  proposals  from  persons  who  have  stocks  of  this  description  to  dispose  of. 

LEVI  WOODBURY,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  August  6,  1838. 


D  5.  NEW  YORK,  August  8,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  discover,  by  an  official  notice  from  the  Treasury  Department  of  the 
6th  instant,  that  you  are  directed  by  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  July  7, 1838,  to  invest 
the  money  bequeathed  by  the  late  James  Smithson,  of  London,  for  founding  an 
institute  in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  the  stocks  of  States  bearing  interest  at  the  rate 
of  not  less  than  five  per  cent  per  annum,  and  that  you  are  now  prepared  to  receive 
proposals  from  persons  having  stocks  of  this  description  to  dispose  of. 

We  take  the  liberty  to  inform  you  that,  by  virtue  of  the  act  of  the  legislature  of 
the  State  of  Mississippi  incorporating  the  "Mississippi  Union  Bank,"  we  are  charged 
with  the  disposal  of  five  millions  of  the  bonds  of  the  State,  bearing  interest  at  the 
rate  of  five  per  cent  per  annum,  and  payable  in  twelve  and  twenty  years,  and  at  such 
place  or  places  as  we  may  designate.  And  we  have  now  the  honor  to  submit  for 
your  consideration  a  proposition  for  the  sale  of  an  amount  of  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  of  those  bonds,  payable  at  any  place  in  the  United  States  or  in  England  you 
may  designate,  and  extinguishable  in  twelve  or  twenty  years. 

We  shall  await  in  this  city  your  answer  to  this  communication. 

With  considerations  of  high  respect,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

EDWARD  C.  WILKINSON. 
J.  WILKINS. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY. 


D  6.  NEW  YORK,  August  8,  1838. 

SIR:  Noticing  the  advertisement  of  the  6th  instant  for  offers  of  State  stocks  for  the 
investment  of  money  bequeathed  by  the  late  James  Smithson,  we  beg  leave  to  offer 
sixty  thousand  dollars  Indiana  five-per-cent  State  stock,  with  the  privilege,  on  receipt 
of  the  Secretary's  reply,  of  making  the  amount  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  at  par, 
the  stock  to  be  delivered,  at  our  option,  on  or  before  the  1st  November  next. 
Bespectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

OGDEN,  FERGUSON  &  Co. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington. 

D  7.  PHILADELPHIA,  August  ft,  1838. 

SIR:  I  have  observed  your  notice  inviting  proposals  for  the  sale  of  State  stocks. 

I  have  in  my  possession  $76,250  of  the  bonds  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  5J  per  cents, 
redeemable  in  1862  and  1863;  the  interest  payable  semiannually,  at  any  point  in  the 
United  States  you  may  desire,  and  guaranteed  by  the  Planters'  Bank  of  Tennessee. 

They  are  the  same  which  I  had  the  honor  by  letter,-  some  time  since,  from  Nash- 
ville, to  propose  to  sell  you;  and  again,  recently,  in  person  at  Washington. 

I  am  desirous  of  obtaining  par  for  them,  if  possible,  as  they  cost  that;  but  having 
determined  to  resume  specie  payments  shortly,  and  being  very  desirous  of  liquidating 

1  Published  in  the  Globe  newspaper. 


252  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  debt  due  to  the  Government,  renders  it  necessary  to  dispose  of  them,  even  if  we 
have  to  submit  to  a  loss.     I  therefore  propose  to  sell  you  the  above  bonds  at  99£. 

I  shall  esteem  it  a  great  favor  if  you  will  inform  me  (directed  to  this  city)  when 
your  decision  will  be  made  known.  My  object  in  making  the  request  is,  that  I  am 
desirous  of  returning  to  Tennessee  as  soon  as  possible,  and  this  is  the  only  business 
that  detains  me.  If  you  could  consistently  take  these  bonds  from  me  immediately, 
at  a  price  that  would  be  satisfactory  to  you,  it  would  do  me  a  great  favor,  and  I  would 
bring  them  to  you  immediately. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

M.  WATSON, 

President  of  the  Planters'  Bank  of  Tennessee. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY. 

D  8.  NEW  YORK,  August  8,  1838. 

SIR:  We  will  sell  any  part  of  $200,000  Michigan  six  per  cent  stock,  interest  and 
principal  payable  here,  at  par.     The  interest  since  the  1st  of  July  to  be  included. 
This  stock  has  about  twenty  years  to  run,  and  is  in  bonds  of  $1,000  each. 
Your  obedient  servants, 

JOHN  WARD  &  Co. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  9.  PETERSBURG  R.  R.  Co.  OFFICE,  August  S,  1S38. 

SIR:  I  have  observed  in  the  Globe  of  the  6th  instant  your  notice  of  that  date 
relating  to  an  investment  "of  the  money  bequeathed  by  the  late  James  Smithson, 
esq.,  of  London,  in  State  stocks,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  five  per 
cent  per  annum." 

I  beg  leave  to  state  that  the  Petersburg  Railroad  Company,  which  I  represent, 
holds  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  ($150,000)  of  stock  of  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, which  bears  an  interest  of  five  per  cent  per  annum,  payable  semiannually,  in 
specie  or  its  equivalent,  and  issued  under  the  authority  of  the  act  of  the  general 
assembly  of  Virginia  (herein  enclosed),  which  they  are  willing  to  sell,  and  for  which 
they  will  take  par. 

As  we  are  anxious  to  dispose  of  this  stock  soon,  either  in  this  country  or  in  Europe, 
your  early  decision  will  oblige  us. 

With  great  respect,  sir,  your  friend  and  servant, 

CHARLES  F.  OSBORNE. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  10.  BANK  OF  VIRGINIA,  August  S,  1838. 

SIR:  Observing  your ' '  notice ' '  in  the  Globe,  inviting  proposals  from  persons  who  have 
State  stocks  to  dispose  of,  I  now  offer  you  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  of 
the  stock  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  bearing  six  per  cent  interest,  payable  at 
the  treasury  of  Virginia  semiannually  (1st  July  and  January) ,  in  specie  or  its  equiv- 
alent. The  stock  has  twenty  years  to  run  from  the  23d  February  last.  I  will  take 
$105  for  every  hundred  dollars  of  stock;  the  interest  accruing  from  the  1st  of  July  to 
the  date  of  transfer  to  be  allowed  by  the  purchaser. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  yours,  very  respectfully, 

JOHN  BROCKEXBROUGH. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY. 

D  11.  NEW  YORK,  August  8,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  noticed  your  request  for  the  proposal  of  sale  of  State  stocks  bearing 
5  per  cent  interest.  We  renew  our  offer  to  sell  $105,000  of  Louisiana  State  bonds, 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGKESS,   1843-1845.  253 

interest  payable  semiannually,  1st  January  and  July,  at  the  Mechanics'  Bank,  New 
York.  These  bonds  are  in  London.  We  will  sell  them  at  $98  for  $100,  you  to  allow 
the  interest  that  may  accrue  on  the  day  of  delivery.  They  will  be  received  here  in 
60  days. 

We  wish  to  be  favored  with  an  answer,  that  we  may  write  to  London  by  the 
steamer  Great  Western.     You  have  been  furnished  by  us  with  the  law,  &c. 
Very  respectfully, 

S.  &  M.  ALLEN. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  12.  SECOND  AUDITOR'S  OFFICE, 

Richmond,  August  9,  1838. 

SIR:  The  attention  of  the  board  of  public  works  of  Virginia  having  been  attracted 
to  your  notice  respecting  the  investment  of  the  money  received  for  the  Smithsonian 
legacy,  inserted  in  to-day's  papers  of  this  city,  I  have  been  instructed  to  make  the 
following  proposals  in  their  behalf: 

1.  They  will  give  five  per  cent  stock  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  at  par,  for 
the  whole  amount  of  the  legacy,  provided  it  does  not  much  exceed  half  a  million 
of  dollars;  or, 

2.  They  will  give  for  part  of  said  legacy  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
($250,000)  of  six  per  cent,  stock,  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  dollars  in  stock  for  one 
hundred  and  five  dollars  in  money. 

The  interest  on  the  stock  will  be  paid  semiannually  at  the  treasury  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. It  is  irredeemable  for  twenty  years,  and  redeemable  afterwards  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  general  assembly;  and  the  pledges  and  securities  for  the  payment  of 
the  interest,  and  the  ultimate  redemption  of  the  principal,  are  of  the  most  ample 
character. 

Should  you  desire  more  specific  information,  it  will  be  promptly  furnished. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  BROWN,  Jr.,  Second  Auditor. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  13.  PORTSMOUTH,  VIRGINIA,  August  9,  1838. 

SIR:  I  have  at  my  disposal  seventy-three  thousand  dollars  of  five  per  cent  Vir- 
ginia State  stock,  irredeemable  for  twenty  years  from  the  18th  June,  1838,  and  after- 
wards to  be  redeemed  at  the  pleasure  of  the  general  assembly  of  Virginia.  The 
interest  payable  at  the  treasury  of  the  State  on  the  1st  January  and  July  in  each 
year.  I  offer  it  (or  any  portion  of  it)  to  you  at  par.  An  early  answer  is  desired. 
Respectfully,  &c., 

WM.  H.  WILSON. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  tJie  Treasury. 

D  14.  FARMERS'  BANK  OF  VIRGINIA, 

Richmond,  August  9,  1838. 

SIR:  I  observe  by  your  public  notice  that  you  are  prepared  to  receive  proposals, 
under  the  act  of  the  7th  July,  authorizing  the  investment  of  the  money  bequeathed 
by  James  Smithson,  esq.,  "in  stocks  of  the  States  bearing  an  interest  at  the  rate  of 
not  less  than  five  per  cent  per  annum." 

I  have  the  honor  to  propose  to  your  acceptance,  under  the  act,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  of  the  stock  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  bearing  an  inter- 
est of  five  per  cent,  payable  semiannually,  and  the  principal  redeemable  at  the  end 
of  twenty  years  from  the  18th  June  last.  This  I  offer  at  par. 


254  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

Should  the  number  of  proposals,  or  other  reasons,  lead  you  to  decline  taking  the 
whole  of  the  stock,  then  such  portion  of  it  as  you  may  be  willing  to  take  is  offered  to 
your  acceptance. 

Begging  to  be  apprized  of  your  decision,  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient 
servant,  &c. 

WM.  H.  MACKARLAND,  President. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  15.  NEW  YORK,  August  9, 

DEAR  SIR:  We  observe  that  you  advertise  for  proposals  for  State  stocks  to 
the  Smithsonian  fund  in.  We  are  unable  to  determine  whether  the  matter  will  be 
open  for  negotiation,  or  whether  you  will  accept  the  best  offer  made  under  seal.  We 
hold  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  dollars  five  per  cent  stock  of  a  northern 
State,  which  we  would  like  to  propose  or  negotiate  for;  or,  if  within  the  limits  of  the 
law  directing  the  disposal  of  the  fund,  we  would  pay  interest  for  the  money,  and  give 
the  stock  as  collateral. 

If  your  time  will  permit,  we  shall  feel  obliged  by  an  explanation  on  these  points; 
and  will  become  applicants  for  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  dollars  of  the  fund, 
in  the  way  we  think  will  be  most  satisfactory  to  the  Government. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

PARKER  &  C<>. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBUKY,  Washington,  J).  C. 


D  If).  ALBANY,  August  9,  1838. 

SIR:  I  will  let  you  have  $33,000  New  York  State  five  per  cent  stock,  redeemable  in 
1855,  at  two  per  cent  premium,  and  interest  from  the  last  dividend — say  1st  July. 
The  last  five  per  cent  stock  issued  by  this  State  was  sold  at  public  auction,  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  about  forty  days  since,  and  the  highest  price  bid  was  one  per  cent  and 
•ffa.  Since  which  I  have  sold  in  New  York  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  the  same  stock 
offered  to  you  at  two  per  cent  advance,  being  precisely  what  I  offer  it  to  you  for. 

Allow  me  to  request  an  early  answer,  as  I  am  unwilling,  by  locking  up  the  stock, 
to  forego  the  chance  of  doing  as  well,  or  better,  should  an  opportunity  present. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

,  THOS.  W.  OLCOTT. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBUKY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  17.  AUGUST  9,  1838. 

SIR:  In  the  Washington  Globe,  of  date  6th  instant,  I  notice  an  official  invitation  to 
the  holders  of  State  stock  to  make  an  offer  of  sale,  for  the  investment  of  the  funds 
obtained  under  the  Smithsonian  bequest.  I  have  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of 
Indiana  internal  improvement  State  stock,  payable  twenty-five  years  from  1st  July, 
1838,  bearing  an  interest  of  five  per  cent,  payable  semiannually  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  which  I  offer  to  the  Department  at  98  cents  on  the  100  cents  of  the  principal. 
Your  reply,  should  the  offer  be  accepted,  addressed  to  No.  15  Wall  street,  New  York, 
will  be  promptly  attended  to. 

Should  references  be  required,  1  am  personally  known  to  the  President. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

SIMEON  B.  JBWITT. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  255 

D  18.  LOUISVILLE,  August  1.3,  1838. 

SIR:  I  have  this  moment  seen,  over  your  official  signature,  a  notice  to  the  public 
stating  that  you  are  ready  to  receive  propositions  relative  to  the  investment  in  State 
stocks  of  the  fund  (say  half  a  million)  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson,  esq.,  for  the 
purpose  of  founding  an  institute  in  the  city  of  Washington,  which  fund  you  are 
authorized  to  dispose  of  in  this  way  by  act  of  July  7,  1838-. 

Application  is  hereby  made,  in  behalf  of  the  Mississippi  Union  Bank,  for  a  loan  or 
purchase  of  the  whole  amount  of  this  fund  when  in  your  hands  for  disposal.  The 
bank  offers,  as  security  or  equivalent,  the  bonds  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  bearing 
interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent  per  annum — interest  and  principal  made  payable  at 
such  places  as  may  suit  the  convenience  of  the  purchaser — which  bonds  she  holds  to 
the  amount  of  $15,000,000,  with  ample  power  to  negotiate  and  sell  the  same  as  pre- 
scribed in  the  first  section  of  the  original  act  incorporating  said  institution,  by  the 
directors  of  the  bank  themselves,  or  as  expressed  in  the  9th  section  of  the  supple- 
mental act  thereto  appended,  by  the  agency  of  commissioners  appointed  for  that 
purpose. 

For  the  nature  of  the  security,  the  general  terms  of  the  negotiation,  the  form  and 
condition  of  the  bonds,  &c.,  you  are  respectfully  referred  to  the  4th,  5th,  6th,  7th, 
8th,  and  9th  sections  of  the  original  act  above  referred  to,  a  copy  of  which,  with  the 
supplement,  is  herewith  transmitted  for  your  inspection. 

This  letter  is  not  official  from  the  bank,  as  the  board  of  directors  have  not  been  in 
session  since  the  publication  of  your  notice,  and  consequently  could  have  no  action 
upon  the  subject.  It  will  be  recognized,  however,  as  such  by  the  board  at  their  first 
regular  meeting  (the  10th  of  September  next) ,  when  a  copy  of  it  will  be  laid  before 
them. 

For  any  information  which  may  be  required,  should  there  be  a  prospect  of  effecting 
this  negotiation,  please  address  president  and  directors,  or  Hon.  H.  G.  Runnels,  presi- 
dent of  the  Mississippi  Union  Bank,  at  Jackson,  Mississippi;  and,  if  necessary,  an  agent 
will  be  immediately  appointed  by  the  bank  who  will  see  you  in  person,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  negotiation,  at  Washington.  The  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  this 
communication,  directed  as  above  so  as  to  meet  the  board  of  directors  of  the  bank 
by  the  10th  of  September  next,  will  confer  a  favor  on  them,  and  oblige, 
Very  respectfully  and  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  J.  McRAE, 
Member  of  Board  of  Directors  of  Mississippi  Union  Bank. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  19.  EASTERN  BANK,  Bangor,  Maine,  August  13,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  have  noticed  a  paragraph  in  the  public  papers  of  the  day  upon  the 
subject  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest  where,  after  alluding  to  the  act  of  Congress 
directing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  invest  the  same  "in  stocks  of  States 
bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  5  per  cent  per  annum,"  it  is  stated  that 
you  are  now  prepared  to  receive  proposals  from  persons  who  have  stocks  of  this 
description  to  dispose  of. 

I  am  directed  to  say  to  you  that  this  bank  has  a  Maine  State  scrip,  issued  agreeably 
to  law,  dated  March  23,  1838,  for  the  sum  of  $4,500,  payable  in  five  years  from  date, 
with  interest  annually  at  the  rate  of  5  per  centum,  which  we  offer  for  your 
consideration. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  H.  MILLS,  Cashier. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


256  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

D20.  EASTERN  RAILROAD  OFFICE, 

Boston,  August  14, 1838. 

SIR:  I  notice  your  advertisement  of  the  6th  instant  for  proposals  for  the  purchase 
of  State  stocks,  and  Ixjg  leave  to  offer  you  $100,000  of  Massachusetts  State  scrip, 
payable  twenty  years  from  1st  September  next,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per 
cent,  payable  semiannually. 

We  are  just  advised  of  a  large  sale  of  the  scrip  of  this  State  in  London,  at  a 
premium  of  4  per  cent;  at  which  rate  I  am  authorized  to  sell  the  $100,000  now 
offered  to  you. 

The  last  issue  of  scrip  which  I  received  for  same  amount  of  the  Commonwealth, 
I  sold  all  at  5  per  cent.  If  the  rate  named  should  be  at  a  greater  premium  than  you 
can  purchase  at,  I  shall  be  happy  to  receive  an  offer,  which  I  will  communicate  to 
the  directors  of  this  company. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

B.  T.  REED,  Treasurer. 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

D  21.  BANK  OF  KENTUCKY, 

Louisville,  August  14,  1838. 

SIR:  I  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  yours  of  the 
4th  instant, 

Having  already  made  such  arrangements  as  will  reduce  the  debt  to  you  from  this 
institution  to  $300,000,  I  am  willing  to  give  that  amount  of  the  bonds  held  by  you 
at  par.     Should  this  arrangement  satisfy  you,  please  advise  me  as  early  as  possible. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  H.  POPE,  President, 
Hon.  L.  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  22.  STATE  BANK  OF  INDIANA, 

August  14,  1838. 

SIR:  For  the  purpose  of  a  prompt  adjustment  of  the  balance  due  to  the  United 
States  on  account  of  public  deposits,  I  take  an  early  occasion  to  comply  with  the 
authority  given  me  by  the  directors  of  this  institution;  and  therefore  propose  that 
such  balance  due  from  this  institution,  on  account  of  public  deposits  to  the  United 
States  not  otherwise  arranged  for,  shall  be  forthwith  paid  by  this  institution  in  the 
bonds  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  bearing  5  per  centum  interest,  and  payable,  both 
principal  and  interest,  at  a  bank  in  the  city  of  New  York— the  principal  at  the 
expiration  of  30  years,  and  the  interest  semiannually.  This  proposal  is  intended  to 
include,  also,  the  future  installments  of  our  deposit  debt. 

An  early  answer  is  requested,  and  it  is  trusted  that  this  mode  of  your  realizing 
these  means  and  of  adjusting  an  unsettled  account  may  be  approved. 
I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  MERRILL 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  23.  WASHINGTON,  August  14,  1838. 

SIR:  For  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  adver- 
tised for  investment  in  State  stock,  I  offer  one  hundred  and  fifty  bonds  of  Virginia 
State  scrip,  of  $1,000  each,  bearing  an  interest  of  5  per  centum,  payable  semi- 
annually, and  redeemable  in  twenty  years.  By  an  act  of  the  Virginia  legislature, 
passed  last  April,  the  board  of  public  works  are  authorized  to  pay  the  interest  on 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  257 

this  loan  in  specie  or  its  equivalent.     A  decision  is  expected  at  an  early  day,  and 
any  information  previously  desired  will  be  furnished  promptly  by, 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  BRUCE, 

President  Winchester  and  Potomac  Railroad  Co.,  Winchester,  Va. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  24.  NEW  YORK,  August  14,  1838. 

SIR:  In  accordance  with  the  proposal  made  by  you  for  State  stocks,  we  offer  you 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  bonds  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  payable  in 
1860,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent  per  annum,  payab''*  semiannually,  in 
July  and  January,  at  the  bank  of  the  United  States  in  Philadelphia,  or  at  their  agency 
in  New  York,  at  the  option  of  the  holder — at  one  hundred  and  four  dollars  for  every 
hundred  dollars  of  stock;  the  interest  which  shall  have  accrued  from  the  1st  of  July 
last  to  be  paid  to  us. 

We  are,  very  respectfully,  yours,  NEVINS,  TOWNSEND  &  Co. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  25.  NEW  YORK,  August  15,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  yours  of  the  13th  before  us.  The  stocks  we  hold  are  the  bonds 
of  the  State  of  Maine,  payable  in  1848,  bearing  an  interest  of  5  per  cent  per  annum, 
payable  in  Boston,  annually.  They  are  worth  par  here,  for  the  purpose  of  investing 
in  banking,  under  the  general  law ;  but  if  we  could  have  an  answer  at  once,  we  will 
sell  $170,000  at  98£  per  cent.  This  is  three  per  cent  below  the  market  price  of  the 
bonds  of  the  States  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  which  are  only  preferable  to 
Maine  as  a  remittance  to  Europe. 

The  financial  condition  of  Maine  is  equal  to  any  State  in  the  Union;  her  whole 
indebtedness  is  but  $554,000,  and  the  banks  are  all  obliged  to  loan  the  State  10  per 
cent  of  their  capital,  at  5  per  cent  per  annum.  We  can  not  hold  ourselves  bound  for 
any  given  time  to  sell  the  bonds  at  this  rate,  but  will  accept  it,  if  not  otherwise  dis- 
posed of,  on  receipt  of  answer.  We  know  it  to  be  a  better  investment  than  can  be 
made  in  the  bonds  of  any  State,  especially  such  as  are  indebted  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  make  the  prompt  payment  of  interest  and  principal  a  matter  of  some  doubt. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

PARKER  &  Co. 

McOLiNTOCK  YOUNG,  Esq., 

Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington. 


D  26.  PETERSBURG  RAILROAD  OFFICE,  August  18,  1838. 

SIR:  On  the  8th  instant  I  had  the  honor  to  address  you,  offering  you  $150,000  of 
Virginia  6  per  cent  stock,  at  par.  Since  then  I  learn  that  my  friend  Wm.  H.  Mac- 
farland,  president  of  the  Farmers'  Bank  of  Virginia,  had  submitted  a  similar  pro- 
posal to  you.  His  proposal  and  mine  are  for  the  same  stock.  Therefore,  you  will 
serve  both  of  us  by  accepting  either  his  or  my  proposition. 
Begging  your  favorable  consideration, 

I  remain,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  humble  servant, 

CHARLES  F.  OSBORNE. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

H.  Doc.  732 17 


258  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS..'/  T 

D  27.  :  NEW  YORK,  August  18^  .1838;',  . 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yours  of  the  13th 
instant,  and  in  reply  have  to  inform  you  that,  owing  to  its  delay  in  reaching  us,  a 
negotiation  for  the  whole  amount  of  the  Mississippi  bonds  had  been  previously  set 
on  foot. 

We  are  therefore  under  the  necessity  of  asking  permission  to  withdraw  our  propo- 
sition. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

E.  C.  WILKINSON, 
J.,C.  ' 


, 

By  E/C.  WILKINSON. 
Mr.  McCtiNTocK  YOUNG, 

Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  28.  NEW  YORK,  August  20,  1838^, 

SIR:  The  fund  commissioners  of  Indiana  will  furnish  Indiana  5  per  cent  bond.s, 
having  24  to  25  years  to  run  from  1st  July  last,  interest  payable  semiannually  in 
New  York  at  par,  to  the  amount  of  from  one  to  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  ;  and 
will  receive  therefor  either  cash  or  the  bonds  of  the  State  Bank  of  Indiana. 
I  would  inquire  when  I  may  learn  whether  our  proposition  is  accepted. 
For  the  fund  commissioners  of  Indiana, 

ISAAC  COE,  Fund  Commissioner.^ 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  29.  THE  BANK  OF  THE  STATE  OF  MISSOURI; 

St.  Louis,  August  23,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  have  lately  seen  your  advertisement  for  proposals  for  the  investment 
of  the  Smithsonian  legacy  in  State  bonds,  &c. 

I  should  be  pleased  to  sell  $114,000  of  Missouri  State  bonds  at  5£  per  cent  interest, 
payable  semiannually  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  the  principal  redeemable  twenty- 
five  years  after  negotiation. 

These  bonds  have  been  sent  to  London  for  sale,  but  can  be  withdrawn  at  any  time 
if  not  sold.  I  would  therefore  propose  to  sell  them  to  you  at  2  per  cent  premium, 
subject  to  the  sale  in  London.  If  not  sold  upon  the  arrival  of  the  order  in  London 
for  returning  them  to  the  United  States,  the  sale  will  take  effect  and  the  bonds  be 
returned  without  delay  and  delivered  to  you. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  SMITH, 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington  City. 


D  30.  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  August  23,  18S8. 

SIR:  Referring  to  your  offer  to  sell  to  the  Department  $500,000  of  6  per  cent  Arkan- 
sas State  bonds  at  99^  per  cent,  I  have  to  request  that  you  will  submit  for  my 
examination  the  law  of  the  State  authorizing  the  issue  of  the  bonds  and  the  form  of 
the  bonds.  If  both  be  satisfactory,  I  am  willing,  on  the  arrival  of  the  money,  :to  take 
the  net  amount  (which  will  not  be  far  from  half  a  million  of  dollars)  aft  the  rate 
offered  by  you,  as  it  is  the  lowest  bid. 

It  is  expected  that  the  money  may  be  by.  this  timein  Ne-w  Yoffc  &\ 
.MXJKjtam,  very; respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  W.  CORCORAN,  Esq. 

71 SiJT  .-joG  .H 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  259 

[Enclosure.] 

This  writing  is  given  to  show  that  the  interest  due  on  the  bonds  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas  at  this  date,  bought  by  me  of  Wm.  Corcoran,  esq.,  belongs  to  said  Corcoran 
when  the  same  is  paid  to  me. 

LEVI  WOODBURY, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
TKKA.STKY  DEPARTMENT-,  September  4,  1838. 



D  31.  BALTIMORE,  August  29,  1838. 

.SIR:  Under  your  notice  of  the  6th  inst.,  we  now  propose  to  furnish  you  with  the 
amount  of  stock  required  for  vesting  the  Smithsonian  bequest — say  "about  half  a 
million  of  dollars" — in  Indiana  State  stock  at  1  per  cent  under  the  par  value,  or  at 
the  rate  of  ninety-nine  for  every  one  hundred  dollars. 

This  stock  bears  an  interest  of  5  per  cent  per  annum,  and  is  payable  semiannually 
at  the  Merchants'  Bank,  in  the  eity  of  New  York. 

If  this  offer  be  accepted,  the  certificates  of  stock  or  bonds  which  are  now  in  Europe 
will  be  delivered  at  the  earliest  period — say  in  about  fifty  days,  or  sooner  if  practi- 
cable, payment  to  be  made  us  upon  the  delivery  of  the  bonds. 

We  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  obedient  servants, 

J.  I.  COHEN  &  BROTHERS. 

Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  U.  S. 

.noH 
D  32.  THE  BANK  OP  THE  STATE  OF  MISSOURI, 

St.  Louis,  August  31,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  refer  you  to  my  letter  of  the  23d  inst.,  and  beg  leave 
now  to  modify  the  proposition  therein  for  the  sale  to  you  of  $114,000  Missouri  State 
5.}  per  cent  bonds. 

Instead  of  2  per  cent  premium  I  would  agree  to  sell  them  at  par,  payable  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  subject  to  the  restrictions  and  conditions  contained  in  my  letter 
above  referred  to. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  SMITH,  President. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington  City.  . 


D  33.  SMYRNA,  September  10,  1838. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  saw  in  the  Globe  your  advertising  for  stocks  bearing  interest  not  leas 
than  5  per  cent.  I  have  a  certificate  of  stock  on  the  borough  of  Wilmington,  Dela- 
ware, for  one  thousand  dollars,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent,  which  I 
will  sell  you  at  par.  There  can  not  be  any  safer  investment.  Please  let  me  hear 
from  you. 

Respectfully, 

JNO.  S.  LAMBDEN. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY.  : . ,  1 1 

D  34.  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  December  30, 1839. 

SIR:  In  a  few  days  I  expect  to  have  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  invest  in  State 
stocks  on  account  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest.     If  you  have  such  that  you  wish  to 
dispose  of,  be  pleased  to  inform  me  of  the  terms,  &c. 
I  am,  &c., 

L.  WOODBURY,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Hon.  J.  K.  PAULDING, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


260  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

D  35.  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  December  27,  1889. 

SIR:  Early  next  month  I  shall  have  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  invest  in  State 
stocks  on  account  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest.  Be  pleased  to  Inform  me,  if  you 
have  such  for  sale,  the  time  they  have  to  run,  the  interest  they  bear,  &c.,  and  the 
lowest  terms  you  can  furnish  them. 

I  am,  &c.,  L.  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
CHARLES  J.  NOURSE,  Esq., 

Washington  City,  D.  C. 

[Copies  were  sent  to  Hon.  F.  Thomas,  president  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio 
Canal  Company;  to  W.  W.  Corcoran,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  to  J.  D.  Beers,  esq.,  New 
York  City;  and  to  Joseph  White,  esq.,  Baltimore,  Md.] 


D  36.  NAVY  DEPARTMEET,  December  31,  1839. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  30th 
instant. 

In  reply,  I  have  to  state  that  I  can  not  ascertain  whether  I  shall  have  any  State 
stocks  to  dispose  of  until  to-morrow,  when  I  will  communicate  with  you  upon  the 
subject. 

I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  K.  PAULDING. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  37.  WASHINGTON  CITY,  January  15, 1840. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  reply  to  your  favor  of  the  27th  ultimo,  I  have  to  offer  you  six  per 
cent  stocks  of  the  following  States,  viz:  Michigan,  Arkansas,  and  Illinois,  at  84  £  per 
cent;  also,  five  per  cent  stock  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  at  75  percent — the  interest  on 
all  the  above  payable  in  New  York  semiannually;  or  I  will  sell  six  per  cents  at  one- 
quarter  per  cent  less  than  any  offer  you  may  have. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  W.  CORCORAN. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  38.  WASHINGTON,  January  6,  1840. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communication  on  the 

subject  of  a  tender  of  State  stocks  to  the  Department;  and  to  offer  to  you  the  amount 

you  mention  as  ready  for  investment  in  Ohio  sixes,  redeemable  in  1854,  at  88f— 

interest  payable  in  New  York;  Illinois  Canal  sixes,  redeemable  in  1870,  at  75  and  72A. 

Yery  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  J.  NOURSE. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

JANUARY  18,  1840. 

DEAR  SIR:  Since  I  left  you,  a  gentleman  has  handed  me  a  letter,  which  requires 
that  the  offer  of  Illinois  sixes  should  be  fixed  at  75 — the  rate  first  proposed. 
I  will  call  at  12  o'clock. 
Yours,  &r., 

CHARLES  J.  NOURSE. 
McC.  YOUNG,  Esq. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGBESS,   1843-1845.  261 

D  39.  NEW  YORK,  January  2,  1840. 

SIR:  I  thank  you  for  your  letter  of  the  27th  ult.  I  have  State  stocks  which  I  will 
offer  you  for  the  investment  you  wish  to  make,  and  I  write  to  Mr.  Corcoran  to  hand 
In  the  offer. 

I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  D.  BEERS. 
Hon.  LKVI  WOODBIRY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  40.  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  July  24,  1840. 

GENTLEMEN:  Congress  having  adjourned  without  enacting  any  further  provision 
respecting  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  there  being  in  the  Treasury  about  $15, 000  belong- 
ing to  that  fund,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Department  to  invest  in  State  stocks, 
should  you  have  any  to  dispose  of,  I  will  thank  you  to  inform  me  of  the  description 
and  lowest  price. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

LEVI  WOODBURY, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Messrs.  CORCORAN  &  RIGGS,  Present. 

[Letters  of  the  same  tenor  and  date  as  above  were  addressed  to  the  following  per- 
sons, viz:  Messrs.  Prime,  Ward  &  King,  of  New  York;  J.  D.  Beers,  esq.,  of  New 
York,  and  C.  Macalester,  of  Philadelphia.] 


D  41.  WASHINGTON  CITY,  July  28,  1840. 

SIR:  We  have  the  pleasure  to  offer  you  Illinois  State  6  per  cent  bonds,  interest 
payable  half-yearly,  in  specie,  in  New  York,  at  79£  per  cent. 
Arkansas  bonds  we  can  sell  lower. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

CORCORAN  &  RIGGS. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  42.  NEW  YORK,  July  27,  1840. 

SIR:  In  answer  to  your  respected  letter  of  the  26th  instant,  we  beg  to  state  that 
we  will  sell  $15,000  value,  in  Kentucky  bonds  due  in  1868— each  $1,000— bearing 
interest  from  date  of  sale  at  5  per  cent,  payable  half-yearly  in  this  city,  and  the 
price  to  be  88  per  cent;  or  in  New  York  State  5  per  cent  stock,  due  in  1858,  interest 
at  5  per  cent  from  16th  ins. ,  payable  quarterly  in  this  city,  and  the  price  to  be  93 
per  cent. 

But  in  order  to  make  this  offer  binding  on  our  part  we  must  ask  the  favor  of  your 
reply  accepting  it  on  or  before  the  1st  of  August  next. 

We  remain,  sir,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

PRIME,  WARD  &  KING. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  43.  WASHINGTON,  August  10,  1840. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  tender  $20,OOC,  Illinois  6  per  cent  bonds,  at  87  per  cent; 
interest  from  the  1st  of  July  last. 
Respectfully  yours, 

CHARLES  J.  NOURSE. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  tfie  Treasury. 


262  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

D  44.  NORTH  AMERICAN  TRUST  AND  BANKING  COMPANY, 

No.  47  Wall  Street,  New  York,  July  28,  1840. 

SIR:  In  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  24th  instant,  I  have  to  state  that  this  institution 
will  sell  to  the  Department  a  sufficient  amount  of  the  six  per  cent  State  stock  of 
Arkansas,  at  the  rate  of  70  per  cent,  to  enable  you  to  invest  the  $15,000  in  the  Treasury 
belonging  to  the  Smithsonian  fund. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

J.  D.  BEERS,  President. 
Hon.  Levi  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  45.  PHILADELPHIA,  July  28,  1840. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  24th  inst., 
in  answer  to  which  I  have  to  state  that  the  only  State  stock  I  have  on  hand  are 
Pennsylvania  5  per  cents,  which  I  hold  at  95,  redeemable  in  1865,  and  some  Ken- 
tucky 6  per  cents,  redeemable  in  about  six  years,  bearing  interest  at  6  per  cent,  prin- 
cipal and  interest  payable  in  Kentucky,  which  I  would  sell  at  87  per  cent. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

C.  MACALESTER. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  46.  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  January  18,  1841. 

SIR:  Having  about  $20,000  to  invest  for  the  Smithsonian  fund,  I  request  you  to 
inform  me  if  you  have  any  State  stocks  to  dispose  of,  the  amount  you  have  for  sale 
if  less  than  that,  the  rate  of  interest  they  bear  and  where  payable,  the  State  by  which 
issued,  and  the  price  you  demand. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
CHARLES  MACALESTER,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 

Similar  letters  sent  to  Messrs.  Corcoran  &  Riggs,  Washington;  Mr.  Charles  J. 
Nourse,  Washington;  Mr.  J.  D.  Beers,  New  York;  Mr.  B.  S.  Reed,  Boston. 

D  47.  NEW  YORK,  January  SI,  1841. 

SIR:  I  have  duly  received  your  favor  informing  me  that  you  have  $20,000  to  invest 
in  State  bonds.  I  therefore  propose  to  supply  you  with  Arkansas  State  bonds,  such 
as  heretofore  sold  you,  at  80  per  cent.  The  last  sale  here  of  Arkansas  bonds  by  the 
comptroller  of  this  State  was  on  the  2d  inst,,  at  79  and  80.  If  this  is  the  best  offer 
I  presume  you  will  receive  them  of  me,  and  I  will  thank  you  not  to  let  any  know  of 
my  offer  unless  it  is  accepted. 

I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  D.  BEERS. 
Hon.  LEVI  WOODBURY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  48.  PHILADELPHIA,  January  22,  1841. 

SIR:  I  have  your  letter  of  the  18th,  in  answer  to  which  I  have  the  honor  to  state 
that  I  have  for  sale  the  sum  you  require  of  the  following  stocks: 

Pennsylvania  State  fives,  redeemable  in  1870;  price,  $89  for  each  $100,  payable  at 
Philadelphia;  interest  payable  1st  of  August. 

Ohio  State  sixes,  redeemable  in  1860;  price,  $97.50  for  each  $100,  payable  at  New 
York;  interest  payable  January  1  and  July  1. 

Kentucky  State  sixes,  redeemable  in  1868;  price,  $95  for  each  $100,  payable  at  New 
York;  interest  payable  January  1  and  July  1. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  263 

Kentucky  State  sixes,  redeemable  in  1846;   price,  $85  for  each  $100,  payable  at 
Frankfort,  Kentucky;  interest  payable  April  and  October. 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Ui-f,  i  »:  C.  MACALESTER. 

-   Hon.  LBVI  WOODBUBY, 

Secretary  }of  the  Treasury. 

P.  S.—  The  book  for  the  transfer  of  the  Pennsylvania  loan  being  closed,  these  loans 
are  now  sold  with  the  interesj;  due  1st  of  February  off. 

!!\.   ,XOTf>'«fII!S/.  ft  .1-0  U 

fii  JtWio  bayJHni  Ji-H  JjJ  J!i-jujJ-!y/iii  Linin.t>;-,t\:h,:<    , 

D  49.  EASTERN  RAILROAD  OFFICE, 

Boston,  January  22,  1841- 

SIR:  Your  favor  of  the  18th  instant  is  before  me.  I  have  sold  all  the  Massachusetts 
State  stock  which, -I  recently  had,  and  closed  it  at  99$. 

But  a  friend  has  of  Massachusetts  State  stock,  payable  in  18  years,  $20,000,  drawing 
interest  at  5$  per  annum,  payable  semianrraally,  which  I  can  furnish  at  99  per  cent; 
and  of  New  York  State  stock,  payable  in  about  twenty  years,  $20,000,  drawing  interest 
at  5$  per  cent  per  annum,,  payable  quarterly,  at  98$  per  cent. 

New  York  City  stock,  payable  in  about  25  years,  drawing  interest  at  5  per  cent  per 
annum,  payable  quarterly,  at  96$  per  cent. 
I  am,  sir,  respectfully,    ,gakn< 

B.  T.  REED. 
SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 



D  50.  WASHINGTON  CITY,  January  SO,  1841. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  reply  to  your  favor  of  the  18th  instant,  we  have  to  offer  you  six  per 
cent  stocks  of  the  States  of  Illinois  or  Michigan,  interest  payable  half-yearly  in  New 
York,  at  eighty  per  cent,  or  one-half  per  cent  below  any  offer  you  may  have. 
Respectfully,'  your  obedient  servants, 

CORCORAN  &  RIQQS. 

Him.    I.KVI    WOODBFRY, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 



D  61? '"  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  January  30,  1841. 

GENTLEMEN:  Your  offer  of  the  Illinois  bonds  for  the  Smithsonian  fund  is  accepted 
at  79$.  There  was  an  offer  of  other  stock  at  80. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

LEVI  WOODBURY, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Messrs.  CORCORAN  &  RIGGS, 

Washington  City. 



D  52.  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  July  8,  1841. 

SIR:  There  is  at  this  time  in  the  Treasury  a  balance  of  $18,271.86  belonging  to  the 
Smithsonian  fund,  which  I  am  required  by  law  to  invest  in  State  stocks. 

If  you  have  Massachusetts,  Ohio,  or  New  York  State  stocks  to  dispose  of,  I  will 
thank  you  to  propose  the  amount  of  either  you  are  willing  to  deliver  to  this  Depart- 
ment for  that  balance. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  EWING, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
C.  J.  NouRSE,Esq.,  Present. 

[Letters  of  the  same  tenor  and  date  as  above  were  addressed  to  the  following  per- 
sons, viz:  Messrs.  Corcoran  &  Riggs,  of  Washington;  Messrs.  J.  E.  Thayer  &  Brother, 
of  Boston;  and  Messrs.  Nevins,  Townsend  &  Co.,  of  New  York.] 


264  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

D  53.  WASHINGTON,  July  14,  1841. 

SIR:  I  will  furnish  the  amount  wanted  for  the  Smithsonian  fund  in  Ohio  sixes  at 
94i;  Xew  York  fives  at  86  J. 

The  rate  of  Massachusetts  I  will  send  you  in  a  day  or  two. 
Yours,  respectfully, 

CHAS.  J.  NorRSE. 
Hon.  THOS.  EWISG. 

D  54.  WASHINGTON,  July  IS,  1841. 

I  can  furnish  Ohio  sixes  for  the  Smithsonian  investment  at  94J,  instead  of  94J,  as 
tendered  previously. 
The  Ohio  sixes  redeemable  1865. 
Respectfully, 

CHAS.  J.  NOCRSE. 
Hon.  T.  EWING. 


D  55.  NEW  YORK,  July  10,  1841. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  are  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  8th  instant.  We  will  deliver  to 
your  order  $19,969.25  New  York  5£  percent  stock,  redeemable  in  1861 — or  $19,233.53 
Ohio  six  per  cent  stock,  redeemable  in  1860 — for  the  sum  of  $18,271.86,  if  apprized 
of  your  acceptance  of  the  offer  by  Thursday  morning. 

We  are,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servants, 

NEVINS,  TOWN-SEND  &  Co. 
Hon.  T.  EWIXG, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

D  56.  BOSTON,  July  IS,  1841. 

SIR:  Your  favor  of  the  8th  is  received.  We  can  furnish  you  Massachusetts  five 
per  cent  stock  at  one-half  per  cent  advance,  or  New  York  State  stock,  five  per  cent, 
at  85 J  per  cent.  As  the  bonds  are  issued  in  sums  of  one  thousand  dollars,  we  could 
not  furnish  the  precise  amount  which  you  mention.  There  ia  none  of  the  Ohio 
stock  held  in  our  market. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

J.  E.  THAYER  &  BROTHER, 
Hon.  THOMAS  EWIXG, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington. 

D  57.  XEW  YORK,  July  16,  1841. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  have  felt  some  doubt  as  to  making  you  a  more  favorable  offer  for  the 
$18,271.86  belonging  to  the  Smithsonian  fund  than  the  offer  you  already  have,  but 
have  concluded  to  offer  you  $19,250  Ohio  State  stock,  interest  from  1st  of  July 
instant. 

Should  you  think  proper  to  accept  this  offer,  and  forward  to  me,  or  to  J.  X.  Per- 
kins, cashier,  a  draft  for  the  money,  the  stock  certificate  will  be  immediately  issued 
thereon,  in  such  name  as  you  may  direct. 

Very  respectfully,  &c.,  ALFRED  KELLY, 

Commissioner  Ohio  Canal  Fund. 
Hon.  THOMAS  EWING, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington  City. 

D  58-  WASHINGTON  CITY,  July  17,  1841. 

SIR:  In  reply  to  your  favor  of  the  8th  instant,  we  have  the  pleasure  to  offer  Ohio 
six  per  cent  stock,  to  the  extent  wanted,  at  94  per  cent 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  sen-ants, 

CORCORAN  &  RIGGS, 
Hon.  THOMAS  EWING, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington  City. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS,  1843-1845.  265 

D  59.  TRKASTRY  DEPARTMENT,  July  IS,  1841. 

GENTLEMEN:  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  10th,  with  the  offer  of  New  York  5$ 
per  cent  and  Ohio  6  per  cent  stock  on  account  of  the  Smithsonian  fond.  Having 
applied  to  three  or  four  others  for  tenders  of  similar  stocks,  from  whom  it  is  hardly 
time  to  expect  replies,  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  determine  upon  your  proposi- 
tion by  the  time  limited  by  you.  Shall  it  be  regarded  as  a  subsisting  proposition 
until  withdrawn;  or,  after  Thursday,  shall  I  decide  without  regard  to  your  offer? 
Please  inform  me  by  return  mail. 

I  am,  Ac.,  T.  EWING, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury . 

Messrs.  NBVINS,  TOWNSKND  &  Co.,  New  York. 


D  60.  NEW  YORK,  July  15,  1841. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  your  favor  of  the  13th  instant.     We  will  continue  our  offer 
until  the  22d  instant,  modifying  it  as  to  the  New  York  stock,  of  which  we  will  fur- 
nish the  exact  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  that  of  $18,271.86. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

NEVDTS,  TOWNSEND  &  Co. 
Hon.  T.  EWING, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


D  61.  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  July  8,  1841. 

GENTLEMEN:  There  is  now  in  the  Treasury  a  balance  of  $18,271.86  belonging  to  the 
Smithsonian  fund,  which  I  am  required  by  law  to  invest  in  State  stocks.  I  will 
thank  you  to  inform  me  what  amount  of  Massachusetts,  New  York,  or  Ohio  State 
stock  you  are  willing  to  deliver  to  this  Department  for  that  balance,  to  be  paid  at 
New  York, 

1  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  EWTSG, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Messrs.  PRIME,  WARD  &  KING,  New  York. 

D  62.  NEW  YORK,  July  10,  1841. 

SIR:  In  answer  to  your  communication  of  the  8th  instant,  we  beg  to  state  that  we 
have  no  stocks  of  the  kind  which  you  designate  to  offer  to  you  as  an  investment  of 
the  Smithsonian  fund. 

We  remain,  sir,  respectfully  yours, 

PRIME,  WARD  &  KING. 
Hon.  T.  EWING,  Washington. 

D  63.  TREASURY  DAPARTMENT,  July  80, 1841. 

GENTLEMEN:  Your  tender  of  Ohio  6  per  cent  stock,  payable  in  New  York,  for  the 
Smithsonian  fund,  at  the  rate  of  $100  in  stock  for  $94  in  cash,  is  accepted. 

The  amount  to  be  invested,  as  mentioned  in  my  letter  of  the  8th,  may  be  diminished 
about  $1,000  by  the  nonpayment  of  some  coupons.  Of  this  I  shall  be  able  to  inform 
you  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

1  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  EWING, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Messrs.  CORCORAN  &  RIGGS. 


266  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. - 

June  6,  1844—  Senate. 

MR.  BENJAMIN  TAPPAN,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  reported 
bill  S.  188,  which  was  read  and  passed  to  a  second  readm£: 

'..•  ,i.v  .  :'!..  -:;,  .  -i  >§Vulj  <  J  !><>ilqq« 

A  bill  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  emottg 

men..  MX     .u.,v  vi    i,-,ji;i; 

Whereas  James  Smithson,  esquire,  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain;  by 
his  last  will  and  testament  did  give  the  whole  of  his  property  to  the  United  States  of 
America,  to  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an 
establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men ;  and  whereas 
Congress  have  heretofore  received  said  property  and  accepted  said  trust:  Therefore, 
that  the  same  may  be  executed  in  good  faith,  and  according  to  the  will  of  the  liberal 
and  enlightened  donor, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  so  much  of  the  property  of  the  said  James  Smithson  as 
has  been  received  in  money  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  being 
the  sum  of  $508,318,  be  loaned  to  the  United  States  Treasury,  at  six  per  cent  per 
annum  interest,  from  the  third  day  of  December,  in  the  year  1838,  when  the  same 
was  received  into  the  said  Treasury ;  and  that  so  much  of  the  interest  as  may  have 
accrued  on  said  sum  on  the  first  day  of  July  next,  which  will  amount  to  the  sum  of 
$178,604,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  erection  of  suitable  build- 
ings, and  the  enclosing  of  suitable  grounds  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  established 
by  this  act;  and  that  six  per  cent  interest  on  the  said  trust  fund,  it  being  the  said  amount 
of  $508,318,  received  into  the  United  States  Treasury,  third  of  December,  1838,  paya- 
ble, in  half-yearly  payments,  on  the  first  of  January  and  July  in  each  year,  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  perpetual  maintenance  and  support  of  said 
Institution. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  business  of  said  Institution  shall  be  con- 
ducted by  a  board  of  managers,  to  consist  of  twelve,  no  two  of  whom  shall  be  citizens 
of  the  same  State  or  Territory ;  that  the  persons  first  appointed  on  the  board  of  man- 
agers shall  meet  in  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  first  Monday  of  September  next 
after  the  passage  of  this  act,  and,  when  met,  shall  divide  themselves,  by  lot,  into 
three  sections,  one  of  which  shall  serve  two  years,  one  four,  and  the  other  six  years; 
and  whenever  a  vacancy  occurs  in  said  board  the  same  shall  be  filled  by  such  person 
as  may  be  appointed  by  a  joint  resolution  of  Congress;  that  all  those  who  may  be 
appointed  to  fill  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  removal  out  of  •  the 
United  States  shall  serve  the  residue  of  the  term,  and  all  those  who  may  be  appointed 
to  fill  vacancies  which  occur  by  lapse  of  time  shall  serve  for  the  term  of  six  years; 
that  after  said  board  shall  have  met  and  become  organized  by  appointing  one  of  their 
own  body  president  of  said  board,  it  shall  be  their  duty  to  proceed  to  select  a  suit- 
able site  for  such  building  as  may  be,  in  their  judgment,  necessary  for  the  Institu- 
tion, and  suitable  ground,  not  exceeding  ten  acres,  for  horticultural  and  agricultural 
experiments,  which  ground  may  be  taken  and  appropriated  out  of  that  part  of  the 
public  ground  in  the  city  of  Washington  called  the  Mall;  and  the  ground  so  selected 
shall  be  set  out  by  proper  metes  and  bounds,  and  a  description  of  the  same  shall  be 
made  and  recorded  in  a  book  to  be  provided  for  that  purpose,  and  signed  by  said 
managers,  or  so  many  of  them  as  may  be  convened  on  said  first  Monday  of  Septem- 
ber; and  such  record,  or  a  copy  thereof,  certified  by  the  president  of  the  board  of 
managers,  shall  be  received  as  evidence  in  all  courts  of  the  extent  and  boundaries  of 
the  lands  appropriated  to  said  Institution. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  soon  as  the  board  of  managers  shall  have 
selected  the  site  for  the  buildings  of  the  Institution,  they  shall  cause  to  be  erected  a 
suitable  building,  of  plain  and  durable  materials  and  structure,  without  unnecessary 
ornament,  and  of  sufficient  size  and  with  suitable  rooms  for  the  reception  -and 
arrangement  of  objects  of  natural  history,  a  library,  a  chemical  laboratory,  and  lee- 


TWENTY -EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1843-1845.  267 

ture  room  or  rooms;  and  the  said  board  shall  have  authority,  by  themselves  or  by  a 
committee  of  three  of  their  members,  to  contract  for  the  completion  of  such  building 
upon  such  plan  as  may  be  directed  by  the  board  of  managers,  and  shall  take  suffi- 
cient security  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  for  the  building  and  finishing  the 
same  according  to  said  plan  and  in  the  time  stipulated  in  such  contract:  Provided, 
however,  That  the  expense  of  said  building  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  $80,000, 
which  sum  is  hereby  appropriated  for  that  purpose  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treas- 
ury not  otherwise  appropriated;  and  the  board  of  managers  shall  also  cause  the 
grounds  selected  for  horticultural  and  agricultural  purposes  to  be  enclosed  and 
secured,  and  a  suitable  building  erected  to  preserve  such  plants  as  will  not  bear 
exposure  to  the  weather  at  all  seasons;  and  the  sum  of  $20,000  is  hereby  appro- 
priated for  such  building  and  enclosure,  to  be  paid  out  of  any  moneys  in  the 
Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated;  and  so  soon  as  it  may  be  necessary  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  persons  employed  in  said  Institution,  the  said  board  of 
managers  may  cause  to  be  erected  on  the  grounds  of  the  Institution  such  dwelling 
houses  and  other  buildings,  of  plain  and  substantial  workmanship  and  materials,  to 
be  without  unnecessary  ornament,  as  may  be  wanted:  Provided,  however,  That  the 
whole  expense  of  building  and  furnishing  as  many  such  houses  as  may  be  required 
shall  not  exceed  the  residue  of  said  interest  which  will  have  accrued  on  the  first  day 
of  July  next;  and  for  the  said  expenditure  the  said  residue  of  said  interest,  amount- 
ing to  the  sum  of  $78,604,  is  hereby  appropriated,  payable  out  of  any  moneys  in 
the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated;  and  all  such  contracts  as  may  be  made  by 
said  board  of  managers  shall  be  deposited  with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States; 
and  all  questions  which  may  arise  between  the  United  States  and  any  person  claim- 
ing under  and  by  virtue  of  any  such  contract  shall  be  heard  and  determined  by  said 
board  of  managers,  and  such  determination  shall  be  final  and  conclusive  upon  all 
parties;  and  all  claims  on  any  contract  made  as  aforesaid  shall  be  allowed  and  cer- 
tified by  the  board  of  managers,  or  a  committee  thereof,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 
being  signed  by  the  president  of  the  board,  shall  be  a  sufficient  voucher  for  settlement 
and  payment  at  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  soon  as  buildings  shall  be  erected  for  their 
reception,  all  objects  of  natural  history  belonging  to  the  United  States  which  may  be 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered 
to  such  persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  board  of  managers  to  receive  them,  and 
shall  be  arranged  by  the  professor  of  natural  history  in  such  order  and  so  classed  as 
best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and  study  of  them  in  the  building  so  as  aforesaid 
to  be  erected  for  the  institution ;  and  the  managers  of  said  institution  shall  afterwards, 
as  new  specimens  in  natural  history  may  be  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  institu- 
tion by  exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens  belonging  to  the  institution  ( which  they 
are  hereby  authorized  to  make)  or  by  donations  which  they  may  receive,  cause  such 
new  specimens  to  be  also  appropriately  classed  and  arranged.  And  the  minerals, 
books,  manuscripts,  and  other  property  of  James  Smithson,  which  have  been  received 
by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  are  now  placed  in  the  Patent  Office, 
shall  be  removed  to  said  institution  and  shall  be  preserved  separate  and  apart  from 
the  other  property  of  the  institution. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  managers  of  said  institution  shall  appoint 
a  superintendent,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  take  charge  of  the  ground,  buildings,  and 
property  belonging  to  the  institution,  and  carefully  preserve  the  same  from  injury; 
and  such  superintendent  shall  be  the  secretary  of  the  board  of  managers  and  shall, 
under  their  direction,  make  a  fair  and  accurate  record  of  all  their  proceedings,  to  be 
preserved  in  said  institution;  and  the  said  superintendent  shall  also  discharge  the 
duties  of  professor  of  agriculture  and  of  horticulture  in  said  institution,  and  in  that 
capacity  may,  with  the  approbation  of  the  board  of  managers,  employ  from  time  to 
time  so  many  gardeners  and  other  laborers  as  may  be  necessary  to  cultivate  the  ground 


268  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

and  keep  in  repair  the  buildings  of  said  institution;  and  the  superintendent  shall 
receive  for  his  services  such  sum  as  rnay  be  allowed  by  the  board  of  managers,  to  be  paid 
semiannually  on  the  first  day  of  January  and  July;  and  the  said  superintendent  shall 
be  removable  by  the  board  of  managers  whenever,  in  their  judgment,  the  interest  of 
the  institution  may  require  the  superintendent  to  be  changed. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  managers 
they  shall  fix  on  the  times  for  regular  meetings  of  the  board,  and  on  applicatipn  of 
any  three  of  the  managers  to  the  superintendent  of  the  institution  it  shall  be  his  duty 
to  appoint  a  time  for  a  special  meeting  of  the  board,  of  which  he  shall  give  notice  by 
letter  to  each  of  the  members,  and  at  any  meeting  of  the  board  of  managers  seven 
shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business;  that  each  member  of  the  board  of  managers 
shall  be  paid  his  necessary  traveling  and  other  expenses  in  attending  meetings  of 
the  board,  which  shall  be  audited,  allowed,  and  recorded  by  the  superintendent  of 
the  institution.  And  whenever  any  person  employed  by  the  authority  of  the  insti- 
tution shall  have  performed  service  entitling  him  to  compensation,  whether  the  same 
shall  be  by  way  of  salary  payable  semiannually  or  wages  for  labor,  the  superintend- 
ent shall  certify  to  the  president  of  the  board  that  such  compensation  is  due,  where- 
upon the  president  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper  officer  of  the  Treasury 
Department  for  payment. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  board  of  managers  may  appoint  some 
suitable  person  as  professor  of  natural  history,  a  professor  of  chemistry,  and  a  pro- 
fessor of  astronomy,  with  such  other  professors  as  the  wants  of  science  may  require. 
They  shall  also  employ  able  men  to  lecture  in  the  Institution  upon  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, and  shall  fix  the  compensation  of  such  professors  and  lecturers:  Provided, 
That  no  professorship  shall  be  established  or  lecturer  employed  to  treat  or  lecture  on 
law,  physic,  or  divinity,  it  being  the  object  of  the  Institution  to  furnish  facilities 
for  the  acquisition  of  such  branches  of  knowledge  as  are  not  taught  in  the  various 
universities. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  board  of  managers  shall  make  all  need- 
ful rules,  regulations,  and  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  Institution  and  the 
persons  employed  therein.  They  shall  direct  and  prescribe  the  experiments  to  be 
made  by  the  professor  of  agriculture  and  horticulture  to  determine  the  utility  and 
advantage  of  new  modes  and  instruments  of  culture,  to  determine  whether  new 
fruits,  plants,  and  vegetables  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage  in  the  United  States, 
and  they  shall  direct  the  distribution  of  all  such  fruits,  plants,  seeds,  and  vegetables 
as  shall  be  found  useful  and  adapted  to  any  of  our  soils  and  climates,  so  that  the 
people  in  every  part  of  the  Union  may  enjoy  the  benefit  and  advantage  of  the 
experiments  made  by  the  Institution.  They  shall  also  make  rules  and  regulations 
for  the  admission  of  students  in  the  various  departments  of  the  Institution  and  their 
conduct  and  deportment  while  they  remain  therein:  Provided,  That  all  instruction 
in  said  Institution  shall  be  gratuitous  to  those  students  who  conform  to  such  rules 
and  regulations. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  —  —  be  appointed  managers  of  the 

said  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  hold  their  offices  as  is  hereinbefore  provided. 

June  7,  1844— House. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS,  from  the  select  committee  on  the  subject  of  the 
Smithsonian  bequest,  made  a  report  thereon  with  a  bill  (H.  418): 

The  select  committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  letter  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  of  February  19  last,  relating  to  the  then  state 
and  condition  of  the  funds  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson  to  the 
United  States  for  the  establishment  of  an  institution  for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  have  attended  to  that  duty,  and 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGKESS,   1843-1845.  261 

respectfully  submit  to  the  consideration  of  the  House  a  bill  to  give 
immediate  effective  operation  to  the  purposes  of  the  testator  in  that 
bequest;  and  in  explanation  of  the  necessity  and  object  of  this  bill,  take 
leave  to  recall  to  the  memory  of  this  House  the  material  circumstances 
of  the  acceptance  of  this  bequest,  of  the  reception  of  the  funds  be- 
queathed by  the  testator,  and  of  the  disposition  of  them  hitherto  made 
by  Congress,  and  its  present  condition. 

The  existence  of  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson  to  the  United  States 
of  America  was  communicated  to  Congress  by  a  message  from  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  of  December  IT,  1835;  and  by  an  act  of 
Congress  approved  July  1,  1836,  the  bequest  was  accepted,  and  the 
President  was  authorized  and  enabled  to  assert  and  prosecute,  with 
effect,  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  property  thereby  be- 
queathed, and  then  held  in  trust  by  the  English  court  of  chancery. 
The  third  section  of  this  act  is  in  the  following  words: 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  any  and  all  sums  of  money,  and  other  funds, 
which  shall  be  received  for  or  on  account  of  the  said  legacy,  shall  be  applied,  in  such 
manner  as  Congress  may  hereafter  direct,  to  the  purpose  of  founding  and  endowing 
at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an  establishment  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  to  which  application  of  the  said 
moneys  and  other  funds  the  faith  of  the  United  States  is  hereby  pledged. 

Under  an  authority  conferred  by  this  act  the  President  of  the 
United  States  appointed  Richard  Rush  the  agent  to  recover  the  prop- 
erty held  in  trust  in  the  English  court  of  chancery,  a  commission 
faithfully  and  successfully  executed,  and  on  the  1st  of  September, 
1838,  Mr.  Rush  deposited  in  the  mint  of  the  United  States  at  Phila- 
delphia, the  sum  in  gold  of  $580,318.46,  which,  together  with  sundry 
articles  of  furniture  and  books  of  small  and  indefinite  pecuniary  value 
constituted  the  whole  of  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson  to  the  United 
States. 

Before  the  time  of  this  deposit  at  the  mint  the  sixth  section  of  the 
act  of  Congress  of  July  7,  1838,  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the 
support  of  the  Military  Academy  of  the  United  States  for  the  year 
1838,  and  for  other  purposes,"  had  disposed  of  the  fund  as  follows: 

"SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  the  money  arising  from  the  bequest  of 
the  late  James  Smithson,  of  London,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  at  Washington,  in 
this  District,  an  institution  to  be  denominated  the  Smithsonian  Institution  which 
may  be  paid  into  the  Treasury,  is  hereby  appropriated  and  shall  be  invested  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  with  the  approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  in  stocks  of  States,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  five  per  centum 
per  annum,  which  said  stocks  shall  be  held  by  the  said  Secretary  in  trust  for  the  uses 
specified  in  the  last  will  and  testament  of  said  Smithson  until  provision  is  made  by 
law  for  carrying  the  purpose  of  said  bequest  into  effect,  and  that  the  annual  interest 
accruing  on  the  stock  aforesaid  shall  be  in  like  manner  invested  for  the  benefit  of 
said  institution." 

Under  the  authority  of  this  provision,  $499,500  of  the  money 
received  at  the  mint  on  the  1st  of  September,  1838,  were  on  the  4th 


^270  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

;of  the  same  month  invested  in  500  bonds  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  of 
$1,000  each,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent  per  annum, 
payable  half-yearly  on  the  1st  days  of  January  and  July  of  each  year 
until  the  payment  of  the  principal  on  the  26th  day  of  October,  1861. 
Under  the  same  authority  subsequent  investments  were  made  in 
bonds  of  the  same  State  of  Arkansas  as  follows: 

Dec.  29,  1838,  $10,000  in  10  bonds,  payable  January  1,  1868 $10,000.00 

July  6,  1839,  $13,000  in  13  bonds,  payable  January  1,  1868 13,000.00 

Sept,  21,  1840,  $15,000  in  15  bonds,  payable  January  1,  1868 15,000.00 

Upon  these  bonds  there  had  been  paid  for  interest  on  December  31, 1843.  93,591.73 

And  there  was  then  due  for  interest  on  the  same 75,687.84 

Whence  it  appears  that  from  and  after  July,  1841,  all  payments  of 
interest  on  said  Arkansas  bonds  have  ceased,  and  that  the  amount  due 
is  accumulating  at  the  rate  of  more  than  $32,000  a  year — amounting 
at  this  day  to  more  than  $90,000. 

On  the  23d  of  November,  1838,  $8,000  were  invested  in  bonds  of  the  State  of 
Michigan,  payable  on  the  first  Monday  of  July,  1858,  bearing  interest  at  6 
per  cent,  payable  half-yearly  at  the  Manhattan  Bank,  in  the  city  of  New 

York '. $8, 000 

On  these  bonds  there  was  due  on  the  31st  of  December,  1843,  one  year's 

interest 480 

There  were  invested  in  bonds  of  the  State  of  Illinois — 

Feb.  3, 1840.  13  bonds,  of  $1,000  each,  payable  after  the  year  1860 13,  000 

3  bonds,  of  $1,000  each,  payable  after  January  1,  1873 3, 000 

10  bonds,  of  1,000  each,  reimbursable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State 

after  the  year  1860 10, 000 

Dec.  3, 1840.     6  bonds  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  of  $1,000  each,  payable 

after  January  1,  1870 $6, 000 

Feb.  1, 1841.  24  bonds,  payable  after  January  1, 1870 24, 000 

30,000 

On  these  bonds  of  the  State  of  Illinois  there  was  due  on  December  31,  1843, 

one  year's  interest 3, 360 

There  were  invested  in  the  6  per  cent  canal  stocks  of  the  State  of  Ohio — 

Aug.   7, 1841.  13  bonds,  of  $1,000  each,  payable  after  December  31,  1860 13, 000 

Aug.  10, 1841.     5  bonds,  of  $1,000  each,  payable  after  December  31,  1860 5, 000 

Upon  these  bonds,  on  the  31st  of  December,  1843,  no  interest  was 
due. 

The  first  section  of  an  act  of  Congress  of  September  11, 1841,  repealed 
so  much  of  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  of  July  7,  1838,  as  required 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  invest  the  annual  interest  accruing  on 
the  investment  of  the  money  arising  from  the  bequest  of  James  Smith- 
son  in  the  stocks  of  the  States;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was 
thenceforth  required,  until  Congress  shall  appropriate  said  accruing 
interest  to  the  purposes  prescribed  by  the  testator  for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  to  invest  said  accruing  interest  in 
any  stock  of  the  United  States  bearing  not  less  than  5  per  cent  per 
annum. 
('};  .-nij  ([«>  o'iy//  ,rt»>..j  .vi'ini-. ;.;-/-;  ''..i  j-i  -nil  m..  nun:  >u)  Jj;  b^r/h  JTJ 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGKESS,   1843-1845.  271 

Since  that  time  the  investments  in  the  stocks  of  the  United  States 
have  been  as  follows: 

September  27,  1841,  5£  per  cent  stocks $1,  291.  86 

August  27,  1842,  6  per  cent  stocks 1 , 135.  80 

December  29,  1842,  6  per  cent  stocks 8,322.79 

March  31,  1843,  6  per  cent  stocks 653.05 

January  12,  1844,  5  per  cent  stocks 4,  231.  35 

: 

Total 15, 634  85 

Which  sum  is  the  whole  amount  of  interest  received  at  the  Treasury 
in  the  space  of  two  years  and  four  months  (from  the  llth  of  Septem- 
ber, 1841,  to  the  12th  of  January,  1844)  from  a  fund  which  in  that 
space  of  time  should  have  yielded  little  less  than  $80,000.  This,  then, 
is  the  present  condition  of  the  fund. 

There  are  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  620  bonds  of  the 
States  of  Arkansas,  Illinois,  Ohio,  and  Michigan,  viz: 

Arkansas.. 538 

Illinois 56 

Ohio 18 

Michigan 8 

Total ~^~Q 

for  $1,000  each,  bearing  on  their  face  interest  at  6  per  cent  a  year,  payable 
half-yearly  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  principal  of  these  bonds  is 
payable  at  different  times  from  1850  to  1873 — none  before  the  first  of 
those  periods,  and  none  after,  but  at  the  pleasure  of  the  several  con- 
tracting States. 

The  annual  interest  upon  these  bonds  is  $37,200,  payable  in  semiannual 
payments  in  the  city  of  New  York;  but  with  the  exception  of  the 
bonds  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  the  payment  of  interest  on  all  the  rest  is 
suspended,  which  suspension  on  the  bonds  of  the  State  of  Arkansas 
has  already  continued  for  the  space  of  nearly  three  years. 

The  arrears  of  this  interest  due  on  the  31st  of  December,  1843,  were; 

Of  the  State  of—- 
Arkansas      $75,687.84 

480-°° 

3. 360. 00 
' 

Forming  an  aggregate  of 79,527.84 

Which,  added  to  the  amount  of  the  bonds 620, 000.  00 



Gives  the  amount  in  the  Treasury 699,  527.  84 

on  the  31st  of  December,  1843,  which  sum,  with  the  accruing  interest 
to  the  31st  of  December,  1846,  will  exceed  $800,000.  The  stipulated 
period  of  payment  of  the  principal  of  all  these  bonds  is  remote,  none 
being  payable  earlier  than  1850,  some  of  them  not  before  1870,  and 
all  postponable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State.  So  that  while  the  pay- 


272  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

ments  of  interest  remain  suspended,  neither  principal  nor  interest  is 
available  for  application  by  Congress  to  the  purpose  of  the  bequest — 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

Yet  in  the  act  of  Congress  of  July  1,  1836,  accepting  the  bequest, 
the  faith  of  the  United  States  was  solemnly  pledged  that  all  the  sums 
of  money  and  other  funds  received  for  or  on  account  of  this  legacy 
should  be  applied  to  the  humane  and  generous  purpose  prescribed  by 
the  testator. 

For  the  redemption  of  this  pledge  it  is  indispensably  necessary  that 
the  fund  now  locked  in  the  Treasury  in  the  bonds  of  these  States,  and 
the  accruing  interest  on  them  (the  payment  of  which  is  now  suspended), 
should  be  made  available  for  the  disposal  of  Congress  to  execute  the 
sacred  trust  which  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  they  have  assumed. 
For  this  purpose  the  committee  report  a  bill  appropriating  the  sum  of 
$800,000,  to  be  invested  in  certificates  of  stock  of  the  United  States, 
bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent  a  year,  payable  half-yearly, 
and  redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  Congress  by  the  substitution  of 
other  funds  of  equal  value,  which  sum  of  $800,000  shall  constitute  per- 
manent funds,  thus  appropriated,  as  follows: 

1.  To  replace  the  sum  of  $508,318.46  deposited  in  the  mint  of  the 
United  States  in  gold  on  the  1st  of  September,  1838,  and  $500,000  of 
which  were,  on  the  4th  of  the  same  month,  invested  for  and  on  account 
of  the  United  States  in  bonds  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 

2.  Three  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  supply  the  place  of  the  interest 
which  has  accrued  and  will  accrue  until  or  near  the  31st  of  December, 
1846,  on  the  bonds  now  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  the  pay- 
ment of  interest  on  which  is  at  present  suspended. 

The  committee  will  not  entertain  a  doubt  that  the  States  of  Arkan- 
sas, Illinois,  and  Michigan  will  have  made  before  the  close  of  the  year 
1846  provision  for  payment  of  the  arrears  of  interest  due  upon  their 
bonds  and  for  the  punctual  payment  of  the  same  interest  as  it  may 
hereafter  accrue.  The  appropriations  from  the  Treasury  proposed 
by  the  bill  herewith  reported  will  require  no  disbursement  of  money 
beyond  one  year's  interest  on  the  whole  fund,  and  the  amount  now  in 
the  Treasury  and  available  for  the  immediate  disposal  of  Congress. 
The  appropriations  authorized  by  the  bill  are  necessary  to  enable  Con- 
gress to  proceed  immediately  to  the  execution  of  the  trust  committed 
to  them  by  the  testator,  and  for  the  fulfillment  of  which  the  faith  of  the 
nation  has  been  pledged;  but  they  will  constitute  no  burdens  upon  the 
Treasury  itself,  and  no  ultimate  expenditure,  other  than  the  proceeds 
of  the  Smithsonian  fund  itself.  The  proposal  is  that  of  this  sum  of 
$300,000,  $60,000  shall  be  held  as  a  permanent  fund,  from  the  interest 
of  which,  without  intrenching  upon  the  principal,  a  sum  of  $3,600  a 
year  shall  be  provided  for  the  compensation  of  an  astronomical  obser- 
vator,  and  for  the  contingent  expenses  of  repairs  of  an  observatory, 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1843-1845.  273 

occasionally  required.  That  a  like  fund  of  $120,000  shall  be  reserved, 
yielding  a  yearly  interest  of  $7,200,  for  a  compensation  of  $1,500  a 
year  for  each  of  four  assistant  observers,  and  of  two  laborers  with  the 
wages  for  each  of  $600  a  year.  That  a  fund  of  $20,000  should  supply 
a  yearly  interest  for  the  purchase  of  new  publications  on  subjects 
connected  with  science;  and  another  fund,  from  the  interest  of  which 
may  be  defrayed  the  compensation  of  the  secretaiy  and  treasurer  o£ 
the  corporation,  and  the  charge  of  publication  of  a  nautical  almanac 
and  of  the  observations  made  by  the  observators.  There  remains, 
then,  a  sum  of  $70,000  to  be  expended  for  the  erection  of  the  observa- 
tory, and  of  the  necessary  buildings  connected  therewith,  and  for  the 
purchase  of  instruments  and  books  necessary  and  suitable  for  the 
establishment,  which  may  be  thus  formed  and  completed  by  the  close 
of  the  year  1846. 

For  refunding  to  the  Treasury  the  whole  sum  thus  appropriated, 
principal  and  interest,  the  only  requisite  will  be  the  sense  of  justice 
of  the  governments  of  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Michigan, 
of  which,  as  the  committee  have  observed,  they  can  not  entertain  a 
doubt. 

The  committee  respectfully  report,  with  slight  modifications  adapted 
to  the  present  circumstances,  the  same  bill  reported  by  a  committee 
of  this  House  at  the  second  session  of  the  Twenty -seventh  Congress, 
on  the  12th  of  April,  1842. 

And,  finally,  the  committee  refer  the  House,  for  a  full  exposition  of 
the  facts  and  principles  upon  which  the  bill  now  reported  is  predi- 
cated, to  the  following  previous  reports  of  committees  of  this  House 
on  the  subject  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest: 

Report  No.  181,  of  January  19, 1836,  Twenty-fourth  Congress,  first 
session,  with  accompanying  documents. 

Report  No.  277,  of  March  5,  1840,  Twenty-sixth  Congress,  first  ses- 
sion, with  amendatory  bill  H.  1. 

Report  No.  587,  of  April  12,  1842,  Twenty-seventh  Congress,  sec- 
ond session,  with  bill  H.  386. 

All  of  which  this  committee  request  may  be  taken  as  part  of  their 
report. 

[H.  418.] 

A  bill  to  provide  for  the  disposal  and  management  of  the  fund  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson  to 
the  United  States,  for  the  establishment  of  an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men. 

SEC.  1.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  the  Secretaries  of  State,  Treasury,  War,  and  Navy,  the  Postmaster  and 
Attorney  Generals,  the  chief  justice  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington,  shall  be,  and  hereby 
are,  constituted  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  by  the  style  and  title  of  "The  trustees  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men," 

H.  Doc.  732 18 


274  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

with  perpetual  succession,  and  the  usual  powers,  duties,  and  liabilities  incident  to 
corporations. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  corporation  HO  constituted  shall  have 
power  to  appoint,  from  citizens  of  the  United  States  other  than  members  of  the 
board,  a  secretary  and  a  treasurer,  to  hold  their  offices  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
board,  and  removable  at  their  pleasure,  and  others  to  be  appointed  in  their  places, 
and  to  fix  from  time  to  time  their  compensations.  And  the  secretary  and  treasurer 
only  shall  receive  pecuniary  compensation  for  their  services,  and  those  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  board  of  trustees  shall  be  gratuitous.  And  the  offices  of  secretary  and 
treasurer  may,  at  the  discretion  of  the  board  of  trustees,  be  held  by  the  same  person. 
The  secretary  and  treasurer  shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of 
their  respective  offices;  and  the  treasurer  shall  give  bond,  under  the  penalty  of 
$50,000,  with  sureties  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for  the 
safe  custody  and  faithful  application  of  all  the  funds  of  the  institution  which  may 
come  to  his  hands  or  be  at  his  disposal. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $800,000  be,  and  the  same  is 
hereby  appropriated,  by  investment  of  that  sum  in  certificates  of  stock  to  that  amount 
of  the  United  States,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent  a  year,  from  and  after 
the  passage  of  this  act,  redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  Congress  by  the  substitution  of 
other  funds  of  equal  value  and  yielding  the  same  income,  the  said  interest  being 
payable  half-yearly  on  the  first  Mondays  of  January  and  July.  The  said  stocks  to 
be  applied  in  manner  following:  First,  to  constitute  a  fund  of  $500,000,  bearing 
interest  as  aforesaid,  to  supply  the  place  of  the  same  sum  received  at  the  Mint  of 
the  United  States  at  Philadelphia,  in  gold,  on  the  first  day  of  September,  of  the  year 
1838,  and  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  same  month  invested,  for  account  of  the  United 
States,  in  five  hundred  bonds  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  of  one  thousand  dollars  each, 
bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent  a  year,  payable  half-yearly,  and  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  is  redeemable  on  the  second  of  October,  1860.  Secondly,  to  constitute 
a  fund  of  $300,000,  bearing  interest  as  aforesaid,  to  supply  the  place  of  an  equal  sum 
invested  in  one  hundred  and  forty  bonds  of  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Michigan,  Illinois 
and  Ohio,  and  of  interest  which  has  accrued,  and  may  hereafter  accrue,  to  the  said 
amount  of  $300,000,  from  the  said  sum  deposited  at  the  Mint  of  the  United  States  at 
Philadelphia  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1838;  the  said  fund  to  be  applied  to  the 
execution  of  the  purpose  of  the  testator,  "the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men,"  in  manner  following: 

Of  the  said  fund,  there  shall  be  applied  for  the  erection  and  establishment,  at  the 
city  of  Washington,  of  an  astronomical  observatory,  adapted  to  the  most  effective  and 
continual  observations  of  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens;  to  be  provided  with  the 
necessary,  best,  and  most  perfect  instruments  and  books,  for  the  periodical  publica- 
tion of  said  observations,  and  for  the  annual  composition  and  publication  of  a  nauti- 
cal almanac,  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

Of  the  said  fund  there  shall  be  reserved  in  the  stock  thus  invested  the  sum  of 
$60,000,  from  the  yearly  interest  of  which  the  compensation  shall  be  paid  of  an  astro- 
nomical observator,  to  be  appointed  by  the  board  of  overseers,  removable  at  their 
discretion,  and  another  to  be  appointed  whenever  the  said  office  may  be  vacant; 
and  his  compensation  shall  be  at  the  rate  of  $3,000  a  year,  and  $600  a  year  shall  be 
reserved  for  the  incidental  and  contingent  expenses  of  repairs  upon  the  buildings  as 
they  may  be  required. 

Also  $120,000,  from  the  yearly  interest  of  which  shall  be  paid  the  compensation 
of  four  assistants  to  the  astronomer  and  of  laborers  necessary  for  attendance  on  him, 
and  for  the  care  and  preservation  of  the  buildings.  The  compensation  of  the  four 
assistants  to  be  at  the  rate  of  $1,500  a  year  each;  and  the  compensation  of  the  labor- 
ers not  to  exceed  in  amount,  for  the  whole  of  those  found  necessary,  $1,200  a  year; 
the  assistants  and  laborers  to  be  appointed  and  removable  by  the  said  board  of 
trustees  at  their  discretion. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  275 

Of  the  said  fund  there  shall  he  applied  to  furnish  an  assortment  of  the  best  and 
most  perfect  instruments  for  astronomical  observation,  to  be  procured  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  astronomical  observator,  to  be  appointed  conformably  to  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  $20,000. 

And  there  shall  be  reserved  $10,000,  from  the  interest  of  which  other  instruments 
may  be  from  time  to  time  procured,  as  occasions  for  the  use  of  them  may  arise,  and 
for  the  repairs  of  instruments  as  needed. 

And  there  shall  be  reserved  $10,000,  applied  to  the  purchase  of  a  library  of  books 
of  science  and  literature  for  the  use  of  the  observatory,  to  be  selected  by  the 
observator;  and  the  further  sum  of  $20,000  reserved,  from  the  interest  of  which  to 
pay  for  a  supply  of  new  works,  transactions  of  learned  societies,  and  periodical  pub- 
lications upon  science  in  other  parts  of  the  world  or  in  America. 

Of  the  said  fund  shall  be  reserved  $30,000,  from  the  interest  of  which  shall  be 
paid  the  compensation  of  the  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  the  contingent  expenses 
of  the  corporation  hereby  constituted,  including  the  expense  of  the  yearly  publica- 
tion of  the  observations  made  at  the  observatory,  and  of  a  nautical  almanac,  to  be 
called  the  Smithsonian  Almanac. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  the  moneys  and  stocks  which  have  been, 
or  may  hereafter  be,  received  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  on  account  of 
the  fund  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  pledged  to 
refund  to  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  the  sums  hereby  appropriated.  And 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  cause  to  be  opened  an  account  in  which  the 
Smithsonian  fund  shall  be  charged  with  the  sum  of  $800,000,  hereby  appropriated 
and  invested  in  stocks  of  the  United  States,  and  shall  be  credited  by  the  six  hundred 
and  forty  bonds  of  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  Ohio,  and  by  all 
the  sums  received,  or  hereafter  to  be  received,  for  interest  on  the  said  bonds  until 
the  final  payment  of  the  principal  thereof  by  the  said  States.  And  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  is  hereby  authorized  to  sell  and  transfer,  at  their  nominal  par  value, 
principal  and  interest,  ana  not  under,  any  of  the  said  bonds,  with  the  interest  due 
and  unpaid  on  the  same,  and  to  credit  the  said  fund  with  the  proceeds  thereof,  till 
the  whole  sum  hereby  appropriated,  and  all  the  interest  hereafter  paid  thereon, 
shall  be  refunded  to  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  no  part  of  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  prin- 
cipal or  interest,  shall  be  applied  to  any  school,  college,  university,  other  institute  of 
education,  or  ecclesiastical  establishment. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  observatory  provided  by  the  third  sec- 
ti<  >n  ( >f  this  act  shall  be  erected  under  the  direction  of  the  board  of  trustees  on  a  site 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  to  be  selected  by  them;  and  should  the  same  be  on  land 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  so  much  thereof  as,  in  the  opinion  of  the  trustees, 
shall  be  necessary  for  the  purpose  shall  be  conveyed  to  them  in  consideration  of  the 
sum  of  $10,000,  taken  from  that  fund  by  the  general  appropriation  act  of  third 
March,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-nine:  Provided,  That  if  no  such  suitable  site 
can  be  found  on  the  public  lands,  that  then  a  selection  of  a  site  on  private  prop- 
erty may  be  made  at  a  price  not  exceeding  one-half  cent  per  square  foot,  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  appropriation  in  the  third  section  of  this  act. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  expenditures  made  by  the  said  board  of 
trustees  shall  be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and 
all  the  accounts  thereof  shall  be  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and 
audited  under  his  direction  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department;  and 
the  said  board  shall  report  to  Congress,  at  every  session  thereof,  the  state  of  the 
Smithsonian  fund,  and  a  full  statement  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures  during 
the  preceding  year. 

SEC.  S.  Anfl  !»'  :t  further  enacted,  That  the  first  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  shall  l>e  held  at  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  third  Tuesday  of 

next;  and  that  in  the  meantime  the  custody  of  the  said  fund  and  the  expenditures 


276  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

under  the  appropriations  herein  made  shall  be  held  and  authorized  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  subject  to  the  approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  shall  be  a  board  of  visitors,  to  be 
annually  appointed,  consisting  of  nine  members;  two  of  whom  to  be  commissioned 
officers  of  the  Army,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  War;  two  commissioned 
officers  of  the  Navy,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  the  mayors  for 
the  time  being  of  the  cities  of  Alexandria  and  of  Georgetown,  within  the  District  of 
Columbia;  and  one  citizen  of  each  of  the  cities  of  Washington,  Alexandria,  and 
Georgetown,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States;  who  shall  meet 
on  the  first  Monday  of  February,  at  eleven  o'clock,  before  noon,  at  the  said  astro- 
nomical observatory,  and  visit  and  inspect  the  condition  of  the  said  observatory  and 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  generally.  They  shall  choose  among  themselves  a 
chairman,  and  shall  make  report  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  the  said 
condition  of  the  Institution,  specifically  indicating  in  what  respect  the  Institution 
has,  during  the  preceding  year,  contributed  to  the  purpose  of  the  founder — the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  To  this  board  the  astronomical 
observator  shall  make  a  report  to  the  same  effect,  so  far  as  regards  the  astronomical 
branch  of  the  Institution,  which  report  shall  be  annexed  to  that  of  the  board  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  who  shall  communicate  the  said  reports  to  Congress. 
The  services  of  the  members  of  the  said  board  shall  be  gratuitous. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  is  reserved  to  Congress  the  right  of 
altering,  amending,  adding  to,  or  repealing  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act  which 
shall  be  found  inconvenient  upon  experience:  Provided,  That  no  contract  or  individ- 
ual right,  made  or  acquired  under  such  provisions,  shall  thereby  be  impaired  or 
divested. 

SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  for  any  other  moneys  which  have  accrued, 
or  may  hereafter  accrue,  upon  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein  appropriated, 
the  board  of  trustees  are  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem 
necessary  for  the  promotion  of  the  purpose  of  the  testator— "the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men  " — unless  the  same  shall  be  otherwise  disposed  of 
by  law. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
June  14,  1844— House. 

Mr.  EDMUND  DEBERRY,  from  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  made 
an  adverse  report  upon  the  petition  of  citizens  of  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  relation  to  the  appropriation  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest 
for  the  purposes  of  agricultural  education. 
December  12,  1844 — Senate. 

Mr.  Benj.  TAP  PAN  introduced  bill  S.  18.  Referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  the  Library. 

A  bill  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 

men. 

Whereas  James  Smithson,  esquire,  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain, 
by  his  last  will  and  testament  did  give  the  whole  of  his  property  to  the  United  States 
of  America,  to  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  and 
whereas  Congress  have  heretofore  received  said  property  and  accepted  said  trust; 
therefore,  that  the  same  may  be  executed  in  good  faith,  and  according  to  the  will  of 
the  liberal  and  enlightened  donor: 

Beit  enacted,  etc.,  That  so  much  of  the  property  of  the  said  James  Smithson  as 
has  been  received  in  money  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  being 
the  sum  of  $508, 318,  be  loaned  to  the  United  States  Treasury,  at  six  per  cent  per 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1843-1845.  277 

annum  interest,  from  the  third  day  of  December,  in  the  year  1838,  when  the  same 
\va.«  received  into  the  said  Treasury;  and  that  so  much  of  the  interest  as  may  have 
accrued  on  said  sum  on  the  first  day  of  July  next,  which  will  amount  to  the  sum  of 
$209,103,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  erection  of  suitable  build- 
ings, the  inclosing  of  suitable  grounds,  and  for  the  purchase  of  books  and  instruments 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  established  by  this  act;  and  that  six  per  cent  interest 
on  the  said  trust  fund,  it  being  the  said  amount  of  $508,318,  received  into  the  United 
States  Treasury,  third  of  December,  1838,  payable,  in  half-yearly  payments,  on 
the  first  of  January  and  July  in  each  year,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropri- 
ated for  the  perpetual  maintenance  and  support  of  said  institution:  Provided,  That 
the  books  to  be  purchased  for  said  institution  shall  consist  of  works  on  science  and 
the  arts,  especially  such  as  relate  to  the  ordinary  business  of  life,  and  to  the  various 
mechanical  and  other  improvements  and  discoveries  which  may  be  made. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  business  of  said  institution  shall  be  con- 
ducted by  a  board  of  managers,  to  consist  of  twelve,  no  two  of  whom  shall  be  citizens 
of  the  same  State  or  Territory;  that  the  persons  first  appointed  on  the  board  of 
managers  shall  meet  in  the  city  of  Washington,  on  the  first  Monday  of  July  next 
after  the  passage  of  this  act,  and,  when  met,  shall  divide  themselves,  by  lot,  into 
three  sections,  one  of  which  shall  serve  two  years,  one  four,  and  the  other  six  years; 
and  whenever  a  vacancy  occurs  in  said  board,  the  same  shall  be  filled  by  such  per- 
son as  may  be  appointed  by  a  joint  resolution  of  Congress;  that  all  those  who  may 
be  appointed  to  fill  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  removal  out  of  the 
United  States,  shall  serve  the  residue  of  the  term,  and  all  those  who  may  be 
appointed  to  fill  vacancies  which  occur  by  lapse  of  time  shall  serve  for  the  term  of 
six  years;  that  after  said  board  shall  have  met  and  become  organized  by  appointing 
one  of  their  own  body  president  of  said  board,  it  shall  be  their  duty  to  proceed  to 
select  a  suitable  site  for  such  building  as  may  be,  in  their  judgment,  necessary  for  the 
institution,  and  suitable  ground  for  horticultural  and  agricultural  experiments, 
which  ground  may  be  taken  and  appropriated  out  of  that  part  of  the  public  ground 
in  the  city  of  Washington  called  the  Mall,  lying  west  of  Seventh  street;  and  the 
ground  so  selected  shall  be  set  out  by  proper  metes  and  bounds,  and  a  description  of 
the  same  shall  be  made  and  recorded  in  a  book  to  be  provided  for  that  purpose,  and 
signed  by  said  managers,  or  so  many  of  them  as  may  be  convened  on  said  first  Mon- 
day of  July;  and  such  record,  or  a  copy  thereof,  certified  by  the  president  of  the 
board  of  managers,  shall  be  received  as  evidence  in  all  courts  of  the  extent  and 
boundaries  of  the  lands  appropriated  to  said  institution. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  soon  as  the  board  of  managers  shall  have 
selected  the  site  for  the  buildings  of  the  institution,  they  shall  cause  to  be  erected  a 
suitable  building,  of  plain  and  durable  materials  and  structure,  without  Unnecessary 
ornament,  and  of  sufficient  size,  and  with  suitable  rooms  or  halls  for  the  reception 
and  arrangement,  upon  a  liberal  scale,  of  objects  of  natural  history,  a  geological  and 
mineralogical  cabinet,  a  library,  a  chemical  laboratory,  and  a  lecture  room  or  rooms; 
and  the  said  board  shall  have  authority,  by  themselves,  or  by  a  committee  of  three 
of  their  members,  to  contract  for  the  completion  of  such  building  upon  such  plan  as 
may  be  directed  by  the  board  of  managers,  and  shall  take  sufficient  security  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States  for  the  building  and  finishing  the  same  according  to 
the  said  plan,  and  in  the  time  stipulated  in  such  contract:  Provided,  however,  That 
the  expense  of  said  building  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  $80,000,  which  sum  is 
hereby  appropriated  for  that  purpose  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated;  and  the  board  of  managers  shall  also  cause  the  grounds  selected  for 
horticultural  and  agricultural  purposes  to  be  enclosed  and  secured,  and  a  suitable 
building  erected  to  preserve  such  plants  as  will  not  bear  exposure  to  the  weather  at 
all  seasons;  and  the  sum  of  $20,000  is  hereby  appropriated  for  such  building  and 
enclosure,  to  be  paid  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated; 


278  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

and  so  soon  as  it  may  be  necessary  for  the  accommodation  of  the  persons  employed 
in  said  institution,  the  said  board  of  managers  may  cause  to  be  erected  on  the  grounds 
of  the  institution  such  dwelling  houses  and  other  buildings,  of  plain  and  substantial 
workmanship  and  materials,  to  be  without  unnecessary  ornament,  as  may  be  wanted; 
Provided,  however,  That  the  whole  expense  of  building  and  furnishing  as  many  such 
houses  as  may  be  required  shall  not  exceed  the  residue  of  said  interest  which  will 
have  accrued  on  the  first  day  of  July  next;  and  for  the  said  expenditure  the  said 
residue  of  said  interest,  amounting  to  the  sum  of  $78,604  is  hereby  appropriated,  pay- 
able out  of  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated;  and  all  such 
contracts  as  may  be  made  by  said  board  of  managers  shall  be  deposited  with  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States;  and  all  questions  which  may  arise  between  the 
United  States  and  any  person  claiming  under  and  by  virtue  of  any  such  contract 
shall  be  heard  and  determined  by  said  board  of  managers,  and  such  determination 
shall  be  final  and  conclusive  upon  all  parties;  and  all  claims  on  any  contract  made 
as  aforesaid  shall  be  allowed  and  certified  by  the  board  of  managers,  or  a  committee 
thereof,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  being  signed  by  the  president  of  the  board,  shall  be 
a  sufficient  voucher  for  settlement  and  payment  at  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 
And  the  board  of  managers  shall  be  authorized  to  employ  such  persons  as  they  deem 
necessary  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building,  and  fitting  up  the  rooms  of  the 
institution. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  so  soon  as  buildings  shall  be  erected  for  their 
reception,  all  objects  of  natural  history  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens 
belonging  to  the  United  States  which  may  be  in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  whoseso- 
ever custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such  persons  as  may  be  author- 
ized by  the  board  of  managers  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be  arranged  by  the  proper 
professor  in  such  order  and  so  classed  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and  study 
of  them  in  the  building  so  as  aforesaid  to  be  erected  for  the  institution;  and  the 
managers  of  said  institution  shall  afterwards,  as  new  specimens  in  natural  history, 
geology,  or  mineralogy,  may  be  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  institution  by 
exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens  belonging  to  the  institution  (which  they  are  hereby 
authorized  to  make)  or  by  donations  which  they  may  receive,  cause  such  new  speci- 
mens to  be  also  appropriately  classed  and  arranged.  And  the  minerals,  books, 
manuscripts,  and  other  property  of  James  Smithson  which  have  been  received  by 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  are  now  placed  in  the  Patent  Office,  shall 
be  removed  to  said  institution  and  shall  be  preserved  separate  and  apart  from  the 
other  property  of  the  institution. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  managers  of  said  institution  shall  appoint 
a  superintendent,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  take  charge  of  the  ground,  buildings,  and 
property  belonging  to  the  institution,  and  carefully  preserve  the  same  from  injury; 
and  such  superintendent  shall  be  the  secretary  of  the  board  of  managers,  and  shall, 
under  their  direction,  make  a  fair  and  accurate  record  of  all  their  proceedings,  to  be 
preserved  in  said  institution;  and  the  said  superintendent  shall  also  discharge  the 
duties  of  professor  of  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  rural  economy  in  said  institution, 
and  in  that  capacity  may,  with  the  approbation  of  the  board  of  managers,  employ, 
from  time  to  time,  so  many  gardeners  and  other  laborers  as  may  be  necessary  to  cul- 
tivate the  ground  and  keep  in  repair  the  buildings  of  said  institution;  and  the  super- 
intendent shall  receive  for  his  services  such  sum  as  may  be  allowed  by  the  board  of 
managers,  to  be  paid  semiannually  on  the  first  day  of  January  and  July;  and  the 
said  superintendent  shall  be  removable  by  the  board  of  managers  whenever,  in  their 
judgment,  the  interest  of  the  institution  require  the  superintendent  to  be  changed. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  man- 
agers they  shall  fix  on  the  times  for  regular  meetings  of  the  board,  and  on  appli- 
cation of  any  three  of  the  managers  to  the  superintendent  of  the  institution,  it 
shall  be  his  duty  to  appoint  a  time  for  a  special  meeting  of  the  board,  of  which  he 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  279 

shall  give  notice  by  letter  to  each  of  the  members,  and  at  any  meeting  of  the  board 
of  managers  five  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business;  that  each  member  of  the 
board  of  managers  shall  be  paid  his  necessary  traveling  and  other  expenses  in  attend- 
ing meetings  of  the  board,  which  shall  be  audited,  allowed,  and  recorded  by  the 
superintendent  of  the  institution.  And  whenever  any  person  employed  by  the 
authority  of  the  institution  shall  have  performed  service  entitling  him  to  compen- 
sation, whether  the  same  shall  be  by  way  of  salary  payable  semiannually  or  wages 
for  labor,  or  whenever  money  is  due  from  said  institution  for  any  purpose  whatever, 
the  superintendent  shall  certify  to  the  president  of  the  board  that  such  compensation 
or  money  is  due,  whereupon  the  president  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper  officer 
of  the  Treasury  Department  for  payment. 

SKI.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  board  of  managers  may  appoint  some 
suitable  person  as  professor  of  natural  history,  a  professor  of  chemistry,  a  professor 
of  geology,  and  a  professor  of  astronomy,  with  such  other  professors  as  the  wants  of 
science  may  require.  They  shall  also  employ  able  men  to  lecture  in  the  institution 
upon  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  shall  fix  the  compensation  of  such  professors  and 
lecturers:  Provided,  That  no  professorship  shall  be  established  or  lecturer  employed 
to  treat  or  lecture  on  law,  physic,  or  divinity,  it  being  the  object  of  the  institution 
to  furnish  facilities  for  the  acquisition  of  such  branches  of  knowledge  as  are  not 
aught  in  the  various  universities. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  board  of  managers  shall  make  all  needful 
rules,  regulations,  and  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  Institution  and  the  persons 
employed  therein;  and,  in  prescribing  the  duties  of  the  professors  and  lecturers,  they 
shall  have  special  reference  to  the  introduction  and  illustration  of  subjects  connected 
with  the  productive  and  liberal  arts  of  life,  improvements  in  agriculture,  in  manu- 
factures, in  trades,  and  in  domestic  economy.  They  shall  direct  experiments  to  be 
made  by  the  professor  of  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  rural  economy  to  determine 
the  utility  and  advantage  of  new  modes  and  instruments  of  culture,  to  determine 
whether  new  fruits,  plants,  and  vegetables  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage  in  the 
United  States;  and  they  shall  direct  the  distribution  of  all  such  fruits,  plants,  seeds, 
and  vegetables  as  shall  be  found  useful  and  adapted  to  any  of  our  soils  and  climates, 
so  that  the  people  in  every  part  of  the  Union  may  enjoy  the  benefit  and  advantage 
of  the  experiments  made  by  the  institution.  They  shall  also  direct  the  professor  of 
chemistry  to  institute  a  chemical  analysis  of  soils  from  different  sections  of  the  United 
States,  to  make  experiments  on  the  various  modes  of  improving  and  enriching  the 
several  kinds  of  soil  found  within  the  United  States,  and  at  all  times  to  include  in 
his  course  of  lectures  the  subject  of  agricultural  chemistry.  They  shall  also  direct 
the  professor  of  natural  history  especially  to  refer  in  his  course  of  lectures  to  the 
history  and  habits  of  such  animals  as  are  useful,  or  such  animals  and  insects  as  are 
njurious,  including  the  best  means  of  taking  care  of  and  improving  the  one  and  of 
protecting  grain  and  other  products  from  the  other.  They  shall  also  direct  the  pro- 
fessor of  geology  to  include  in  his  course  of  lectures  practical  instructions  of  a  gen- 
eral character  to  aid  in  the  exploration  and  working  of  mines.  They  shall  also 
direct  the  professor  of  architecture  and  domestic  science  to  include  in  his  course  of 
lectures  practical  instructions  as  to  the  best  modes  and  materials  for  building,  accord- 
ing to  climate  and  location,  throughout  the  United  States,  from  the  simple  dwelling 
to  the  more  complicated  and  costly  structures  for  public  and  other  purposes;  also,  to 
institute  experiments  in  regard  to  the  best  mode  of  lighting,  heating,  and  ventilating 
buildings,  public  and  private,  and  to  determine  the  value  of  such  scientific  improve- 
ments as  may,  from  time  to  time,  be  made  in  the  same  or  in  any  other  important 
branch  of  domestic  economy.  They  shall  also  direct  the  professor  of  astronomy 
to  include  in  his  lectures  a  course  on  navigation,  including  the  use  of  nautical 
instruments.  And  it  shall  be  competent  for  the  said  managers,  at  their  discretion,  to 
cause  to  be  printed  and  published,  from  time  to  time,  works,  in  popular  form,  on  the 


280  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

sciences  and  on  the  aid  they  bring  to  labor,  written  by  the  professors  of  the  institu- 
tion, or  by  other  persons  engaged  for  the  purpose:  Provided,  That  such  works  shall, 
at  all  times,  be  offered  for  sale  at  the  lowest  rates  that  will  repay  the  actual  expense 
of  publication:  And  provided,  That  such  works  shall,  before  publication,  be  submitted 
to  and  examined  by  the  board  of  managers,  or  a  committee  of  their  number.  And 
the  said  board  shall  also  make  rules  and  regulations  for  the  admission  of  students 
into  the  various  departments  of  the  institution,  and  their  conduct  and  deportment 
while  they  remain  therein:  Provided,  That  all  instruction  in  said  institution  shall  be 
gratuitous  to  those  students  who  conform  to  such  rules  and  regulations. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  —          be  appointed  managers  of  the  said 

Smithsonian  Institution,  to  hold  their  offices  as  is  hereinbefore  provided. 
December  16,  1844 — Senate. 

Mr.  BENJAMIN  TAPPAN,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  reported 
bill  S.  18,  without  amendment. 
December  31,  1844— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  B.  TAPPAN  the  Senate  considered  as  in  Committee 
of  the  Whole  the  bill  S.  18,  and  various  verbal  amendments  offered 
by  him  were  adopted. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  JABEZ  W.  HUNTINGTON  the  further  consideration 
was  postponed  to  and  made  the  order  of  the  day  for  Thursday  fol- 
lowing. 

Mr.  R.  CHOATE  and  Mr.  B.  TAPPAN  offered  amendments,  which  wore 
ordered  to  be  printed. 
January  6,  1845— Senate. 

Mr.  B.  TAPPAN  presented  a  petition  of  Thomas  Johnson  and  others, 
citizens  of  Huron  County,  Ohio,  praying  the  passage  of  the  bill  now 
before  the  Senate  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  which  was 
ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 

Mr.  EPH.  H.  FOSTER,  of  New  York,  presented  a  petition  of  Gen. 
N.   V.   Knickerbocker  and  two  hundred  other  citizens   of  Steuben 
County,  New  York,  praying  the  passage  of  the  bill  to  establish  the 
Smithsonian  Institution;  which  was  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 
January  8,  1845 — Senate. 

The  Senate  resumed,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  the  considera- 
tion of  the  bill  S.  .18  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  bill  having  been  read — 

Mr.  RUFUS  CHOATE  said  he  was  sure  that,  whatever  opinion  might 
be  at  last  formed  on  this  bill,  its  principles  or  its  details,  all  would 
concur  in  expressing  thanks  to  the  Senator  from  Ohio  [Mr.  Tappan] 
for  introducing  it.  We  shall  differ,  he  proceeded,  more  perhaps  than 
could  be  wished  or  than  can  be  reconciled  about  the  mode  of  adminis- 
tering this  noble  fund;  but  we  can  not  differ  about  our  duty  to  enter 
at  once  on  some  mode  of  administering  it.  A  large  sum  of  money  has 
been  given  to  us,  to  hold  and  to  apply  in  trust,  "for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  We  have  accepted  the  trust. 
"To  this  application  (such  is  the  language  of  our  act  of  the  1st  of 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1843-1845.  281 

July,  1836) — to  this  application  of  the  money  the  faith  of  the  United 
States  is  hereby  pledged."  The  donor  is  in  his  grave.  There  is  no 
chancellor  to  compel  us  to  redeem  our  pledge,  and  there  needs  none. 
Our  own  sense  of  duty  to  the  dead,  and  the  living,  and  the  unborn  who 
shall  live — our  justice,  our  patriotism,  our  polic}%  common  honesty, 
common  decorum,  urge  us,  and  are  enough  to  urge  us,  to  go  on,  with- 
out the  delay  of  an  hour,  to  appropriate  the  bounty  according  to  the 
form  of  the  gift.  I  thank  the  Senator,  therefore,  for  introducing  a 
bill  with  which,  to  my  own  knowledge,  he  has  taken  much — and,  so 
far  as  I  can  see  or  conceive — disinterested  pains,  and  which  affords  us 
an  opportunity  to  discharge  a  plain  duty,  perhaps  too  long  delayed. 

I  think,  too,  sir,  that  the  Senator  has,  in  the  first  section  of  the  bill, 
declared  the  true  fundamental  law  according  to  which  this  fund  ought 
to  be  permanently  administered.  He  lends  to  the  United  States  the 
whole  sum  of  $508,318  actually  received  out  of  the  English  chancery, 
from  the  3d  of  December,  1838,  when  it  was  received,  at  an  interest  of 
6  per  cent  per  annum.  He  leaves  the  sum  of  $209,103,  which  is  so 
much  of  the  interest  as  will  have  accrued  on  the  1st  day  of  July  next, 
to  be  applied  at  once  to  the  construction  of  buildings,  the  preparation 
of  grounds,  the  purchase  of  books,  instruments,  and  the  like;  and  then 
appropriates  the  interest,  and  the  interest  only,  of  the  original  prin- 
cipal sum  for  the  perpetual  maintenance  of  the  institution,  leaving  the 
principal  itself  unimpaired  forever.  This,  all,  is  exactly  as  it  should  be. 

But  when  you  examine  the  bill  a  little  further,  to  discern  what  it  is 
exactly  which  this  considerable  expenditure  of  money  is  to  accom- 
plish— when  you  look  to  see  how  and  how  much  it  is  going  "to  increase 
and  diffuse  knowledge  among  men,"  I  am  afraid  that  we  shall  have 
reason  to  be  a  little  less  satisfied.  I  do  not  now  refer  to  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  board  of  management,  of  which,  let  me  say,  under  some 
important  modifications,  I  incline  to  approve,  although  on  that  I  reserve 
myself.  I  speak  of  what  the  fund,  however  managed,  is  to  be  made 
to  do.  The  bill  assumes,  as  it  ought,  to  apply  it  "to  increase  and  dif- 
fuse knowledge  among  men."  Well,  how  does  it  accomplish  this 
object? 

It  proposes  to  do  so,  for  substance,  by  establishing  in  this  city  a 
school  or  college  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  its  pupils  in  the  appli- 
cation of  certain  physical  sciences  to  certain  arts  of  life.  The  plan,  if 
adopted,  founds  a  college  in  Washington  to  teach  the  scientific  princi- 
ples of  certain  useful  arts.  That  is  the  whole  of  it.  It  appoints,  on 
permanent  salaries,  a  professor  of  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  rural 
economy;  a  professor  of  natural  history;  a  professor  of  chemistiy;  a 
professor  of  geology;  a  professor  of  astronomy;  a  professor  of  archi- 
tecture and  domestic  science,  together  with  a  fluctuating  force  of  occa- 
sional auxiliary  lecturers;  and  all  these  professors  and  lecturers  are 
enjoined  "to  have  special  reference,  in  all  their  illustrations  and  instruc- 


282  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

tions,  to  the  productive  and  liberal  arts  of  life — to  improvements  in 
agriculture,  manufactures,  trades,  and  domestic  economy."  Thus,  the 
professor  of  chemistry  is  to  analyze  different  kinds  of  soils,  and  to 
learn  and  teach  how  to  enrich  them;  the  professor  of  natural  history 
is  to  deal  with  noxious  or  useful  animals  and  insects;  the  professor  of 
geology  is  to  illustrate  the  working  of  mines;  the  professor  of  astron- 
omy is  to  teach  navigation;  the  professor  of  architecture  and  domestic 
science  is  charged  with  the  theory  and  practice  of  building,  lighting, 
and  ventilating  all  manner  of  edifices,  and  the  professor  of  agriculture, 
horticulture,  and  domestic  economy  is  to  make  experiments  to  see  what 
exotics  will  grow,  and  what  will  not,  all  over  the  United  States.  And, 
in  pursuance  of  the  same  theory  of  administration  of  the  fund,  it  is 
provided  that  not  a  book  is  to  be  purchased  for  the  institution  except 
•'works  on  science  and  the  arts,  especially  such  as  relate  to  the  ordinary 
business  of  life,  and  to  the  various  mechanical  and  other  improvements 
and  discoveries  which  may  be  made." 

Now,  I  say  that  this  creates  a  college  or  school,  such  as  it  is,  on  the 
basis  of  a  somewhat  narrow  utilitarianism— to  be  sure,  erroneously  so 
called,  but  a  college  or  academical  institution.  Who  is  to  be  taught 
agriculture,  architecture,  domestic  science,  rural  economy,  and  navi- 
gation \  Not  you,  Mr.  President,  I  suppose,  not  Congress,  not  the 
Government,  not  men  at  all.  Students,  pupils,  youths,  are  to  be 
brought  hither,  if  you  can  find  them;  "rules  and  regulations"  (so 
runs  the  eighth  section  of  the  bill)  are  to  be  made  "for  the  admission 
into  the  various  departments  of  the  institution,  and  their  conduct  and 
deportment  while  they  remain  therein,"  and  instruction  is  to  be  given 
them  by  professors  and  lecturers.  This  surely  is  a  school,  a  college, 
an  academical  institute  of  education,  such  as  it  is,  or  nothing. 

Well,  sir,  in  reviewing,  as  I  have  had  occasion  to  do,  the  proceed- 
ings of  Congress  upon  this  subject  heretofore,  I  have  received  the 
impression  that  it  had  become  quite  your  settled  judgment — settled  on 
the  most  decisive  reasons — that  no  school,  college,  or  academical  estab- 
lishment should  be  constituted.  It  seems  that  in  the  session  of  1838  a 
joint  committee  of  the  two  branches  was  charged  with  this  delibera- 
tion. The  chairman  of  the  committee  from  this  body  was  Mr.  Rob- 
bins,  and  the  chairman  on  the  appointment  of  the  House  was  Mr. 
Adams;  both  of  them,  I  may  pause  to  say,  persons  of  the  most  pro- 
found and  elegant  acquisition;  both  of  them  of  that  happy,  rare  class 
who  "grow  old  still  learning."  The  two  committees  differed  on  this 
very  question  whether  a  school  or  college  should  be  established.  The 
opinion  of  the  committee  of  the  House  is  expressed  in  the  fourth  sec- 
tion of  the  bill  (No.  293  Senate)  which  they  desired  to  report,  and 
which  is  in  these  words: 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  no  part  of  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  prin- 
cipal, or  interest  shall  be  applied  to  any  school,  college,  university,  institute  of  edu- 
cation, or  ecclesiastical  establishment. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  283 

That  of  the  committee  of  the  Senate  is  distinctly  enough  intimated 
in  the  beautiful  speech  with  which  Mr.  Bobbins  introduced  the  subject, 
in  January,  1839.  I  find  it  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Congressional 
Globe: 

I  could  wish,  if  all  were  agreed  in  it,  that  this  institution  should  make  one  of  a 
number  of  colleges,  to  constitute  a  university  to  be  established  here,  and  to  be 
endowed  in  a  manner  worthy  of  this  great  nation  and  their  immense  resources.  But, 
as  opinions  are  divided  upon  this  subject^not,  I  should  hope,  as  to  the  great  desir- 
ableness of  such  an  establishment,  but  as  to  the  constitutional  competency  of  Con- 
gress to  undertake  it — I  will  not  embarrass  my  present  object  by  involving  it  with 
that  subject.  This,  as  an  independent  institution,  may  hereafter  be  made  a  part  of 
such  a  university,  should  one  be  established;  but  it  is  now  to  be  looked  at  only  as  an 
independent  institution. 

It  was  to  embody  and  execute  this  conception  that  Mr.  Bobbins 
drew  the  Senate  bill  No.  292. 

Finding  themselves  unable  to  agree,  it  was  determined  that  each 
committee  should  report  both  of  these  bills  to  their  respective  Houses. 
On  the  25th  of  February,  1839,  the  bill  drawn  by  Mr.  Bobbins  was 
taken  up  in  this  body,  and  after  an  animated  discussion  was  laid  on 
the  table  by  a  vote  of  20  to  15.  This  vote  is  regarded,  I  perceive,  by 
Mr.  Adams,  in  his  subsequent  reports  of  1840  and  1842,  as  expressing 
the  judgment  of  the  Senate  against  the  establishment  of  such  academi- 
cal institute  of  learning.  He  says: 

It  is  then  to  be  considered  as  a  circumstance  propitious  to  the  final  disposal  of  this 
fund,  by  the  organization  of  an  institution  the  best  adapted  to  accomplish  the  design 
of  the  testator,  that  this  first  but  erroneous  impression  of  that  design — an  institute  of 
learning,  a  university,  upon  the  foundation  of  which  the  whole  fund  should  be  lav- 
ished, and  yet  prove  inadequate  to  its  purpose,  without  large  appropriations  of  pub- 
lic moneys  in  its  aid — should  have  been  presented  to  the  consideration  of  Congress, 
referred  to  a  numerous  joint  committee  of  both  Houses,  there  discussed,  reported  for 
the  deliberation  of  both  Houses,  fully  debated  in  the  House  where  it  originated,  and 
then  decisively  rejected. 

If  such  may  be  inferred  to  have  been  the  judgment  of  the  Senate,  it 
may  be  defended  on  the  most  decisive  reasons.  It  is  hardly  worth 
while  to  move  the  question  whether  it  would  be  expedient  to  apply  the 
fund  as  far  as  it  would  go  to  the  founding  of  a  great  university  deserv- 
ing of  the  name — a  national  university — in  which  all  the  branches 
of  a  thorough  education  should  be  taught;  which  should  fill  the  space 
between  the  college  and  professional  schools  which  should  guide 
the  nmturer  American  mind  to  the  highest  places  of  knowledge;  for 
such  should  be  the  functions  of  such  a  university.  It  is  not  worth 
while  to  move  this  question,  because  no  such  proposition  is  before  us. 
I  am  afraid,  with  Mr.  Adams,  that  to  found  such  a  university  would 
consume  the  whole  fund,  interest  and  principal,  almost  at  once,  and 
reduce  you  to  the  alternative  of  a  signal  failure,  or  of  occasional  and 
frequent  application  to  the  Government  for  aid  which  could  never 
be  granted.  But  the  Senator  from  Ohio  contemplates  no  such  thing. 


284  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

He  constructs  his  college  on  a  far  more  moderate  model;  and  of  this 
college  of  his  I  am  constrained  to  say  that  I  think  it  in  the  actual 
state  of  academical  education  wholly  unnecessary,  and  in  a  great 
degree  useless.  Why,  sir,  there  are  in  the  country  more  than  a 
hundred  colleges;  I  have  seen  them  estimated  at  one  hundred  and 
seventy-three.  These  are  distributed  all  over  the  United  States;  two 
are  in  this  District.  They  are  at  the  doors  of  the  people.  I  suspect 
that  every  one  of  them  has  a  professor  for  every  department  provided 
for  in  this  bill,  except  architecture  and  domestic  science,  and  agri- 
culture and  rural  economy.  In  every  one,  without  any  difficulty, 
that  special  attention  here  recommended,  to  the  application  of  science 
"•to  the  ordinary  business  of  life,"  may  be,  if  it  is  not  now  secured,  if 
in  the  judgment  of  those  who  are  intrusted  with  their  management  it 
is  thought  expedient.  Why,  sir,  I  recollect  that  navigation  was 
taught  in  one  at  least  of  our  common  free  district  schools  of  Massa- 
chusetts thirty  years  ago.  I  can  not  concur  with  the  honorable  f  ramer 
of  the  bill,  therefore,  that  his  school  is  to  "furnish  facilities  for  the 
acquisition  of  such  branches  of  knowledge  as  are  not  taught  in  the 
various  universities."  It  will  do  no  such  thing.  It  will  injure  those 
universities,  rather,  if  it  has  any  effect,  by  withdrawing  from  them 
some  portion  of  the  patronage  for  which  they  are  all  struggling,  and 
of  which  so  few  get  a  full  meal. 

Such  a  school,  then,  I  think,  is  scarcely  now  necessary.  In  this 
it  would  be,  to  say  no  more,  very  far  from  generally  useful.  It 
would  hardly  appear  to  be  an  instrumentality  coming  up  to  the  sono- 
rous promise  of  "increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge  among  men." 
Who  would  its  pupils  be?  Who  could  afford  to  come  all  the  way  to 
Washington  from  the  South,  West,  and  North  to  learn  architecture, 
navigation,  and  domestic  science?  Certainly  only  the  sons  of  the 
wealthy,  who-  would  hardly  come,  if  they  could,  to  learn  any  such 
branch  of  homely  knowledge.  You  might  collect  some  few  students 
in  the  District  and  the  borders  of  the  adjacent  States;  but  for  any 
purpose  of  wide  utility  the  school  would  be  no  more  felt  than  so  much 
sunshine  on  the  poles.  Meantime  here  would  be  your  professors, 
their  salaries  running  on;  your  books,  and  apparatus,  and  edifices,  a 
show  of  things — a  pretty  energetic  diffusing  of  the  fund;  not  much 
diffusion  of  knowledge. 

I  shall  venture,  then,  to  move  to  strike  out  all  those  parts  of  the  bill 
which  indicate  the  particular  mode  in  which  the  bequest  is  to  be  applied 
to  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge.  I  except  the  provision  for 
experiments  in  seeds  and  plants,  on  which  I  will  say  a  word  hereafter. 
If  this  motion  prevails  the  whole  question  will  recur:  What  shall  we 
do  with  the  fund? 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  there  are  two  applications  of  it  which  may 
just  now  meet  with  favor. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  285 

In  the  first  place,  to  begin  with  the  least  important,  I  adopt,  with 
some  modifications,  the  suggestion  in  the  bill  that  lectures  be  delivered 
in  this  city  for  two  or  three  months  during  every  session  of  Congress. 
These  lectures  should  be  delivered,  not  by  professors  permanently 
fixed  here,  upon  annual  salaries,  to  do  nothing  in  the  recess  of  Con- 
gress, or  to  do  nothing  that  can  not  be  as  well  done  at  one  hundred  and 
fifty  other  places,  but  by  gentlemen  eminent  in  science  and  literature, 
holding  situations  elsewhere,  and  coming  hither  under  the  stimulations 
and  with  the  ambition  of  a  special  and  conspicuous  retainer.  They 
might  be  professors  of  colleges,  men  of  letters,  persons  distinguished 
in  the  professions,  or  otherwise.  Names  will  occur  to  you  all  which  I 
need  not  mention;  and  their  lectures  should  be  adapted  to  their  audi- 
eneett  Who  would  their  audiences  be?  Members  of  Congress  with 
their  families,  members  of  the  Government  with  theirs,  some  inhab- 
itants of  this  city,  some  few  strangers  who  occasionally  honor  us  with 
visits  of  curiosity  or  business.  They  would  be  public  men,  of  mature 
years  and  minds;  educated,  disciplined  to  some  degree,  of  liberal  curi- 
osity, and  appreciation  of  generous  and  various  knowledge.  Such 
would  be  the  audience.  The  lectures  should  be  framed  accordingly. 
I  do  not  think  they  should  be  confined  to  thrt?c  or  four  physical  sci- 
ences in  their  applications  to  the  arts  of  life — navigation,  useful  or 
hurtful  insects  and  animals,  the  ventilation  of  rooms,  or  the  smoking 
of  chimneys.  This  is  knowledge,  to  be  sure;  but  it  is  not  all  knowl- 
edge, nor  half  of  it,  nor  the  best  of  it.  Why  should  not  such  an  audi- 
ence hear  something  of  the  philosophy  of  history,  of  classical  and  of 
South  American  antiquities,  of  international  law,  of  the  grandeur  and 
decline  of  states,  of  the  progress  and  eras  of  freedom,  of  ethics,  of 
intellectual  philosophy,  of  art,  taste,  and  literature  in  its  most  com- 
prehensive and  noblest  forms?  Why  should  they  not  hear  such  lec- 
tures as  Sir- James  Mackintosh  delivered  when  a  young  man  to  audiences 
among  whom  were  Canning,  and  such  as  he?  Would  it  not  be  as 
instructive  to  hear  a  first-rate  scholar  and  thinker  demonstrate  out  of 
a  chapter  of  Greek  or  Italian  history  how  dreadful  a  thing  it  is  for  a 
cluster  of  young  and  fervid  democracies  to  dwell  side  by  side,  inde- 
pendent and  disunited,  as  it  would  to  hear  a  chemist  maintain  that  to 
raise  wheat  you  must  have  some  certain  proportion  of  lime  in  the  soil? 
But  the  subjects  of  lectures  would  of  course  be  adapted  to  time,  place, 
and  circumstances,  and  varied  with  them.  Whatever  they  should 
treat  of,  they  would  be  useful.  They  would  recreate  and  refresh 
and  instruct  you.  They  would  relieve  the  monotony  and  soften  the 
austerity  and  correct  all  the  influences  of  this  kind  of  public  service. 

But,  Mr.  President,  all  this  is  no  administration  of  the  fund;  all 
this  ought  to  cost  less  than  $5,000  a  year.  We  could  not  sustain  more 
than  one  lecture  in  a  week,  nor  that  for  more  than  three  months  of 
any  session.  Here  is  an  accumulated  interest  of  $200,000;  and  here 


286  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

is  an  annual  interest  of  $30,000,  of  which  thus  far  I  have  provided  for 
an  expenditure  of  some  five  thousand  only.  What  will  you  do  with 
the  rest? 

It  is  easy  to  waste  this  money;  it  is  easy  to  squander  it  in  jobs,  sal- 
aries, quackeries;  it  is  easy,  even  under  the  forms  of  utility,  to  dis- 
perse and  dissipate  it  in  little  rills  and  drops,  imperceptible  to  all 
human  sense,  carrying  it  off  by  an  insensible  and  ineffectual  evapora- 
tion. But,  sir,  I  take  it  that  we  all  earnestly  desire — I  am  sure  the 
Senator  from  Ohio  does  so — so  to  dispense  it  as  to  make  it  tell.  I  am 
sure  we  all  desire  to  see  it,  instead  of  being  carried  off  invisibly  and 
wastefully,  embody  itself  in  some  form,  some  exponent  of  civiliza- 
tion, permanent,  palpable,  conspicuous,  useful.  And  to  this  end,  it  has 
seemed  to  me,  upon  the  most  mature  reflection,  that  we  can  not  do  a 
safer,  surer,  more  unexceptionable  thing  with  the  income,  or  with  a 
portion  of  the  income — perhaps  $20,000  a  year  for  a  few  years — than 
to  expend  it  in  accumulating  a  grand  and  noble  public  library;  one 
which,  for  variety,  extent,  and  wealth,  shall  be,  and  be  confessed  to  be, 
equal  to  any  now  in  the  world. 

I  say  for  a  few  years.  Twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  twenty- 
five  years  are  $500,000;  and  $500,000  discreetly  expended,  not  by  a 
bibliomaniac,  but  by  a  man  of  sense  and  reading,  thoroughly  instructed 
in  bibliography,  would  go  far,  very  far,  toward  the  purchase  of 
nearly  as  good  a  library  as  Europe  can  boast.  I  mean  a  library  of 
printed  books,  as  distinct  from  manuscripts.  Of  course,  such  a  sum 
would  not  purchase  the  number  of  books  which  some  old  libraries  are 
reported  to  contain.  It  would  not  buy  the  700,000  of  the  Royal 
Library  at  Paris,  the  largest  in  the  world;  nor  the  500,000  or  600,000 
of  that  of  Munich,  the  largest  in  Germany;  nor  the  300,000,  -±00,000, 
or  500,000  of  those  of  Vienna  and  St.  Petersburg,  and  the  Vatican  at 
Rome,  and  Copenhagen,  and  the  Bodleian  at  Oxford.  But  mere  num- 
bers of  volumes  afford  a  very  imperfect  criterion  of  value.  Those  old 
libraries  have  been  so  long  in  collecting;  accident  and  donation,  which 
could  not  be  rejected,  have  contributed  so  much  to  them;  a  general  and 
indiscriminate  system  of  accumulation  gathers  up,  necessarily,  so  much 
trash;  there  are  so  many  duplicates  and  quadruplicates,  and  so  many 
books  and  editions  which  become  superseded,  that  mere  bulk  and  mere 
original  cost  must  not  terrify  us.  Ponderantur  non  num&rantur. 
Accordingly,  the  Library  of  the  University  at  Gottingen,  consisting 
of  perhaps  200,000  volumes,  but  well  chosen,  selected  for  the  most 
part  within  a  century,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  by  a  single  great 
scholar  (Heyne),  is  perhaps  to-day  as  valuable  a  collection  of  printed 
books  as  any  in  the  world.  Toward  the  accumulation  of  such  a  library, 
the  expenditure  of  two-thirds  of  this  income  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
would  make,  let  me  say,  a  magnificent  advance.  And,  such  a  step 
taken,  we  should  never  leave  the  work  unfinished;  yet,  when  it  should 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS.   1843-1845.  287 

be  finished,  and  your  library  should  rival  anything  which  civilization 
has  ever  had  to  show,  there  would  still  be  the  whole  principal  of  your 
fund  unexpended,  yielding  its  income  forever,  for  new  and  varying 
applications  for  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge  in  the  world. 

[Mr.  Choate  here  read  a  letter  of  Professor  Torrey,  of  Burlington, 
showing  at  what  reduced  prices  valuable  books  may  now  be  purchased.] 

I  hesitate,  from  an  apprehension  of  being  accused  of  entering  too 
far  into  a  kind  of  dissertation  unsuited  to  this  assembly  of  men  of  busi- 
ness, to  suggest  and  press  one-half  the  considerations  which  satisfy 
my  mind  of  the  propriet}7  of  this  mode  of  expenditure.  Nobody  can 
doubt.  I  think,  that  it  comes  within  the  terms  and  spirit  of  the  trust. 
That  directs  us  to  "  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  among  men."  And 
do  not  the  judgments  of  all  the  wise,  does  not  the  experience  of  all 
enlightened  States,  does  not  the  whole  history  of  civilization  concur 
to  declare  that  a  various  and  ample  library  is  one  of  the  surest,  most 
constant,  most  permanent,  and  most  economical  instrumentalities  to 
increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  ?  There  it  would  be — durable  as  lib- 
erty, durable  as  the  Union;  a  vast  storehouse,  a  vast  treasury,  of  all 
the  facts  which  make  up  the  history  of  man  and  of  nature,  so  far  as 
that  histoiy  has  been  written;  of  all  the  truths  which  the  inquiries 
and  experiences  of  all  the  races  and  ages  have  found  out;  of  all  the 
opinions  that  have  been  promulgated;  of  all  the  emotions,  images,  sen- 
timents, examples  of  all  the  richest  and  most  instructive  literatures: 
the  whole  past  speaking  to  the  present  and  the  future;  a  silent,  yet 
wise  and  eloquent  teacher;  dead,  yet  speaking — not  dead!  for  Milton 
has  told  us  that  a  "good  book  is  not  absolutely  a  dead  thing — the 
precious  life-blood  rather  of  a  master  spirit;  a  seasoned  life  of  man 
embalmed  and  treasured  up  on  purpose  to  a  life  be3^ond  life."  Is  that 
not  an  admirable  instrumentality  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge 
among  men  ?  It  would  place  within  the  reach  of  our  mind,  of  our 
thinkers,  and  investigators,  and  scholars,  all,  or  the  chief,  intellectual 
and  literary  materials,  and  food  and  instrument*,  now  within  the 
reach  of  the  cultivated  foreign  mind,  and  the  effect  would  be  to 
increase  the  amount  of  individual  acquisition  and  multiply  the  number 
of  the  learned.  It  would  raise  the  standard  of  our  scholarship, 
improve  our  style  of  investigation,  and  communicate  an  impulse  to  our 
educated  and  to  the  general  mind.  There  is  no  library  now  in  this 
country,  I  suppose,  containing  over  50,000  volumes.  Many  there  are 
containing  less.  But,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  all  have  the  same 
works;  so  that  I  do  not  know  that  of  all  the  printed  books  in  the 
world  we  have  in  this  country  more  than  50,000  different  works. 
The  consequence  has  been  felt  and  lamented  by  all  our  authors  and  all 
our  scholars.  It  has  been  often  said  that  Gibbon's  history  could  not 
have  been  written  here  for  want  of  books.  I  suppose  that  Hallam's 
Middle  AO-OS  and  his  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  Europe  could 


288  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

not.  Irving's  Columbus  was  written  in  Spain.  Wheaton's  Northmen 
was  prepared  to  be  written  in  Copenhagen.  See  how  this  inadequate 
supply  operates.  An  American  mind  kindles  with  a  subject;  it  enters 
on  an  investigation  with  a  spirit  and  with  an  ability  worthy  of  the 
most  splendid  achievement;  goes  a  little  way,  finds  that  a  dozen  books, 
one  book,  perhaps,  is  indispensable,  which  can  not  be  found  this  side 
of  Gottingcn  or  Oxford.  It  tires  of  the  pursuit,  or  abandons  it  alto- 
gether, or  substitutes  some  shallow  conjecture  for  a  deep  and  accurate 
research,  and  there  an  end.  Let  me  refer  to  a  passage  or  two  of  the 
complaints  of  studious  men  on  this  subject: 

An  extensive  library,  answering  to  the  wants  of  literary  men  who  are  to  use  it,  is 
essential  to  the  public  and  effectual  promotion  of  learning.  In  this  country  the 
want  of  large  libraries  is  a  serious  discouragement  of  superior  attainments  and  accu- 
rate researches  in  almost  every  walk  of  study.  The  time  necessary  for  reading  or 
examining  a  particular  book  is  often  consumed  in  attempts  to  discover  or  obtain  it, 
and  frequently  after  every  effort  it  can  not  be  procured.  We  are  obliged  to  give 
over  our  inquiries  on  subjects  where  we  would  arrive  at  fullness  and  exactness  in 
our  knowledge  because  destitute  of  the  assistance  which  the  learned,  in  the  same 
track  of  study,  have  furnished,  or  to  continue  them  under  the  disadvantage  of  igno- 
rance respecting  what  has  been  done  by  others.  Thus  we  are  liable  to  be  occupied 
in  solving  difficulties  which  have  been  already  cleared,  discussing  questions  which 
have  been  already  decided,  and  digging  in  mines  of  literature  which  former  ages 
have  exhausted.  Everyone  who  has  been  in  the  way  of  pursuing  any  branch  of 
study  in  our  country  beyond  the  mere  elements,  or  the  polite  and  popular  literature 
of  the  time,  knows  how  soon  the  progress  is  often  arrested  for  want  of  books.  This 
is  not  the  case  merely  with  persons  of  moderate  means  who  are  unable  to  purchase 
a  library  of  their  own,  but  it  is  a  want  felt  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances. 

It  is  also  of  great  importance  that  the  library  of  a  university  should  not  only  be 
good,  but  very  good,  ample,  munificent,  a  deposit  of  the  world's  knowledge.  It  is 
a  grievous  thing  to  be  stopped  short  in  the  midst  of  an  inquiry  for  perhaps  the  very 
book  that  throws  most  light  upon  it;  and  the  progress  of  learning  must  be  small 
indeed  among  us  so  long  as  the  student  must  send  across  the  Atlantic  at  every  turn 
for  the  necessary  aids  to  his  pursuits.  It  is  not  with  us  as  it  is  in  Europe,  where 
very  many  libraries  exist  and  where  what  is  not  contained  in  one  may  be  found  in 
another,  and  the  learned  are  able  to  aid  each  other's  labors  by  furnishing  mutually, 
as  desired,  extracts  and  references  to  such  books  as  may  exist  at  one  place  and  fail  at 
another.  To  say  nothing  of  our  two  best  libraries  being  remote  from  each  other  and 
from  many  parts  of  the  country,  they  are  themselves,  of  course,  inadequate.  In 
making  one  tolerably  complete  department  expressly  chosen  for  that  and  entirely 
devoted  to  it  we  might  easily  comprise  the  amount  of  books  in  our  largest  collection. 
When  it  is  added  that  the  libraries  mentioned  are  miscellaneous,  their  number  of 
books  small,  as  the  sum  total  is  scattered  over  all  the  parts  of  knowledge,  and  many 
introduced  by  separate  contributions  without  mutual  reference  to  each  other,  it  is 
obvious  that,  comparatively  speaking,  the  best  must  be  extremely  defective.  (North 
American  Review,  vol.  8,  p.  192. ) 

What  public  library  in  this  country  contains  the  materials  for  an  accurate  history 
of  any  one  department  of  science?  Take  even  the  most  limited,  or  rather  one  of  the 
most  recent  of  all,  the  science  of  political  economy.  Here  our  researches  are  con- 
fined to  one  definite  period.  We  have  no  dusty  archives  to  explore,  no  time-worn 
manuscripts  to  decipher.  The  origin  of  the  science  is  within  the  memory  of  our 
fathers,  and  we  ourselves  have  witnessed  its  sudden  growth  and  rapid  development. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  289 

Yet  how  much  is  to  be  done,  how  many  authorities  to  be  weighed,  how  many  dif- 
feient  treatises  to  be  analyzed  and  compared  before  we  can  venture  to  say,  Here  is 
the  history;  for  such  was  the  rise,  such  the  progress,  such  the  changes  of  opinions, 
such  the  received  and  such  the  rejected  theories  of  political  economy.  The  writers 
of  the  first  French  school,  of  the  Scotch  school  (and,  if  we  wish  for  Jhistory,  we 
must  go  beyond  the  publication  of  Adam  Smith's  great  work),  the  Italian,  the  new 
French,  and  the  new  English  schools,  all  have  not  merely  a  claim  upon  our  atten- 
tion, but  are  entitled  to  a  full  and  accurate  examination.  And  even  then  our  task 
would  be  incomplete,  for  literary  justice  would  require  us  to  trace,  through  the  works 
of  general  political  writers,  the  hints  and  remarks  which  have  contributed  to  the 
progress  of  the  branch  we  are  studying  by  the  discovery  of  truth  or  by  the  exposi- 
tion of  error.  If  such  be  the  obligation  of  the  student  whose  researches  are  con- 
fined to  a  subject  so  new,  what  must  be  the  necessities  of  the  historian  who  attempts 
to  throw  light  upon  those  periods  for  which  the  testimony  of  printed  authorities  is 
to  be  confronted  with  that  of  manuscripts  and  public  documents  and  where  igno- 
rance and  prejudice  have  combined  with  the  more  powerful  incentives  of  interest  to 
perplex  his  path  by  contradictory  statements  and  conflicting  opinions? 

Books  are  needed,  not  confined  to  any  single  branch,  but  embracing  the  whole 
range  of  science  and  of  literature,  which  shall  supply  the  means  of  every  species  of 
research  and  inquiry,  and  which,  placed  within  reach  of  all,  shall  leave  idleness  no 
excuse  for  the  lightness  of  its  labors,  and  poverty  no  obstacles  which  industry  may 
not  surmount. 

Whoever  reflects,  though  but  for  a  moment,  upon  the  numerous  branches  into 
which  modern  literature  runs,  and  remembers  that  the  literary  glory  of  a  nation  can 
only  be  secured  by  a  certain  degree  of  success  in  each  of  them — whoever  considers 
the  immense  mass  of  varied  materials,  without  which  no  historical  work  of  impor- 
tance can  be  composed,  or  the  extensive  learning  which  is  required  of  even  the  most 
gifted  genius  of  an  age  like  ours,  and  adds  to  these  considerations  the  general  and 
undeniable  fact  that  of  those  who  would  gladly  devote  themselves  to  literature,  but 
a  few  can  ever  hope  to  obtain  by  their  own  resources  the  command  of  the  works 
that  are  essential  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  their  studies,  will  be  ready  to 
acknowledge  that  we  have,  as  yet,  done  but  a  small  part  of  what  may  be  justly 
claimed  from  a  nation  which  aspires  to  the  first  rank  for  the  liberality,  and  polite- 
ness, and  high  moral  tone  of  its  civilization.  Late,  however,  as  we  are  to  begin, 
scarce  anything  in  this  department  has  been  accomplished  in  Europe  which  might 
not  be  done  with  equal  success  in  America.  And  so  numerous  and  manifest  are  our 
advantages  in  some  important  particulars,  that  a  prompt  will  and  sound  judgment  in 
the  execution  of  it  might,  in  the  course  of  a  very  few  years,  render  the  American 
student  nearly  independent  of  those  vast  collections  which,  in  Europe,  have  required 
centuries  for  their  formation.  The  undertaking,  however,  in  order  to  be  successful, 
should  be  a  national  one.  Without  arguing  that  no  State  is  fully  equal  to  it,  or  that 
in  the  bounds  of  any  single  State  it  would  not  answer  the  same  purpose,  we  may  be 
permitted  to  say  that  the  enlargement  of  the  Library  of  Congress  upon  those  broad 
principles,  the  application  of  which  to  the  collection  of  books  has  become  a  difficult 
and  important  art,  would  reflect  an  honor  upon  the  country  equal  to  the  permanent 
advantages  which  it  would  secure  to  every  member  of  the  community.  (North 
American  Review,  vol.  45,  p.  137.) 

Yet  these  writers  had  access  to  the  best  library  in  this  country. 

Now  there  are  very  many  among  us,  and  every  day  we  shall  have 

more,  who  would  feelingly  adopt  this  language.     Place  within  their 

reach  the  helps  that  guide  the  genius  and  labors  of  Germany  and 

England,  and  let  the  genius  and  labors  of  Germany  and  England  look 

H.  Doc.  732 19 


290  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

to  themselves.  Our  learned  men  would  grow  more  learned  and  more 
able;  our  studies  deeper  and  wider;  our  mind  itself  exercised  and 
sharpened;  the  whole  culture  of  the  community  raised  and  enriched. 
This  is,  indeed,  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  among  men. 

If  the  terms  of  the  trust  then  authorize  this  expenditure,  why  not 
make  it?  Not  among  the  principal,  nor  yet  the  least  of  reasons  for 
doing  so  is  that  all  the  while  that  you  are  laying  out  your  money,  and 
when  you  have  laid  it  out,  you  have  the  money's  worth,  the  value 
received,  the  property  purchased,  on  hand  to  show  for  itself  and  to 
speak  for  itself.  Suppose  the  professors  provided  for  in  the  bill 
should  gather  a  little  circle  of  pupils,  each  of  whom  should  carry  off 
with  him  some  small  quotient  of  navigation,  or  horticulture,  or  rural 
economy,  and  the  fund  should  thus  glide  away  and  evaporate  in  such 
insensible,  inappreciable  appropriations,  how  little  there  would  be  to 
testify  of  it.  Whereas,  here  all  the  while  are  the  books;  here  is  the 
value;  here  is  the  visible  property;  here  is  the  oil,  and  here  is  the 
light.  There  is  something  to  point  to  if  you  should  be  asked  to 
account  for  it  unexpectedly,  and  something  to  point  to  if  a  traveler 
should  taunt  you  with  the  collections  which  he  has  seen  abroad  and 
which  gild  and  recommend  the  absolutisms  of  Vienna  or  St.  Petersburg. 

Another  reason,  not  of  the  strongest  to  be  sure,  for  this  mode  of 
expenditure  is  that  it  creates  so  few  jobs  and  sinecures;  so  little  sal- 
aried laziness.  There  is  no  room  for  abuses  in  it.  All  that  you  need 
is  a  plain,  spacious,  fireproof  building;  a  librarian  and  assistants;  an 
agent  to  buy  your  books,  and  a  fire  to  sit  by.  For  all  the  rest  he  who 
wants  to  read  goes  and  ministers  to  himself.  It  is  an  application  of 
money  that  almost  excludes  the  chances  of  abuses  altogether. 

But  the  decisive  argument  is,  after  all,  that  it  is  an  application  the 
most  exactly  adapted  to  the  actual  literary  and  scientific  wants  of  the 
States  and  the  country.  I  have  said  that  another  college  is  not  needed 
here,  because  there  are  enough  now;  and  another  might  do  harm  as 
much  as  good.  But  that  which  is  wanted  for  every  college,  for  the 
whole  country,  for  every  studious  person,  is  a  well-chosen  library 
somewhere  among  us  of  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  books. 
Where  is  such  a  one  to  be  collected?  How  is  it  to  be  done?  Who  is 
to  do  it?  Of  the  hundred  and  fifty  colleges  more  or  less  distributed 
over  the  country  one  has  a  library  of  perhaps  50,000  volumes;  others 
have  good  ones  though  less;  others  smaller,  and  smaller,  down  to 
scarcely  anything.  With  one  voice  they  unite,  teacher  and  pupil, 
with  every  scholar  and  thinker  in  proclaiming  the  want  of  more. 
But  where  are  they  to  come  from  ?  No  State  is  likely  to  lay  a  tax  to 
create  a  college  library  or  a  city  library.  No  deathbed  gift  of  the 
rich  can  be  expected  to  do  it.  How  then  is  this  one  grand  want  of 
learning  to  be  relieved?  It  can  be  done  by  you,  and  by  you  only. 
By  a  providential  occurrence  it  is  not  only  placed  within  your  consti- 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  291 

tutional  power,  but  it  has  become  your  duty;  you  have  pledged  your 
faith;  you  have  engaged  to  the  dead  and  living  that  without  the  charge 
of  one  dollar  on  the  people,  you,  you  will  meet  the  universal  and 
urgent  demand  by  the  precise  and  adequate  supply.  By  such  a  library 
as  you  can  collect  here  something  will  be  done,  much  will  be  done  to 
help  every  college,  every  school,  every  studious  man,  every  writer 
and  thinker  in  the  country  to  just  what  is  wanted  most.  Inquirers 
after  truth  may  come  here  and  search  for  it.  It  will  do  no  harm  at 
all  to  pass  a  few  studious  weeks  among  these  scenes.  Having  pushed 
their  investigations  as  far  as  they  may  at  home  and  ascertained  just 
what  and  how  much  more  of  helps  they  require,  let  them  come  hither 
and  find  it.  Let  them  replenish  themselves  and  then  go  back,  and 
make  distribution  among  their  pupils;  aye,  through  the  thousand 
channels  and  by  the  thousand  voices  of  the  press,  let  them  make 
distribution  among  the  people.  Let  it  be  so  that — 

Hither  as  to  their  fountains  other  stars 
Repairing,  in  their  golden  urns,  draw  light. 

I  have  no  objection  at  all — I  should  rejoice,  rather — to  see  the  literary 
representatives  of  an  instructed  people  come  hither,  not  merely  for 
the  larger  legislation  and  jurisprudence,  but  for  the  rarer  and  higher 
knowledge.  I  am  quite  willing  not  only  that  our  "Amphyctionic 
Council"  should  sit  here  but  that  it  should  find  itself  among  such 
scenes  and  influences  as  surrounded  that  old  renowned  assembly;  the 
fountain  of  purer  waters  than  those  of  Castalia;  the  temple  and  the 
oracle  of  our  Apollo!  It  will  do  good  to  have  your  educated  men  come 
to  Washington  for  what  has  heretofore  cost  voyages  to  Germany. 
They  will  be  of  all  the  parts  of  the  country.  They  will  become 
acquainted  with  each  other.  They  will  contract  friendships  and 
mutual  regards.  They  will  go  away  not  only  better  scholars  but 
better  Unionists.  Some  one  has  said  that  a  great  library  molds  all 
minds  into  one  republic.  It  might,  in  a  sense  of  which  he  little 
dreamed,  help  to  keep  ours  together. 

I  have  intimated,  Mr.  President,  a  doubt  whether  a  college  or  uni- 
versity of  any  description,  even  the  highest,  should  be  at  present 
established  here.  But  let  it  be  considered  by  the  enlightened  friends 
of  that  object,  if  such  there  are,  that  even  if  your  single  purpose  were 
to  create  such  a  university,  you  could  possibly  begin  in  no  way  so 
judiciously  as  by  collecting  a  great  library.  Useful  in  the  other 
modes  which  I  have  indicated,  to  a  university  it  is  everything.  It  is 
as  needful  as  the  soul  to  the  body.  While  you  are  doubting,  then, 
what  to  do,  what  you  will  have,  you  can  do  nothing  so  properly  as  to 
begin  to  be  accumulating  the  books  which  you  will  require  on  what- 
ever permanent  plan  of  application  you  at  last  determine. 
,.  I  do  not  expect  to  hear  it  said  in  this  assembly  that  this  expenditure 


292  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

for  a  library  will  benefit  a  few  only,  not  the  mass;  that  it  is  exclusive 
and  of  the  nature  of  monopoly.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  this  fund 
is  a  gift;  that  we  take  it  just  as  it  is  given,  and  that  by  its  terms  it 
must  be  disbursed  here.  Any  possible  administration  of  it,  therefore, 
is  exposed  to  the  cavil  that  all  can  not  directly  and  literally  and 
equally  partake  of  it.  How  many  and  of  what  classes  of  youth,  from 
Louisiana  or  Illinois  or  New  England,  for  example,  can  attend  the 
lectures  of  your  professor  of  astronomy  ?  But  I  say  it  is  a  positive 
and  important  argument  for  the  mode  of  application  which  I  urge, 
that  it  is  so  diffusive.  Think  of  the  large  absolute  numbers  of  those 
who,  in  the  succession  of  years,  will  come  and  partake  directly  of  these 
stores  of  truth  and  knowledge!  Think  of  the  numbers  without  num- 
ber who  through  them,  who  by  them  indirectly,  will  partake  of  the 
same  stores!  Studious  men  will  come  to  learn  to  speak  and  write  to 
and  for  the  growing  millions  of  a  generally  educated  community. 
They  will  learn  that  they  may  communicate.  They  can  not  hoard  if 
they  would,  and  they  would  not  if  they  could.  They  take  in  trust  to 
distribute,  and  every  motive  of  ambition,  of  interest,  of  duty,  will 
compel  them  to  distribute.  They  buy  in  gross  to  sell  by  retail. 
The  lights  which  they  kindle  here  will  not  be  set  under  a  bushel,  but 
will  burn  on  a  thousand  hills.  No,  sir;  a  rich  and  public  library  is  no 
antirepublican  monopoly.  Who  was  the  old  Egyptian  king  that 
inscribed  on  his  library  the  words,  "The  dispensary  of  the  soul?" 
You  might  quite  as  well  inscribe  on  it,  "Armory,  and  light,  and  foun- 
tain of  liberty ! " 

It  may  possibly  be  inquired  what  account  I  make  of  the  Library  of 
Congress.  I  answer  that  I  think  it  already  quite  good,  and  improv- 
ing; but  that  its  existence  constitutes  no  sort  of  argument  against  the 
formation  of  such  a  one  as  I  recommend.  In  the  theory  of  it  that 
library  is  collected  merely  to  furnish  Congress  and  the  Government 
with  the  means  of  doing  their  official  business.  In  its  theory  it  must 
be,  in  some  sort,  a  professional  library;  and  the  expenditure  we  now 
make — $5,000  in  a  year,  or,  as  last  year,  $2,500 — can  never  carry  it  up 
to  the  rank  and  enable  it  to  fulfill  the  functions  of  a  truly  great 
and  general  public  library  of  science,  literature,  and  art.  The  value  of 
books  which  could  be  added  under  the  appropriations  of  the  last  year 
can  not  greatly  exceed  $2,200.  Doubtless,  however,  in  the  course  of 
forming  the  two  it  would  be  expedient  and  inevitable  to  procure  to  a 
great  extent  different  books  for  each. 

I  do  not  think,  Mr.  President,  that  I  am  more  inclined  than  another 
to  covet  enviously  anything  which  the  older  civilization  of  Europe 
possesses  which  we  do  not.  I  do  not  suppose  that  I  desire  any  more 
than  you,  or  than  any  of  you,  to  introduce  here  those  vast  inequali- 
ties of  fortune,  that  elaborate  luxury,  that  fantastic  and  extreme 
refinement.  But  I  acknowledge  a  pang  of  envy  and  grief  that  there 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  293 

should  be  one  drop  or  one  morsel  more  of  the  bread  or  water  of  intel- 
lectual life  tasted  by  the  European  than  by  the  American  mind.  Why 
should  not  the  soul  of  this  country  eat  as  good  food  and  as  much  of 
it  as  the  soul  of  Europe?  Why  should  a  German  or  an  Englishman 
sit  down  to  a  repast  of  500,000  books,  and  an  American  scholar,  who 
loves  truth  as  well  as  he,  be  put  on  something  less  than  half  allowance? 
Can  we  not  trust  ourselves  with  so  much  of  so  good  a  thing?  Will 
our  digestion  be  impaired  by  it?  Are  we  afraid  that  the  stimulated 
and  fervid  faculties  of  this  young  nation  will  be  oppressed  and  over- 
laid ?  Because  we  have  liberty  which  other  nations  have  not,  shall  we 
reject  the  knowledge  which  they  have  and  which  we  have  not?  Or 
will  you  not  rather  say  that  because  we  are  free,  therefore  will  we 
add  to  our  freedom  that  deep  learning  and  that  diffused  culture  which 
are  its  grace  and  its  defense? 

He  concluded  by  moving  the  following  amendment: 

Strike  out  the  eighth  section  and  insert: 

SEC.  8.  And  whereas  an  ample  and  well-selected  public  library  constitutes  one  of 
the  permanent,  constant,  and  effectual  means  of  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge 
among  men:  Therefore, 

Be  It  further  enacted,  That  a  sum  not  less  than  $20,OuO  be  annually  expended,  of 
the  interest  of  the  fund  aforesaid,  in  the  purchase  of  books  and  manuscripts  for  the 
formation  of  a  library  of  the  institution  aforesaid,  which,  for  its  extent,  variety,  and 
value,  shall  be  worthy  of  the  donor  of  the  said  fund,  and  of  this  nation,  and  of  the  age. 

Mr.  BENJ.  TAPPAN  next  addressed  the  Senate,  but  in  so  low  a  tone 
of  voice  that  only  detached  sentences  of  his  remarks  could  be  heard 
in  the  gallery.  He  was  understood  to  argue  that  there  was  no  neces- 
sity for  striking  out  the  eighth  section,  or  materially  altering  the  bill, 
as  it  was  not  incompatible  with  its  provisions  to  ingraft  upon  it  a 
modification  of  the  proposition  submitted  by  the  Senator  from  Massa- 
chusetts. If  a  library  on  a  liberal  scale,  such  as  the  Senator  desired, 
was  deemed  proper,  it  would  be  only  necessary  to  add  a  section  to 
that  effect  to  the  bill,  striking  out  so  much  of  the  first  section  as  relates 
to  the  same  subject.  But  he  did  not  concur  with  the  Senator  from 
Massachusetts  that  a  vast  and  costly  miscellaneous  library  would  meet 
the  objects  contemplated  \)j  the  donor  with  this  munificent  fund.  In 
addition  to  the  general  terms  of  his  expressed  will,  that  this  fund 
should  be  applied  to  the  "increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,"  it  was  proper  to  inquire  into  the  manner  in  which  he  himself 
conceived  this  was  best  to  be  accomplished;  and  in  this  inquiry  what- 
ever instruction  could  be  gleaned  from  his  own  habits  and  pursuits 
should  not  be  disregarded,  in  the  absence  of  other  lights.  Mr.  Smith- 
son  was  an  eminent  practical  philosopher,  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  practical  sciences — such  as  chemistry,  mineralogy,  geology,  and 
natural  history — to  the  minute  study  of  which  he  mainly  devoted  his 
life.  His  favorite  resort  was  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  at  Paris,  an  insti- 


294  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

tution  in  which  he  found  congregated  all  the  elements  furnished  by 
art,  nature,  and  science,  for  pursuits  congenial  to  his  own  mind. 
There  could  be  little  doubt  that  in  making  this  bequest  to  the  United 
States  he  had  in  view  the  establishment  of  some  such  institution  as 
the  Jardin  des  Plantes  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  On  this  reason- 
able supposition  the  present  bill  was  framed;  and  to  show  that  it  con- 
formed closely  to  that  design  he  requested  a  description  of  that  insti- 
tution, which  he  sent  to  the  table,  would  be  read. 

The  description  was  accordingly  read,  but  being  imperfectly  heard 
the  substance  only  is  here  given: 

Jardin  Royal  des  Plantes  ou  Jardin  du  Hoi. — This  institution  owes  its  origin  to  Guy 
de  la  Brosse,  physician  to  Louis  XIII.  Richelieu,  Sequier,  and  Bullion,  intendante 
of  finance,  enabled  him  to  found  a  botanic  garden,  and  to  lay  down  the  plan,  which 
his  successors  carried  to  perfection.  This  germ  grew  to  maturity  during  the  reigns 
of  Louis  XIV  and  XV,  and  the  other  departments  owed  their  excellence  of  arrange- 
ment to  the  celebrated  Buffon  during  his  superintendence.  His  studies  embraced 
all  nature,  and  he  collected  his  materials  from  every  portion  of  the  globe.  Since 
his  time,  Dauberton  completed  the  whole  plan,  and  raised  the  establishment  to  the 
highest  degree  of  perfection. 

Distinguished  professors  exercise  their  talents  in  gratuitous  lectures  on  mineralogy, 
geology,  general  chemistry,  botany,  agriculture,  natural  history,  the  anatomy  of  man 
and  animals,  and  iconography. 

The  building  contains  a  copious  library  of  works  of  natural  history,  fine  collec- 
tions of  preserved  animal  specimens,  vegetables,  minerals,  complete  herbaries,  draw- 
ings of  extraordinary  merit,  and  a  garden  judiciously  and  tastefully  laid  out,  in  which 
is  combined  the  cultivation  of  indigenous  productions  with  that  of  exotic  plants. 
The  productions  of  every  region  of  the  globe  are  preserved  in  extensive  hothouses. 
There  is  a  menagerie,  a  superb  botanical  garden,  a  splendid  amphitheater  for  lectures, 
and  spacious  cabinet  of  curiosities.  Everything  is  open  to  the  public  gratuitously. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  in  continuation  expatiated  at  considerable  length  upon 
the  merits  of  the  bill,  and  in  proof  that  its  provisions  were  calculated 
to  meet  the  wishes  and  intentions  of  the  donor  of  the  munificent  fund 
now  the  object  of  consideration.  He  doubted  the  utility  of  such  an 
extensive  and  costly  library  as  had  been  suggested  by  the  Senator  from 
Massachusetts;  he  doubted  the  possibility  of  laying  out  usefully  and 
advantageously  $20,000  a  year — or  even  more  than  $4,000  or  $5,000 
a  year — in  the  purchase  of  books.  It  would  be  impossible  to  make 
such  a  vast  collection  of  books  as  $500,000  would  purchase  without 
including  cart  loads,  nay  ship  loads,  of  trash,  not  worth  in  reality 
the  cost  of  transport.  There  was  the  library  of  Congress,  to  the 
increase  of  which  $5,000  was  annually  appropriated,  and  it  was  well 
known  that  this  sum  enabled  the  committee  to  procure  everything  com- 
ing out  in  print  worth  procuring.  Yet  in  this  library,  small  in  com- 
parison to  any  of  those  foreign  libraries  alluded  to  by  the  Senator,  he 
protested  there  was  more  than  half  the  books  that  he  would  not  take 
a  gift  of  for  the  cost  of  transportation  to  Ohio.  In  conclusion  he  saw 
no  necessity  for  striking  out  the  eighth  section  of  the  bill.  If  the 
Senate  approved  of  a  more  liberal  provision  for  the  library  an  addi- 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  295 

tional  section  could  be  put  after  the  eighth  section,  and  the  necess  ary 
alteration  could  be  made  in  the  first  section. 

Mr.  LEVI  WOODBUKY  did  not  rise  for  any  purpose  of  opposition, 
but  to  suggest  a  course  that  would  probably  result  in  harmonizing  the 
propositions  of  the  Senators  from  Ohio  and  Massachusetts.  He  thought 
if  the  bill  was  recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library  it  would 
receive  more  attention  than  it  was  possible  to  bestow  upon  it  when 
there  before,  in  consequence  of  the  absence  of  some  of  its  members; 
and  he  had  no  doubt  of  the  propriety  of  providing  for  the  establishment 
of  a  complete  library. on  a  liberal  scale — he  would  not  say  to  the  extent 
of  purchases  amounting  annually  to  twenty  thousand,  fifteen  thousand, 
or  ten  thousand  dollars,  but  to  an  extent  commensurate  with  the  wants 
of  science  and  the  arts  in  this  country  at  present,  to  be  hereafter 
enlarged  as  might  be  found  necessary.  He  should  be  sorry  to  see  the 
eighth  section  of  the  bill  stricken  out,  for  he  thought  there  were 
important  provisions  in  it  which  ought  to  be  retained.  The  professors 
and  everything  going  to  the  principle  of  having  a  college  or  school 
connected  with  the  institution,  should  be  dispensed  with,  but  the  plan 
of  employing  eminent  lecturers  should  be  retained.  These  lecturers 
could  very  well  perform  all  the  experiments  required  by  the  bill  of 
professors.  If  lecturers  of  great  attainments,  even  from  Europe,  were 
deemed  necessary,  they  could  be  procured  and  paid  liberally.  The 
donor  of  this  fund  was  too  well  informed  not  to  know  that  in.  this 
county  the  most  ample  provisions  in  school  lands  had  been  made  for 
elementary  education,  and  that  this  fund  was  at  least  equal  to  a  stock 
yielding  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  annually  for  purposes  of  educa- 
tion. His  intention  doubtless  was  to  devote  his  bequest  to  that 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men  which  was  not  to  be 
attained  at  existing  institutions  of  learning  in  this  country;  and  it  was 
obvious  this  intention  could  be  best  accomplished  by  a  harmonious 
blending  of  the  propositions  of  the  two  Senators,  properly  modified. 
There  was,  however,  one  part  of  the  plan  he  strongly  objected  to  as 
unnecessary;  it  was  that  relating  to  the  establishment  of  a  salaried 
board  of  managers.  The  whole  thing  of  balloting  in  Congress  for  this 
board  of  managers  was  objectionable  and  would  lead  to  loss  of  time 
and  other  inconveniences;  besides,  the  persons  so  chosen  might  be  the 
most  unfit.  There  was  no  occasion  whatever  for  that  description  of 
management.  A  National  Institute  was  already  in  existence  in  the 
capital  of  the  Government,  created  by  Congress,  and  the  objects  of 
which  were  peculiarly  appropriate  to  those  of  the  trust  now  under 
consideration.  The  officers  of  this  institute  are  the  ex  officio  officers  of 
the  Government  itself,  the  scientific  residents  of  the  city,  and  the  most 
eminent  professors  of  many  of  the  learned  institutions  of  the  country. 
These  are  all  gentlemen  of  high  attainments  and  character,  to  whom 
the  pursuit  of  knowledge  and  its  diffusion  are  labors  of  love,  for  which 


296  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

they  seek  no  pecuniary  reward.  To  that  institute  this  trust  should  be 
confided.  He  hoped,  therefore,  that  in  remodeling  the  bill  the  com- 
mittee would  allow  this  matter  its  due  weight  and  consideration. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  saw  no  necessity  for  recommitting  the  bill  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Library  or  any  other  committee.  The  Senate  could, 
without  striking  out  the  eighth  section,  amend  it  and  incorporate  such 
modification  as  might  approve  of  the  proposition  made  by  the  Senator 
from  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  suggested  the  propriety  of  postponing  the  further 
consideration  of  the  bill  till  the  following  day,  by  which  time  gentle- 
men might  make  up  their  minds  as  to  the  necessity  of  remodeling  the 
bill. 

January  9,  1845 — Senate. 

The  unfinished  business  from  January  8  was  the  bill  providing  for 
the  establishment  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  consideration  of 
which  was  accordingly  resumed,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

Mr.  B.  TAPPAN  inquired  what  was  the  pending  motion. 

The  CHAIR  said  it  was  to  recommit  the  bill. 

Mr.  LEVI  WOODBURY  said  that,  in  compliance  with  the  desire  of  the 
Senators  who  took  part  in  the  discussion  of  yesterday,  he  would  for 
the  present  withdraw  his  motion  to  recommit. 

Mr.  R.  CHOATE  also  withdrew  his  motion  of  amendment,  pending 
at  the  time  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  moved  to  recommit 
the  bill. 

Mr.  CHOATE  then  moved  to  strike  out  the  proviso  in  the  first  section 
of  the  bill,  which  runs  thus: 

Provided,  That  the  books  to  be  purchased  for  said  Institution  shall  consist  of  worki 
on  science  and  the  arts,  especially  such  as  relate  to  the  ordinary  business  of  life,  and 
to  the  various  mechanical  and  other  improvements  and  discoveries  which  may  be 
made. 

His  object  was  to  avoid  a  premature  decision  on  the  point  at  issue 
as  to  the  plan  of  a  general  library,  or  a  special  one  limited  to  works 
on  physical  science.  By  striking  out  the  proviso  the  Senate  would 
not  commit  itself,  the  question  as  to  the  nature  of  the  library  being 
reserved  for  amendment  to  another  section  of  the  bill. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  considered  the  motion  to  strike  out  the  proviso  must 
produce  a  test  vote  on  the  very  point,  and  if  that  test  was  desired  it 
might  as  well  be  taken  on  it  as  on  any  other  amendment. 

He  argued  that  a  library  limited  to  the  works  on  sciences  and  the 
arts,  specified  in  the  proviso,  would  be  the  only  suitable  and  appro- 
priate library  for  the  Institution.  There  was  no  necessity  for  another 
general  library  in  the  city  of  Washington,  where  the  Government  had 
already  the  Library  of  Congress,  the  libraries  of  the  State,  War,  Navy, 
and  other  public  departments,  annually  augmented  by  means  of  large 
appropriations. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  297 

Mr.  WOODBURY,  before  the  question  of  striking  out  the  proviso 
was  taken,  wished  to  offer  an  amendment  which  might  render  it  more 
acceptable.  He  moved  the  substitute  for  the  words  "consist  of"  the 
words  "among  others,  include;"  which  would  take  away  the  impera- 
tive injunction  to  purchase  none  but  books  on  science  and  the  ails. 

Mr.  J.  J.  CRITTENDEN  was  about  to  suggest  some  such  modification. 
He  thought  the  proviso  might  be  modified  so  as  to  read,  "That  in  the 
purchase  of  books  it  shall  be  a  principal  object  to  obtain  works," 
etc.,  following  on  with  the  words  of  the  original. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  said  the  Senator's  object  would  be  attained  by  substi- 
tuting for  the  words  "consist  of"  the  words  "principally  be." 

Mr.  CRITTENDEN  said  that  would  not  exactly  convey  his  idea. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  preferred  striking  out  the  proviso  altogether. 
If  he  understood  the  object  aimed  at  by  the  Senator  from  Massachu- 
setts, it  was  to  make  the  interest  of  this  munificent  bequest  accomplish 
the  injunction  of  the  donor,  by  such  an  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men  as  a  complete  national  library,  worthy  of  him  and 
this  country,  would  undoubtedly  insure.  The  Library  of  Congress, 
though  no  larger  than  the  private  collections  of  many  private  gentle- 
men in  Europe,  had  been  thirty  years  collecting,  and  now  numbered 
only  40,000  volumes.  The  library  of  the  British  Museum  consists  of 
200,000  volumes;  yet,  by  a  recent  report,  it  appears  that  £100,000 
is  required  to  render  it  complete.  The  libraries  of  the  Government, 
alluded  to  by  the  Senator  from  Ohio,  are  indispensable  to  the  depart- 
ments, as  is  that  of  Congress  to  the  Capitol;  they  can  not,  with  due 
regard  to  the  interests  of  national  legislation,  be  transferred  for  pub- 
lic use  as  a  national  library.  By  carrying  out  the  suggestion  of  the 
Senator  from  Massachusetts  a  great  national  library,  worthy  of  the 
country  and  the  donor  of  this  fund,  may  be  established. 

The  question  was  taken  on  Mr.  Woodbury's  amendment,  and  it  was 
rejected. 

Mr.  CRITTENDEN  now  moved  his  amendment  (before  stated). 

Mr.  CHOATE  thought  it  equally  objectionable;  its  tendency  would  be 
to  prompt  the  managers  to  the  selection  alone  of  the  description  of 
works  in  some  measure  prescribed.  He  would  infinitely  prefer  the 
postponement  of  this  question  of  limitation  till  an  amendment  to  the 
eighth  section,  which  he  had  in  view,  should  come  up.  He  hoped 
the  simple  motion  to  strike  out  the  proviso  would  prevail. 

Mr.  CRITTENDEN  withdrew  his  motion. 

After  a  few  remarks  from  Mr.  Tappan  in  favor  of  retaining  the 
proviso, 

The  question  was  taken  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Choate  and  the  proviso 
was  stricken  out. 

Mr.  CHOATE  now  moved  to  insert  in  the  fifth  section,  which  enumer- 


298  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

ates  the  duties  of  the  superintendent,  .so  much  of  the  succeeding  sec- 
tions as  the  following  words  contain: 

And  he  (the  superintendent)  shall  make  experiments  to  determine  the  utility  and 
advantage  of  new  modes  and  instruments  of  culture;  to  determine  whether  new  fruits, 
plants,  and  vegetables  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage  in  the  United  States;  and  all 
such  fruits,  plants,  seeds,  and  vegetables  as  shall  l>e  found  useful  and  adapted  to  any 
of  our  soils  and  climate  shall  be  distributed  among  the  people  of  the  Union. 

This  would  meet  the  wishes  of  the  Senator  from  Ohio  so  far  as 
regarded  the  professor  of  agriculture  and  horticulture.  It  was  his 
design  to  move  afterwards  to  strike  out  the  seventh  section,  which 
provides  for  a  corps  of  professors,  and  to  offer  a  substitute. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  thought  there  were  other  professors  equally  indispen- 
sable— such  as  one  on  chemistry  and  one  on  astronomy.  If  a  professor 
of  astronomy  were  attached  to  the  Institution,  the  observatory  could 
be  confided  to  its  care,  and  the  very  valuable  instruments  it  contains 
would  afford  facilities  for  the  study  of  that  branch  of  science  at  the 
capital  not  to  be  obtained  elsewhere  in  the  Union.  Chemistry  was 
also  intimately  connected  with  the  objects  of  the  Institution. 

Mr.  CHOATE  said  discussion  on  these  points  would  come  up  on  a 
future  motion  he  should  make. 

The  question  was  then  taken  and  the  amendment  adopted. 

Mr.  CHOATE  now  moved  to  strike  out  the  seventh  section  and  to 
insert  in  lieu  of  it  the  following: 

SEC.  7.  Strike  out  all  after  the  enacting  clause  and  insert:  "That  the  board  of  man- 
agers shall  employ  competent  persons  to  deliver  lectures,  or  courses  of  lectures,  in 
the  Institution  upon  literature,  science,  and  art,  and  the  application  of  science  and 
art,  during  the  sessions  of  Congress;  to  make  regulations  respecting  attendance 
thereon;  to  fix  the  rates  of  compensation  therefor;  and  to  prescribe  from  time  to 
time  the  subjects  of  such  lectures,  having  regard  to  the  character  of  the  audience 
before  whom  they  are  delivered  and  the  intent  of  the  donor — that  is  to  say,  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 

The  amendment  was  adopted. 

Mr.  CHOATE  next  moved  to  strike  out  the  eighth  section  and  to 
substitute  the  following: 

SEC.  8.  And  whereas  an  ample  and  well-selected  public  library  constitutes  one  of 
the  most  permanent,  constant,  and  effectual  means  of  increasing  and  diffusing 
knowledge  among  men:  Therefore, 

Be  it  further  enacted,  That  an  annual  expenditure  be  made  from  the  interest  of  the 
fund  aforesaid,  under  the  direction  of  the  said  managers,  on  the  purchase  of  books  and 
manuscripts  for  the  formation  of  a  library  of  the  institution  aforesaid,  which,  for  its 
extent,  variety,  and  value  shall  be  worthy  of  the  donor  of  the  said  fund  and  of  this 
nation  and  of  the  age. 

Mr.  CRITTENDEN  moved  to  add  to  it  a  proviso  that  in  the  purchase 
of  books  for  said  institution  it  should  be  regarded  as  a  principal 
object  to  purchase  works  on  science  and  the  arts,  especially  such  as 
relate  to  the  ordinary  business  of  life  and  to  the  various  mechanical 
and  other  improvements  and  discoveries  which  may  be  made. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1843-1845.  299 

Mr.  CHOATE  argued  that  this  limitation  was  not  only  unnecessary, 
but  would  most  certainly  prove  injurious.  It  was  unnecessary  because 
no  national  library  such  as  he  contemplated  and  such  as  he  hoped  the 
Senate  would  authorize  could  be  made  complete  without  every  one  of 
the  works  on  science  and  the  arts  which  the  Senators  for  Ohio  and 
Kentucky  could  possibly  desire.  The  proviso  would  operate  injuri- 
ously by  raising  a  constitutional  question  of  disputation  among  the 
managers  as  to  the  quantity  of  money  to  be  applied  to  this  special 
description  of  books  and  to  general  literature.  If  it  was  stated  that 
out  of  a  given  sum  two-thirds  should  be  devoted  to  these  books  and 
one-third  to  other  books,  they  could  easily  agree,  but  indefinitely 
directing  a  preference  would  be  to  limit  exceedingly  in  effect  the  por- 
tion to  be  devoted  to  works  of  general  literature. 

This  point  was  debated  at  great  length  by  Mr.  Crittenden,  Mr.  Choate, 
and  Mr.  Woodbury,  Mr.  Choate  being  opposed  to  any  proviso  and  Mr. 
Crittenden  and  Mr.  Woodbury  in  favor  of  one  sufficiently  explanatory 
to  show  a  preference  for  the  works  indicated  without  putting  an  undue 
restriction  on  the  purchase  of  all  other  books  suitable  to  a  general 
library. 

Mr.  W.  C.  RIVES  said  he  should  feel  very  great  repugnance  to  any 
provision  in  this  bill  which  should  assume  to  recognize  any  important 
distinction  between  the  different  branches  of  human  knowledge.  The 
general  object  of  this  bequest — of  which  we  are  constituted  the  trus- 
tee— is  described  to  be  the  "increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men."  Now,  if  we  were  to  have  a  library  at  all  to  carry  out  this  great 
object,  it  really  seemed  to  him  that  that  library  ought  to  be  coexten- 
sive with  the  limits  of  human  knowledge.  Some  of  his  honorable 
friends  on  both  sides  of  the  House  had  dropped  observations  in  the 
course  of  this  debate — and  he  had  heard  them  with  surprise — which 
would  seem  to  imply  that  moral  science  is  not  knowledge  and  that 
nothing  but  what  are  regarded  as  the  natural  sciences — astronomy, 
mathematics,  and  others  of  that  class — is  knowledge.  The  great  field 
of  modern  inquiry  relating  to  the  moral  and  political  sciences  is  not  to 
be  considered  at  all  as  a  branch  of  human  knowledge!  Was  this  so? 
And  was  this  the  country,  or  this  the  age,  in  which  we  were  to  recog- 
nize such  a  doctrine  ?  It  did  seem  to  him  that  the  most  important  of 
all  the  branches  of  human  knowledge  is  that  which  relates  to  the  moral 
and  political  relations  of  man.  It  is  intimately  connected  with  the 
rights  and  duties  and  privileges  of  citizens,  whether  in  public  or  in 
private  life.  How  would  gentlemen  designate  that  great  branch  of 
human  science,  which  is  of  very  modern  origin,  and  even  now  in  its 
infancy — political  economy  \  Is  it  not  a  most  important  part  of  human 
knowledge  ?  And  are  the  legislators  of  this  country,  who  are  so  deeply 
concerned  in  the  destinies  and  progressive  civilization  of  the  human 
race,  to  regard  the  science  of  government  and  legislation  as  no  part  of 
human  knowledge?  It  really  seemed  to  him  that,  as  representatives 


300  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  the  American  people,  they  could  recognize  no  such  distinction.  We 
have  been  told  from  high  classical  authority  that  "  the  proper  study  of 
mankind  is  man;"  but  here  the  idea  upon  which  the  original  form  of 
this  bill  seemed  to  stand  was  that  the  proper  study  of  mankind  is  that 
of  animals,  exotics,  and  plants  only — not  including  at  all  the  great 
moral  and  civil  relations  of  man.  Now,  he  took  it  upon  himself  to  say 
that  if  gentlemen  would  survey  the  field  of  moral  science,  they  would 
find  that  it  embraced  a  much  larger  portion  of  knowledge  than  the 
physical  sciences,  however  important  they  may  be. 

The  honorable  and  venerable  member  from  Ohio,  as  he  had  been 
styled  [Mr.  Tappan],  based  his  leading  arguments  upon  the  necessity 
of  making  that  institution  a  counterpart  of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  in 
Paris,  where  there  were  great  collections  of  material  elucidating  natu- 
ral history;  but  let  him  tell  the  honorable  Senator  that  that  institution 
was  sustained  at  a  very  great  expense,  and  yet  it  afforded  but  a  very 
limited  source  of  improvement  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge in  its  liberal  sense.  Was  there  no  other  institution  in  Paris  than 
the  Jardin  des  Plantes  which  could  be  taken  as  a  model  ?  He  would 
refer  the  honorable  Senator  to  another  institution,  and  one  which  would 
better  fulfill  the  design  of  the  bequest.  Look  at  the  wide  and  compre- 
hensive body  of  instruction  delivered  at  the  Sorbonne  (the  Faculte  des 
Lettres  et  Sciences),  under  the  auspices  of  the  University  of  France, 
the  great  fountain  of  knowledge  to  which  all  enlightened  strangers 
repair  and  drink  in  copious  libations  of  philosophical  and  practical 
learning.  He  was  not  conversant  with  Mr.  Smithson's  peculiar  tastes 
or  habits;  but  if  he  (Mr.  Smithson)  was  the  man  of  liberal  and  general 
inquiry  that  he  believed  him  to  have  been,  he  would  venture  to  assert 
that  his  resort  was  as  much  to  the  Sorbonne  as  to  the  Jardin  des 
Plantes.  And  what  would  he  hear  there?  Would  he  not  hear  lectures 
on  the  sciences  of  history,  moral  philosophy,  and  government,  as 
well  as  physics  and  mathematics?  The  present  minister  of  France, 
M.  Guizot,  had  been,  if  he  mistook  not,  a  lecturer  on  history — ancient 
and  modern  history,  comprehending  all  the  phases  of  human  society — 
in  this  institution.  Others  had  become  known  there  to  the  world  as 
much  as  lecturers,  as  ministers  of  state,  worthy  of  being  intrusted  with 
the  destinies  of  nations  and  mankind. 

He  would  beg  leave  to  ask  the  gentlemen  who  had  charge  of  this 
great  subject,  in  looking  for  a  model,  to  look  at  such  an  institution  as 
the  Faculte  des  Lettres  et  Sciences  at  the  Sorbonne  rather  than  at  a 
special  institution  like  the  Jardin  des  Plantes.  He  had  no  disposition 
to  depreciate  the  value  of  the  physical  sciences,  but  he  insisted  upon 
it  that  the  moral  and  political  sciences  were  equally  important,  and, 
if  any  distinction  was  to  be  drawn,  more  important.  At  a  very  early 
period  of  his  life  he  was  struck  with  a  graphic  remark  made  by  the 
great  commentator  on  English  law,  in  illustrating  the  fitness  of  asso- 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  301 

elating  a  professorship  of  law  with  the  University  of  Oxford — and  his 
honorable  friend  from  Kentucky  [Mr.  Crittenden]  no  doubt  well  recol- 
lected the  passage — that  "the  sciences  are  of  a  sociable  disposition, 
and  nourish  best  in  the  neighborhood  of  each  other. "  He  would  make 
no  distinction.  He  must  be  permitted  to  say  that  he  thought  the  Sen- 
ate had  already  decided  the  question  in  regard  to  the  extension  of  this 
library  by  striking  out  the  proviso  of  the  first  section  and  the  whole 
of  the  eighth  section,  which  provides  for  professors  on  the  subject  of 
natural  sciences  only. 

He  saw  no  reason  for  any  distinction  between  the  moral  and  physical 
sciences.  If  such  a  library  as  was  contemplated  by  the  honorable 
Senator  from  Massachusetts  was  established,  there  would  be  no  danger 
of  the  physical  sciences  being  slighted;  but  he  hoped  that  these  great 
moral  and  political  sciences,  which  so  intimately  concern  the  temporal 
and  eternal  destinies  of  man,  would  have  their  appropriate  space  in 
this  great  receptacle  of  human  knowledge. 

He  had  been  led  to  these  remarks  because  his  firm  and  solemn  con- 
viction was  that  we  now  have  it  in  our  power  to  do  more  good  to  this 
nation  in  our  day  and  generation  by  a  judicious  and  wise  application 
of  this  $500,000,  which  has  been  put  into  our  hands,  than  by  the  appli- 
cation of  the  twenty -five  or  thirty  millions  we  are  in  the  habit  of 
annually  appropriating. 

He  was  glad  that  it  was  the  sense  of  the  Senate  that  this  subject 
should  go  back  to  the  committee  to  be  matured  and  deliberately  acted 
upon,  and  that  there  was  to  be  brought  forward  a  plan  of  some  great 
and  noble  foundation  which  would  realize,  to  the  fullest  extent,  the 
magnificent  conception  which  suggested  this  donation.  He  was 
opposed  to  any  limitations;  he  was  opposed  to  any  distinctions  between 
the  great  branches  of  human  knowledge.  In  the  republic  of  letters 
all  stood  upon  a  platform  of  equality,  and  if  we  have  a  library  at  all 
it  should  be  coextensive  with  the  limits  of  human  knowledge  and  with 
the  design  of  the  donor — "the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  (of 
all  sound  knowledge)  among  men." 

Mr.  SAMUEL,  S.  PHELPS  suggested  a  modification  of  the  amendment 
proposed  by  the  Senator  from  Kentucky.  It  was  to  shape  his  proviso 
so  as  to  say  "That  in  the  selection  of  such  books  as  were  necessary  to 
form  a  complete  library,  due  regard  should  be  had  to  works  of 
science,"  etc. 

Mr.  CRITTENDEN  accepted  the  modification. 

Mr.  I.  C.  BATES  protested  against  any  proviso  which  would  limit 
the  selection.  It  was  wholly  unnecessary,  because  no  great  national 
library  could  be  complete  without  the  very  works  alluded  to. 

Mr.  J.  M.  NILES  did  not  think  it  came  within  the  purpose  of  the 
donation  to  establish  a  great  national  library.  If  the  donor  thought 
that  the  best  way  of  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge  among  men, 


302  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

he  would  have  enjoined  the  establishment  of  such  a  library.  He  was 
in  favor  of  a  prudent  limitation  with  regard  to  that  branch  of  the 
institution,  and  should  therefore  submit  a  motion  to  that  effect. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  Mr.  Crittenden's  amendment,  as 
modified,  and  it  was  rejected — ayes  15,  noes  21. 

Mr.  NILES  now  moved  to  amend  the  amendment,  by  limiting  the 
purchase  of  books  to  $5,000  annually. 

Mr.  JAMES  BUCHANAN  inquired  if  $5,000  a  year  was  to  build  up  a 
library  worthy  of  the  donor,  this  nation,  and  this  age? 

The  amendment  was  rejected. 

The  question  now  reverted  on  Mr.  Choate's  amendment,  and  it  was 
adopted. 

Mr.  TAPPAN,  before  ths  motion  to  recommit  was  made,  wished  to 
test  the  sense  of  the  Senate  as  to  his  original  plan  of  adding  some  of 
the  interest  to  the  principal,  so  as  to  make  the  fund  $600,000.  He 
therefore  moved  to  amend  the  first  section  by  adding  $91,682  out  of 
the  interest  due,  to  the  original  fund,  so  that  the  investment  should 
be  $600,000. 

Mr.  CHOATE  objected  to  this  as,  in  effect,  cutting  off  the  means  for 
establishing  a  national  library.  The  buildings  for  the  institution,  the 
inclosures  of  ground,  and  the  purchase  of  objects  of  natural  history, 
would  possibly  consume  so  much  of  the  residue  of  interest  as  to  leave 
little  or  none  for  founding  the  library,  or  erecting  a  suitable  building 
for  one.  It  might  take  from  $150,000  to  $200,000  for  all  these;  but 
till  details  and  estimates  were  properly  investigated,  it  would  not,  in 
any  case,  be  prudent  to  divert  the  management  of  this  accumulated 
interest. 

Mr.  BUCHANAN  thought  it  was  desirable,  if  it  could  be  done  with- 
out defeating  the  objects  intended,  to  increase  the  capital  by  this 
addition  of  a  part  of  the  interest. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  put  his  motion  in  a  definite  form. 

Mr.  J.  F.  SIMMONS  argued  that,  until  some  plan  was  agreed  upon 
as  to  the  manner  of  carrying  out  the  intention  of  the  donor,  it  would 
be  highly  imprudent  to  make  a  permanent  investment  of  means  that 
might  be  wanted  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  object. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  urged  that  $117,000  of  the  interest  would  remain, 
which  would  be  as  much  as  the  managers  could  lay  out  with  advantage 
in  the  first  year;  and  for  the  second,  they  would  have  $36,000  on  the 
$600,000.  The  $6,000  would  cover  the  expenses  of  lectures  and  exper- 
iments, leaving  annually  $30,000  for  collecting  a  library  and  the  other 
purposes  required  of  the  management. 

The  amendment  was  rejected. 

Mr.  J.  T.  MOREHEAD  suggested  a  renewal  of  the  amendment, 
making  the  addition  $41,682  instead  of  $91,862,  so  that  the  capital 
fund  would  be  $550,000,  bearing  an  interest  of  $33,000  a  year. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  303 

After  some  conversational  discussion  on  this  point,  it  was  agreed  to 
let  the  proposition  go,  with  the  offered  amendments,  to  the  commit- 
tee; and 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  LEVI  WOODBURY,  the  bill  and  amendments 
were  recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library. 

January  16,  1845— Senate. 

Mr.  BENJAMIN  TAPPAN,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  reported 
the  bill  S.  18,  amended. 
January  21,  1845— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  B.  TAPPAN,  the  previous  orders  were  postponed 
with  a  view  of  taking  up  the  bill  for  the  establishment  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

The  bill  was  accordingly  taken  up  for  further  consideration  as  in 
Committee  of  the  Whole,  the  question  being  on  adopting  the  substi- 
tute reported  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  to  whom  had  been 
recommitted  the  original  bill  for  the  purpose  of  having  it  remodeled. 

This  substitute  provides,  as  the  original  bill  did,  for  the  investment 
of  the  principal  sum  received  under  the  bequest,  in  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States,  at  6  per  cent  interest  from  the  date  of  its  recep- 
tion, and  for  placing  at  the  disposal  of  the  managers  the  accumulated 
and  accruing  interest  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  design  of  the 
donor — the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  The  out- 
lay of  the  accumulated  interest  is  to  be,  as  directed  in  the  first  bill, 
upon  all  necessary  buildings,  inclosures,  purchases,  and  application  of 
the  grounds  appropriated  out  of  the  property  of  the  United  States  in 
the  Mall,  heretofore  described,  for  the  objects  of  the  institution,  the 
business  of  the  institution  to  be  conducted  by  a  board  of  managers 
consisting  of  the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court  while  in  office,  three  members  of  the  Sen- 
ate, three  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  seven  other 
persons  not  members  of  Congress,  two  of  whom  shall  be  members  of 
the  National  Institute  in  the  city  of  Washington  and  resident  in  said 
city,  the  other  five  to  be  inhabitants  of  the  States,  no  two  from  the 
same  State,  the  three  members  of  the  Senate  to  be  appointed  by  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  and  the  three  members  of  the  House 
by  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  in  each  House  the  respective  members 
so  chosen  to  be  a  standing  committee  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  together  a  joint  committee. 

These  appointments  to  be  made  on  every  fourth  Wednesday  of 
December,  to  serve  for  one  year;  vacancies  to  be  filled  as  they  are  in  the 
regular  committees.  The  other  seven  members  to  serve  for  two  years,  to 
be  chosen  by  joint  resolution  of  Congress  every  alternate  fourth  Wednes- 
day of  December;  vacancies  to  be  filled  in  like  manner  whenever  they 
occur.  The  managers  to  meet  on  the  first  Monday  in  May  next,  and 
fix  the  times  of  regular  meetings  of  the  board.  On  any  application 


304  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  three  members,  the  superintendent  shall  call  a  meeting  of  the  board 
by  letter  to  each  member,  tive  constituting  a  quorum.  Each  member 
of  the  board  to  be  paid  his  necessary  traveling  and  other  actual 
expenses  in  attending  meetings,  which  shall  be  audited  and  recorded 
by  the  superintendent. 

Whenever  money  is  required  for  the  purposes  of  the  institution, 
the  superintendent,  or  managers,  or  any  three,  may  certify  to  the 
president  of  the  board  that  it  is  so  required;  whereupon  he  shall  sub- 
mit the  requisition  to  a  committee  of  three  managers  appointed  for 
the  purpose  of  regulating  the  expenditures,  for  examination  and 
approval,  and  upon  their  examination  and  approval  the  president  of 
the  board  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper  officer  of  the  Treasury 
as  authority  for  the  payment.  The  board  to  make  all  needful  rules, 
regulations,  and  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  institution  and 
the  persons  employed  therein,  and  shall  submit  to  Congress  at  each 
session  a  report  of  the  operations,  expenditures,  and  condition  of  the 
institution.  The  bill  then  details  the  duties  of  the  board  in  commenc- 
ing operations.  Among  the  buildings  is  to  be  one  for  the  reception  of 
an  extensive  library,  equal  to  the  first  class  of  libraries  in  the  world. 
When  the  necessary  buildings  are  erected,  all  objects  of  natural  his- 
tory, plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens,  belonging  to 
the  United  States,  in  Washington  or  elsewhere,  to  be  delivered  to  the 
institution,  where  they  shall  be  arranged  in  such  order  and  so  classed 
as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and  study  of  them;  new  acquisi- 
tions of  the  institution  to  be  classed  and  arranged  in  like  manner;  the 
personal  effects  of  Mr.  Smithson  to  be  kept  apart  and  preserved  sepa- 
rate from  other  property  of  the  institution.  The  managers  to  appoint 
the  superintendent  of  the  institution,  who  is  to  be  secretary  to  the 
board  and  professor  of  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  rural  economy; 
and  he  may,  with  the  approbation  of  the  board,  employ  such  gardeners, 
agriculturists,  and  laborers  as  may  be  required  for  the  institution.  He 
is  to  make  experiments  to  determine  the  utility  and  advantage  of  new 
modes  and  instruments  of  culture,  and  whether  new  fruits,  plants,  and 
vegetables  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage  in  the  United  States,  and  those 
which  shall  prove  worthy  of  adoption  shall  be  distributed  among  the 
people  of  the  Union.  The  superintendent  to  be  paid  such  salary  as  the 
board  may  think  proper,  and  the  board  may  remove  him  and  appoint 
another  in  his  place  whenever  the  interest  of  the  institution  may  require 
it.  The  board  is  also  to  employ  competent  persons  to  deliver  lectures 
or  courses  of  lectures  in  the  institution  upon  literature,  science,  and 
art,  and  on  the  application  of  science  to  art,  during  the  sessions  of 
Congress,  commencing  next  session;  to  make  regulations  respecting 
attendance  thereon;  to  fix  the  rules  of  compensation  therefor,  and 
to  prescribe  from  time  to  time  the  subjects  of  lectures,  having  regard  to 
the  character  of  the  audience  before  whom  they  are  delivered  and  the 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  305 

intent  of  the  donor — the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men;  provided,  the  entire  expenditure  for  lectures  shall  not  exceed 
$5,000  a  year.  The  managers  may  at  their  discretion  cause  these 
lectures  or  such  of  them  as  they  desire  to  be  printed  and  sold  at  the 
cost  of  publication.  An  annual  expenditure  of  not  less  than  $20,000 
out  of  the  interest  of  the  fund  is  authorized  to  be  made  in  the  purchase 
of  books  and  manuscripts  for  the  library  of  the  institution,  which 
library  is  to  comprehend  in  due  proportion,  without  preference  or 
exclusion  of  any  branch  of  knowledge,  works  pertaining  to  all  the 
departments  of  human  knowledge,  as  well  as  physical  science  and  Ihe 
application  of  science  to  the  arts  of  life,  as  all  other  science,  philosophy, 
history,  literature,  and  art;  and  for  its  extent,  variety,  and  value  said 
library  shall  bo  worthy  of  the  donor  of  the  fund  and  of  this  nation 
and  the  age.  The  managers  to  employ  a  librarian  and  assistants  and 
to  lix  their  salaries;  also  to  prescribe  the  regulations  under  which  the 
library  shall  be  kept,  visited,  and  used.  In  conclusion,  the  bill 
appoints  the  seven  managers  not  ex  officio  members  as  follows: 

Jared  P.  Kirtland,  of  Ohio;  Richard  Henry  Wilde,  of  Louisiana; 
George  Tucker,  of  Virginia;  George  Bancroft,  of  Massachusetts; 
Henry  King,  of  Missouri,  and  Joseph  G.  Totten  and  Alexander  Dallas 
Hiichc,  members  of  the  National  Institute  and  resident  in  Washington, 
as  the  seven  members  who,  by  the  second  section,  would  be  appointed 
by  Congress.  The  right  of  altering,  amending,  adding  to,  or  repeal- 
ing the  act  is  reserved  to  Congress,  provided  that  no  contract  or  indi- 
vidual right  made  or  acquired  under  its  provisions  be  divested  or 
impaired. 

On  motions  of  Mr.  TAPPAN  and  Mr.  CHOATK,  two  misprints  in  the 
new  bill  were  amended. 

Mr.  LEVI  WOODHUKY  remarked  that  most  of  the  amendments  which 
he  had  submitted  on  a  former  day  to  be  printed  had  been  rendered 
unnecessary  by  the  changes  since  made  in  the  bill  by  the  Library 
Committee.  But  there  was  one  defect  still  left  in  the  board  of  mana- 
gers, as  he  viewed  the  subject,  and  which  it  was  desirable  to  have 
removed.  He  was  fully  sensible  that  any  attempt  to  alter  a  bill  which 
has  twice  received  the  deliberate  consideration  of  a  committee  of  this 
body  was  almost  hopeless.  But  the  subject  was  a  novel  one  to  us  all. 
It  was,  also,  not  a  measure  of  ordinary  legislation,  affecting  the  rights 
and  property  of  our  constituents,  but  the  discharge  of  an  important 
trust  in  behalf  of  a  foreign  philanthropist,  and  where  we  ought  to 
move  slowly  in  our  deliberations,  and  rather  confer,  converse,  and 
consult,  as  a  real  committee  of  the  whole,  instead  of  debate  like  parti- 
sans. He  would,  therefore,  take  the  liberty  to  suggest  that  the  board 
of  management  now  proposed  was  imperfect  in  two  respects — it  did 
not  contain  persons  enough  resident  at  the  place  where  their  duties 
must  be  performed,  and  was  so  constituted  as  to  be  likely  to  render 
II .  Doc.  732 20 


306  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  elections  of  them  by  the  two  Houses  on  some  occasions  difficult, 
and  open  to  improper  influences. 

There  would  be  no  objection  to  the  Vice-President  and  Chief  Justice 
as  members  of  the  board,  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  present 
incumbents;  but  neither  of  them  lived  here,  nor  did  any  of  the  six 
members  of  Congress  proposed  to  be  appointed — nor  any  except  two 
of  the  other  managers  to  be  selected  at  large.  Now,  as  no  compensa- 
tion was  to  be  given  as  salary  or  a  per  diem,  it  must  be  obvious  that 
seldom  would  any  one  attend  to  the  business,  unless  residing  on  the 
spot.  For,  though  some  would  be  here  at  times  officially,  yet  we  all 
know  that  it  was  under  a  pressure  of  other  engagements  likely  to 
prevent  a  close  attention  to  this  trust. 

What  Mr.  WOODBURY  wished  to  propose  instead  of  this  was  the 
officers  of  the  National  Institute — most  of  whom  lived  in  this  city,  and 
five  or  six  of  whom  consisted  ex  officio  of  the  President  and  his  Cabinet, 
as  a  public  check — equal  to  that  of  the  Vice-President  and  Chief 
Justice,  and  superior  in  position,  as  always  on  the  spot. 

This  plan  had  the  approbation  of  a  former  library  committee  about 
two  years  ago;  and  he  held  in  his  hand  a  bill  to  that  effect,  not  acted 
on  for  want  of  time,  and  reported  by  a  distinguished  South  Carolinian, 
now  in  retirement  [Mr.  William  C.  Preston]. 

He  hoped,  on  reflection,  it  would  again  be  found  acceptable  to  a 
majority  of  the  committee  and  the  Senate;  especially  when  aided  by 
some  additional  provisions,  which  he  would  suggest. 

In  order  to  let  others  at  large  participate,  if  they  pleased,  and  had 
leisure,  he  proposed  to  unite  with  the  officers  of  the  institute  four  per- 
sons from  the  different  sections  of  the  Union;  and,  to  render  the 
supervision  of  Congress  as  strong  and  effective  as  is  proposed  by  the 
bill,  to  devolve  that  duty  on  the  Library  Committee — a  committee 
already  organized  and  talented,  and  peculiarly  fitted,  in  some  respects, 
for  matters  of  this  character. 

In  order,  likewise,  to  avoid  the  delay  and  difficulties  of  elections  by 
the  two  Houses,  he  proposed  to  have  this  same  committee  of  Congress 
select  the  four  members  at  large.  The  amendment  he  was  about  to 
propose  was  intended  to  accomplish  not  only  these  two  general  changes 
in  the  mode  of  electing,  and  in  more  convenient  residence  of  most  of 
the  board,  without  any  loss  of  fitness  in  station  and  pursuit,  and  with- 
out being  any  less  under  the  immediate  control  of  Congress  and  its 
committee,  but  to  increase  that  control  by  placing  all  their  doings, 
and  especially  the  mode  of  drawing  money  from  the  Treasury,  under 
increased  securities,  to  be  prescribed  from  time  to  time  by  the  Library 
Committee.  As  the  bill  stood  now,  an  account  must  be  opened  with 
every  individual  dealt  with  or  paid;  and  no  bonds  or  security  were 
required  in  any  case.  Mr.  Woodbury  wished  to  clothe  the  committee 
of  Congress  with  authority  to  remedy  these  defects,  and  not  only  make 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1843-1845.  307 

the  whole  board  of  management  subject  to  the  acts  of  Congress  and  its 
directions  given  from  time  to  time;  but  subject  also  to  the  constant 
scrutiny  of  the  standing  committee  of  Congress  in  both  Houses.  And 
so  far  from  conferring  salaries  or  donations  on  the  board  or  on  the 
institute,  he  would  not  give  a  dollar  to  either,  except  to  defray  actual 
expenses  incurred  in  the  discharge  of  the  trust;  and  not  allow  either 
to  draw  a  cent  from  the  Treasury  except  in  the  manner  and  under  the 
security  which  shall  be  prescribed  by  that  standing  committee  of  the 
two  Houses. 

With  these  explanations,  he  submitted  the  amendment  he  would 
now  read: 

To  strike  out  those  portions  of  the  new  bill  providing  for  the  con- 
stitution of  a  board  of  managers,  and  insert: 

The  National  Institute,  through  its  officers,  not  to  exceed  their  present  number, 
and  associated  with  them  four  other  scientific  gentlemen  from  different  portions  of 
the  Union,  to  be  selected  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library;  and  said  com- 
mittee to  exercise,  from  time  to  time,  a  supervision  and  control  over  this  board,  in 
behalf  of  Congress,  and  see  that  its  directions  as  expressed  in  this  act  or  in  any  future 
act  be  duly  carried  into  effect;  and  to  prescribe  safe  rules  to  be  adhered  to  in  draw- 
ing from  the  Treasury  and  auditing  all  moneys  whatever  expended  from  the  Smith- 
sonian fund;  and  none  of  the  said  board,  nor  any  of  said  committee,  shall  receive 
any  compensation  for  their  personal  services  on  this  subject  from  the  fund  aforesaid, 
but  be  paid  only  their  traveling  expenses. 

Mr.  JAMES  BUCHANAN  would  be  very  glad  if  it  could  be  accomplished 
(and  he  thought  at  first  it  might  be  on  this  amendment),  to  get  a  test 
vote  of  the  Senate  on  the  question  whether  Congress  or  the  National 
Institute  shall  have  the  management  and  control  of  the  Smithsonian 
library.  But  the  amendment  contained  some  things  not  necessarily 
involved  in  that  test,  which  might  be  advantageously  considered.  He 
could  not  move  an  amendment,  or  he  would,  so  as  to  separate  these 
things. 

Mr.  RUFUS  CHOATE  said  the  amendment  of  the  Senator  from  New 
Hampshire  raised  the  precise  question  the  Senator  from  Pennsylvania 
wished  to  have  tested. 

Mr.  JAMES  BUCHANAN  looked  upon  it  as  a  compound  amendment. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  hoped  the  amendment  would  not  prevail.  Although  the 
chairman  of  the  Library  Committee  some  sessions  back  [Mr.  Preston], 
then  a  Senator  from  South  Carolina,  made  a  report  accompanied  by  a 
bill  in  conformity  with  this  amendment,  it  was  with  the  express  under- 
standing of  the  committee  that  not  one  member  of  it  but  himself  was 
in  favor  of  that  plan  or  would  sustain  it. 

Mr.  CHOATE  did  not  know  that  the  amendment  offered  by  the  Sen- 
ator from  New  Hampshire  would  not  make  a  very  good  board  of  man- 
agement; indeed,  he  felt  nothing  but  respect  in  the  highest  degree  for 
that  Senator  and  his  associates  of  the  National  Institute;  as  colaborers 
in  the  advancement  of  science  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 


308  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

men  they  Had  already  done  a  good  deal.  But  he  had  ascertained, 
through  various  conferences  in  the  Library  Committee,  that  the  Sen- 
ator's proposition  was  not  likely  to  meet  that  favor  or  support  neces- 
sary to  insure  the  success  of  the  bill  this  session;  on  the  contrary,  that 
it  would  make  enemies  of  many  who  would  otherwise  sustain  the  meas- 
ure. Now,  on  this  subject  of  constituting  a  board  of  managers — for 
the  committee  attached  great  importance  to  it — he  (Mr.  Choate)  had 
given  it  his  most  anxious  attention.  It  was  the  only  part  of  the  origi- 
nal bill  to  which  much  consideration  was  not  given  in  the  first  instance. 
Since  its  recommittal  the  committee  had  had  repeated  conferences  on 
this  point,  and  the  result  has  been  that  the  plan  laid  down  in  the  bill  was 
unanimously  adopted  as  a  happy  embodiment  of  the  main  principles 
of  all  former  propositions,  the  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  which 
had  heretofore  impeded  the  action  of  Congress  as  to  the  disposition  of 
the  fund.  He  was  prepared  now  to  say  that,  unless  there  was  some 
more  palpable  objection  than  had  yet  been  made  to  the  plan  laid  down 
in  the  bill,  the  support  which  it  would  insure  could  not  fail  of  render- 
ing the  measure  successful  this  session. 

It  might  be  necessary  to  say  a  word  or  two  respecting  the  course 
pursued  by  the  committee  in  making  this  arrangement.  They  went 
back  to  the  records  of  all  proceedings  in  Congress  since  the  reception 
of  the  bequest,  to  ascertain  the  number  and  character  of  the  various 
propositions  suggested  for  its  disposition;  and  having  collected  them 
all,  the  committee  conceived  they  could  not  be  mistaken  in  combining 
from  the  whole  such  general  principles  as  would  unite  the  greatest 
number  of  friends  to  the  main  object.  Now  he  felt  bound  to  say  that 
in  this  the  committee  had  succeeded  beyond  his  most  sanguine  expec- 
tations. They  had  not,  as  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  seemed 
to  suppose,  made  a  complex,  expensive,  or  impracticable  plan  of 
machinery  for  the  management  of  the  institution;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
one  preeminently  likely  to  work  well — economically,  efficiently,  and 
practically  considered. 

On  re  viewing  all  former  propositions  the  committee  found  that  there 
were  two  or  three  things  in  which  a  large  majority  concurred — such  as, 
that  the  Vice-President  and  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  should  be 
ex  officio  members  of  the  board,  and  that  they  should  have  associated 
with  them  one  or  two  respectable  resident  members  of  the  National 
Institute.  It  was  found,  also,  that  a  suggestion  came  from  Mr.  Rob- 
bins,  of  Rhode  Island,  that  three  members  of  the  Senate  and  three  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  should  be  made  members  of  the  board. 
Thus  the  committee  had  united  whatever  there  was  to  recommend  this 
proposition  to  those  whose  differences  of  opinion  had  heretofore 
impeded  the  action  of  Congress.  They  took  for  the  ex  officio  mem- 
bers of  the  board  the  Vice-President  and  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States.  There  could  be  no  difficulty  as  to  their  appointment, 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1843-1845.  309 

for  they  are  already  elected  and  always,  by  virtue  of  their  office,  ready 
to  act.  The  committee  then  provided  that  three  members  of  the  Sen- 
ate should  be  named  by  the  presiding  officer  in  the  same  way  that  he 
named  standing  committees;  and  that  three  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  like  manner  should  be  appointed  by  the  Speaker 
of  the  House.  These  six  members  would  form  a  joint  standing  com- 
mittee and  have  charge  of  the  institution  in  Congress,  for  the  com- 
mittee decided  that  Congress  should  hold  in  its  own  hands  the  control 
and  supervision  of  the  institution.  Thus  Congress  would  have  the 
interests  of  the  institution  immediately  represented  on  the  floor  of 
both  Houses.  In  addition  to  those  eight  ex  officio  members  of  the 
board,  there  would  be  seven  persons  to  be  selected  by  Congress — two 
of  them  from  the  resident  members  of  the  National  Institute,  the 
remainder  from  different  States  of  the  Union.  Hereafter  these  seven 
are  to  be  elected  by  joint  resolution  of  Congress  every  two  years. 
This  would  afford  an  opportunity  of  electing  gentlemen  distinguished 
as  men  of  science  and  learning,  who,  from  the  respect  entertained  for 
them,  would  be  able  to  enlist  the  most  friends  for  the  institution  and 
would  have  the  best  opportunities  of  making  the  citizens  of  the  Union 
acquainted  with  its  objects  and  advantages. 

There  was  another  consideration  which  he  was  sure  would,  upon 
reflection,  have  some  weight  with  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire, 
and,  he  hoped,  induce  him  to  forego  his  amendment.  It  was,  that  in 
looking  at  the  two  propositions  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  which 
was  most  republican,  most  democratic  in  principle,  he  would  find 
that  of  the  committee  infinitely  more  so  than  his  own.  It  was  cer- 
tainly antirepublican  and  antidemocratic  to  surrender  all  control  of 
the  people's  representatives  in  respect  to  a  trust  especially  committed 
to  their  custody  for  the  people's  benefit  and  place  it  in  the  hands  of  a 
close  body  like  the  National  Institute,  wholly  irresponsible  to  either 
Congress  or  the  people — a  body  the  machinery  and  operations  of 
which,  so  far  as  regarded  the  people,  were  shut  out  from  their  view 
and  to  which  they  could  of  right  have  no  access.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  proposition  of  the  committee  recognized  especially,  and  in  a  pre- 
eminent degree,  the  complete  control  and  supervision  of  the  people's 
representatives  and  insured  that  publicity  which  could  not  fail  of 
gaining  public  confidence  in  the  management  of  the  institution  and 
universal  approbation  as  to  the  attainment  of  the  purpose  for  which 
the  bequest  was  made. 

Mr.  WOODBURT  expressed  some  surprise  that  his  amendment  should 
be  attacked  by  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Choate]  as  anti- 
republican  or  antidemocratic.  Such  an  attack  from  that  quarter  was, 
in  any  view,  extraordinary;  but  much  more  so  when,  in  this  very  bill, 
in  another  place,  six  of  the  members  of  his  proposed  board  are  recom- 
mended by  him  to  be  appointed  not  by  the  two  Houses  of  Congress 


310  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

or  their  committee,  but  three  by  the  Speaker  of  one  and  three  by  the 
President  of  the  other,  without  any  appeal. 

But  Mr.  WOODBURY  feared  we  were  sliding  into  that  species  of  polit- 
ical debate  which,  in  a  case  like  this,  he  deprecated.  This  was  not  a 
struggle  for  victory  of  a  party  or  personal  predilection,  but  to  execute, 
in  the  most  fit  and  becoming  manner,  a  sacred  trust  which  had  been 
devolved  on  us  from  abroad  rather  than  by  our  people. 

Some  gentlemen  who  assail  the  proposed  amendment  inadvertently 
seem  to  suppose  it  is  a  contest  whether  Congress  or  the  National  Insti- 
tute shall  control  the  Smithson  fund;  whereas  no  such  question 
exists.  The  same  control  is  left  in  Congress,  if  the  amendment  is 
adopted,  as  is  left  in  it  by  the  bill  as  it  now  stands.  Indeed,  the  amend- 
ment increases  the  reserved  control  of  Congress  in  one  particular 
through  the  constant  supervision  and  check  of  the  Library  Committee 
of  the  two  Houses  which  it  provides  for. 

After  the  amendment  is  adopted,  Congress  can,  at  any  moment, 
abolish  or  amend  the  whole  board,  can  give  to  it  any  special  instruc- 
tions by  resolution  or  act,  and  can,  by  its  committee,  give  any  direc- 
tions, which  by  this  very  amendment  are  to  be  enforced  by  the  board 
and  institute,  rather  than  either  of  them  being  made  independent  of 
Congress. 

It  seems,  also,  to  be  apprehended  b}^  some  gentlemen  that  the 
National  Institute  is  to  have  a  great  donation  of  property,  as  well  as 
power,  by  this  amendment;  when,  in  truth,  no  power  is  bestowed 
except  conditionally,  and  which  is  not  kept  constantly  under  the  con- 
trol of  Congress;  and  not  a  dollar  of  property,  directly  or  indirectly, 
is  given  to  the  institute. 

Indeed,  no  property  is  given  to  the  institute  or  anybody  else.  The 
library,  buildings,  etc. ,  all  remain  in  Congress  as  trustee  for  the  fund. 
The  board  of  managers,  including  the  institute,  are  mere  executive  or 
ministerial  agents  to  carry  out  our  directions,  and  own  no  more  of  the 
property  itself  than  the  captain  in  the  Navy  owns  of  the  ship  of  war 
in  his  charge.  It  is  rather  a  burden  imposed  on  the  board  and  insti- 
tute, as  they  not  only  acquire  no  property,  but  their  services,  which 
have  so  long  and  decidedly  been  given  to  letters  and  science  without 
any  pay,  are  all,  by  my  amendment,  to  continue  to  be  gratuitous. 

The  difficulty  will  be  rather  in  getting  gentlemen  of  suitable  char- 
acter to  devote  their  time  at  all  to  this  subiect  under  these  circum- 
stances than  in  preventing  them  from  profiting  in  a  pecuniary  point 
of  view.  It  is  this  apprehended  difficulty  which  will  in  part  be 
removed  by  taking  more  managers  resident  here  who  can  attend  to 
the  business  in  rotation  or  otherwise  at  less  inconvenience  and  loss 
than  those  from  a  distance. 

Again,  it  is  said  that  the  form  of  a  resolution  in  elections  avoids  any 
dispute.  How  so?  Suppose  that  the  gentleman  named  in  the  bill 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGKESS,   1843-1845.  311 

from  Ohio  was  moved  to  be  stricken  out,  and  that  of  the  member  of 
the  Library  Committee  from  Ohio  [Mr.  Tappan]  be  substituted,  as 
seemed  to  Mr.  Woodbury  proper;  might  it  not  give  rise  to  debate  as 
to  their  respective  characters  and  fitness?  So  of  every  other  member 
proposed,  though  all  doubtless  were  very  suitable  men. 

Other  gentlemen  seem  to  fear  an  abuse  of  the  trust  by  these  agents 
under  the  amendment,  when  the  very  object  and  terms  of  it  are  to 
increase  the  guards  against  abuse,  through  one  of  our  own  committees, 
and  its  supervision  and  regulations;  and  when  the  position  of  the 
institute  and  board  under  it,  instead  of  being  antagonistic  to  Congress 
or  independent  of  it  is  made  to  be  in  more  entire  subordination  to  it, 
and  is  hemmed  around  by  stronger  safeguards  against  any  possible 
departure  from  its  commands  or  wishes.  He  was  anxious  that,  while 
the  Smithson  fund  came  from  a  stranger  and  abroad  rather  than  from 
among  ourselves,  and  hence  gave  no  cause  for  national  pride  or  boast- 
ing, but  rather  was  mortifying  to  our  own  backwardness  in  such  an 
object,  we  should  at  least  be  vigilant  over  its  use,  remedy  defects  as 
to  its  efficiency — which  we  may  by  this  amendment — and  add  some- 
thing to  our  national  character  by  the  appropriate  manner  of  manag- 
ing the  whole  trust,  though,  unfortunately,  we  have  had  no  lot  nor 
part  in  creating  it  or  liberally  adding  to  it. 

Mr.  BUCHANAN  observed  that  he  had  but  very  few  words  to  say  on 
this  subject.  According  to  the  will  of  the  donor  this  fund  was  to  be 
distributed  for  the  "increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 
Considering  our  peculiar  position  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  he  (Mr. 
Buchanan)  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  best  mode  of  dis- 
tributing this  fund  was  by  the  purchase  of  a  great  library.  Indeed, 
he  could  imagine  no  other.  If  (said  Mr.  Buchanan)  you  attempt  to 
establish  a  literary  institution  here,  with  the  great  expense  attendant 
upon  living  in  this  District,  and  from  other  causes  which  I  need  not 
enumerate,  this  fund  in  its  benefits  would  be  confined  to  a  very  small 
portion  of  the  people  of  this  country.  From  the  very  nature  of  our 
Government  and  the  condition  of  the  people  of  this  country,  we  could 
never  expect  to  erect  in  our  day  a  library  to  compare  with  the  great 
European  libraries,  except  by  the  application  of  this  fund  to  that  pur- 
pose. It  was  impossible,  everybody  knew,  for  any  of  our  citizens  who 
proposed  to  write  a  history,  or  any  other  work  that  required  an  exami- 
nation into  ancient  books  and  authorities,  to  do  so  without  going  to 
Europe  for  that  purpose.  Now,  he  believed  that  an  extensive  library, 
in  which  all  the  means  of  human  knowledge  should  be  collected,  and  in 
which  they  should  be  equally  open  to  all  the  citizens  of  this  country, 
was  the  very  best  mode  in  which  to  apply  the  money  so  liberally 
bequeathed  by  Mr.  Smithson  for  the  "  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men."  He  was  clearly  of  that  opinion,  but  he  had  no 
idea  of  making  a  speech  upon  the  subject.  The  question  now  before 


312  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  Soimtc  resolved  itself  into  a  very  simple  proposition,  aucl  that 
was,  Shall  Congress  retain  and  direct  the  immediate  and  efficient  con- 
trol of  this  fund  and  of  its  application,  or  shall  it  be  administeied 
through  the  agency  of  the  National  Institute?  That  was  the  question, 
and  on  the  decision  of  the  question  his  own  vote  might  depend.  Now, 
he  entertained  all  proper  respect  for  the  members  of  this  institute,  and 
he  believed  it  had  been  already  instrumental  in  diffusing  knowledge 
among  men,  but  he  thought  Congress  was  bound  to  keep  the  applica- 
tion of  this  fund  distinct  from  that  or  any  other  literary  incorporated 
body.  What  was  proposed  b}^  his  honorable  friend  from  New  Hamp- 
shire [Mr.  Woodbury]  in  the  amendment  under  consideration?  Why, 
to  connect  the  National  Institute  with  the  Smithsonian  library — to 
form  a  sort  of  partnership  between  the  two.  The  National  Institute 
is  to  hold  its  meetings  in  a  room  in  the  building  to  be  erected  for  the 
use  of  the  Smithsonian  librarj^.  This  was  in  the  printed  amendment, 
and  would  be  the  inevitable  consequence  of  intrusting  the  manage- 
ment of  this  fund  to  that  institute.  In  a  great  national  institution  like 
the  Smithsonian  library,  calculated  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  people 
of  the  country,  he  desired  to  keep  it  clear  or  detach  it  and  keep  it  dis- 
tinct from  the  National  Institute  or  any  other  literary  corporation 
whatever.  Congress  ought  to  take  upon  itself  the  immediate  control 
of  this  library.  It  would  never  succeed  unless  this  course  should  be 
pursued. 

For  one,  he  was  not  acquainted  with  the  rules  of  the  National  Insti- 
tute, and  he  did  not  know  in  what  manner  the  managers  of  that  insti- 
tute were  elected;  but  the  proposed  amendment  placed  the  direction 
and  supervision  of  the  library  in  the  hands  of  managers  not  elected  by 
Congress,  not  responsible  to  Congress,  and  over  whom  the  people  of 
this  country,  by  their  representatives,  could  have  no  control  whatever. 
Congress  was  undoubtedly  capable  of  administering  this  fund  without 
the  aid  of  the  National  Institute,  and  it  was  their  duty  to  do  so. 

Without,  therefore,  troubling  the  Senate  with  any  further  observa- 
tions, he  should  certainly  go  for  separating  the  operations  of  this 
library  from  those  of  the  National  Institute,  wishing  and  hoping  that 
that  institute  might  have  all  the  success  which  he  believed  it  so  well 
deserved,  and  if  it  should  be  made  a  rival  in  disseminating  knowledge 
among  men  with  the  library,  well  and  good.  The  more  knowledge 
communicated,  the  better  for  the  people  of  this  country.  He,  there- 
fore, should  vote  against  the  amendment  of  the  honorable  Senator 
from  New  Hampshire  [Mr.  Woodbury],  and,  although  there  were  some 
provisions  in  the  bill  to  which  he  might  object,  he  would  vote  for  it, 
nevertheless,  should  it  remain  substantially  as  it  came  from  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Library. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  ALLEN  said  he  should  vote  against  this  or  any  other 
proposition  whatever,  contemplating  a  connection  of  anything  called  an 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1843-1845.  313 

institution  with  the  public  Treasury  of  the  country,  in  any  form  or 
shape.  This  title,  "National  Institute,"  sounded  large,  and  at  a  dis- 
tance was  calculated  to  produce  a  great  impression  upon  the  public 
mind.  What  was  it?  Some  years  ago  a  few  gentlemen  of  this  city 
got  together  and  concluded  to  form  a  literary  and  scientific  association 
among  themselves.  Well,  that  thing  has  been  done  in  every  city,  and 
in  most  of  the  villages  and  towns  of  the  United  States,  from  little 
debating  societies  composed  of  young  men,  up  to  literary  associations 
composed  of  gray-headed  men.  All  of  these  associations,  of  which 
there  are  so  many  in  this  country,  were  like  that  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, formed  in  the  same  way,  and  were  mere  voluntary  associations 
of  man  with  man.  But  this  association  in  Washington  City,  finding  a 
Capitol  here  and  a  public  Treasury  here,  called  itself  a  National  Insti- 
tute; and,  in  order  to  legalize  its  claim  to  that  pompous  title  it  asked 
Congress  to  give  it  a  corporate  existence  by  a  solemn  law.  After  they 
got  associated  in  the  public  mind  the  idea  of  its  nationality,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  law  passed  giving  it  a  legal  existence,  and  then  they 
began  to  enter  into  the  organization  and  to  claim  a  part  in  the  admin- 
istration of  the  Government.  That  institute  came  here  with  the  very 
instinct  of  all  corporations — to  get  its  hands  into  the  public  Treasury 
of  the  country  by  a  process  of  induction.  It  proceeded  with  that 
modesty  and  imposing  humility  which  characterize  the  movements  of 
all  corporations.  It  began  by  obtaining  the  temporary  charge  of 
objects  of  science  belonging  to  the  Government;  and  being  intrusted 
with  the  custody  of  that  part  of  the  public  property  which  resulted 
from  the  exploring  expedition,  there  was  a  motion  made  toward  the 
public  Treasury.  Having  proceeded  so  far,  it  proceeded  a  few  years 
after  to  ask  Congress  to  pay  it  moneys  out  of  the  public  Treasury, 
and  for  what?  For  its  care  of  these  very  articles  of  public  property 
which,  as  a  favor  of  the  Government,  it  had  asked  to  be  intrusted 
with  the  care  of. 

The  Senate,  which  sat  here  for  its  constituents,  was  nevertheless  so 
unjust,  in  his  judgment,  as  to  tempt  this  corporation  to  its  present  ad- 
vances by  the  fatal  step  of  making  for  it  a  public  office  and  paying  it 
$5,000  for  the  favor  which  the  institution  had  asked  in  the  privilege  of 
taking  care  of  the  articles  resulting  from  the  exploring  expedition. 
He  opposed  that  bill  at  the  time  it  was  upon  its  passage  through  the 
Senate;  and  he  then  said — what  was  now  seen — that  the  attraction  of 
this  corporation  was  toward  the  public  Treasury. 

We  are  now  intrusted  with  a  fund  of  some  half  a  million  of  dollars. 
It  is  intrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States;  whether 
by  the  Constitution  or  by  Mr.  Smithson  it  is  now  immaterial.  The 
money  is  obtained,  and  the  question  is  decided  that  Mr.  Smithson  could 
extend  the  limits  of  the  Constitution  by  a  request  in  his  will  and  place 
at  the  disposal  of  Congress  moneys  for  objects  which  the  Constitution 


314  CONGRE89IONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

knows  not.  You  got  the  money;  it  is  now  in  the  public  Treasury,  or 
ought  to  be,  and  was  as  much  subject  to  the  constitutional  action  of 
Congress  as  any  other  moneys  of  the  Treasury ;  and  for  that  action  alone, 
and  in  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  this  National  Institute 
comes  here  to  ask  Congress  to  give  it  the  exclusive  administration  of 
half  a  million  of  the  public  money.  This  could  be  answered  by  the 
general  charge  that  no  moneys  ought  to  be  drawn  out  of  the  public 
Treasury  except  by  the  appropriation  of  law,  and  that  Congress  has  no 
right  to  intrust  the  administration  of  the  public  funds  to  any  function- 
ary of  this  Government,  much  less  to  an  irresponsible  agent,  unknown 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  calling  itself  a  National  Insti- 
tute. If  we  had  a  right,  he  would  be  opposed  to  this  bill,  for  he 
could  say  that  within  his  reading  and  his  observation  he  had  never 
known  a  single  instance  of  a  fund  of  money,  charitable  or  otherwise, 
being  intrusted  to  the  care  of  an  incorporated  body  of  men  that  was 
not  squandered  and  made  to  fall  short  of  the  object  of  the  donor.  It 
was  the  instinct  of  these  machines  called  corporations,  and  it  was 
impossible  for  it  to  be  otherwise.  Intrust  this  corporation  with  the 
administration  of  this  fund,  and  it  wotild  be  just  as  much  throwing  it 
away  as  to  throw  it  into  the  mud  banks  of  the  Potomac.  All  these 
corporations  are  filled  with  law — they  are  but  the  incorporation  of 
laws;  and  never,  without  an  exception,  either  in  English  history  or 
ours,  with  regard  to  the  administration  by  corporations,  was  there  an 
instance  where  the  corporation  had  not  consumed  the  fund  or  squan- 
dered it  away  and  caused  it  to  fall  short  of  the  object  of  the  donor. 
The  Girard  folly  in  Philadelphia  was  an  instance  of  this  fact.  There 
might  be  found  thousands  of  instances  in  the  reports  made  to  the 
British  Parliament  by  those  charged  with  the  investigation  of  these 
subjects;  and  in  many  instances  not  only  the  income  but  the  principal 
was  consumed  in  paying  the  administrators.  It  was  always  so.  This 
society  in  Washington  City,  which  calls  itself  a  National  Institution, 
has  no  more  right  to  the  direction  and  control  of  this  fund  than  the 
Wistar  Club  in  Philadelphia — an  institution  established  there  by  an 
able  physician  of  that  name — or  any  literary  society  in  the  East  or 
West,  of  which  there  were  great  numbers,  as  he  had  before  stated. 

It  is  said  that  this  fund  is  to  be  applied  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
That  very  idea  gave  rise  to  the  origin  of  the  National  Institute,  he  had 
no  doubt.  Here  was  a  fund  to  be  expended  here;  and  of  course  there 
must  be  somebody  to  receive  it,  and  what  so  handy  as  a  corporation  ? 
What  so  convenient  as  to  take  into  its  hands  a  fund  of  money  which 
has  to  be  expended  2  What  so  convenient  as  a  corporation  got  up  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  it?  And  what  was  better  calculated  to  lead 
Congress  into  their  object  than  to  take  the  title  of  national  ?  National ! 
A  word  always  dear  to  the  American  people — so  dear  that  many  an 
inn,  tavern,  and  eating  house  throughout  the  country  bore  the  title, 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  315 

and  he  believed  there  was  an  establishment  somewhere  in  town  here 
which  bore  upon  its  sign  "The  National  Eating  House!"  Now,  as  to 
the  formation  of  a  society  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge, 
that  was  well  enough;  but  he  did  not  want  to  see  these  things  take  a 
literary  and  scientific  name  for  the  purpose  of  thrusting  their  Hands 
into  the  Treasury.  He  did  not  want  to  see  corporations  of  men  under 
high-sounding  titles,  and  professing  beneficial  objects,  formed  in  this 
capital  with  a  view  to  enter  into  the  control  of  public  funds.  He  saw 
no  reason  why  we  should  not  give  the  control  of  this  fund  to  some 
literary  institution  in  Philadelphia  or  Boston  with  as  much  propriety 
as  to  the  National  Institute. 

The  Constitution  did  not  give  us  charge  of  the  mind  and  genius  of 
the  American  people.  It  was  the  privilege  of  a  despot,  not  of  a  free 
government,  to  control  the  mind  and  direct  the  genius  of  the  people; 
and  he  wished  to  see  no  institution  for  that  purpose  established  in  the 
capital  of  the  United  States,  by  which  the  American  people  are  to 
think,  and  read,  and  speak.  Gentlemen  were  mistaken  if  they  imag- 
ined that,  because  such  institutions  exist  in  France  and  other  parts  of 
Europe,  they  were  doing  a  service  to  the  American  people  in  under- 
taking to  pursue  the  same  course  in  this  country,  or  under  our  Gov- 
ernment. Our  Government  is  the  creature  of  the  public  mind,  and 
not  the  creator.  In  Europe,  where  monarchies,  crowns,  and  thrones 
sustain  themselves  by  controlling  the  thoughts  of  the  people,  it  is 
different;  but  our  Government  stands  upon  the  thoughts  of  the  people, 
and  is  controlled  by  them.  We  have  no  right  to  presume  that  the 
people  are  so  ignorant  that  we  ought  to  legislate  for  enlightening  them. 
We  are  here  to  receive  their  instructions,  not  to  impart  instruction  to 
them.  It  is  no  part  of  our  duty  to  do  so.  It  is  presumption  in  us  to 
assume  the  duty. 

On  these  grounds,  and  others  which  Mr.  Allen  enforced  with  great 
energy,  he  not  only  opposed  the  amendment,  but  signified  his  intention 
of  voting  against  the  whole  project. 

Mr.  R.  J.  WALKER  said  that,  on  this  occasion,  he  was  likely  to  be 
placed  in  a  small  minority.  In  relation  to  the  denunciation  which  the 
Senate  had  just  heard  upon  this  floor  of  the  National  Institute,  and  the 
charge  that  it  commenced  out  of  a  desire  to  monopolize  the  Smithsonian 
fund,  he  need  only  to  say  that  it  commenced  long  before  that  fund  was 
received.  It  originated  with  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Cabinet  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  now  in  honorable  retirement;  and  from  no  individual 
did  it  receive  more  encouragement,  or  stronger  marks  of  approbation, 
than  from  ex-President  Van  Buren  himself,  by  numerous  valuable 
presents,  and  by  every  other  means  in  which  he  could  manifest  his 
regard.  He  [Mr.  Walker]  thought,  therefore,  notwithstanding  the 
difference  of  opinion  between  his  friend  from  Massachusetts  [Mr. 
Choate]  and  his  friend  from  New  Hampshire  [Mr.  Woodbury]  as  to 


316  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

which  is  the  most  democratic— and  he  really  rejoiced  that  his  friend 
from  Massachusetts  was  claiming  to  be  democratic,  for  it  was  a  good 
symptom  of  the  progress  of  democracy — and,  notwithstanding  all  that 
was  said  by  his  friend  from  Ohio  [Mr.  Allen],  he  was  bound  to  say 
that  the  individuals  who  originated  this  institution  were  eminently 
democratic.  He  did  not  see  that  the  amendment  offered  by  the  Senator 
from  New  Hampshire  proposed  that  the  National  Institute  should  have 
one  dollar  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  or  of  any  fund  whatever.  He 
believed  it  provides  that  the  whole  payments  to  be  made  are  to  be  made 
by  the  Treasury;  and  that  all  the  National  Institute  is  to  do,  as  regards 
this  matter,  in  connection  with  the  four  other  individuals  named,  is  to 
be  done  under  the  direction  of  a  committee  of  this  body,  and  subject 
every  year  to  the  modifications  and  regulations,  and  subject  to  the 
supervision  and  control,  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  He 
rejected  the  idea,  as  one  utterly  erroneous,  that  the  amendment  of  the 
Senator  from  New  Hampshire  proposes  that  the  National  Institute  shall 
take  any  portion  of  this  fund,  or  that  it  proposes  even  that  it  shall  have 
the  administration  of  it.  It  is  not  to  receive  a  solitary  dollar.  It  is 
not  to  disburse  either  the  Smithsonian  fund,  or  any  other  fund  what- 
ever, under  this  amendment.  The  Smithsonian  fund  is  all  to  be  admin- 
istered by  the  Treasury  Department — to  be  paid  out  by  that  department; 
and  all  that  is  to  be  done  by  this  amendment  is,  to  provide  that  there 
may  be  some  supervision  of  these  drafts  before  they  are  presented  to 
the  Treasury  Department. 

He  should  really  like  to  know,  inasmuch  as  there  was  to  be  a  dis- 
cussion here  upon  politics  generally,  which  of  the  two  is  the  more 
democratic — the  Smithsonian  Institution  or  the  National  Institute? 
The  Smithsonian  Institution  originated  from  an  individual  in  England, 
entirely  foreign — the  very  name  is  foreign.  How  was  it  with  the 
National  Institute?  It  sprang  from  the  people.  It  bears  a  name  that 
is  dear  to  the  people;  and  it  has  received  the  manifest  encouragement 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  He  spoke  now  not  merely  of  the 
colleges  scattered  all  over  the  Union  that  had  contributed  to  its  aid 
and  support.  He  spoke  not  merely  of  the  scientific  men  who  assem- 
bled at  this  Capitol  not  long  since  and  gave  it  their  encouragement  and 
support;  but  he  spoke  of  the  people  in  the  humblest  walks  of  life, 
scattered  all  over  this  Union — residing  in  every  State  of  the  Union — 
who,  from  year  to  year  and  month  to  month,  had  forwarded  presents. 
And  why  is  it  that  this  institute  is  dear  to  the  American  people? 
Because  it  is  national — because  it  is  American.  They  wish  to  see  an 
institution  here  bearing  the  name  of  the  nation,  which  shall  give  to 
the  United  States  the  same  happy  range  in  science  that  this  Govern- 
ment has  done  in  political  affairs. 

And  let  him  tell  gentlemen  that  an  institution  that  is  merely  called 
Smithsonian  can  never  concentrate  in  the  same  degree  the  affections 


TWENTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS,   1843-1815.  317 

and  confidence  of  the  American  people.  Still  he  admitted  that  it  must 
be  called  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  nor  did  he  propose  that  it  should 
be  called  by  any  other  name.  But  the  question  was,  whether  the  indi- 
viduals who  were  named  in  the  bill  now  under  consideration,  as 
regarded  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  would  better  carry  out  the  object 
of  Mr.  Smithson  than  the  National  Institute.  It  was  a  mere  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  how  the  fund  could  be  best  administered.  But  if 
there  was  any  objection  to  a  corporation,  would  not  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  be  a  corporation?  He  was  sure  his  honorable  friend  from 
Massachusetts  [Mr.  Choate]  would  not  deny  that  it  was  at  least  what 
was  in  law  called  a  quasi  corporation;  and  he  supposed  his  honorable 
friend  from  Ohio  [Mr.  Allen]  would  admit  that  it  would  not  be  more 
democratic  by  making  it  a  quasi  corporation.  He  supposed  it  could 
institute  suits  and  legal  proceedings.  Who  are  the  persons  that  would 
have  charge  of  this  under  the  National  Institute?  Who  are  the  direct- 
ors? There  was  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Was  not  that 
democratic  ?  Is  he  not  the  only  man  in  our  Government  who  is  elected 
by  the  whole  people  of  the  whole  Union  ?  And  who,  together  with 
him,  constitute  a  majority  of  the  directors?  Why,  the  Cabinet,  deriv- 
ing their  appointment  directly  and  immediately  from  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate, who  is  himself  the  chosen  of  the  whole  American  people.  Was 
that  less  democratic  than  committing  the  administration  of  this  fund 
to  those  intrusted  with  it  in  the  bill?  He  thought,  so  far  as  the 
democracy  of  the  thing  was  concerned,  that  the  administration  of  this 
fund  by  the  National  Institute  was  quite  as  democratic  as  it  could  be 
by  any  other  mode. 

But  those  who  have  charge  of  this  fund  under  the  National  Institute 
will  be  always  here.  They  are  to  contribute  their  valuable  services 
and  time  to  the  administration  of  this  fund,  and  they  are  not  to  receive 
one  solitary  dollar  for  those  services.  He  believed  that  by  commit- 
ting to  this  institute  the  administration  of  this  fund,  two  main  objects 
would  be  accomplished.  In  the  first  place,  it  would  best  accomplish 
the  intention  of  the  donor;  and,  in  the  second,  he  believed  it  would 
also  give  additional  permanency  to,  and  aid  the  National  Institute. 
Therefore,  notwithstanding  the  denunciation  of  his  friend  from  Ohio 
[Mr.  Allen],  and  notwithstanding  the  honorable  Senator  from  Massa- 
chusetts [Mr.  Choate]  considered  his  plan  much  the  best  and  much 
the  more  democratic,  he  [Mr.  Walker]  should  feel  himself  constrained 
'to  vote,  in  a  small  minority,  he  supposed,  for  the  amendment  proposed 
bj'  his  honorable  friend  from  New  Hampshire  [Mr.  Woodbury]. 

Mr.  H.  A.  FOSTER,  of  New  York,  rose  not  to  discuss  the  measure, 
but  to  suggest  what  appeared  to  him  to  be  a  deficiency  in  the  bill, 
namely,  the  want  of  some  provision  for  the  permanency  of  the  system 
of  management  which  experience  should  prove  to  be  best.  In  the 
proper  time  he  would  submit  an  amendment,  the  object  of  which 


318  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

would  be  that  there  should  be  only  one  of  the  seven  additional  mem- 
bers over  the  ex  officio  members  elected  annually,  so  that  in  the  course 
of  time  each  would  serve  seven  years. 

Mr.  J.  W.  HUNTINGTON  opposed  the  amendment  of  the  Senator 
from  New  Hampshire. 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

Mr.  H.  A.  FOSTER,  of  New  York,  now  submitted  his  amendment,  as 
follows: 

And  Jared  P.  Kirtland  of  Ohio,  Richard  Henry  Wilde  of  Louisiana,  George  Tucker 
of  Virginia,  George  Bancroft  of  Massachusetts,  Henry  King  of  Missouri,  and  Joseph 
G.  Totten  and  Alex.  Dallas  Bache,  members  of  the  National  Institute,  resident  in 
Washington  City,  be  the  other  seven  members,  who  shall,  by  lot,  fix  the  term  of 
their  office  so  that  the  term  of  one  of  them  shall  expire  in  one  year;  of  another,  in 
two  years;  of  another,  in  three  years;  of  another,  in  four  years;  of  another,  in  five 
years;  of  another,  in  six  years;  and  of  the  other,  in  seven  years  from  the  first  day 
of  December  next,  after  the  passage  of  this  act.  And  any  vacancy  happening  other- 
wise than  by  the  expiration  of  the  term  shall  be  filled  for  the  remainder  of  the  term 
on  the  fourth  Wednesday  of  December  next  after  the  vacancy  occurs. 

Mr.  FOSTER  urged  at  some  length  the  propriety  of  this  provision. 

Mr.  TAPPAN  opposed  the  provision  as  unnecessary,  as  there  could 
be  no  doubt  of  the  reelection  of  such  members  as  proved  by  their 
services  to  be  most  valuable  to  the  Institution. 

Mr.  CHOATE  pointed  out  how  much  better  it  would  be  for  the 
interests  of  the  Institution  to  have  short  terms  of  election,  as  that 
would  stimulate  managers,  who  would  feel  their  ambition  excited  by 
the  honor  of  their  trust,  to  exertions  worthy  of  their  reelection. 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

Mr.  ALLEN  moved  to  strike  out  the  words  "members  of  the  National 
Institute,"  by  which  two  of  the  nominees  in  the  bill  were  designated. 

The  amendment  was  rejected. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  CHOATE,  the  fourth  Wednesday  in  December,  in 
the  bill,  was  changed  to  the  third  Wednesday  in  December,  lest  some- 
times the  fourth  Wednesday  might  fall  on  Christmas  day. 

Mr.  WOODBURY  withdrew  the  printed  amendments  he  had  on  a 
former  day  ofi'ered,  the  necessity  for  them  having  been  obviated  by 
alterations  in  the  bill. 

The  amendment  of  the  substitute,  as  amended,  was  then  adopted, 
and  the  bill  was  reported  back  to  the  Senate. 

Mr.  J.  McP.  BERRIEN,  before  the  bill  was  allowed  to  pass  the  stage 
of  amendment,  suggested  the  necessity  of  considering  whether  a  sec- 
tion would  not  be  necessary  authorizing  the  Institution,  in  respect  to 
the  property  it  would  possess  by  the  grant  of  the  public  grounds,  to 
sue  and  be  sued.  It  might  be  a  question  whether  the  Government 
would  be  the  ostensible  party  in  a  suit. 

Mr.  CHOATE  conceived  the  property  in  the  ground  would  still  vest 
in  the  Government;  but,  for  the  purpose  of  having  time  to  add  a  small 


TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1843-1845.  319 

section  to  avoid  any  possible  difficulty,  he  would  have  no  objection  to 
passing  over  the  bill  informally  till  to-morrow. 

The  amendments  made  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  were  then  con- 
curred in. 
January  22,  1845— Senate. 

The  Senate  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  bill  S.  18,  and  further 
amended  it. 
January  23,  1845— Senate. 

The  bill  S.  18  passed. 
January  27,  1845 — House. 

Message  from  the  Senate  that  bill  S.  18  had  passed. 

Mr.  EDMUND  BURKE  asked  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  House  to 
refer  this  bill  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole,  but  objection  was  made. 
January  28,  1845— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  EDMUND  BURKE,  bill  S.  18  was  committed  to  the 
Committee  of  the  Whole. 
February  10,  1845— House. 

Mr.  ROBERT  DALE  OWEN  submitted  an  amendment  to,  or  substitute 
for,  S.  18;  which  was  committed  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  OWEN,  the  committee  took  up  the  bill  to  establish 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and,  after  some  remarks  from  Mr.  J.  Q. 
Adams,  Mr.  Owen,  and  others,  Mr.  ADAMS  moved  that  the  bill  be  laid 
aside;  which  was  agreed  to. 
March  3,  1845. 

A  joint  resolution  (No.  14)  was  signed  by  the  President: 

That  whenever  any  State  shall  have  been,  or  may  be,  in  default  for  the  payment 
of  interest  or  principal  on  investments  in  its  stocks  or  bonds,  held  by  the  United 
States  in  trust,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  retain  the 
whole,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  of  the  percentage  to  which  such  State 
may  be  entitled,  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands  within  its  limits,  and 
apply  the  same  to  the  payment  of  said  interest  or  principal,  or  to  the  reimbursement 
of  any  sums  of  money  expended  by  the  United  States  for  that  purpose. 

[Stat.,  V;  801.] 

[This  had  reference  to  the  States  in  which  the  Smithson  fund  had 
been  invested.] 
March  3,  1845— House. 

Mr.  EDMUND  BURKE  offered  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  all  debate  in  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  on  the  state  of  the 
Union  on  Senate  bill  18  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  cease  in  ten 
minutes  after  the  same  shall  be  again  taken  up  in  committee  (if  the  committee 
shall  not  sooner  come  to  a  conclusion  upon  the  same) ;  and  the  committee  shall  then 
proceed  to  vote  on  such  amendments  as  may  be  pending,  or  offered  to  the  same,  and 
shall  then  report  it  to  the  House  with  such  amendments  as  may  have  been  agreed  to 
by  the  committee. 

The  resolution  was  read;  when  Mr.  GEORGE  W.  JONES  moved  that 
it  be  laid  upon  the  table. 


320  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

And  the  question  being  put,  it  was  decided  in  the  affirmative — yeas, 
83;  nays,  52. 

The  yeas  and  nays  being  desired  by  one-fifth  of  the  members  present, 
the  vote  was — 

YEAS — Messrs.  Adams,  Arrington,  Barringer,  Belser,  Benton,  Bidlack,  James  A. 
Black,  Bowlin,  Boyd,  Brengle,  Brodhead,  Jeremiah  Brown,  Caldwell,  Carpenter, 
Shepherd  Cary,  Carroll,  Causin,  Reuben  Chapman,  Augustus  A.  Chapman,  Chappell, 
Clinch,  Clinton,  Cobb,  Coles,  Cranston,  Cullom,  Darragh,  Dawson,  Dickey,  Dunlap, 
Ficklin,  Fish,  Grinnell,  Hammett,  Henley,  Hoge,  Hopkins,  Houston,  Hubard,  Hub- 
bell,  Hudson,  Hungerford,  Washington  Hunt,  Irvin,  Jenkg,  Cave  Johnson,  Perley 
B.  Johnson,  George  W.  Jones,  Preston  King,  Lumpkin,  Mcllvaine,  Isaac  E.  Morse, 
Moseley,  Norris,  Parmenter,  Payne,  Phoenix,  Pratt,  Purdy,  Rathbun,  Reding,  Relfe, 
Rhett,  Ritter,  Robinson,  Rogers,  Russell,  Severance,  Simons,  Slidell,  Thomas  Smith, 
Sykes,  Taylor,  Thomasson,  Thompson,  Tilden,  Tucker,  Tyler,  Wethered,  Benjamin 
White,  Williams,  William  Wright,  Yost. 

NAYS— Messrs.  Abbott,  Bayly,  Edward  J.  Black,  Bower,  Brinkerhoff,  Aaron  V. 
Brown,  Burke,  Catlin,  Chilton,  Clingman,  Collamer,  Cross,  Dana,  Daniel,  Richard 
D.  Davis,  Dellet,  Dillingham,  Dromgoole,  Foot,  Foster,  French,  Hamlin,  Harper, 
Andrew  Kennedy,  D.  P.  King,  Leonard,  Lucas,  Maclay,  McClelland,  McDowell, 
McKay,  Marsh,  Edward  Joy  Morris,  Newton,  Owen,  Paterson,  Emery  D.  Potter, 
David  S.  Reid,  Rockwell,  St.  John,  Sample,  Saunders,  Thomas  H.  Seymour,  Albert 
Smith,  Robert  Smith,  Steenrod,  Andrew  Stewart,  John  Stewart,  Stiles,  Alfred  P. 
Stone,  Vinton,  Winthrop. 

EXPLORING   EXPEDITION. 
June  17,  1844. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1845. 

For  continuing  the  preparation  and  publication  of  the  Narrative 
and  Account  of  the  Exploring  Expedition,  $40,000. 

For  the  publication,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  and  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  of  such  of  the  maps  of  the 
exploring  expedition  as,  in  their  judgment,  will  be  serviceable  to  the 
Navy  and  the  commerce  of  the  country,  $2,000. 

To  defray  the  expenses  of  taking  care  of  and  preserving  the  botan- 
ical and  horticultural  specimens  brought  home  by  the  exploring 
expedition,  and  for  the  salary  of  the  keeper  of  and  enlarging  the 
greenhouse  under  the  direction  and  control  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
the  Library,  $2,200 $44,200 

(Stat.,  V.,  691.) 
February  20,  1845. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  as  each  part  of  the  work  now  in  course  of  pub- 
lication on  the  "Exploring  Expedition"  shall  be  completed,  fifty-eight 
copies  of  the  same  shall  be  delivered  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  be 
distributed  as  follows,  that  is  to  say:  To  each  of  these  United  States, 
one  copy;  to  the  Government  of  France,  two  copies;  Great  Britain, 
two  copies;  Russia,  two  copies;  and  one  copy  each  to  Sweden,  Den- 
mark, Prussia,  Austria,  Bavaria,  the  Netherlands,  Belgium,  Portugal, 
Spain,  Sardinia,  Greece,  Tuscany,  the  Ecclesiastical  States,  the  two 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,    1845-1847.  321 

Sicilies,  Turkey,  China,  Mexico,  New  Granada,  Venezuela,  Chili, 
Peru,  the  Argentine  Republic,  Brazil,  Texas,  and  the  Sandwich 
Islands;  and  one  copy  to  the  Naval  Lyceum  in  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  one  copy  of  said  work  be 
given  to  Charles  Wilkes,  esquire,  the  commander  of  said  expedition: 
one  copy  to  William  L.  Hudson,  esquire,  and  one  copy  to  Cadwallader 
Ringold,  esquire,  commandants  of  vessels  in  said  expedition. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  two  copies  of  said  work  be 
placed  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  and  that  the  residue  of  said  work 
shall  be  delivered  to  the  Librarian,  to  be  by  him  preserved  for  future 
distribution. 

(Stat,  V.,  797.) 

March  3,  1845. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1846. 

For  completing  the  publication  of  the  work  on  the  "Exploring 
Expedition,"  including  the  printing  of  an  extra  number  of  charts,  and 
for  the  salary  of  the  horticulturist,  $10,000. 

(Stat,  V.,  761.) 


TWENTY-NINTH  CONGRESS,  1845-1847. 

BEQUEST   OF   JAMES   SMITHSON. 
December  4,  1845— House. 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN  gave  notice  of  a  bill  to  establish  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 
December  19,  1845— House. 

Mr.  R.  D.  Owen's  bill,  H.  5,  was  read  a  first  and  second  time,  and 
referred  to  a  select  committee  of  seven  members,  viz:  Mr.  Robert 
D.  Owen,  Mr.  John  Q.  Adams,  Mr.  Timothy  Jenkins,  Mr.  G.  P. 
Marsh,  Mr.  Alexander  D.  Sims,  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  and  Mr.  David 
Wilmot. 
January  9,  1846— House. 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN,  from  the  select  committee,  reported  a  resolution 
that  the  bill  referred  to  the  committee  be  printed;  agreed  to. 
February  28,  1846— House. 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN,  from  the  select  committee  to  which  was  referred 
the  bill  H.  5,  reported  a  substitute  for  said  bill;  and  thereupon  Mr. 
Owen  offered  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  this  report  be  printed;  that  the  substitute  herewith  reported  be 
referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  be  printed 
separately  in  the  form  of  a  bill;  and  that  the  same  be  made  the  special  order  of  the 
day  for  the  second  Tuesday  in  April  next. 

Mr.  GEORGE  S.  HOUSTON  called  for  a  division  of  the  question,  so  as 
to  take  a  separate  vote  on  the  proposal  to  make  it  the  special  order  for 
a  particular  day;  which  was  ordered, 
H.  Doc.  732 21 


322  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

And  the  question  on  the  first  branch  of  the  resolution  was  taken, 
and  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

So  the  bill  was  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  state 
of  the  Union. 

And  the  question  recurring  on  the  second  branch  of  the  resolution, 

Mr.  OWEN  said:  1  hope  the  House  will  suffer  me  to  say  one  word 
on  the  subject.  The  money  appropriated  by  this  bill  has  been  in  our 
Treasury  between  seven  and  eight  years;  and,  in  all  that  time,  not  a 
dollar  of  it  has  been  used  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the  testator. 
We  can  not  suppose  Congress  unwilling  to  act  in  such  a  matter.  It 
has  heretofore  failed,  because,  in  the  conflict  on  other  important  sub- 
jects, it  was  delayed,  and  remained  among  the  unfinished  business. 
This  will  again  be  its  fate  unless  we  make  it  the  special  order  for 
some  day.  The  committee  put  it  off  until  April.  If  even  that  be  too 
early,  let  a  later  day  be  named.  But  at  all  events,  let  some  day  be 
fixed  when  we  may  know  that  the  subject  will  be  taken  up;  so  that 
we  at  last  escape  the  just  reproach  of  receiving  money  for  one  of  the 
best  purposes  on  earth,  and  then  doing  nothing  with  it. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  the  second  branch  of  the  resolution, 
and  decided  in  the  affirmative — two-thirds  voting  therefor. 

So  the  bill  was  made  the  special  order  rf  the  day  for  the  second 
Tuesday  in  April  next. 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN,  from  the  select  committee  on  the  Smithsonian 
bequest,  made  the  following  report: 

The  select  committee  on  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  to  whom  was 
referred  House  bill  No.  5,  entitled  a  "  bill  to  establish  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,"  have  had  the  same  under  consideration,  and  have  instructed  me 
to  report  the  same  back  with  one  amendment.  The  bill,  as  it  was 
referred  to  them,  reads  as  follows: 

A  bill  to  establish  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 

among  men. 

Whereas  James  Smithson,  Esquire,  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain, 
by  his  last  will  and  testament,  did  give  the  whole  of  his  property  to  the  United 
States  of  America,  to  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men ; 
and  whereas  Congress  have  heretofore  received  said  property  and  accepted  said  trust: 
Therefore,  that  the  same  may  be  executed  in  good  faith,  and  according  to  the  will  of 
the  liberal  and  enlightened  donor — 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.  That  so  much  of  the  property  of  the  said  James  Smithson  as  has 
been  received  in  money,  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  being  the 
sum  of  $515,169,  be  lent  to  the  United  States  Treasury,  at  six  per  cent  per  annum 
interest,  from  September  1, 1838,  when  the  same  was  received  into  the  said  Treasury, 
and  that  so  much  of  the  interest  as  may  have  accrued  on  said  sum  on  the  first  day  of 
July  next,  which  will  amount  to  the  sum  of  $242,129,  or  so  much  thereof  as  shall  by 
the  board  of  managers  of  the  Institution  established  by  this  act  be  deemed  necessary, 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  the 
enclosing  and  preparing  of  suitable  grounds,  and  for  other  current  incidental  expenses 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,  1845-1847.  323 

of  the  said  Institution;  and  that  six  per  cent  interest  on  the  said  trust  fund,  it  being 
the  said  amount  of  $515,169,  received  into  the  United  States  Treasury,  on  September  1, 
1838,  payable,  in  half-yearly  payments,  on  the  first  of  January  and  July  in  each  year, 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  perpetual  maintenance  and  support 
of  said  Institution;  and  all  expenditures  and  appropriations  to  be  made,  from  time  to 
time,  to  the  purposes  of  the  Institution  aforesaid,  shall  be  exclusively  from  the  accru- 
ing interest,  and  not  from  the  principal  of  the  said  fund. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  business  of  the  said  institution  shall  be 
conducted  by  a  board  of  managers,  to  be  composed  of  the  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  during  the  time  for  which  they 
shall  hold  their  respective  offices;  three  members  of  the  Senate  and  three  members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  together  with  seven  other  persons,  other  than  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  two  of  whom  shall  be  members  of  the  National  Institute  in  the  city 
of  Washington,  and  resident  in  the  said  city;  and  the  other  five  thereof  shall  be 
inhabitants  of  States,  and  no  two  of  them  of  the  same  State.  And  the  managers,  to 
be  selected  as  aforesaid  from  Congress,  shall  be  appointed  immediately  after  the  pas- 
sage of  this  act — the  members  of  the  Senate  by  the  President  thereof,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  House  by  the  Speaker  thereof;  and  those  so  appointed  shall  serve  until 
the  fourth  Wednesday  of  December,  the  second  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act; 
and  then,  and  biennially  thereafter,  on  every  alternate  fourth  Wednesday  of  Decem- 
ber, a  like  number  shall  be  appointed  in  the  same  manner,  to  serve  until  the  fourth 
Wednesday  of  December,  the  second  succeeding  their  appointment;  and  they  shall 
also  constitute  and  be  denominated  a  joint  standing  committee  of  Congress  on  the 
Smithsonian  Institution;  and  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  other- 
wise, shall  be  filled  as  vacancies  in  committees  are  filled;  and  the  other  seven  man- 
agers aforesaid  shall  serve  for  the  tenn  of  two  years  from  the  fourth  Wednesday  of 
December  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act;  when,  and  on  every  alternate  fourth 
Wednesday  of  December  thereafter,  a  new  election  thereof  shall  be  made  by  a  joint 
resolution  of  Congress;  and  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise, 
may  be  filled  in  like  manner  by  joint  resolution  of  Congress.  And  the  said  managers 
shall  meet  and  organize,  by  the  choice  of  a  president,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  on 
the  fir.-t  Monday  in  September  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  they  shall  then 
fix  on  the  times  for  regular  meetings  of  the  board;  and  on  application  of  any  three 
of  the  managers  to  the  superintendent  of  the  said  Institution,  it  shall  be  his  duty  to 
appoint  a  specy  al  meeting  of  the  board,  of  which  he  shall  give  notice  by  letter  to  each 
of  the  members;  and  at  any  meeting  of  the  board  of  managers,  five  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  to  do  business.  And  each  member  of  the  board  of  managers  shall  be  paid 
his  necessary  traveling  and  other  actual  expenses  in  attending  meetings  of  the  board, 
which  shall  be  audited  and  recorded  by  the  superintendent  of  the  Institution;  but 
his  service  as  manager  shall  be  gratuitous.  And  whenever  money  is  required  for  the 
payment  of  the  debts  or  performance  of  the  contracts  of  the  Institution,  incurred  or 
entered  into  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  for  making  the  pur- 
chases and  executing  the  objects  authorized  by  this  act,  the  superintendent  or  the 
managers,  or  any  three  thereof,  may  certify  to  the  president  of  the  lx>ard  that  such 
sum  of  money  is  required;  whereupon,  he  shall  submit  the  same  to  a  committee  of 
three  of  the  managers  appointed  for  that  purpose  for  examination  and  approval;  and 
upon  such  examination  and  approval,  he  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper  officer 
of  the  Treasury  for  payment.  And  the  said  board  shall  make  all  needful  rules,  reg- 
ulations, and  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  Institution  and  the  persons 
employed  therein,  and  shall  submit  to  Congress,  at  each  session  thereof,  a  report  of 
the  operations,  expenditures,  and  condition  of  the  Institution. 

SEC.  3.  A  nd  be  it  further  enacted,  That  after  the  board  of  managers  shall  have  met, 
and  become  organized,  it  shall  be  their  duty  forthwith  to  proceed  to  select  suitable 
sites  for  such  buildings  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  Institution,  and  suitable  ground 


324  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

for  horticultural  and  agricultural  purposes  and  experiments;  which  ground  may  be 
taken  and  appropriated  out  of  that  part  of  the  public  ground  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton called  the  Mall,  lying  west  of  Seventh  street;  and  the  sites  and  grounds  so 
selected  shall  be  set  out  by  proper  metes  and  bounds,  and  a  description  of  the  same 
shall  be  made  and  recorded  in  a  book  to  be  provided  for  that  purpose,  and  signed  by 
the  said  managers,  or  so  many  of  them  as  may  be  convened  at  the  time  of  their  said 
organization;  and  such  record,  or  a  copy  thereof,  certified  by  the  president  of  the 
board  of  managers,  shall  be  received  in  evidence  in  all  courts  of  the  extent  and 
boundaries  of  the  lands  appropriated  to  the  said  Institution;  and  upon  the  making 
of  such  record,  such  sites  and  lands  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  appropriated 
by  force  of  this  act  to  the  said  Institution. 

SEC.  4.  And  J>e  it,  further  enacted,  That,  so  soon  as  the  board  of  managers  shall  have 
selected  the  site  for  the  buildings  of  the  Institution,  they  shall  cause  to  be  erected  a 
suitable  building,  of  plain  and  durable  materials  and  structure,  without  unnecessary 
ornament,  and  of  sufficient  size,  and  with  suitable  rooms  or  halls  for  the  reception 
and  arrangement,  upon  a  liberal  scale,  of  objects  of  natural  history,  including  a  geo- 
logical and  mineralogical  cabinet;  also  a  chemical  laboratory,  a  library,  and  the 
necessary  lecture  rooms;  and  the  said  board  shall  have  authority,  by  themselves,  or 
by  a  committee  of  three  of  their  members,  to  contract  for  the  completion  of  such 
building,  upon  such  plan  as  may  be  directed  by  the  board  of  managers,  and  shall 
take  sufficient  security  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  for  the  building  and 
finishing  the  same  according  to  the  said  plan,  and  in  the  time  stipulated  in  such 
contract.  And  the  board  of  managers  shall  also  cause  the  grounds  selected  for  horti- 
cultural and  agricultural  purposes  to  be  enclosed  and  secured,  and  suitable  buildings 
erected,  to  preserve  such  plants  as  will  not  bear  exposure  to  the  weather  at  all  seasons; 
and  so  soon  as  it  may  be  necessary  for  the  accommodation  of  the  persons  employed 
in  said  Institution,  the  said  board  of  managers  may  cause  to  be  erected  on  the  grounds 
of  the  Institution  such  dwelling  hcuises  and  other  buildings,  of  plain  and  substantial 
workmanship  and  materials,  to  be  without  unnecessary  ornament,  as  may  be  wanted: 
Provided,  however,  That  the  whole  expense  of  the  buildings  and  enclosures  aforesaid 
shall  not  exceed  the  amount  of  the  interest  which  will  have  accrued  on  the  principal 
sum  and  fund  on  the  first  day  of  July  next,  to  wit,  the  sum  of  $242,129;  which  sum 
is  hereby  appropriated,  payable  out  of  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated; together  with  such  sum  or  sums  out  of  the  annual  interest  accruing  to  the 
Institution,  as  may,  in  any  year,  remain  unexpended,  after  paying  the  current 
expenses  of  the  Institution :  And  provided,  further,  That  the  expenditure  for  enclos- 
ing and  securing  grounds,  and  erecting  buildings  to  prevent  plants  from  exposure, 
shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  $20,000.  And  all  such  contracts  as  may  be  made  by  said 
board  of  managers  shall  be  deposited  with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States;  and 
all  questions  which  may  arise  between  the  United  States  and  any  person  claiming 
under  and  by  virtue  of  any  such  contract  shall  be  heard  and  determined  by  said 
board  of  managers,  and  such  determination  shall  be  final  and  conclusive  upon  all 
parties;  and  all  claims  on  any  contract  made  as  aforesaid  shall  be  allowed  and  certi- 
fied by  the  board  of  managers,  or  a  committee  thereof,  as  the  case  may  be,  and, 
being  signed  by  the  president  of  the  board,  shall  be  a  sufficient  voucher  for  settle- 
ment and  payment  at  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  And  the  board  of  managers 
shall  be  authorized  to  employ  such  persons  as  they  deem  necessary  to  superintend 
the  erection  of  the  buildings  and  fitting  up  the  rooms  of  the  Institution.  And  all 
laws  for  the  protection  of  public  property  in  the  city  of  Washington  shall  apply  to, 
and  be  in  force  for,  the  protection  of  the  lands,  buildings,  and  other  property  of  said 
Institution;  and  all  prosecutions  for  trespasses  upon  said  property,  and  all  civil  suits 
on  behalf  of  said  Institution,  shall  be  prosecuted  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  in 
any  court  having  competent  jurisdiction  of  the  same. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  in  proportion  a.«  suitable  arrangements  can 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  325 

be  made  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  foreign  and  curious  research,  and  all  objects 
of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens  belonging  or 
hereafter  to  belong  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
in  whosesoever  custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such  persons  as  may 
be  authorized  by  the  board  of  managers  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be  arranged  in  such 
order,  and  so  classed,  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and  study  of  them,  in  the 
buildings  so  as  aforesaid  to  be  erected  for  the  Institution;  and  the  managers  of  said 
Institution  shall  afterwards,  as  new  specimens  in  natural  history,  geology,  or  miner- 
alogy may  be  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  Institution  by  exchanges  of  duplicate 
specimens  belonging  to  the  Institution  (which  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  make) , 
or  by  donation,  which  they  may  receive,  or  otherwise,  cause  such  new  specimens  to 
be  also  appropriately  classed  and  arranged.  And  the  minerals,  books,  manuscripts, 
and  other  property  of  James  Smithson,  which  have  been  received  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  are  now  placed  in  the  Patent  Office,  shall  be  removed 
to  said  Institution  and  shall  be  preserved  separate  and  apart  from  the  other  property 
of  the  Institution. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  managers  of  said  Institution  shall  appoint 
a  superintendent,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  take  charge  of  the  ground,  buildings,  and 
property  belonging  to  the  Institution,  and  carefully  preserve  the  same  from  injury; 
and  such  superintendent  shall  be  the  secretary  of  the  board  of  managers,  and  shall, 
under  their  direction,  make  a  fair  and  accurate  record  of  all  their  proceedings,  to  be 
preserved  in  said  Institution;  and  the  said  superintendent  shall  also  discharge  the 
duties  of  librarian  and  of  keeper  of  the  museum,  and  may,  with  the  consent  of  the 
board  of  managers,  employ  an  assistant;  and  the  said  managers  shall  appoint  a  pro- 
fessor of  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  rural  economy,  and  the  said  professor  may 
hire,  from  time  to  time,  so  many  gardeners,  practical  agriculturists,  and  laborers  as 
may  be  necessary  to  cultivate  the  ground  and  keep  in  repair  the  buildings  of  said 
Institution;  and  he  shall  make  experiments  to  determine  the  utility  and  advantage 
of  new  modes  and  instruments  of  culture,  to  determine  whether  new  fruits,  plants, 
and  vegetables  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage  in  the  United  States;  and  all  such 
fruits,  plants,  seeds,  and  vegetables  as  shall  be  found  useful,  and  adapted  to  any  of 
our  soils  and  climates,  shall  be  distributed  among  the  people  of  the  Union;  and  the 
said  officers  shall  receive  for  their  services  such  sum  as  may  be  allowed  by  the  board 
of  managers,  to  be  paid  semiannually  on  the  first  day  of  January  and  July;  and 
the  said  officers,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  Institution,  shall  be  removable  by 
the  board  of  managers  whenever,  in  their  judgment,  the  interests  of  the  Institution 
require  any  of  the  said  officers  to  be  changed. 

SEC.  7.  And  whereas  the  most  effectual  mode  of  promoting  the  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge  is  by  judiciously  conducted  common  schools,  to  the  establishment  of 
which  throughout  the  Union  much  aid  will  be  afforded  by  improving  and  perfecting 
the  common  school  system  of  the  country,  and  by  elevating  the  standard  of  qualifi- 
cation for  common  school  teachers;  and  whereas  knowledge  may  be  essentially 
increased  among  men  by  instituting  scientific  researches,  and,  generally,  by  spreading 
among  the  people  a  taste  for  science  and  the  arts — 

Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  board  of  managers  shall  establish  a  normal  branch 
of  the  Institution,  by  appointing  some  suitable  person  as  professor  of  common  school 
instruction,  with  such  other  professors,  chiefly  of  the  more  useful  sciences  and  arts, 
as  may  be  necessary  for  such  a  thorough,  scientific,  and  liberal  course  of  instruction 
as  may  be  adapted  to  qualify  young  persons  as  teachers  of  common  schools, 
and  to  give  to  others  a  knowledge  of  an  improved  common  school  system,  and 
also,  when  desired,  to  qualify  students  as  teachers  or  professors  of  the  more  impor- 
tant branches  of  natural  science.  And  the  board  of  managers  may  authorize  the 
professors  of  the  Institution  to  grant  to  such  of  its  students  as  may  desire  it,  after 
suitable  examination,  certificates  of  qualification  as  common  school  teachers,  and 


326  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

also  as  teachers  or  professors  in  various  branches  of  science;  they  may  also  employ 
able  men  to  lecture  upon  useful  subjects,  and  shall  fix  the  compensation  of  such 
lecturers  and  professors:  Provided,  however,  That  there  shall  not  be  established,  in 
connection  with  the  Institution,  any  school  of  law,  or  medicine,  or  divinity,  nor  any 
professorship  of  ancient  languages.  And  the  said  managers  shall  make,  from  the 
interest  of  said  fund,  an  appropriation,  not  exceeding  $5,000  annually,  for  the  gradual 
formation  of  a  library,  composed  chiefly  of  the  best  works  on  the  physical  sciences, 
and  the  application  of  science  to  the  arts  of  life,  but  without  excluding  valuable 
and  standard  works  pertaining  to  other  departments  of  human  knowledge. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  board  of  managers  shall  make  all 
needful  rules,  regulations,  and  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  Institution  and  the 
persons  employed  therein;  and,  in  prescribing  the  duties  of  the  professors  and 
lecturers,  they  shall  have  reference  to  the  introduction  and  illustration  of  subjects 
connected  with  the  application  of  science  to  the  productive  and  liberal  arts  of  life, 
improvements  in  agriculture,  in  manufactures,  in  trades,  and  in  domestic  economy; 
and  they  shall  also  have  special  reference  to  the  increase  and  extension  of  scientific 
knowledge  generally,  by  experiment  and  research;  and  the  managers  may,  at 
their  discretion,  cause  to  be  printed,  from  time  to  time,  any  lecture  or  course  of 
lectures  which  they  may  deem  useful;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  lecturer, 
while  in  the  service  of  the  Institution,  to  submit  a  copy  of  any  lecture  or  lectures 
delivered  by  him,  to  the  managers,  if  required  and  called  upon,  for  the  purpose  of 
being  printed;  and  such  lectures,  when  printed,  shall  be  at  all  times  offered  for  sale 
at  the  lowest  rate  that  will  repay  the  actual  expense  of  publication. ' 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  board  of  managers  shall  also  make 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  admission  of  students  into  the  various  departments  of 
the  institution,  and  their  conduct  and  deportment  while  they  remain  therein:  Pro- 
vided, That  all  instruction  in  said  Institution  shall  be  gratuitous  to  those  students 
who  conform  to  such  rules  and  regulations. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall  be  competent  for  the  board  of  man- 
agers to  cause  to  be  printed  and  published  periodically  or  occasionally  essays,  pam- 
phlets, magazines,  or  other  brief  works  or  productions  for  the  dissemination  of  infor- 
mation among  the  people,  especially  works  in  popular  form  on  agriculture  and  its 
latest  improvements,  on  the  sciences  and  the  aid  they  bring  to  labor,  manuals 
explanatory  of  the  best  systems  of  common  school  instruction,  and  generally  tracts 
illustrative  of  objects  of  elementary  science  and  the  rudiments  of  history,  chemis- 
try, astronomy,  or  any  other  department  of  useful  knowledge;  also,  they  may  pre- 
pare sets  of  illustrations,  specimens,  and  apparatus,  suited  for  primary  schools: 
Provided,  That  the  same  shall  at  all  times  be  offered  for  sale  at  the  lowest  rate  that 
will  repay  the  actual  expense  of  preparation  or  publication. 

SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  of  any  other  moneys  which  have  accrued, 
or  shall  hereafter  accrue,  as  interest  upon  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein 
appropriated,  or  not  required  for  the  purposes  herein  provided,  the  said  managers 
are  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for  the 
promotion  of  the  purposes  of  the  testator,  anything  herein  contained  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

SEC.  12.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That and  Joseph  G.  Totten  and  Alex- 
ander Dallas  Bache,  members  of  the  National  Institute,  and  resident  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  be  the  seven  managers  who,  by  the  second  section  of  this  act,  are  to  be 
appointed  by  Congress. 

SEC.  13.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  is  reserved  to  Congress  the  right  of 
altering,  amending,  adding  to,  or  repealing  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act:  Pro- 
vided, That  no  contract,  or  individual  right,  made  or  acquired  under  such  provisions, 
shall  be  thereby  divested  or  impaired. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGKESS,   1845-1847.  327 

The  amendment  agreed  to  by  your  committee,  and  which  they 
recommend  for  adoption  to  the  House,  is  to  strike  out  all  after  the 
preamble,  and  insert  the  following  substitute: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  so  much  of  the  property  of  the  said  James  Smithson  as 
has  been  received  in  money  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  being 
the  sum  of  $515,169,  be  lent  to  the  United  States  Treasury,  at  six  per  cent  per  annum 
interest,  from  September  1, 1838,  when  the  same  was  received  into  the  said  Treasury; 
and  that  so  much  of  the  interest  as  may  have  accrued  on  said  sum  on  the  first  day  of 
July  next,  which  will  amount  to  the  sum  of  $242,129,  or  so  much  thereof  as  shall  by 
the  board  of  managers  of  the  Institution  established  by  this  act  be  deemed  necessary, 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  the 
enclosing  and  preparing  of  suitable  grounds,  and  for  other  current  incidental  expenses 
of  the  said  Institution;  and  that  six  per  cent  interest  on  the  said  trust  fund,  it  being 
the  said  amount  of  $515,169,  received  into  the  United  States  Treasury  on  the  first  of 
September,  1838,  payable,  in  half-yearly  payments,  on  the  first  of  January  and  July  in 
each  year,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  perpetual  maintenance 
and  support  of  said  Institution;  and  all  expenditures  and  appropriations  to  be  made, 
from  time  to  time,  to  the  purposes  of  the  Institution  aforesaid,  shall  be  exclusively 
from  the  accruing  interest  and  not  from  the  principal  of  the  said  fund.  And  be  it  fur- 
ther enacted,  That  all  the  moneys  and  stocks  which  have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be, 
received  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  on  account  of  the  fund  bequeathed 
by  James  Smithson,  be,  and  the  same  hereby  are,  pledged  to  refund  to  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States  the  sums  hereby  appropriated. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  business  of  the  said  institution  shall  be 
conducted  by  a  board  of  managers  who  shall  be,  and  hereby  are,  constituted  a  body 
politic  and  corporate  by  the  style  and  title  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  with 
perpetual  succession,  and  the  usual  powers,  duties,  and  liabilities  incident  to  corpo- 
rations. And  the  said  board  of  managers  shall  be  composed  of  the  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city 
of  Washington,  during  the  time  for  which  they  shall  hold  their  respective  offices, 
three  members  of  the  Senate,  and  three  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
together  with  six  other  persons  other  than  members  of  Congress,  two  of  whom  shall 
be  members  of  the  National  Institute  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  resident  in 
the  said  city;  and  the  other  four  thereof  shall  be  inhabitants  of  States,  and  no  two 
of  them  of  the  same  State;  and  the  managers,  to  be  selected  as  aforesaid,  shall  be 
appointed  immediately  after  the  passage  of  this  act — the  members  of  the  Senate  by 
the  President  thereof;  the  members  of  the  House  by  the  Speaker  thereof;  and  the  six 
other  persons  by  joint  resolution  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives;  and 
the  members  of  the  House  so  appointed  shall  serve  until  the  fourth  Wednesday  in 
December,  the  second  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act;  and  then,  and  biennially 
thereafter,  on  every  alternate  fourth  Wednesday  of  December,  a  like  number  shall 
be  appointed  in  the  same  manner,  to  serve  until  the  fourth  Wednesday  in  December, 
the  second  succeeding  their  appointment;  and  the  Senators  so  appointed  shall  serve 
during  the  term  for  which  they  shall  hold,  without  reelection,  their  office  as  Senators. 
And  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  shall  be  filled  as  vacan- 
cies in  committees  are  filled;  and  the  other  six  members  aforesaid  shall  serve,  two 
for  two  years,  two  for  four  years,  and  two  for  six  years;  the  terms  of  service  in  the 
first  place  to  be  determined  by  lot;  but  after  the  first  term  then  their  regular  term  of 
service  shall  be  six  years;  and  new  elections  thereof  shall  be  made  by  joint  resolution 
of  Congress;  and  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  may  be 
filled  in  like  manner  by  joint  resolution  of  Congress.  And  the  said  managers  shall 
meet  and  organize  by  the  choice  of  a  president  in  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  first 
Monday  in  September  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  they  shall  then  fix  on 


328  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  times  for  regular  meetings  of  the  board;  and  on  application  of  any  three  of  the 
managers  to  the  superintendent  of  the  said  Institution  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  appoint 
a  special  meeting  of  the  board,  of  which  he  shall  give  notice  by  letter  to  each  of  the 
members;  and  at  any  meeting  of  the  board  of  managers  five  shall  constitute  a  quorum 
to  do  business.  And  each  member  of  the  board  of  managers  shall  be  paid  his  neces- 
sary traveling  and  other  actual  expenses  in  attending  meetings  of  the  board,  which 
shall  be  audited  and  recorded  by  the  superintendent  of  the  Institution;  but  his  service 
as  manager  shall  be  gratuitous.  And  whenever  money  is  required  for  the  payment 
of  the  debts  or  performance  of  the  contracts  of  the  Institution,  incurred  or  entered 
into  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  for  making  the  purchases  and 
executing  the  objects  authorized  by  this  act,  the  superintendent  or  the  managers,  or 
any  three  thereof,  may  certify  to  the  president  of  the  board  that  such  sum  of  money 
is  required;  whereupon  he  shall  submit  the  same  to  a  committee  of  three  of  the  man- 
agers appointed  for  that  purpose  for  examination  and  approval,  and  upon  such 
examination  and  approval  he  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper  officer  of  the  Treas- 
ury for  payment.  And  the  said  board  shall  make  all  needful  rules,  regulations,  and 
by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  Institution  and  the  persons  employed  therein,  and 
shall  submit  to  Congress  at  each  session  thereof,  a  report  of  the  operations,  expendi- 
tures, and  condition  of  the  Institution. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  itfurtlier  enacted,  That  after  the  board  of  managers  shall  have  met, 
and  become  organized,  it  shall  be  their  duty  forthwith  to  proceed  to  select  suitable 
sites  for  such  buildings  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  Institution,  and  suitable  ground 
for  horticultural  and  agricultural  purposes  and  experiments;  which  ground  may  be 
taken  and  appropriated  out  of  that  part  of  the  public  ground  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton called  the  Mall,  lying  west  of  Seventh  street;  and  the  sites  and  ground  so  selected 
shall  be  set  out  by  proper  metes  and  bounds,  and  a  description  of  the  same  shall  be 
made  and  recorded  in  a  book  to  be  provided  for  that  purpose,  and  signed  by  the  said 
managers,  or  so  many  of  them  as  may  be  convened  at  the  time  of  their  said  organi- 
zation; and  such  record,  or  a  copy  thereof,  certified  by  the  president  of  the  board  of 
managers,  shall  be  received  in  evidence  in  all  courts  of  the  extent  and  boundaries  of 
the  lands  appropriated  to  the  said  Institution;  and  upon  the  making  of  such  record, 
such  sites  and  lands  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  appropriated  by  force  of  this 
act  to  the  said  Institution. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  so  soon  as  the  board  of  managers  shall  have 
selected  the  site  for  the  buildings  of  the  Institution,  they  shall  cause  to  be  erected  a 
suitable  building,  of  plain  and  durable  materials  and  structure,  without  unnecessary 
ornament,  and  of  sufficient  size,  and  with  suitable  rooms,  or  halls,  for  the  reception 
and  arrangement,  upon  a  liberal  scale,  of  objects  of  natural  history,  including  a  geo- 
logical and  mineralogical  cabinet;  also  a  chemical  laboratory,  a  library,  a  gallery  of 
art,  and  the  necessary  lecture  rooms;  and  the  said  board  shall  have  authority,  by 
themselves,  or  by  a  committee  of  three  of  their  members,  to  contract  for  the  comple- 
tion of  such  building,  upon  such  plan  as  may  be  directed  by  the  board  of  managers, 
and  shall  take  sufficient  security  for  the  building  and  finishing  the  same  according 
to  the  said  plan,  and  in  the  time  stipulated  in  such  contract.  And  the  board  of 
managers  shall  also  cause  the  grounds  selected  for  horticultural  and  agricultural  pur- 
poses to  be  inclosed  and  secured,  and  suitable  buildings  erected  to  preserve  such 
plants  as  will  not  bear  exposure  to  the  weather  at  all  seasons;  and  so  soon  as  it  may 
be  necessary  for  the  accommodation  of  the  persons  employed  in  said  Institution,  the 
said  board  of  managers  may  cause  to  be  erected,  on  the  grounds  of  the  Institution, 
such  dwelling  houses  and  other  buildings,  of  plain  and  substantial  workmanship  and 
materials,  to  be  without  unnecessary  ornament,  as  may  be  wanted:  Provided,  however, 
That  the  whole  expense  of  the  buildings  and  inclosures  aforesaid  shall  not  exceed 
the  amount  of  the  interest  which  will  have  accrued  on  the  principal  sum  and  fund 
on  the  first  day  of  July  next,  to  wit:  $242,129;  which  sum  is  hereby  appropriated, 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  329 

payable  out  of  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated;  together  with 
such  sum  or  sums  out  of  the  annual  interest  accruing  to  the  Institution,  as  may,  in 
any  year,  remain  unexpended,  after  paying  the  current  expenses  of  the  Institution: 
And  provided,  further,  That  the  expenditure  for  inclosing  and  securing  grounds,  and 
erecting  buildings  to  prevent  plants  from  exposure,  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of 
$20,000.  And  duplicates  of  all  such  contracts  as  may  be  made  by  the  said  board 
of  managers  shall  be  deposited  with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States;  and  all 
claims  on  any  contract,  made  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  allowed  and  certified  by  the  board 
of  managers,  or  a  committee  thereof,  as  the  case  may  be,  and,  being  signed  by  the 
president  of  the  board,  shall  be  a  sufficient  voucher  for  settlement  and  payment  at 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  And  the  board  of  managers  shall  be  authorized 
to  employ  such  persons  as  they  deem  necessary  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the 
buildings  and  fitting  up  the  rooms  of  the  Institution.  And  all  laws  for  the  protection 
of  public  property  in  the  city  of  Washington  shall  apply  to,  and  be  in  force  for,  the 
protection  of  the  lands,  buildings,  and  other  property  of  said  Institution.  And  all 
moneys  recovered  by,  or  accruing  to,  the  Institution  shall  be  paid  into  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States,  to  the  credit  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  and  separately 
accounted  for,  as  provided  in  the  act  approved  July  1,  1836,  accepting  said  bequest. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  in  proportion  as  suitable  arrangements  can 
be  made  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research, 
and  all  objects  of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens 
belonging  or  hereafter  to  belong  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such 
persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  board  of  managers  to  receive  them,  and  shall 
be  arranged  in  such  order,  and  so  classed,  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and 
study  of  them,  in  the  buildings  so  as  aforesaid  to  be  erected  for  the  institution;  and 
the  managers  of  said  institution  shall  afterwards,  as  new  specimens  in  natural  his- 
tory, geology,  or  mineralogy  may  be  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  institution,  by 
exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens  belonging  to  the  institution  (which  they  are  hereby 
authorized  to  make),  or  by  donation,  which  they  may  receive,  or  otherwise,  cause 
such  new  specimens  to  be  also  appropriately  classed  and  arranged.  And  the  min- 
erals, books,  manuscripts,  and  other  property  of  James  Smithson,  which  have  been 
received  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  are  now  placed  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  shall  be  removed  to  such  institution,  and  shall  be  preserved  separate 
and  apart  from  the  other  property  of  the  institution. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  managers  of  said  institution  shall  appoint 
a  superintendent,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  take  charge  of  the  grounds,  buildings, 
and  property  belonging  to  the  institution,  and  carefully  preserve  the  same  from 
injury;  and  such  superintendent  shall  be  the  secretary  of  the  board  of  managers, 
and  shall,  under  their  direction,  make  a  fair  and  accurate  record  of  all  their  pro- 
ceedings, to  be  preserved  in  said  institution;  and  the  said  superintendent  shall  also 
discharge  the  duties  of  librarian  and  of  keeper  of  the  museum,  and  may,  with  the 
consent  of  the  board  of  managers,  employ  assistants;  and  the  said  managers  shall 
appoint  a  professor  of  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  rural  economy;  and  the  said 
professor  may  hire,  from  time  to  time,  so  many  gardeners,  practical  agriculturists, 
and  laborers  as  may  be  necessary  to  cultivate  the  ground  and  maintain  a  botanical 
garden ;  and  he  shall  make,  under  the  supervision  of  the  board  of  management,  such 
experiments  as  may  be  of  general  utility  throughout  the  United  States,  to  determine 
the  utility  and  advantage  oi'  new  modes  and  instruments  of  culture,  to  determine 
whether  new  fruits,  plants,  and  vegetables  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage  in  the 
United  States;  and  the  said  officers  shall  receive  for  their  services  such  sum  as  may 
be  allowed  by  the  board  of  managers,  to  be  paid  semiannualiy  on  the  first  day  of 
January  and  July;  and  the  said  officers,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  institution,  shall 


330  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

be  removable  by  the  board  of  managers  whenever,  in  their  judgment,  the  interests 
of  the  institution  require  any  of  the  said  officers  to  be  changed. 

SEC.  7.  And  whereas  the  most  effectual  mode  of  promoting  the  general  diffusion 
of  knowledge  is  by  judiciously  conducted  common  schools,  to  the  establishment  of 
which  throughout  the  Union  much  aid  will  be  afforded  by  improving  and  perfecting 
the  common-school  system  of  the  country,  and  by  elevating  the  standard  of  qualifi- 
cation for  common-school  teachers;  and  whereas  knowledge  may  be  essentially 
increased  among  men  by  instituting  scientific  researches,  and,  generally,  by  spread- 
ing among  the  people  a  taste  for  science  and  the  arts: 

Be  it  furthe^  enacted.  That  the  board  of  managers  shall  establish  a  normal  branch 
of  the  institution,  by  appointing  some  suitable  person  as  professor  of  common-school 
instruction,  with  such  other  professors,  chiefly  of  the  more  useful  sciences  and  arts, 
as  may  be  necessary  for  such  a  thorough,  scientific,  and  liberal  course  of  instruction 
as  may  be  adapted  to  qualify  young  persons  as  teachers  of  common  schools,  and  to 
give  to  others  a  knowledge  of  an  improved  common-school  system;  and  also,  when 
desired,  to  qualify  students  as  teachers  or  professors  of  the  more  important  branches 
of  natural  science.  And  the  board  of  managers  may  authorize  the  professors  of  the 
institution  to  grant  to  such  of  its  students  as  may  desire  it,  after  suitable  examina- 
tion, certificates  of  qualification  as  common-school  teachers,  and  also  as  teachers  or 
professors  in  various  branches  of  science;  they  may  also  employ  able  men  to  lecture 
upon  useful  subjects,  and  shall  fix  the  compensation  of  such  lecturers  and  professors: 
Provided,  however,  That  there  shall  not  be  established,  in  connection  writh  the  insti- 
tution, any  school  of  law,  or  medicine,  or  divinity,  nor  any  professorship  of  ancient 
languages.  And  the  said  managers  shall  make,  from  the  interest  of  said  fund,  an 
appropriation,  not  exceeding  an  average  of  $10,000  annually,  for  the  gradual  forma- 
tion of  a  library,  composed  of  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  departments  of  human 
knowledge. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  board  of  managers  shall  make  all 
needful  rules,  regulations,  and  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  institution  and  the 
persons  employed  therein;  and  in  prescribing  the  duties  of  the  professors  and  lec- 
turers they  shall  have  reference  to  the  introduction  and  illustration  of  subjects 
connected  with  the  application  of  science  to  the  productive  and  liberal  arts  of  life, 
improvements  in  agriculture,  in  manufactures,  in  trades,  and  in  domestic  economy; 
and  they  shall  also  have  special  reference -to  the  increase  and  extension  of  scientific 
knowledge  generally,  by  experiment  and  research.  And  the  managers  may,  at  their 
discretion,  cause  to  be  printed  from  time  to  time  any  lecture  or  course  of  lectures 
which  they  may  deem  useful.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  lecturer  while  in 
the  service  of  the  institution  to  submit  a  copy  of  any  lecture  or  lectures  delivered  by 
him  to  the  managers,  if  required  and  called  upon. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  board  of  managers  shall  also  make 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  admission  of  students  into  the  various  departments  of 
the  institution  and  their  conduct  and  deportment  while  they  remain  therein:  Pro- 
vided, That  all  instruction  in  said  institution  shall  be  gratuitous  to  those  students 
who  conform  to  such  rules  and  regulations. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  competent  for  the  board  of  man- 
agers to  cause  to  be  printed  and  published  periodically  or  occasionally  essays,  pam- 
phlets, magazines,  or  other  brief  works  or  productions  for  the  dissemination  of 
information  among  the  people,  especially  works  in  popular  form  on  agriculture  and 
its  latest  improvements,  on  the  sciences  and  the  aid  they  bring  to  labor,  manuals 
explanatory  of  the  best  systems  of  common-school  instruction,  and  generally  tracts 
illustrative  of  objects  of  elementary  science,  and  treatises  on  history,  natural  and 
civil,  chemistry,  astronomy,  or  any  other  department  of  useful  knowledge;  also,  they 
may  prepare  sets  of  illustrations,  specimens,  apparatus,  and  school  books  suited  for 
primary  schools. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGEESS,   1845-1847.  331 

SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  of  any  other  moneys  which  have  accrued, 
or  shall  hereafter  accrue,  as  interest  upon  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein 
appropriated  or  not  required  for  the  purposes  herein  provided,  the  said  managers 
are  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for  the 
promotion  of  the  purpose  of  the  testator,  anything  herein  contained  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

SEC.  12.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  is  reserved  to  Congress  the  right  of 
altering,  amending,  adding  to,  or  repealing  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act:  Pro- 
vided, That  no  contract  or  individual  right  made  or  acquired  under  such  provisions 
shall  be  thereby  divested  or  impaired. 

Your  committee  further  report  that  though  they  do  not  consider 
it  in  strictness  a  part  of  their  duty  to  refer  to  the  purchases  of  stocks 
which  Congress  has  seen  fit  to  make  with  the  money  paid  into  the 
Treasury  as  the  Smithsonian  fund,  yet  they  have  inquired  into  the 
present  condition  of  these  investments  and  make  the  following  state- 
ment in  regard  to  the  same,  that  the  House,  by  its  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means  or  otherwise,  may,  if  it  see  fit,  inquire  into  the  expe- 
diency of  adopting  measures  for  the  ultimate  arrangement  of  these 
debts. 

There  was  invested,  as  by  reference  to  Tables  A,  B,  and  C,  in  House 
Doc.  No.  142,  Twenty-eighth  Congress,  first  session,  will  more  fully 
appear,  upward  of  half  a  million  in  Arkansas  bonds;  upward  of 
$50,000  in  Illinois  bonds,  and  a  few  smaller  sums  in  Ohio,  Michigan, 
and  United  States  stocks. 

On  these  stocks,  up  to  December  31,  1843,  as  appears  also  in  the 
report  above  referred  to,  interest  was  paid  except — 

Balance  of  interest  then  due  and  unpaid. 
By  the  State  of— 

Arkansas $75,687.84 

Michigan 480. 00 

Illinois 3,  360. 00 


Total  interest  due  and  unpaid  December  31,  1843 79, 527. 84 

By  a  statement  received  by  your  committee  from  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  they  learn  that,  since  December  31,  1843,  there  has  been 
carried  into  the  Treasury,  on  account  of  interest  due  by  these  States, 
the  sum  of  $19,106.25,  and  that  the  entire  amount  of  interest  due  and 
unpaid  at  the  close  of  last  year  had  increased  as  follows: 

Balance  of  interest  due  and  unpaid  up  to  December  31,  1846. 

By  the  State  of— 

Arkansas $130, 841. 52 

Illinois 1, 680.  00 

Michigan 180. 07 


Total  interest  on  stocks  purchased  with  the  Smithsonian  fund, 
due  and  unpaid  December  31,  1845 132,  701. 


332  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

What  measures,  if  any,  it  may  be  expedient  to  adopt  in  regard  to 
the  back  interest,  or  to  the  sale  of  all  or  any  of  these  stocks,  they  have 
not  considered  it  their  province  to  inquire. 

And  your  committee  recommend  to  the  House  the  adoption  of  the 
following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  this  report  be  printed;  that  the  substitute  herewith  reported  by 
them  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  be 
printed  separately  in  the  form  of  a  bill;  and  that  the  same  be  made  the  special  order 
of  the  day  for  the  second  Tuesday  in  April  next. 
April  21,  1846— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  proposed  the  following  amendment  to  the 
bill  (H.  5)  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution:  Strike  out  the  pre- 
amble, and  all  except  the  enacting  clause,  and  insert: 

That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  requested,  by  the  use  of  suitable  means 
of  moral  suasion,  and  no  others,  to  obtain  from  the  governments  of  the  States  of 
Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Michigan  payment  of  the  arrears  of  interest  due  from  the 
said  States  to  the  United  States,  and  the  interest  thereafter,  and  the  principal  as  it 
shall  become  due,  according  to  the  promises  on  the  face  of  the  bonds  given  by  the 
said  States  for  moneys  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson,  a  benevolent  Englishman,  to 
the  United  States  of  America,  for  the  special  purpose  of  founding  at  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  which 
bequest  was,  by  an  act  of  Congress  approved  on  the  first  of  July,  eighteen  hundred 
and  thirty-six,  accepted,  with  a  pledge  of  the  faith  of  the  United  States  that  it  should 
be  applied  to  the  purposes  prescribed  by  the  testator. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  when  payment  shall  have  been  obtained 
from  the  said  States  of  Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Michigan  of  the  arrears  of  interest  due 
on  their  said  bonds,  Congress  shall  forthwith  proceed  to  appropriate  said  sums  of 
interest  so  recovered,  together  with  the  interest  hitherto  received,  or  hereafter  to  be 
received,  until  the  time  of  making  such  appropriations,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall 
deem  suited  to  redeem  the  pledge  of  the  faith  of  the  United  States  to  the  applica- 
tion of  the  funds  of  the  bequest  of  the  said  James  Smithson  to  the  specific  purpose 
prescribed  by  the  testator. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  until  the  arrears  of  interest  due  by  the  said 
States  of  Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Michigan  to  the  United  States  upon  their  said 
respective  bonds  shall  have  been  received  at  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  no 
appropriation  shall  be  made  by  Congress,  chargeable  upon  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  purposes  prescribed  by  the  testator,  James  Smithson, 
for  the  disposal  of  his  bequest. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  within  the  first  thirty  days  of  each  and  every 
successive  session  of  Congress  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to 
report  to  Congress  the  then  actual  state  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  particularly 
the  amount  of  arrears  of  interest  due  upon  the  said  bonds  of  the  States  of  Arkansas, 
Illinois,  and  Michigan,  together  with  copies  of  all  correspondence,  showing  the  result 
of  the  means  of  moral  suasion  used  during  the  preceding  year  to  obtain  payment  of 
the  said  arrears  of  interest,  and  the  said  annual  reports  shall  be  printed  for  the 
information  of  the  people. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
April  22,  1846— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  JOHN  W.  DAVIS)  announced  the  special  order  of 
the  day  to  be  the  bill  in  relation  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  333 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN  moved  that  the  House  resolve  itself  into  Commit- 
tee of  the  Whole  on  the  state  of  the  Union,  which  motion  was  agreed  to. 

The  SPEAKER  invited  to  the  chair  Mr.  Seaborn  Jones,  who  excused 
himself  on  the  ground  that  he  had  but  a  limited  acquaintance  with  the 
members. 

Mr.  ARMISTEAD  BURT,  having  then  been  addressed  by  the  Speaker, 
accepted  the  invitation. 

Whereupon  the  House  resolved  itself  into  Committee  of  the  Whole 
on  the  state  of  the  Union  (Mr.  Burt,  of  South  Carolina,  in  the  chair), 
and  proceeded  to  the  consideration  of  the  bill  entitled  "A  bill  to  estab- 
lish the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men." 

The  bill,  having  been  read  through,  was  taken  up  by  sections;  and 
the  first  section  being  under  consideration,  Mr.  G.  W.  JONES  moved 
that  the  said  section  be  stricken  out. 

Mr.  OWEN  said:  We  have  been  unfortunate,  in  this  country,  in  the 
administration  of  legacies  bequeathed  by  benevolent  men  for  the 
improvement  of  our  race.  Of  the  noble  Girard  fund,  three-quarters 
of  a  million  of  dollars  are  lost  forever,  and  though  half  a  generation 
has  passed  away  since  the  eccentric  Fhiladelphian  died,  not  one  child 
has  yet  reaped  the  benefit  of  his  munificent  bequest.  A  temple  has 
indeed  arisen  that  outshines  Greece  and  her  Parthenon;  its  sumptuous 
Corinthian  pillars,  each  one  costing  a  sum  that  would  have  endowed  a 
professorship,  are  the  admiration  of  beholders  and  the  boast  of  the 
Quaker  City;  but  years  must  yet  elapse  before  the  first  son  of  indi- 
gence can  ascend  the  steps  of  that  princely  portico  and  sit  down  within 
those  marble  halls  to  receive  the  education  for  which  its  simple  and 
unostentatious  founder  sought  to  provide. 

Yet  it  is  not  for  us  of  this  National  Legislature  to  arraign,  as  dila- 
tory, the  corporation  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  sixteen  years  since  James 
Smithson  died,  leaving  to  the  United  States  the  reversion  of  more 
than  half  a  million  of  dollars,  to  found,  in  this  District,  an  institution 
14 for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  It  will 
be  ten  years  on  the  1st  of  July  next  since  this  Government  solemnly 
accepted  the  trust  created  by  Mr.  Smithson's  will.  It  will  be  eight 
years  next  September  since  the  money  was  obtained  from  the  English 
court  of  chancery  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 
And  yet,  though  distinguished  men  have  moved  in  this  matter,  though 
projects  have  been  brought  forward  and  discussed  in  Congress,  there 
has  till  this  day  been  no  final  action;  the  first  human  being  has  yet  to 
receive  the  benefit  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest;  the  corner  stone  of  the 
first  building  has  yet  to  be  laid,  in  fulfillment  of  the  intentions  of  the 
philanthropic  testator. 

Small  encouragement  is  there  in  such  tardiness  as  this  to  others  as 
wealthy  and  as  liberal  as  Smithson  and  Girard  to  follow  their  noble 


334  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

example;  small  encouragement  to  such  men  to  intrust  to  our  care 
bequests  for  human  improvement.  Due  diligence  is  one  of  the  duties 
of  a  faithful  trustee.  Has  Congress  in  its  conduct  of  this  sacred  trus- 
teeship used  due  diligence?  Have  its  members  realized  in  the  depths 
of  their  hearts  its  duties  and  their  urgent  importance?  Or  has  not  the 
language  of  our  legislative  action  rather  been  but  this:  "The  Smith- 
sonian fund?  Ah,  true;  that's  well  thought  of.  One  forgets  these 
small  matters.  We  ought  certainly  to  attend  to  it  one  of  these  days, 
if  we  could  only  find  time."  We  are  as  the  guests  in  the  parable 
bidden  to  the  marriage  feast:  "I  have  married  a  wife,  and  therefore  I 
can  not  come."  "I  have  bought  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  must  needs  remain 
at  home  to  prove  them."  Let  us  see  to  it  that  the  condemnation  passed 
upon  their  paltry  excuses  fall  not  with  double  force  upon  our  supine- 
ness  in  this  thing. 

There  are  those  among  the  strict  constructionists  of  the  House  who 
will  vote  to  return  this  fund  to  the  British  court  of  chancery,  alleg- 
ing that  we  have  no  constitutional  power  to  receive  or  to  administer 
it.  I  suppose,  judging  from  the  tenor  of  the  amendment  moved  by 
the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  G.  W.  Jones],  that  he  will  so  vote. 

Mr.  JONES.  I  certainly  shall. 

Mr.  OWEN.  Well,  sir,  though  I  share  not  the  gentleman's  constitu- 
tional scruples,  yet  I,  too,  if  action  in  this  matter  be  much  longer 
delayed,  shall  join  in  a  vote  to  send  back  the  money  to  the  country 
whence  it  came.  There  is  not  common  honesty  in  a  man  who  shall  receive 
a  trust  fund,  even  for  an  object  the  most  indifferent,  and  then  keep  the 
money  in  his  hands  without  applying  it  according  to  the  will  of  the 
legator.  What,  then,  shall  we  say  of  a  great  Government  that  accepts, 
solemnly  accepts  before  God  and  man,  a  bequest  for  a  purpose  sacred 
and  holy,  if  any  such  purpose  there  be  upon  earth,  and  then,  indolent 
or  indifferent,  so  braves  the  just  censure  of  the  world,  so  disappoints 
the  generous  confidence  reposed  in  it,  as  to  neglect  and  postpone  year 
after  year  every  measure  for  the  administration  of  that  bequest? 

Delay  is  denial.  We  have  no  more  right  to  put  off  throughout 
long  years  the  appropriation  of  such  a  fund  than  we  have  to  direct  it 
to  our  own  private  purposes.  Nonuse  works  forfeiture  as  surely  as 
misuse.  Mr.  Richard  Rush,  through  whose  agency  the  fund  was 
realized  and  remitted  to  this  country,  in  a  paper  read  two  years  ago 
before  the  National  Institute,  remarks  that  if  this  delay  of  action  had 
been  anticipated  by  the  English  chancery  judges,  it  "might  have  fore- 
stalled the  decree  in  our  favor  in  the  unrestricted  manner  in  which  it 
was  made."  He  adds: 

It  is  at  least  known  that  the  English  court  of  chancery  is  slow  to  part  with  trust 
funds  under  any  ordinary  circumstances  without  full  security  that  they  will  not  be 
diverted  from  their  object  or  suffered  to  languish  in  neglect.  That  tribunal  asked 
no  such  security  from  the  United  States.  It  would  have  implied  the  possibility  of 
laches  in  the  high  trustee.  (Paper  read  April  8,  1844.) 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  335 

Thus  we  are  not  legally  accountable.  The  heavier,  for  that  very 
reason,  is  our  moral  responsibility.  The  gambler,  beyond  the  pale  of 
the  law,  commonly  retains  honor  enough  to  meet  his  promises.  We 
have  less  than  the  gambler's  honor  if,  sheltered  behind  our  sovereignty, 
we  take  advantage  of  the  impunity  it  affords  and  become  unfaithful  to 
a  high  and  imperative  duty. 

I  impute  not  to  an  American  Congress — 1  attribute  not  to  any  of 
my  fellow-members — the  deliberate  intention  to  neglect  the  objects  of 
this  trust.  There  is,  doubtless  there  always  has  been,  a  right  feeling 
on  this  subject.  The  just  cause  of  complaint  is  that  this  right  feeling, 
like  many  other  good  intentions  in  this  world,  has  never  ripened  into 
action.  twWhen  you  feel  nobly  and  intend  well,  go  and  do  some- 
thing! Do  some  good;  it  avails  nothing  merely  to  think  about  it." 
Such  were  the  words  pronounced  from  yonder  desk  by  a  teacher 
whose  impressive  eloquence  recently  filled  this  hall.  I  thought  of  the 
Smithsonian  bequest  when  I  heard  them. 

Nor  is  it  difficult  to  distinguish  the  reason,  though  it  furnish  no 
sufficient  apology  for  this  prolonged  inaction.  It  is  to  be  ascribed, 
though  in  part  to  indifference,  yet  chiefly  to  the  difficulty  of  selecting 
between  various  and  conflicting  plans.  The  words  of  the  will,  liberal 
and  comprehensive,  do  not  indicate  the  specific  mode  in  which  the 
intentions  of  the  testator  shall  be  carried  into  effect.  Mr.  Smithson 
left  the  whole  of  his  property,  failing  certain  relatives,  and  an  old 
servant  (now  all  deceased)  "to  the  United  States  of  America;  to  found 
at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an 
establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 

"  An  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men."  These  are  the  words,  and  the  only  words,  that  remain  to  us  as 
a  guide  in  framing  a  Smithsonian  bill;  our  sole  guide;  unless,  indeed, 
we  are  to  summon,  as  a  commentar}"  on  the  text  of  the  will,  and  an 
additional  indication  of  the  probable  intentions  of  Mr.  Smithson,  such 
particulars  as  have  reached  us  touching  his  private  character  and 
habits.  These  are  very  scanty.  Mr.  Rush  says: 

What  I  have  heard  and  may  confide  in  amounts  to  this:  That  he  was,  in  fact,  the 
natural  son  of  the  Daks  of  Northumberland;  that  his  mother  was  a  Mrs.  Macie,  of 
an  ancient  family  in  Wiltshire,  of  the  name  of  Hungerford;  that  he  was  educated  at 
Oxford;  where  ht  took  an  honorary  degree  in  1786;  that  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
any  fixed  home,  living  in  lodgings  while  in  London,  and  occasionally  staying  a  year 
or  two  at  a  time  in  cities  on  the  Continent,  as  Paris,  Berlin,  Florence,  Genoa,  at  which 
last  he  died;  and  that  the  ample  provision  made  for  him  by  the  Duke  of  Northum- 
berland, witli  retired  and  simple  habits,  enabled  him  to  accumulate  the  fortune 
which  now  passes  to  the  United  States.  (House  Report  277,  Twenty-sixth  Congress, 
first  session,  p.  99. ) 

Mr.  Rush  further  says: 

He  interested  himself  little  in  questions  of  government,  being  devoted  to  science, 
an<l  chiefly  chemistry.  This  had  introduced  him  to  the  society  of  Cavendish,  Wol- 
laston,  and  others  advantageously  known  to  the  Royal  Society  in  London,  of  which 
he  was  a  member.  (Ibid. ) 


336  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

In  a  Memoir  of  the  Scientific  Character  and  Researches  of  James 
Smithson,  prepared  two  years  ago  by  Professor  Johnson,  of  Philadel- 
phia, there  are  enumerated  twenty-four  papers  or  treatises  by  Smithson, 
published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  and  other  scientific 
journals  of  the  day,  containing  contributions  chiefly  to  the  sciences  of 
mineralogy,  geology,  and,  more  especially,  mineral  chemistry.  Some 
of  these  contain  acute  suggestions  regarding  geological  theories,  since 
confirmed  by  more  modern  observation;  others  evince  the  minute 
care  and  accuracy  demanded  by  quantitative  analysis;  while  one  or 
two,  of  a  more  humble  character,  show  that  the  man  of  science  dis- 
dained not  to  apply  his  knowledge  to  common  things,  even  to  the 
details  of  domestic  economy.  In  the  Annals  of  Philosophy,  volume 
xxii,  page  30,  he  has  a  brief  tract  on  the  "  method  of  making  coifee." 
It  contains  the  following  excellent  observation: 

In  all  cases  means  of  economy  tend  to  augment  and  diffuse  comfort  and  happiness. 
They  bring  within  the  reach  of  many  what  wasteful  proceedings  confines  to  the  few. 
By  diminishing  expenditure  on  one  article,  they  allow  some  other  enjoyment  which 
was  before  unattainable. 

Even  in  a  trifle  like  this  we  may  trace  the  utilitarian  simplicity  arid 
practical  benevolence  of  James  Smithson. 

The  will  determines  the  name  of  the  institution,  and  renders  imper- 
ative its  location  at  Washington.  It  decides  also  that  a  Smithsonian 
Institution  shall  have  two  distinct  objects;  one  to  increase  the  sum  of 
human  knowledge,  the  other  to  aid  in  its  diffusion:  for  we  can  not 
imagine  the  terms  to  have  been  employed  as  synonymous.  From  the 
character  of  the  testator's  pursuits  we  may  fairly  infer,  further,  that 
a  Smithsonian  bill,  framed  in  accordance  with  the  evident  intentions  of 
Smithson  himself,  must  include  the  natural  sciences,  and  especially 
chemistry,  together  with  their  application  to  the  useful  arts  of  life, 
among  the  branches  of  knowledge  to  be  increased  and  diffused.  And 
as  his  own  habits  were  frugal  and  unostentatious,  so,  in  all  its  details, 
should  be  the  institution  that  bears  his  name. 

Suffer  me  now  briefly  to  pass  in  review  the  history  of  our  legislative 
proceedings  in  this  matter. 

The  money  was  paid  into  the  United  States  Treasury  on  the  1st  of 
September,  1838.  On  the  6th  of  December,  of  the  same  year,  Presi- 
dent Van  Buren  sent  a  message  to  Congress,  informing  that  body  that 
he  had  in  July,  1838,  directed  the  Secretary  of  State  "to  apply  to 
persons  versed  in  science,  and  familiar  with  the  subject  of  public  edu- 
cation, as  to  the  mode  of  disposing  of  the  fund  best  calculated  to  meet 
the  intentions  of  the  testator,  and  prove  most  beneficial  to  mankind." 

From  the  wording  of  this  message  we  may  infer  that  Mr.  Van  Buren 
considered  the  advancement  of  science  and  of  public  education  the 
proper  object  of  a  Smithsonian  Institution. 

He  communicated  to  Congress  the  replies  received.    A  brief  abstract 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  337 

of  the  more  important  of  these  may  be  useful  and  interesting  at  this 
time. 

Professor  Wayland  proposed  a  university  of  a  high  grade  to  teach 
Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  the  Oriental  languages,  together  with  a 
long  list  of  other  branches,  including  rhetoric  and  poetry,  intellectual 
philosophy,  the  law  of  nations,  etc.  A  bill  substantially  based  upon 
this  recommendation  was  introduced  in  1839  into  the  Senate;  and,  on 
the  25th  of  February  of  that  year,  after  full  debate,  was  laid  on  the 
table  by  a  vote  of  20  to  15. 

Dr.  Cooper  proposed  a  university,  to  be  opened  only  to  graduates 
of  other  colleges,  to  teach  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics,  includ- 
ing its  application  to  astronomy,  chemistry,  etc. ;  also,  the  principles 
of  botany  and  agriculture.  No  Latin  or  Greek;  no  mere  literature; 
no  medicine  or  law.  The  above  recommendations  in  regard  to  botany 
and  agriculture,  and  also  those  excluding  the  learned  languages  and 
professions,  have  been  adopted  in  the  present  Smithsonian  bill. 

Mr.  Richard  Rush  proposed  a  building,  with  grounds  attached  suffi- 
cient to  reproduce  seeds  and  plants  for  distribution;  a  press  to  print 
lectures,  etc. ;  courses  of  lectures  on  the  leading  branches  of  physical 
and  moral  science  and  on  government  and  public  law;  the  salaries  to 
be  ample  enough  to  command  the  best  men  and  admit  of  the  exclusive 
devotion  of  their  time  to  the  studies  and  investigations  of  their  posts; 
the  lectures,  when  delivered,  to  be  the  property  of  the  Institution  for 
publication.  Most  of  these  recommendations  are  adopted  in  the  bill 
before  37ou.  Mr.  Rush  also  made  the  excellent  suggestion  that  con- 
suls and  other  United  States  officers  might  greatly  aid  the  Institution 
by  collecting  and  sending  home  useful  information  and  valuable  speci- 
mens from  abroad. 

The  venerable  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Adams],  who  has 
labored  in  this  good  cause  with  more  zeal  and  perseverance  than  any 
other  man,  expressed  in  his  reply  the  opinion  that  no  part  of  the  fund 
should  be  devoted  "to  the  endowment  of  any  school,  college,  univer- 
sity, or  ecclesiastical  establishment; "  and  he  proposed  to  employ  seven 
years'  income  of  the  fund  in  the  establishment  of  an  observatory,  with 
instruments  and  a  small  library.  This  proposal  was  afterwards,  at  no 
less  than  four  different  sessions,  incorporated  in  a  bill,  but  failed  on 
these  occasions  among  the  unfinished  business.  I  believe  I  am  author- 
ized in  saying  for  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  that,  inasmuch 
as  these  his  intentions  have  been  since  otherwise  carried  out,  and  as 
we  have  already  in  this  District  a  Government  observatory,  at  least 
equal  in  everything  but  the  experience  of  its  observers  to  the  Royal 
Observatory  at  Greenwich,  he  has  ceased  to  press  that  proposal. 

Though  the  plan  actually  proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  Massa- 
chusetts was  restricted  for  some  years  to  an  observatoiy,  he  yet  recog- 
H.  Doc.  732 22 


338  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

nized,  as  in  accordance  with  the  language  of  the  bequest,  "  the  improve- 
ment of  all  the  arts  and  sciences."     In  a  report  made  in  1840  he  adds: 

A  botanical  garden,  a  cabinet  of  natural  history,  a  museum  of  mineralogy,  conch- 
ology,  or  geology,  a  general  accumulating  library,  are  undoubtedly  included  within 
the  comprehensive  grasp  of  Mr.  Smithson's  design.  (House  Report  No.  277,  Twenty- 
sixth  Congress,  first  session,  p.  18. ) 

These  various  objects  are  all  embraced  in  the  bill  which  has  been 
reported  to  the  House.  The  gentleman  also  recommended  that  the 
original  fund  (it  is  about  $515,000)  be  preserved  unimpaired  and  that 
yearly  appropriations  be  made  from  the  accruing  interest  only  (which 
will  amount  on  the  1st  of  July  next  to  about  $242,000),  a  feature 
which  has  been  incorporated,  I  believe,  in  every  Smithsonian  bill  here- 
tofore submitted  to  Congress.  The  restrictions  suggested  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Massachusetts  have  been  so  far  retained  in  the  present 
bill  as  to  exclude  from  the  Institution  "any  school  of  law,  medicine, 
or  divinity,  or  any  professorship  of  ancient  languages." 

At  the  last  session  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  other  branch  by 
Senator  Tappan.  Its  plan  included  an  experimental  farm,  botanical 
garden  and  conservatories,  cabinets  of  natural  history,  a  chemical 
laboratory,  a  library  with  an  annual  appropriation  not  exceeding 
$5,000,  scientific  lectureships,  and  an  establishment  for  printing  scien- 
tific tracts  and  other  useful  treatises,  all  instruction  to  be  gratuitous. 

This  bill  was  subsequently  so  amended  by  the  Senate  that  the  lec- 
tures were  restricted  to  a  course  or  courses  to  be  delivered  during  the 
session  of  Congress,  at  an  expense  not  exceeding  $5,000  annually,  and 
the  printing  to  a  publication  of  these  lectures,  while  the  annual  appro- 
priation for  a  library  was  to  be  "not  less  than  $20,000." 

The  experimental  farm,  botanical  garden,  and  conservatories,  as 
well  as  the  museum,  laboratory,  and  scientific  cabinets,  were  nomi- 
nally retained;  but  how  these  were  to  be  supported,  considering  that 
at  least  two-thirds  of  the  entire  income  was  annually  to  be  spent  on 
the  library,  does  not  very  clearly  appear. 

This  library  plan,  as  it  was  commonly  called,  passed  the  Senate  and 
reached  our  House.  An  amendment  or  substitute,  nearly  similar  to 
the  present  bill,  was  substituted  by  myself  and  printed;  but  in  the 
hurry  of  a  short  session  the  whole  matter  was  left  once  more  among 
the  unfinished  business. 

As  this  Senate  bill  is  the  only  one  establishing  a  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution that  has  yet  passed  either  branch  of  Congress,  its  principal  fea- 
ture demands  our  deliberate  and  respectful  consideration. 

The  library  contemplated  by  this  bill,  it  was  expressly  provided, 
was  to  be  "of  the  largest  class  of  libraries  now  in  the  world."  We 
shall  better  understand  both  the  object  and  the  cost  of  this  proposal 
by  taking  as  a  commentary  thereon  some  of  the  remarks  with  which 
it  was  introduced  by  its  author,  then  a  distinguished  member  of  the 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  339 

other  branch,  but  no  longer  there  to  adorn  its  debates  with  the  gay 
flowers  of  his  brilliant  eloquence. 

He  objected  to  limiting  the  cost  of  the  library  building  to  $100,000, 
seeing,  as  he  reminded  the  Senate,  that  the  "largest  class"  of  public 
libraries  contain  from  a  quarter  of  a  million  to  upward  of  a  half  a 
million  of  volumes.  He  said: 

Twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  twenty-five  years  are  $500,000;  and  $500,000 
directly  expended,  not  by  a  bibliomaniac,  but  by  a  man  of  sense  and  reading, 
thoroughly  instructed  in  bibliography,  would  go  far,  very  far,  toward  the  purchase 
of  as  good  a  library  as  Europe  can  boast.  (Speech  of  Senator  Choate,  January  8, 
1845.) 

He  adds,  a  little  further  on,  that  "such  a  step  taken,  we  should 
never  leave  the  work  unfinished;"  and  that  when  finished,  it  would 
"rival  anything  civilization  has  ever  had  to  show." 

He  argues  of  the  value  and  importance  of  such  a  library  after  this 
wise: 

1  do  not  know  that  of  all  the  printed  books  in  the  world  we  have  in  this  country 
more  than  50,000  different  works.  The  consequence  has  been  felt  and  lamented  by 
all  our  authors  and  all  our  scholars.  It  has  often  been  said  that  Gibbon's  History 
could  not  have  been  written  here  for  want  of  books.  I  suppose  that  Hallam's  Mid- 
dle Ages,  and  his  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  Europe  could  not.  Irving's 
Columbus  was  written  in  Spain;  AVheaton's  Northmen  prepared  to  be  written  in 
Copenhagen.  See  how  this  inadequate  supply  operates.  An  American  mind  kindles 
with  a  subject;  it  enters  on  an  investigation  with  a  spirit  and  ability  worthy  of  the 
most  splendid  achievement;  goes  a  little  way;  finds  that  a  dozen  books — one  book, 
perhaps — is  indispensable,  which  can  not  be  found  this  side  of  Gottingen  or  Oxford; 
it  tires  of  the  pursuit,  or  abandons  it  altogether,  etc. 

And  the  Senator  branches  off,  in  his  own  brilliant  style,  into  a  dis- 
sertation on  the  value  and  importance  of  such  a  library:  "A  vast  store- 
house," says  he;  "a  vast  treasury  of  all  the  facts  which  make  up  the 
history  of  man  and  of  nature;  *  *  '  a  silent,  yet  wise  and  eloquent 
teacher;  dead,  yet  speaking;  not  dead!  for  Milton  has  told  us:  'A  good 
book  is  not  absolutely  a  dead  thing — the  precious  lifeblood,  rather,  of 
a  master  spirit;  a  seasoned  life  of  man,  embalmed  and  treasured  up, 
on  purpose  to  a  life  beyond  life.' " 

If  the  question  were  between  a  library  and  no  library,  between 
books  and  no  books,  the  language  thus  employed,  fervid  as  it  is, 
would  be  all  insufficient  to  shadow  forth  the  towering  magnitude  of 
the  subject.  John  Faust — if,  indeed,  to  the  goldsmith  of  Mentz  the 
world  owe  the  art  of  typesetting — conferred  on  his  race  a  greater  boon 
than  ever  before  did  living  man.  There  is  no  comparison  to  be  made 
between  the  effects  of  the  art  of  printing  and  these  of  any  other  dis- 
covery put  forth  by  human  wit.  There  is  nothing  to  which  to  liken 
it.  It  was  a  general  gaol  delivery  of  the  thoughts  of  the  world.  It 
was  a  sending  forth  of  these  winged  messengers,  hitherto  bound  down 
each  in  his  own  narrow  sphere,  emancipated,  over  the  earth.  And 


340  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

that  was  the  great  day,  not  of  intellect  only,  but  of  freedom  also. 
Then  was  struck  the  heaviest  blow  against  lawgiving  for  the  mind. 
The  Strombolean  Cave  was  opened;  the  long-pent  winds  of  opinion 
set  free;  and  no  edict-framing  ^Eolus  could  crib  and  confine  them  to 
their  prison  house  again. 

Yes !  well  might  Faust  incur  the  charge  of  demonocracy !  For  almost 
to  the  letter  has  his  wondrous  craft  realized  in  our  day  the  fables  of 
eastern  romance.  Draw  a  chair  before  your  library  and  you  have 
obtained  the  magical  carpet  of  the  Arabian  tale;  you  are  transported 
at  a  wish  farther  than  to  Africa's  deserts  or  India's  groves — not  to 
other  climes  only,  but  to  other  times  also.  The  speaking  page  intro- 
duces you  not  to  3rour  cotemporaries  alone,  but  to  your  ancestors 
through  centuries  past.  The  best  and  the  wisest  of  former  generations 
are  summoned  to  your  presence.  In  books  exists  the  bygone  world. 
By  books  we  come  into  contact  with  the  mankind  of  former  ages.  By 
books  we  travel  among  ancient  nations,  visit  tribes  long  since  extinct, 
and  are  made  familiar  with  manners  that  have  yielded  centuries  ago 
to  the  innovating  influences  of  time.  Contracted  indeed  is  his  mental 
horizon,  limited  his  sphere  of  comparison,  whose  fancy  has  never  lived 
among  the  sages  and  heroes  of  the  olden  time,  to  listen  to  their  teach- 
ings, and  to  learn  from  their  achievements. 

As  far  as  the  farthest,  then,  will  1  go  in  his  estimate  of  the  bless- 
ings which  the  art  of  printing  has  conferred  upon  man.  But  such 
reasoning  bears  not  on  the  proposal  embraced  in  the  Senate  bill.  It 
substantiates  not  at  all  the  propriety  of  spending  half  a  million,  or  two, 
or  three  half  millions  of  dollars,  to  rival  the  bibliomaniacs  of  Paris 
and  of  Munich. 

A  Library  of  Congress  we  already  have;  a  library  of  forty  or  fifty 
thousand  volumes;  a  library  increasing  at  the  rate  of  one  or  two 
thousand  volumes  a  year.  The  Smithsonian  bill  before  you  per- 
mits, in  addition,  an  expenditure  not  exceeding  $10,000  a  year  for  this 
object.  Say  that  but  half  that  sum  is  annually  expended  by  the 
managers;  and  still,  in  some  twelve  or  fifteen  years,  the  two  libra- 
ries will  probably  number  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  thousand  vol- 
umes. Are  there  a  100,000  in  the  world  worth  reading?  I  doubt  it 
much.  Are  there  4,000  volumes  published  yearly  worth  buying? 
I  do  not  believe  there  are.  A  small  garner  suffices  to  store  the 
wheat;  it  is  the  chaff  that  is  bulky  and  fills  up  the  storehouse.  Books 
are  like  wealth.  An  income  we  must  have  to  live;  a  certain  amount 
of  income  to  live  in  comfort.  Beyond  a  certain  income  the  power 
of  wealth  to  purchase  comfort,  or  even  wholesome  luxury,  ceases 
altogether.  How  much  more  of  true  comfort  is  there  in  a  fortune 
of  a  million  of  dollars  than  in  one  of  fifty  or,  say,  a  hundred  thou- 
sand? If  more  there  be,  the  excess  is  hardly  appreciable;  the  burden 
and  cares  of  a  millionaire  outweigh  it  tenfold.  And  so  also  of  these 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  341 

vast  and  bloated  book-gatherings  that  sleep  in  dust  and  cobwebs  on 
the  library  shelves  of  European  monarchies.  Up  to  a  judicious  selec- 
tion of  thirty,  fifty,  a  hundred  thousand  volumes,  if  you  will,  how 
vast — 3rea,  how  priceless — is  the  intellectual  wealth!  From  one  to  five 
hundred  thousand,  what  do  we  gain  ?  Nothing  ?  That  would  not  be 
true;  a  goblet  emptied  into  the  Pacific  adds  to  the  mass  of  its  waters. 
But  if  within  these  limits  we  set  down  one  book  out  of  a  hundred  as 
worth  the  money  it  costs,  we  are  assuredhr  making  too  liberal  an 
estimate. 

I  pray  you,  sir,  not  to  stretch  these  strictures  beyond  their  precise 
application.  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  judge  slightingly  the  learning 
of  the  past.  We  find  shining  forth  from  the  dark  mass  of  ancient  lit- 
erature gems  of  rare  beauty  and  value,  unequaled,  even  to-day,  in 
purity  and  truth.  But  then,  also,  what  clouds  of  idle  verbiage!  What 
loads  of  ostentatious  technicalities!  It  is  but  of  late  years  that  even 
the  disciple  of  science  has  deigned  to  simplify  and  translate;  formerly 
his  great  object  seems  to  have  been  to  obscure  and  mystify.  The 
satirist,  in  sketching  an  individual  variety,  has  aptly  described  the 
species,  when  he  says: 

The  wise  men  of  Egypt  were  as  secret  as  dummies, 

And  even  when  they  most  condescended  to  teach, 
They  packed  up  their  meaning,  as  they  did  their  mummies, 

In  so  many  wrappers,  'twas  out  of  one's  reach. 

But  there  are  such  noble  enterprises  as  those  of  Gibbon  and  Hallam, 
valuable  to  all;  doubly  valuable  to  the  moralist  and  statesman.  And 
in  regard  to  such  it  is  argued  that  if  one  of  our  own  scholars,  fired 
with  generous  ambition  to  rival  the  historians  of  the  Old  World,  enters 
on  such  a  task,  he  may  find  that  a  dozen,  or  perhaps  a  single  book, 
necessary  for  reference,  "can  not  be  found  this  side  of  Gottingen  or 
Oxford."  Suppose  he  does,  what  is  the  remedy?  A  very  simple  one 
suggests  itself:  that  he  should  order,  through  an  importer  of  foreign 
books,  the  particular  work  which  he  lacks.  To  save  him  the  trouble 
and  expense  of  so  doing,  the  friends  of  the  mammoth  library  scheme 
propose — what  ?  That  we  should  begin  by  expending  half  a  million 
of  dollars,  which  would  "go  far  toward  the  purchase  of  as  good  a 
library  as  Europe  can  boast;"  that  "such  a  step  taken,  we  should 
never  leave  the  work  unfinished;"  and  that,  when  finished,  it  would 
"rival  anything  civilization  has  ever  had  to  show." 

It  is  prudent  before  we  enter  this  rivalship  to  count  its  cost. 
Without  seeking  to  reach  the  700,000  volumes  of  the  Parisian  library 
let  us  suppose  we  try  for  the  half  million  of  volumes  that  form  the 
boast  of  Munich,  or  fill  up  the  shelves  of  the  Bodleian.  Our  librarian 
informs  me  that  the  present  Congressional  Library  (certainly  not  one 
of  the  most  expensive)  has  cost  upwards  of  $3  a  volume;  its  binding 
alone  has  averaged  over  a  dollar  a  volume.  The  same  works  could  be 


342  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

purchased  now,  it  is  true,  much  more  cheaply;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  rare  old  books  and  curious  manuscripts  necessary  to  complete  a 
library  of  the  largest  class  would  raise  the  average.  Assuming,  then, 
the  above  rate,  a  rival  of  the  Munich  library  would  cost  us  a  million 
and  a  half  of  dollars;  its  binding  alone  would  amount  to  a  sum  equal 
to  the  entire  Smithsonian  fund  as  origiqally  remitted  to  us  from 
England. 

And  thus  not  only  the  entire  legacy,  which  we  have  promised  to 
expend  so  that  it  shall  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  among  men,  is 
to  be  squandered  in  this  idle  and  bootless  rivalry,  but  thousands  on 
thousands  must  be  added  to  finish  the  work — from  what  source  to  be 
derived,  let  its  advocates  inform  us.  And  when  we  have  spent  thrice 
the  amount  of  Smithson's  original  bequest  on  the  project  we  shall 
have  the  satisfaction  of  believing  that  we  may  possibly  have  saved  to 
some  worthy  scholar  a  hundred,  or  perchance  a  few  hundred  dollars, 
which  otherwise  he  must  have  spent  to  obtain  from  Europe  half  a 
dozen  valuable  works  of  reference! 

But  there  are  other  reasons  urged  for  this  appropriation  of  the 
Smithsonian  fund. 

There  is  something  to  point  to  if  you  should  be  asked  to  account  for  it  unexpect- 
edly; and  something  to  point  to  if  a  traveler  should  taunt  you  with  the  collections 
which  he  has  seen  abroad,  and  which  gild  and  recommend  the  absolutisms  of  Vienna 
or  St.  Petersburg.  (Senator  Choate's  speech,  as  above.) 

This  purchasing  of  a  reply  to  some  silly  traveler's  idle  taunts  at 
a  cost  of  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars,  including  a  fund  sacredly 
pledged  to  human  improvement,  seems  to  me  a  somewhat  costly  and 
unscrupulous  mode  of  gratifying  national  vanity.  It  is  ineffectual, 
too,  unless  we  are  prepared  to  add  a  few  millions  more  to  buy  up,  if 
money  could  buy,  the  means  of  reply  to  other  taunts,  quite  as  just 
and  quite  as  likely  to  be  cast  up  to  us.  There  is  the  Vatican,  with  its — 

Statues  but  known  from  shapes  of  the  earth, 
By  being  too  lovely  for  mortal  birth. 

There  is  the  Florence  gallery,  with  its — 

Paintings,  whose  colors  of  life  were  caught 
From  the  fairy  tints  in  the  rainbow  wrought — 

images  of  beauty,  living  conceptions  of  grandeur,  refining,  cultivating, 
elevating — worth  all  the  musty  manuscripts  of  Oxford  ten  times  told! 
How  are  we  to  escape  the  imputation  that  our  rude  land  can  show  no 
such  triumphs  of  art  as  these?  Are  we  to  follow  Bonaparte's  plan? 
Are  we  to  carry  war  into  the  land  of  the  olive  and  the  vine,  and 
enrich  this  city  as  the  French  Emperor  did  his  capital  with  the  artis- 
tical  spoils  of  the  world?  Unless  we  adopt  some  such  plan,  must  not 
Europe's  taunts  remain  unanswered  still  ? 

And  let  them  so  remain.     I  share  not  the  feelings  of  the  learned  and 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  343 

eloquent  Senator  to  whose  remarks   I   have  taken  liberty  to  reply 
when  he  says — 

I  confess  to  a  pang  of  envy  and  grief  that  there  should  be  one  drop  or  one  morsel 
more  of  the  bread  or  water  of  intellectual  life  tasted  by  the  European  than  by  the 
American  mind.  Why  should  not  the  soul  of  this  country  eat  as  good  food  and  as 
much  of  it  as  the  soul  of  Europe? 

It  grieves  me  not  that  the  fantastic  taste  of  some  epicure  in  learn- 
ing may  chance  to  find  on  the  book  shelves  of  Paris  some  literary 
morsel  of  choice  and  ancient  flavor,  such  as  our  own  metropolis  sup- 
plies not.  I  feel  no  envy  if  we  republicans  are  outdone  by  luxurious 
Europe  in  some  high-seasoned  delicacy  of  the  pampered  soul.  Enough 
have  we  to  console  ourselves — objects  of  national  ambition,  how  much 
higher,  how  infinitely  nobler  than  these — objects  of  national  pride, 
before  which  these  petty  antiquarian  triumphs  dwarf  into  utter  insig- 
nificancy! Look  abroad  over  our  far-spreading  land,  then  glance 
across  to  the  monarchies  of  the  Old  World,  and  say  if  I  speak  not  the 
truth. 

I  have  sojourned  among  the  laborers  of  England;  I  have  visited 
amid  their  vineyards  the  peasantry  of  France;  I  have  dwelt  for  years 
in  the  midst  of  the  hardy  mountaineers  of  Switzerland.  I  have  seen 
and  conversed  and  sat  down  in  their  cottages  with  them  all.  I  have 
found  often  among  them  simple  goodness.  Ignorance,  oppression  can 
not  trample  out  that.  I  have  witnessed  patience  under  hopeless  toil, 
resignation  beneath  grievous  wrongs.  I  have  met  with  civility,  kind- 
ness, a  cheerful  smile,  and  a  ready  welcome.  But  the  spirit  of  the 
man  was  not  there — the  spirit  that  can  lift  up  its  brow  with  a  noble 
confidence  and  feel  that  while  it  is  no  man's  master,  neither  is  it  any 
man's  slave.  Between  them  and  the  favored  of  capricious  fortune, 
one  felt — they  felt — there  was  a  great  gulf  fixed,  broad,  impassable. 

Far  other  is  it  even  in  the  lowliest  cabin  of  our  frontier  West.  It 
is  an  equal  you  meet  there;  an  equal  in  political  rights;  one  to  whom 
honors  and  office,  even  the  highest,  are  as  open  as  to  yourself.  You 
feel  that  it  is  an  equal.  The  tone  in  which  hospitality  is  tendered  to 
you,  humble  though  means  and  forms  may  be,  reminds  you  of  it.  The 
conversation,  running  over  the  great  subjects  of  the  day,  branching 
off,  perhaps,  to  questions  of  constitutional  right  or  international  law, 
assures  you  of  it. 

I  have  heard  in  many  a  backwoods  cabin,  lighted  but  by  the  blazing 
log  heap,  arguments  on  government,  views  of  national  policy,  judg- 
ments of  men  and  things,  that,  for  sound  sense  and  practical  wisdom, 
would  not  disgrace  any  legislative  body  upon  earth. 

And  shall  we  grudge  to  Europe  her  antiquarian  lore,  her  cumbrous 
folios,  her  illuminated  manuscripts,  the  chaff  of  learned  dullness  that 
cumbers  her  old  library  shelves?  A  "pang  of  envy  and  grief"  shall 
we  feel?  Out  upon  it!  Men  have  we;  a  people;  a  free  people,  self 


344  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

respecting,  self-governing;  that  which  gold  can  not  buy;  that  which 
kings  can  not  make  !  Grief !  Envy  !  Theirs  let  it  be  who  look  upon 
this  young  land  in  her  freshness,  in  her  strength !  Let  them  feel  it 
who  behold,  from  afar,  our  people  bravely  battling  their  onward  way; 
treading,  with  liberty  at  their  side,  the  path  of  progressive  improve- 
ment, each  step  upward  arid  onward — onward  to  the  great  goal  of 
public  virtue  and  social  equality. 

Equality  !  I  spoke  of  our  citizens  as  equals;  equals  in  the  sense  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence;  equals  in  political  privilege,  in  the 
legal  right  to  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  Equals,  in  a  restricted  sense 
of  the  term,  men  never  can  be.  The  power  of  intellect  will  command 
while  the  world  endures;  the  influence  of  cultivation  will  be  felt  while 
men  continue  to  live  upon  earth,  and  felt  the  more  the  longer  the 
world  improves,  the  better  men  become.  Unequal,  then,  in  their 
influence  over  their  fellows;  unequal  in  the  space  they  fill  in  the 
world's  thoughts;  unequal  in  the  power  with  which  they  draw  after 
them  the  hearts  of  many — thus  unequal,  to  some  extent,  men  must 
ever  be. 

But  here  arises  a  great  question;  a  practical  question;  an  inquiry 
especially  pertinent  to  the  subject  before  us.  The  natural  inequality 
of  man  is  a  thousand  times  increased  by  artificial  influence  throughout 
society.  Is  that  well;  or,  if  not  well,  can  it  be  avoided?  Or,  if  not 
avoided,  can  it  be  lessened  ?  I  feel  assured  that  it  can  be  much  lessened. 
I  am  not  sanguine  enough  to  believe  that  I — perhaps  not  my  children, 
even — shall  see  the  day  when  equality  of  education  shall  prevail  even 
in  this  republican  land.  But  I  hold  it  to  be  a  republican  obligation  to 
do  all  that  we  properly  and  constitutionally  may,  in  order  gradually 
to  reach,  or  at  least  to  approach,  that  period.  I  hold  it  to  be  a  dem- 
ocratic duty  to  elevate,  to  the  utmost  of  our  ability,  the  character  of 
our  common-school  instruction.  I  hold  this  to  be  a  far  higher  and 
holier  duty  than  to  give  additional  depth  to  learned  studies,  or  supply 
curious  authorities  to  antiquarian  research. 

Guided  by  such  considerations,  I  incorporated  in  the  bill  before 
you,  as  one  of  its  principal  features,  a  normal  branch.  This,  and  the 
clause  providing  for  original  researches  in  natural  science,  are  the  only 
important  additions  that  have  been  made  in  it  to  Senator  Tappan's  bill 
of  last  session. 

Normal  schools — that  is,  schools  to  teach  teachers,  to  instruct  in  the 
science  of  instruction — are  an  improvement  of  comparatively  modern 
date.  The  first  ever  attempted  seems  to  have  been  in  Prussia,  estab- 
lished about  the  year  1704,  by  Franke,  the  celebrated  founder  of  the 
Orphan  House  of  Halle.  They  have  gradually  increased  in  number 
and  favor  from  that  day  to  this  in  all  the  more  civilized  nations  of 
Europe;  and  Mrs.  Austin,  in  her  preface  to  Cousin's  Public  Instruc- 
tion in  Prussia,  remarks  that  the  progress  of  primary  instruction  in 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  345 

Europe  may  be  measured  by  the  provision  made  for  the  education  of 
teachers. 

A.  detailed  account  of  the  normal  schools  of  Europe  is  given  in  the 
ninth  chapter  of  Professor  Bache's  Report  on  Education  in  Europe, 
made  to  the  trustees  of  the  Girard  College.  Mr.  Bache  visited  Europe 
under  instructions  from  the  committee  of  the  institution,  and  his  excel- 
lent report,  full  of  practical  details  and  accurate  statistics,  is  a  redeem- 
ing point  in  the  management  of  that  trust. 

Two  States  only  of  our  Union  have  yet  established  State  normal 
schools — Massachusetts  and  New  York.  Massachusetts  has  three, 
educating  in  all  about  two  hundred  pupils,  and  New  York  has  one, 
containing  about  the  same  number  of  students,  the  sole  object  of  both 
being  to  educate  teachers  of  common  schools.  The  experiment  has 
been  signally  successful.  The  report  for  1844  of  the  Massachusetts 
board  of  education  says  of  one  of  their  schools  (that  at  Lexington): 

Such  is  the  reputation  of  this  school  that  applications  have  been  made  to  it  from 
seven  of  our  sister  States  for  teachers. 

And  Mr.  Horace  Mann,  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  board  of 
education,  writes  to  me: 

When  first  opened  in  Massachusetts,  normal  schools  were  an  experiment  in  this 
country.  Like  all  new  ideas,  they  have  had  to  encounter  serious  obstacles;  but  they 
have  triumphed  over  every  species  of  opposition,  have  commended  themselves  more 
and  more  every  year  to  the  good  sense  of  our  people,  and  we  now  have  the  pleasure 
not  only  of  seeing  them  firmly  established  here,  but  of  knowing  that  their  success 
has  given  birth  to  a  similar  institution  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  promises  ere 
long  to  do  the  same  in  other  States. 

The  normal  branch  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  intended  not  by 
any  means  to  take  the  place  of  State  normal  schools,  but  only  in  aid 
of  them,  as  an  institution  in  the  same  department,  supplemental  to 
these,  as  they  may  gradually  increase  throughout  the  Union,  but  of  a 
higher  grade,  and  prepared  to  carry  forward  young  persons  who  may 
have  passed  through  the  courses  given  in  the  former,  or  others  who 
desire  to  perfect  themselves  in  the  most  useful  of  all  modern  sciences, 
the  humble,  yet  world-subduing  science  of  primary  education;  an 
institution,  also,  in  which  the  improvement  and  perfecting  of  that 
republican  science  shall  be  a  peculiar  object;  an  institution,  finally, 
where  we  may  hope  to  find  trained,  competent,  and  enlightened 
teachers  for  these  State  normal  schools. 

As  an  essential  portion  of  this  normal  department,  professorships  of 
the  more  useful  arts  and  sciences  are  to  be  provided  for.  The  character 
of  common-school  education,  especially  in  the  Northern  Atlantic  States, 
is  gradually  changing.  Twenty  years  ago  De  Witt  Clinton,  in  his 
annual  message,  expressed  the  opinion  that  in  our  common  schools 
''the  outlines  of  geography,  algebra,  mineralogy,  agricultural  chem- 
istry, mechanical  philosophy,  astronomy,  etc.,  might  be  communicated 


346  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

by  able  preceptors  without  essential  interference  with  the  calls  of 
domestic  industry."  This  opinion  is  daily  gaining  strength,  and  has 
been  partially  acted  upon  in  several  of  the  New  England  States.  In 
the  city  of  New  York,  also,  a  small  advance  towards  it  has  been  already 
made.  Recently  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  public  schools  in  that  city 
adopted,  among  other  resolutions,  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  a  portion  of  time  not  exceeding  one  hour  a  week  be  appropriated  to 
employments  incident  to  elementary  instruction  in  subjects  of  natural  science. 

In  accordance  with  these  gradually  enlarging  views,  the  course  of 
study  of  the  New  York  State  normal  schools,  as  I  learn  by  the  printed 
circular  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  embraces  natural  philosophy,  chem- 
istry, human  physiology,  histoiy,  the  elements  of  astronomy,  etc.,  in 
addition  to  the  special  lectures  on  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching. 
These  various  advances,  thus  sanctioned  by  public  opinion,  indicate 
that  a  normal  department  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  be  worthy 
of  the  age,  must  include  scientific  courses  by  some  of  the  ablest  men 
of  the  day. 

It  is  also  by  the  bill  specially  made  a  part  of  the  duty  of  these  men 
to  institute  scientific  researches.  In  these,  as  we  have  seen,  Smithson 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  And  it  can  not  be  doubted  that, 
were  he  yet  alive  and  here  to-day  to  explain  his  wishes,  original 
researches  in  the  exact  sciences  would  be  declared  by  him  a  part  of 
his  plan.  With  the  knowledge  of  his  life  and  favorite  pursuits  before 
us,  and  the  words  of  his  will  specifying  the  increase  as  well  as  the 
diffusion  of  knowledge  for  our  guide,  it  seems  nothing  less  than  an 
imperative  duty  to  include  scientific  research  among  the  objects  of  a 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

I  said  an  imperative  duty.  Such  is  the  nature  of  our  obligation  to 
fulfil  whatever  we  may  fairly  infer  to  have  been  Smithson's  intentions. 
This  money  is  not  ours;  if  it  were,  we  might  take  counsel  from  our 
own  wishes  and  fancies  in  its  appropriation;  but  it  is  merely  intrusted 
to  us,  and  for  a  specific  purpose.  Mr.  Adams,  in  his  report  made  in 
1840,  well  says: 

In  the  commission  of  every  trust  there  is  an  implied  tribute  of  the  soul  to  the  integ- 
rity and  intelligence  of  the  trustee;  and  there  is  also  an  implied  call  for  the  faithful 
exercise  of  these  properties  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  purpose  of  the  trust.  The  tribute 
and  the  call  acquire  additional  force  and  energy  when  the  trust  is  committed  for  per- 
formance after  the  decease  of  him  by  whom  it  is  granted,  when  he  no  longer  exists 
to  witness  or  to  constrain  the  effective  fulfilment  of  his  design. 

And  these  considerations  seem  to  me  also  conclusive  against  the 
great  library  plan.  In  the  first  place,  Smithson's  own  pursuits  were 
scientific,  not  antiquarian.  In  the  second,  had  he  desired  merely  to 
found  a  library,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  he  would  have  said  so. 

The  bill  as  reported  to  the  House  has  been  framed  in  that  spirit  of 
compromise  so  necessary  in  this  world  of  a  thousand  opinions.  The 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  347 

importance  of  the  chief  objects  at  which  it  aims  will  be  conceded  by 
all — the  advancement  of  agriculture,  the  improvement  of  primary 
education,  and  the  prosecution  of  scientific  research.  And  if  even  in  its 
practical  effects  the  plan  fall  short  of  the  anticipations  of  its  friends, 
suffer  me  to  ask  you,  What  is  the  alternative  in  the  Senate  bill  of  last 
year,  the  only  one  that  has  yet  found  favor  enough  to  succeed  in  either 
branch  ?  Beyond  the  library  scheme  and  the  professorship  of  agricul- 
ture (a  feature  equally  in  that  bill  and  this),  what  is  proposed?  Public 
lectures,  to  be  delivered  in  this  city  "during  the  sessions  of  Con- 
gress." Who  is  to  profit  by  these  lectures?  Let  the  author  of  the 
plan  answer: 

Who  would  their  audiences  be?  Members  of  Congress,  with  their  families;  mem- 
bers of  the  Government,  with  theirs;  some  inhabitants  of  the  city;  some  few  strangers, 
who  occasionally  honor  us  with  visits  of  curiosity  or  business.  They  would  be  pub- 
lic men,  of  mature  years  and  minds,  educated,  disciplined,  to  some  degree,  of  liberal 
curiosity,  and  appreciation  of  generous  and  various  knowledge.  (Speech  of  Senator 
Choate  as  above.) 

Here  is  a  plan  for  gratuitous  lectures  to  be  delivered  to  members 
of  Congress  and  of  the  Government,  with  their  families,  to  some  citi- 
zens of  Washington,  and  a  few  passing  strangers;  to  men,  so  it  is 
expressed,  educated,  disciplined,  already  capable  of  "appreciating 
generous  and  various  knowledge."  And  this,  as  the  mode  the  most 
effectual,  the  most  comprehensive,  the  most  just  and  equal,  to  increase 
and  diffuse  knowledge  among  men.  We  are  to  pass  by  all  plans  that 
may  reach  and  benefit  the  people  by  improving  their  education  and 
elevating  the  character  of  their  teachers;  all  proposals,  even  to  scatter 
broadcast  among  them  useful  tracts,  popular  treatises;  all  projects,  in 
short,  to  distribute  among  them  the  bread  and  water  of  intellectual 
life  wherever  these  are  craved,  and  we  are  to  adopt  in  their  stead  a 
course  of  lectures  expressly  restricted  to  the  sessions  of  Congress; 
expressly  prepared  for  ourselves  and  for  a  few  Government  officers 
and  strangers;  a  course  of  lectures  to  be  especially  adapted  to  an  audi- 
ence alreadv  favored  by  fortune  and  education,  already,  as  we  are 
complacently  told,  of  mature  minds  and  above  all  need  of  elementary 
instruction. 

Sir,  over  the  entire  land  must  the  rills  from  this  sacred  fountain 
freely  flow;  not  to  be  arrested  and  walled  up  here,  to  minister  to  our 
pleasure  or  convenience.  We  greatly  mistake  if  we  imagine  that  our 
constituents  are  indifferent  to  the  privilege  of  drawing  from  these 
waters  of  knowledge;  that  they  can  not  appreciate  their  fertilizing 
influence.  If  there  be  one  feeling  more  powerful  than  another  in  the 
hearts  of  the  millions  of  this  land,  even  through  its  remotest  forests, 
it  is  that  the  intellectual  cultivation  which  circumstances  may  have 
denied  them  shall  be  secured  to  their  children.  They  value,  sometimes 
even  beyond  their  worth,  the  literary  advantages,  by  aid  of  which  the 


348  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

few  commonly  distance  their  competitors  in  the  paths  of  emolument 
and  honor.  Aye,  and  beyond  this  they  feel — do  we  not  all  feel  ? — that 
we  are  not  in  temper,  in  habits,  in  feelings,  or  in  intelligence  what  we 
ought  to  be,  or  what  we  might  have  been;  that  our  nature  was  better 
than  our  education.  They  feel— has  not  the  most  careless  among  us 
felt  it,  too  ? — that  there  are  springs  of  virtue  within  us  that  have  seldom 
been  touched;  generous  aspirings  that  have  scarcely  been  called  into 
action;  capabilities  of  improvement  that  have  hardly  been  awakened; 
capabilities  of  enjoyment  that  have  been  turned  to  fountains  of  bitter- 
ness. If  we  might  now  reeducate  ourselves,  even  from  the  cradle 
upward,  developing  each  mental  power  and  moral  faculty,  checking 
the  rising  vice  and  cultivating  the  nascent  virtue;  bending  the  pliant 
habit  to  reason  and  mastering  the  evil  passions  at  its  birth,  how  gladly 
would  we  grasp  at  the  offer;  how  dearly  value  the  privilege.  And 
what  selfishness  would  do  for  itself,  think  you  not  that  parental  affec- 
tion desires  for  its  offspring?  Yes;  vice  itself  desires  it.  Stronger 
than  the  thirst  after  riches,  deeper  than  the  craving  for  power,  spring- 
ing from  the  best  and  most  enduring  of  human  instincts,  is  the  parent's 
longing  for  the  welfare  of  his  child.  Criminal  he  may  be;  ignorant 
he  may  be;  reckless  even  of  his  own  character;  hopeless  of  a  reputable 
standing  for  himself;  but  his  children— if  brutish  excesses  have  not 
utterly  quenched  the  principle  of  good  within  him — for  them  there  is 
still  a  redeeming  virtue  in  his  soul;  a  striving  after  better  things;  a 
hope  that  they  may  escape  the  vices  which  have  degraded  him;  that 
they  may  emerge  from  the  ignorance  in  which  he  is  benighted,  if  not 
to  wealth  and  honor,  at  least  to  fair  fame  and  honest  reputation — a 
credit  to  his  blighted  name  and  a  comfort  to  his  declining  years. 

Such  are  the  sentiments  that  spring  up  to  meet  us  from  among  the 
people,  shared  by  the  bad  as  well  as  the  good;  universal  in  their  preva- 
lence. And  it  is  to  such  sentiments,  the  best  earnest  of  progressive 
improvement  in  man,  that  the  provisions  of  this  bill  ought,  so  far  as 
the  amount  of  the  legacy  and  the  terms  of  the  will  permit,  to  respond. 

Such  views  are  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  the 
wants  of  the  times.  It  is  not  a  world  all  of  flowers  and  sunshine,  this 
we  live  in.  It  is  a  world  where  thousands  are  starving;  where  tens 
of  thousands  toil  to  live — live  only  to  die!  It  is  a  world  where  cruel 
suffering  exists,  where  shameful  crimes  are  committed,  where  terrible 
oppression  is  endured,  where  dark  ignorance  is  found.  It  has  scenes 
of  wrong,  and  outrage,  and  guilt,  and  woe.  They  rise  before  us. 
They  thrust  themselves  on  our  attention.  Not  to  gild,  not  to 
embellish;  a  graver,  a  sadder  duty  is  his  who  would  aid  in  such  a 
world's  improvement. 

To  effect  permanent  good  in  such  a  world,  we  must  reach  the  minds 
and  the  hearts  of  the  masses;  we  must  diffuse  knowledge  among  men; 
we  must  not  deal  it  out  to  scholars  and  students  alone,  but  even  to 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  349 

Tom,  Dick,  and  Harry;  and  then,  as  a  wise  and  witty  female  writer  of 
the  day  expressed  it,  "they  will  become  Mr.  Thomas,  and  Mr.  Richard, 
and  Mr.  Henry."  They  may  not  become  profound  scholars,  erudite 
graduates;  nor  is  that  necessary.  Well  to  know  common  things  is 
the  essential.  It  is  not  elaborate  learning  that  most  improves  the 
world  or  that  exerts  most  influence  in  its  government.  Working-day 
knowledge  is  simple,  almost  in  the  ratio  of  its  importance;  and  Milton 
has  told  us — 

That  not  to  know  at  large  of  things  remote 

From  use,  obscure  and  subtle,  but  to  know 

That  which  before  us  lies,  in  daily  life, 

Is  the  prime  wisdom. 

The  ancient  masters  realized  not  these  truths.  With  the  millions 
they  had  no  sympathy.  In  private,  and  to  the  initiated  few  alone,  did 
they  deign  to  unroll  the  mystical  page  of  their  philosophy;  they 
scorned  to  expose  it  to  the  gaze  of  the  profane  vulgar. 

Thanks  to  the  stirring  spirit  of  progressive  improvement,  all  this, 
in  our  age,  is  changed.  By  modern  teachers  the  people  are  spoken  of, 
spoken  to,  cared  for,  instructed.  To  the  people  the  characteristic 
literature  of  the  day  is  addressed.  What  has  become  of  the  ponderous 
folio  in  which  the  learning  of  the  Middle  Ages  used  to  issue,  to  a  small 
and  exclusive  circle,  its  solemn  manifesto?  Now  we  have  the  slender 
pamphlet,  the  popular  tract,  the  cheap  periodical,  cast  forth  even  to 
the  limits  of  civilization,  penetrating  into  every  nook  and  corner  of 
the  land;  often  light,  often  worthless,  but  often,  too,  instructive, 
effective;  written  for  the  masses,  reaching  the  masses,  and  awaking, 
far  and  wide,  a  consciousness  of  deficiency,  a  spirit  of  inquiry,  a  desire 
to  know  more. 

The  people  govern  in  America.  Ere  long  the  people  will  govern 
throughout  the  habitable  earth.  And  they  are  coming  into  power  in 
an  age  when  questions  of  mighty  import  rise  up  for  their  decision. 
They  who  govern  should  be  wise.  They  who  govern  should  be  edu- 
cated. They  who  decide  mighty  questions  should  be  enlightened. 
Then,  as  we  value  wise  government,  as  we  would  have  the  destinies  of 
our  kind  shaped  by  an  enlightened  tribunal,  let  the  schools  of  the 
people,  and  the  teachers  who  preside  in  these  schools,  and  the  system 
that  prevails  in  these  schools,  be  our  peculiar  care. 

We  can  not  reform  the  world,  no,  nor  provide  instruction  for  a 
great  nation,  by  any  direction  given  to  half  a  million  of  dollars.  But 
something,  even  in  such  a  cause,  may  be  effected  by  it — something,  I 
devoutly  believe,  that  shall  be  felt  all  over  our  broad  land.  The 
essential  is  that,  if  little  we  can  do,  that  little  be  well  done,  be  done 
faithfully,  in  the  spirit  of  the  trust,  in  the  spirit  of  the  age,  in  a 
spirit  not  restrictive,  not  exclusive,  but  diffusive,  universal. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES  modified  his  motion  as  follows: 


350  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Strike  out  all  the  bill  after  the  word  "  be  "  in  the  .sixth  line  of  the 
first  section  and  insert: 

Paid  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  the  heirs  at  law  or  next  of  kin  of  the 
said  James  Smithson,  or  their  authorized  agents,  whenever  they  shall  demand  the 
same:  Provided,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall,  in  paying  over  said  money 
as  herein  directed,  deliver  to  said  heirs  all  State  bonds  or  other  stocks  of  every  kind 
which  have  been  purchased  with  said  money,  or  any  part  thereof,  in  lieu  of  so  much 
of  said  money  as  shall  have  been  so  invested  in  State  bonds  or  other  stocks.  And 
the  balance  of  said  sum  of  money,  if  any,  not  so  invested,  shall  be  paid  out  of  any 
money  in  the  Treasury  riot  otherwise  appropriated. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES  said  it  was  not  his  purpose  to  make  a  speech  on 
this  occasion;  but  believing,  as  he  did,  that  this  whole  matter  was 
wrong;  that  this  Government,  in  the  first  instance,  had  no  right  and 
no  power  to  accept  of  this  trust  fund,  he  was  in  favor  of  returning 
the  amount  of  the  money  or  of  the  stocks  in  which  that  money  has 
been  invested,  to  the  heirs  at  law  or  next  of  kin  of  the  late  Mr. 
Smithson,  whenever  they  shall  make  the  demand  of  the  Government. 
He  admitted  the  right  of  the  Government  "to  borrow  money"  under 
the  Constitution,  but  denied  that  it  had  any  particle  of  power  to  deal 
in  stocks  or  to  loan  money.  We  had  no  power  either  to  receive  this 
money  in  the  first  instance,  or  to  invest  it  in  State  stocks  and  fund  it, 
as  this  bill  proposed  to  do,  in  perpetuity  upon  the  Government.  He 
wanted  to  create  no  such  debt  upon  this  Government.  He  was  satis- 
fied that  his  constituents  desired  no  such  debt  funded,  no  such  burden 
imposed  upon  them. 

But,  waiving  the  objection  of  the  want  of  power  on  the  part  of  the 
Government,  he  was  still  opposed  to  the  establishment  of  an  institution 
like  that  proposed  in  the  bill  under  the  direction  and  patronage  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  He  would  be  the  last  man  on  this 
floor  to  say  or  do  anything  on  this  floor  or  elsewhere  to  obstruct  the 
enlightenment  and  education  of  the  people.  He  was  as  thoroughly 
satisfied  of  the  benefits  of  education  as  anybody,  but  he  could  not 
sanction  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution  under  the  direction 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  Where  might  it  end?  What 
might  such  an  institution  come  to  be  in  the  course  of  events?  This 
$513,000  was  to  be  funded  at  6  per  cent  interest  forever.  Was  there 
a  friend  of  this  measure — was  there  one  who  had  reflected  for  a 
moment  on  the  proposition  who  believed  that  when  once  established 
they  would  stop  at  the  appropriation  of  this  6  per  cent  interest 
annually  for  its  support?  It  was,  in  his  opinion,  nothing  more  than 
the  entering  wedge  to  fastening  upon  the  United  States  an  institution 
the  expenses  and  appropriations  for  which  would  be  augmented  at 
almost  every  session  of  Congress. 

It  was  neither  the  right,  the  power,  or  the  true  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  attempt  to  rear  up  here  in  the  city  of  Washington  an  insti- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGKESS,   1845-1847.  351 

tution  for  the  education  of  school  teachers,  of  agricultural  professors, 
etc.,  to  send  out  into  the  country.  There  was  too  great  a  tendency  to 
centralization  in  this  Government  already,  in  his  opinion.  The  legit- 
imate and  appropriate  sphere  of  this  Government  was  to  take  care  of 
our  concerns  with  foreign  powers,  leaving  our  domestic  laws  and  reg- 
ulations to  be  made  by  the  State  legislatures.  Every  measure  of  this 
kind  had  the  tendency  to  make  the  people  throughout  the  country  look 
more  to  this  great  central  power  than  to  the  State  governments. 

He  had  not  risen  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  speech,  but  of  sub- 
mitting a  few  remarks  in  explanation  of  his  amendment. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  SAWYER  (Mr.  Jones  giving  way)  said  the  gentleman's 
proposition,  if  he  understood  it  aright,  was  to  refund  this  mone}^  to 
the  heirs  of  Smithson.  Now,  he  was  well  informed  that  Mr.  Smithson 
had  no  heirs  whatever.  And  if  such  was  the  fact  he  wished  to  ask  of 
the  gentleman  how  his  amendment  could  be  made  operative. 

Mr.  JONES  replied  that  certainly,  if  he  never  had  heirs,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  them.  But  he  understood  that,  though  he  had  no 
children,  he  had  a  brother,  who  was  once  in  this  country;  and  his 
amendment  proposed  to  refund  this  money  to  the  heirs  or  next  of  kin 
of  James  Smithson. 

In  conclusion,  he  remarked  that  if  his  proposition  failed  and  this 
Smithsonian  Institution  was  to  be  established,  he  should  then  be  in 
favor  of  handing  over  the  State  stocks,  which  were  purchased  by  this 
money,  to  the  managers  of  the  Institution,  and  of  letting  them  con- 
duct it  independently  of  the  Government.  And,  voting  for  this 
proposition,  all  that  related  to  the  establishment  of  a  body  politic  and 
corporate  he  should  also  wish  to  have  stricken  out,  for  he  would  vote 
for  the  establishment  of  no  corporation  by  this  Government. 

Mr.  J.  R.  INGERSOLL  expressed  his  favor  for  the  general  features  of 
the  bill,  but  before  entering  upon  the  direct  question  he  directed  a  few 
remarks  to  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Jones,  which  he  considered  entirely 
futile,  as  far  as  any  idea  of  refunding  the  money  to  heirs  was  concerned, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  ascertained  beyond  doubt  that  Mr.  Smithson  had 
no  heirs  or  next  of  kin.  He  had  had  one  son  [nephew],  who  died  during 
his  minority,  and  thereupon  this  Government,  as  the  residuary  legatee, 
came  in  possession  of  the  property  in  legal  form  from  the  attorneys 
in  chancery  of  the  executors  of  Mr.  Smithson,  at  London.  This 
amendment  if  carried  out  into  a  law,  therefore,  would  result  in  work- 
ing a  forfeiture  of  the  funds  to  the  British  Government.  But  Mr. 
Ingersoll  contended  that,  as  we  had  received  it  by  solemn  act  of  Con- 
gress, and  retained  it  for  eight  long  years,  it  was  now  binding,  on  the 
ground  of  faith,  honor,  and  duty,  to  appropriate  it  in  the  manner 
designed  by  the  testator  himself;  and  the  iact  that  this  fund  had  been 
invested  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States,  under  direction  of 
Congress,  in  Arkansas  stocks,  did  not  affect  this  question  in  any 


352  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

respect;  the  Government  of  the  United  States  being  always  respon-. 
sible  for  the  restoration  of  this  fund,  and  the  devotion  of  it  to  the 
proper  objects.  The  fund  was  sacred  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States  at  this  moment,  and  they  were  pledged,  every  one  of  them,  to 
redeem  it. 

And  the  true  question  now  presented  was,  What  were  the  intentions 
of  the  donor? 

Mr.  INGERSOLL  here — in  reference  to  an  allusion  by  Mr.  Owen  to 
the  Girard  fund — went  into  an  explanation,  at  some  length,  of  the 
circumstances  and  restrictions  of  that  legacy,  the  manner  in  which  it 
had  been  expended,  etc.,  stating  that  the  reason  why  the  school  had 
not  ere  this,  partially  at  least,  gone  into  operation  was  an  unfortunate 
proviso  placed  by  Mr.  Girard  in  his  will,  that  none  of  the  orphans 
intended  to  be  benefited  should  be  received  and  educated  until  the 
entire  five  buildings  were  fully  completed  according  to  the  plan  pre- 
scribed by  him.  Upon  this  point  Mr.  Ingersoll  3rielded  to  Mr.  Owen 
for  explanation. 

Recurring  to  the  position  that  the  fact  that  this  fund  might  have 
been  invested  by  the  act  of  the  Government  itself  in  Arkansas  stocks 
principally,  and  to  a  small  extent  in  the  stocks  of  Ohio,  Illinois,  and 
Michigan,  in  no  manner  diminished  its  accountability  for  the  amount 
of  its  obligation  to  appropriate  in  accordance  with  the  intention  of 
Mr.  Smithson. 

Mr.  S.  F.  VINTOX  interposed  and  said  if  any  portion  of  it  was  invested 
in  Ohio  bonds,  of  which  he  was  not  before  aware,  the  interest  on  them 
would  be  regularly  paid. 

Mr.  ARCHIBALD  YELL  also  (speaking  for  Arkansas)  said  we  are  ready 
to  settle  at  any  time. 

Mr.  INGERSOLL.  1  have  no  doubt  of  it. 

Mr.  YELL  (in  reply  to  another  remark  of  Mr.  Ingersoll  not  heard 
by  the  reporter).  Whenever  we  can  bring  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States  to  a  settlement,  then  we  will  talk  about  it. 

Mr.  INGERSOLL  (resuming)  said  he  concurred  in  the  general  views 
of  Mr.  Owen,  especially  as  at  the  conclusion  of  the  bill  there  was  a 
section  authorizing  Congress  to  make  such  changes  as  from  time  to 
time  it  might  deem  expedient. 

There  was  one  object  which  he  thought  the  gentleman  had  over- 
looked. He  had  properly  provided  against  the  error  of  the  Girard 
will  by  providing  that  this  institution  should  go  into  operation  on  the 
1st  of  September  next  after  the  passage  of  the  law,  as  it  could  go  into 
operation  for  main7  of  its  purposes  immediate!}".  But  instead  of  wait- 
ing the  slow  process  of  gathering  materials  of  instruction,  he  intended, 
by  an  amendment  at  the  proper  place,  to  propose  that  the  results  of 
the  exploring  expedition  and  the  articles  of  the  National  Institute, 
many  of  which  were  now  being  injured  for  want  of  a  proper  place  of 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,    1845-1847.  353 

deposit,  and  both  which  were  the  property  of  the  Government,  should 
be  placed  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  until  there  should  be  substi- 
tuted for  them  articles  collected  by  that  Institution  itself. 

He  agreed  with  Mr.  Owen  that  a  great  library,  such  as  was  provided 
for  in  the  bill  which  passed  the  Senate  two  years  ago,  was  not  desira- 
able,  and  said  that  the  necessary  buildings  to  contain  the  greatest 
library  in  the  world  would  in  its  own  erection  exhaust  the  entire  sum. 
This  Capitol  itself  would  not  be  sufficient  to  contain  800,000  volumes, 
which  would  be  the  largest  library  in  the  world,  so  properly  arranged 
as  to  be  accessible.  A  library  was  not  the  object  of  Mr.  Smithson; 
but  that  it  should  cover  general  ground,  in  which  all  objects  of  science 
(if  possible)  should  be  included,  and  among  the  rest  he  agreed  with  the 
bill  in  the  propriety  of  appropriating  a  part  of  the  annual  fund  to  the 
preparation  of  instructors,  to  be  sent  out  throughout  the  whole  country.' 
He  would  also  appropriate  a  part  of  the  fund  to  the  defraying  the 
expenses  of  the  delivery  of  annual  lectures  by  our  most  distinguished 
men  at  different  points  throughout  the  country  for  scientific  instruction. 

Mr.  INGERSOLL  gave  some  other  general  views,  approving  decidedly 
the  object  of  the  institution,  and  warmly  urging  the  bounden  duty  of 
Congress  to  apply  it  according  to  the  intentions  of  Mr.  Smithson  and 
to  discharge  the  obligations  imposed  upon  it  by  the  acceptance  of  this 
trust. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES  modified  his  amendment  by  inserting,  after  the 
words  "  next  of  kin,"  the  words  "or  residuary  legatee." 

Mr.  F.  P.  STANTON  next  addressed  the  committee  as  follows: 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN:  It  has  been  a  matter  of  very  general  complaint  that 
there  has  been  great  delay  in  performing  the  trust  imposed  upon  this 
Government  by  its  acceptance  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest.  Whether 
this  complaint  be  well  or  ill  founded,  all  will  agree  that  the  time  has 
now  arrived  for  decisive  action  and  that  the  honor  and  good  faith  of 
the  Government  require  a  speedy  application  of  the  fund  to  its  destined 
purpose. 

Very  nearly  eight  years  have  elapsed  since  the  magnificent  sum  of 
half  a  million  of  dollars,  sanctified  by  the  will  of  James  Smithson  to 
the  humane  purpose  "of  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge  among 
men,"  has  been  received  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

But  if  this  delay  is  to  be  regretted  on  some  accounts,  at  least  one 
great  advantage  has  accrued:  The  interest  of  the  fund  has  accumulated 
to  such  an  amount  that  every  necessary  building  for  the  complete 
accommodation  of  a  most  extensive  institution  may  be  immediately 
constructed  without  any  diminution  of  the  original  sum.  That  will 
remain  untouched,  the  fruitful  source  of  perpetual  supply  and  support 
for  the  beneficent  establishment  which  may  be  created  by  the  bill. 

Besides,  sir,  during  this  long  period  of  delay  many  plans  have 
been  suggested  and  discussed,  some  learned  reports  have  been  nmde 
H.  Doc.  732 23 


354  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

in  this  House  and  in  the  Senate,  and  the  public  attention  has  been  so 
engaged  upon  this  interesting  subject  that  we  are  now  doubtless  pre- 
pared to  dispose  of  it  intelligently  and  in  a  manner  which  will  fully 
meet  the  high  and  liberal  purposes  of  Mr.  Smithson.  There  is  no 
longer  any  justification  for  delay.  Everything  is  ready,  awaiting  our 
action,  and  the  wise  and  benevolent  in  all  quarters  are  anxiously 
expecting  us  to  perform  our  solemn  duty  in  reference  to  this  noble 
bequest. 

But  there  is,  at  this  peculiar  juncture  in  our  affairs,  still  another 
consideration  stronglj7  appealing  to  the  national  honor  and  urging  the 
immediate  disposition  of  the  fund  according  to  the  will  of  the  donor. 
James  Smithson  was  an  Englishman.  Yet  he  passed  by  his  own 
powerful  and  splendid  Government — one  which  has  never  failed  or 
refused  to  contribute  liberally  to  the  cause  of  science — and  selected 
our  plainer  and  simpler  institutions  as  the  more  appropriate  depository 
of  the  sacred  trust  to  which  he  devoted  the  whole  of  his  large  fortune. 
Our  relations  with  England  at  the  present  moment  are  thought  to  be 
very  critical.  I  do  not  anticipate  war.  I  have  little  fear  that  two 
enlightened  nations,  whose  interests  are  deeply  involved  in  the  main- 
tenance of  peace,  will,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  rush  into  a  sangui- 
nary and  destructive  war,  even  upon  so  grave  a  question  as  that  which 
now  disturbs  them.  Yet  there  are  many  who  look  upon  the  present 
crisis  with  more  serious  fears,  and  all  must  acknowledge  that  war  is 
possible;  that  very  slight  mismanagement  on  either  side  might  lead 
to  that  disastrous  end.  Now,  if  war  should  take  place,  it  would  be 
most  dishonorable  to  our  Government  that  a  large  fund,  given  by  a 
benevolent  foreigner  to  found  an  institution  of  the  most  peaceful  and 
beneficent  character,  should  remain  in  the  Treasury  and  be  used  to 
carry  on  war  against  the  very  nation  from  whom  the  charitable  gift 
was  received.  I  hope,  sir,  we  shall  avoid  the  possibility  of  such  humili- 
ation by  adopting  the  measure  before  us  without  delay.  Should  we 
fail  to  do  so  and  hostilities  occur,  the  omission  will  never  cease  to 
be  the  fruitful  source  and  occasion  of  those  bitter  attacks  upon  our 
honesty  and  the  moral  tendency  of  our  institutions  which  have  long 
filled  the  pages  of  English  periodicals  and  the  journals  of  English 
travelers.  Their  denunciations  then  would  have  a  much  better  foun- 
dation than  they  usually  have.  We  should  be  somewhat  at  a  loss  to 
repel  them.  The  ordinary  charge  of  faithlessness  and  repudiation  of 
pecuniary  liabilities  would  be  nothing  in  comparison;  this  would  be 
the  gross  violation  of  a  sacred  trust,  which  no  circumstance  could  pal- 
liate, no  emergency  could  justify. 

I  intend,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  support  the  bill  in  its  present  form. 
There  is  doubtless  a  wide  field  for  the  selection  of  means  to  accomplish 
the  great  design  unfolded  in  the  comprehensive  words  of  Mr.  Smith- 
son's  will.  Any  plan  which  may  be  adopted  for  the  attainment  of  this 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  355 

end  must  necessarily  be  the  result  of  compromise,  for  it  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  any  two  minds,  acting  separately,  would  arrive  at  the 
same  conclusion  upon  this  important  subject.  I  understand  this  bill  to 
have  been  thus  framed  by  the  committee  which  reported  it.  As  a 
result  of  the  conflicting  opinions  of  wise  and  experienced  men,  har- 
monized by  comparison,  discussion,  and  mutual  concession,  it  is  enti- 
tled to  very  high  respect.  But  I  think  its  intrinsic  merits  will  be  found 
to  be  its  most  imposing  recommendation. 

Before  attempting  to  notice  the  provisions  of  the  bill  I  will  refer 
briefly  to  an  objection  which,  if  valid,  would  be  paramount  to  all  other 
considerations.  It  was  with  surprise  and  regret  that  I  heard  the 
objection  of  my  colleague  (Mr.  Jones)  to  this  bill  on  the  ground  of 
unconstitutionally.  I  would  have  regretted  opposition  upon  such 
grounds  from  any  quarter,  but  much  more  when  it  comes  from  my 
own  State.  I  would  have  preferred  that  Tennessee  should  have  occu- 
pied a  different  position. 

My  honorable  colleague  insists  that  the  Government  ought  not  to 
have  accepted  the  trust  and  that  the  money  ought  now  to  be  restored. 
It  is  true  the  United  States  were  not  bound  to  accept  the  trust.  They 
might  have  rejected  Mr.  Smithson's  magnificent  donation  and  deprived 
the  American  people  of  the  rich  blessings  which  may  now  be  conferred 
upon  them  by  its  wise  and  faithful  use.  But  better  counsels  prevailed; 
they  did  accept  it  by  a  law  of  Congress,  and  in  so  doing  they  assumed 
a  solemn  obligation  to  apply  the  fund  according  to  the  will  of  the  tes- 
tator. The  faith  of  the  Government  is  pledged — it  is  doubly  pledged — 
first,  by  receiving  the  money  and  retaining  it  eight  3Tears,  with  an 
express  agreement  to  apply  it  faithfully ;  and  secondly,  by  the  very 
nature  of  the  sacred  objects  to  which  the  trust  is  directed,  so  binding 
and  obligatory  in  their  high  demand  upon  the  honor  of  the  nation, 
that  it  would  be  sacrilege  and  barbarism  to  repudiate  the  claim. 

1  do  not  propose  to  enter  the  field  of  constitutional  discussion.  That 
is  a  hackneyed  subject  and  I  am  sure  the  occasion  does  not  require 
that  line  of  argument.  Nothing,  sir,  more  clearly  demonstrates  the 
utter  impracticability  and  absurdity  of  those  extreme  opinions  upon 
constitutional  questions  sometimes  advocated  here  than  the  opposition 
on  such  grounds  to  the  measure  now  before  us.  The  common  and 
general  judgment  of  the  people,  the  united  and  almost  universal  con- 
currence of  politicians  of  all  classes,  unhesitatingly  discard  and  condemn 
the  narrow  and  illiberal  sentiment.  An  institution  of  the  greatest 
importance,  most  beneficial  to  the  people  of  this  country,  founded  not 
with  funds  exacted  by  taxation  but  built  upon  the  liberality  of  a  dis- 
tinguished foreigner,  who  has  so  far  sanctioned  our  political  structure 
as  to  confide  to  it  the  execution  of  a  sacred  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the 
human  race — this  Institution,  located  within  a  territory  over  which 
Congress  has  exclusive  jurisdiction,  surely  can  not  involve  the  exercise 


356  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  a  power  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution  or  in  the  slightest  degree 
dangerous  to  the  integrity  of  our  political  principles.  Mr.  Smithson 
was  not  wrong  in  supposing  this  Government  possessed  the  power  to 
convey  to  its  people  a  gratuitous  benefit  of  the  first  magnitude.  His 
benevolent  design  will  not  be  frustrated  by  this  imaginary  impediment, 
for  I  do  not  dream  that  it  can  interpose  even  a  momentary  obstacle  to 
the  passage  of  the  bill. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  this  large  fund  properly  applied  may  be 
made  the  instrument  of  much  good.  The  benefit  will  be  enjoyed  pri- 
marily and  peculiarly,  if  not  entirely,  by  our  own  people.  Its  indirect 
influence,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  hereafter  extend  abroad,  but  it  is 
chiefly  here  that  its  benign  effects  are  to  be  felt  as  long  as  the  Institu- 
tion shall  exist.  It  ought,  then,  to  be  an  object  of  great  care  and  of 
peculiar  interest  to  the  Government.  All  necessary  arrangements 
should  be  liberally  made,  and  with  the  wisest  possible  adaptation  to 
the  great  end  in  view. 

One  of  the  preliminary  provisions  of  the  bill  transfers  the  whole 
fund  to  the  Treasury,  and  requires  the  Government  to  assume  the  per- 
petual payment  of  interest  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent  per  annum.  This 
is  certainly  a  very  slight  contribution,  yet  inconsiderable  as  this  respon- 
sibility may  be  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  and  by  no  means  to  be 
named  as  a  donation  or  even  as  a  favor  when  it  is  considered  that  the 
fund  is  a  gift  to  the  country,  it  is  nevertheless  a  matter  of  the  first  impor- 
tance to  the  Institution  itself.  It  secures  for  it  a  permanent  support 
and  places  its  revenues  beyond  the  power  of  any  contingency.  No  one, 
I  presume,  except  my  colleague  will  object  to  this  provision.  By 
adopting  it  the  United  States  will  evince  a  disposition  to  fulfill  the  high 
trust  they  have  assumed  in  a  spirit  of  liberality  and  justice  somewhat 
worthy  of  the  great  object  sought  to  be  accomplished. 

But  while  the  Government  will  contribute  in  this  small  way  to  the 
Institution,  it  will  receive  a  direct  compensation  which  far  more  than 
balances  the  sacrifice  made.  The  bill  proposes  to  appropriate  a  por- 
tion of  the  public  grounds  in  this  city  for  the  buildings  and  gardens 
necessary  for  the  establishment.  Handsome  yet  useful  structures 
will  be  erected,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  grounds  will  render  them 
beautiful  and  attractive,  while  they  may  still  be  accessible  to  the 
harmless  examination  and  enjoyment  of  the  public.  All  this  will  be 
done  out  of  the  Smithsonian  fund;  and  the  expense  which  the  Gov- 
ernment would  otherwise  incur  by  carrying  out  the  original  plan  of 
the  city,  as  designed  by  Washington,  will  be  avoided,  while  all  its 
desirable  advantages  will  be  obtained.  The  benefit  will  be  mutual  to 
the  Government  and  to  the  Institution. 

So,  also,  in  regard  to  the  transfer  of  the  specimens  of  natural  his- 
tory, of  minerals,  and  other  scientific  and  curious  objects  now  in  pos- 
session of  the  Government  and  kept  at  the  Patent  Office.  The  exhi- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  357 

bition  and  preservation  of  these  things  are  now  the  source  of  some 
expenditure.  When  they  shall  be  transferred,  as  proposed  in  this 
bill,  this  expenditure  will  cease,  or  be  removed  from  the  public  Treas- 
ury to  the  fund  of  the  Institution.  They  will  be  equally  subject  to 
public  examination,  while  they  will  be  made  to  answer  a  more  useful 
end,  as  constituting  the  basis  of  instruction  for  able  and  scientific 
professors. 

My  remarks  so  far,  Mr.  Chairman,  relate  only  to  some  unimpor- 
tant preliminary  arrangements  not  affecting  the  general  scope  and 
design  of  the  proposed  Institution.  These  must  now  be  examined; 
and  I  propose  to  do  it  with  reference  to  the  probable  design  of  Mr. 
Smithson,  to  be  inferred  from  his  own  pursuits  and  character  of 
mind;  from  his  selection  of  our  Government  to  execute  his  will,  and 
from  the  language  in  which  he  has  expressed  his  intentions. 

I  do  not  propose  to  enter  upon  any  biographical  sketch  of  Mr. 
Smithson,  or  to  go  into  a  history  of  his  philosophical  labors.  I  will 
merely  state  what  has  been  truly  said  by  the  gentleman  from  Indiana 
[Mr.  Owen],  that  he  was  ardently  devoted  to  science,  and  that  his 
pursuits  were  eminently  practical  and  utilitarian  in  their  character. 
The  physical  sciences,  in  their  application  to  the  useful  arts — miner- 
alogy, geology,  and  chemistry — in  its  application  to  agriculture  consti- 
tuted his  chief  employments.  His  investigations  are  referred  to  and 
quoted  with  respect  by  the  great  German  chemist,  Liebig. 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  one  whose  mind  was  constantly  occu- 
pied with  these  subjects  and  filled  with  the  visions  of  rich  promise 
which  must  be  realized  in  their  future  investigations,  when  munifi- 
cently endowing  an  institution  for  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge 
among  men,  looked  particularly  to  those  sciences  which  will  be  most 
fruitful  in  great  results,  and  to  which,  on  that  account,  he  himself  was 
deeply  devoted.  It  is  precisely  these  sciences,  and  these  applications 
of  them,  which  I  understand  this  bill  to  be  designed  and  calculated  to 
promote. 

Nor  was  it  strange,  sir,  that  with  such  sentiments  and  such  designs 
Mr.  Smithson  should  have  selected  our  Government  as  the  instrument 
to  accomplish  his  objects.  Although  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
this  Government  has  heretofore  contributed  little  or  nothing  to  the 
advancement  of  science  by  any  direct  aid  or  encouragement — and 
although  the  points  at  which  it  even  comes  in  contact  with  the  scien- 
tific world  are  extremely  few,  and  it  is  felt  to  be  a  great  desideratum 
that  these  connections  should  be  increased — yet  Mr.  Smithson  had  the 
penetration  to  discover  that  the  United  States  are  the  foremost  people 
of  the  world  in  the  facility  of  adapting  themselves  to  the  progressive 
improvements  of  the  age.  No  other  people  are  now  making  such 
rapid  strides  in  the  application  of  science  to  the  great  purposes  of 
human  industry.  This  tendency,  so  very  marked  at  the  present  day, 


358  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

is  doubtless  the  result  of  our  free  institutions,  giving  untrammeled 
scope  and  powerful  motive  to  the  energies  of  the  individual  man — no 
longer  making  the  citizen  subservient  to  the  power  and  glory  of  the 
Government,  but  using  the  latter  as  a  mere  instrument  to  protect  the 
rights  and  promote  the  welfare,  improvement,  and  happiness  of  the 
former.  The  olden  philosophers  considered  it  a  prostitution  of  the 
sacred  character  of  science  to  direct  it,  in  any  degree,  to  the  material 
interests  of  man.  In  modern  times  the  sentiment  is  justly  reversed, 
and  that  philosophy  which  does  not  contribute  to  the  useful  pursuits 
of  life  is  considered  of  comparatively  little  value.  In  this  age,  and  in 
this  country,  the  new  application  of  philosophy  is  exhibiting  its  most 
glorious  results,  and  giving  promise  in  the  future  of  still  more  won- 
derful improvements.  Doubtless  it  was  this  tendency  of  our  institu- 
tions, and  the  effect  not  obscurely  marked  out  in  the  amazing  energy 
and  inventive  power  of  our  people,  which  induced  the  wise  and  benev- 
olent Smithson  to  select  this  Government  as  the  agent  for  accomplish- 
ing his  will.  It  is  not  difficult  to  discover  that  this  condition  of  the 
people,  the  result  of  our  peculiar  political  institutions,  will  reflect 
back  its  influence  upon  the  Government,  and  infuse  a  portion  of  its 
energetic  and  enlightened  spirit  into  all  its  departments.  We  have 
already  seen  some  such  result.  Some  operations  of  an  important 
scientific  character  have  of  late  been  undertaken  by  the  direct  appli- 
cation of  the  national  power. 

First  in  importance  among  these  has  been  the  establishment  in  this 
city  of  the  Observatory,  connected  with  the  hydrographical  depart- 
ment of  that  nondescript  fire-and-water  Bureau  of  Ordnance  and 
Hydrography.  I  believe  this  interesting  establishment  has  grown  up 
gradually  from  the  very  necessity  of  the  case  and  without  any  direct 
authority  looking  immediately  to  such  a  result.  And,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  some,  it  seems  still  to  be  considered  a  very  unimportant  con- 
cern, for  I  have  seen  a  bill  lately  reported  in  the  Senate  proposing  to 
detach  the  establishment  from  the  Bureau  of  Ordnance  and  connect  it 
with  that  of  Yards  and  Docks,  thus  bringing  the  erection  of  ship- 
houses,  foundries,  and  workshops  into  juxtaposition  and  intimate  rela- 
tion with  the  most  delicate  and  difficult  observations  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  and  the  most  intricate  calculations  of  astronomy.  This  classi- 
fication is  probably  founded  upon  the  similarity  supposed  to  exist 
between  the  wheels  of  a  steam  engine  and  the  rings  of  Saturn,  or  the 
bands  of  a  lathe  and  the  belts  of  Jupiter.  The  Naval  Committee  of 
the  House,  however,  have  not  had  the  penetration  to  see  these  very 
recondite  points  of  connection,  and  they  have  proposed  to  erect  a  sep- 
arate bureau  of  hydrography,  placing  the  astronomical  and  bydro- 
graphical  operations  of  the  Government  upon  the  most  permanent, 
useful,  and  independent  basis.  If  there  be  any  branch  of  the  public 
service  worthy  of  this  advantage,  it  is  that  which  is  now  so  well  and 
efficiently  conducted  by  Lieut.  M.  F.  Maury. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  359 

Heretofore  our  astronomical  knowledge  has  been  chiefly  derived 
from  foreign  nations.  We  have  used  the  English  Nautical  Almanac, 
and  our  vessels  have  been  guided  upon  the  broad  ocean  by  observa- 
tions and  tables  prepared  by  our  rivals  and  adversaries  in  all  commer- 
cial enterprise.  We  have  contributed  nothing  whatever  to  this  branch 
of  science,  useful  as  it  is,  and  directly  connected  with  the  great  inter- 
ests of  commerce  and  navigation.  For  our  most  important  charts, 
also,  we  have  been  dependent  upon  other  nations.  Until  recently,  if 
even  now,  we  have  had  no  establishment  at  which  our  vessels  could  be 
supplied  with  maps  and  charts  necessary  to  enable  them  to  perform 
a  cruise  with  convenience  and  safety,  and  we  certainly  have  not  had 
the  information  of  a  hydrographical  character  which  would  enable 
the  Navy  Department  to  plan  an  attack  upon  any  foreign  port,  even 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

But,  sir,  the  establishment  of  the  Observatory,  if  its  important 
objects  be  liberally  seconded,  will  remedy  these  defects  and  wipe  off 
from  our  character  what  I  can  not  but  consider  a  disgrace  to  the  most 
enlightened  people  upon  earth.  Its  services  will  not  be  confined  to 
the  preparation  of  maps  and  charts,  the  preservation  of  nautical 
instruments,  the  regulation  and  correction  of  chronometers,  with 
other  kindred  practical  duties;  its  operations  will  be  still  more  exten- 
sive and  important.  Already  have  the  elements  for  an  American 
nautical  almanac  been  obtained  by  observation,  and  the  liberal  patriot- 
ism of  the  House  is  invoked  for  a  small  appropriation  to  compute  and 
print  them.  It  is  now  in  contemplation,  too,  if  the  work  has  not 
already  been  commenced,  to  enter  upon  a  system  of  most  extensive 
observation,  including  all  the  important  fixed  stars  to  be  observed  in 
our  latitude — a  more  comprehensive  and  magnificent,  as  well  as  use- 
ful, work  than  has  ever  yet  been  undertaken  in  any  part  of  the  world. 
I  have  it  from  the  highly  intelligent  and  scientific  Superintendent  of 
the  Coast  Survey  that  the  number  of  stars  noted  in  the  Nautical 
Almanac  is  too  limited  for  the  convenient  conduct  of  his  important 
observations. 

It  will  be  found  here,  as  well  as  in  other  important  works  of  a 
similar  kind,  that  the  labors  about  to  be  entered  upon  at  the  Observa- 
tory will  prove  to  be  highly  important  and  valuable.  They  will 
enable  us  to  make  some  return  to  the  science  of  the  world  for  that 
large  supply  which  we  have  heretofore  illiberally  drawn  from  it;  and 
they  will  contribute  to  elevate  our  Government  in  the  eyes  of  other 
nations. 

I  have  said  so  much  upon  this  subject,  sir,-  because  no  provision  is 
made  in  this  bill  for  any  astronomical  establishment,  and  because, 
upon  former  occasions,  it  has  been  urged  with  great  ability,  and  from 
a  distinguished  quarter,  that  the  greater  part,  if  not  the  whole  of  this 
fund,  should  be  appropriated  for  this  purpose.  The  venerable  gen- 
tleman from  Massachusetts  will  understand  my  allusion.  It  has  been 


360  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

with  great  pleasure  and  profit,  and  with  complete  sympathy  in  the 
noble  enthusiasm  of  the  author,  that  I  read  the  report  of  that  gentle- 
man, made  to  this  House  in  1842,  upon  the  disposition  of  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest.  He  seems  to  have  been  imbued  with  a  most  exalted 
sense  of  the  sublimity  of  the  great  objects  heretofore  accomplished 
and  hereafter  to  be  attained  by  the  ardent  and  laborious  pursuit  of 
astronomy.  Sir,  there  is  no  mind  not  wholly  destitute  of  elevation 
and  wholly  ignorant  of  the  stupendous  wonders  and  glories  of  the 
universe  as  revealed  to  the  gaze  of  "star-eyed  science,"  who  could 
read  that  able  report  and  not  be  deeply  affected  by  it.  1  quote  the 
•following  passage: 

The  express  object  of  an  observatory  is  the  increase  of  knowledge  by  new  discov- 
ery. The  physical  relations  between  the  firmament  of  heaven  and  the  globe  allotted 
by  the  Creator  of  all  to  be  the  abode  of  man  are  discoverable  only  by  the  organ  of 
the  eye.  Many  of  these  relations  are  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  human  life, 
and,  perhaps,  of  the  earth  itself.  Who  can  conceive  the  idea  of  the  earth  without  a 
sun  but  must  connect  with  it  the  extinction  of  light  and  heat,  of  all  animal  life,  of 
all  vegetation  and  production,  leaving  the  lifeless  clod  of  matter  to  return  to  the 
primitive  state  of  chaos  or  to  be  consumed  by  elemental  fire.  The  influence  of  the 
moon— of  the  planets,  our  next-door  neighbors  of  the  solar  system — of  the  fixed  stars 
scattered  over  the  blue  expanse,  in  multitudes  exceeding  the  power  of  human  com- 
putation, and  at  distances  of  which  imagination  herself  can  form  no  distinct  concep- 
tion; the  influence  of  all  these  upon  the  globe  we  inhabit  and  upon  the  condition  of 
man,  its  dying  and  deathless  inhabitant,  is  great  and  mysterious,  and  in  the  search 
for  final  causes  to  a  great  extent  inscrutable  to  his  finite  and  limited  faculties.  The 
extent  to  which  they  are  discoverable  is  and  must  remain  unknown,  but  to  the  vigi- 
lance of  a  sleepless  eye,  to  the  toil  of  a  tireless  hand,  and  to  the  meditations  of  a  think- 
ing, combining,  and  analyzing  mind  secrets  are  successively  revealed,  not  only  of 
the  deepest  import  to  the  welfare  of  man  in  his  earthly  career,  but  which  seem  to 
lift  him  from  the  earth  to  the  threshold  of  his  eternal  abode;  to  lead  him  blindfold 
up  to  the  council  chamber  of  Omnipotence,  and  then,  stripping  the  bandage  from  his 
eyes,  bid  him  look  undazzled  at  the  throne  of  God. 

I  quote  this  eloquent  passage  to  show,  b}^  the  testimony  of  one  who 
understands  the  subject  well,  the  character  of  the  results  to  be  expected 
from  the  extensive  cultivation  of  astronomical  science.  I  think  it  will 
be  admitted  that  though  the  discoveries  now  to  be  expected  in  that  field 
will  be  well  calculated  to  elevate  the  soul  and  fill  it  with  wonder  and 
amazement,  nothing  of  a  very  practical  or  directly  useful  nature  in  its 
bearing  upon  the  immediate  pursuits  of  life  is  to  be  expected  beyond 
the  increased  accuracy  and  extent  of  observations  necessary  for  nauti- 
cal and  topographical  purposes.  I  am  l>y  no  means  disposed  to  under- 
value the  importance  of  this  sublime  branch  of  human  knowledge. 
Nor  will  I  undertake  to  say  that  investigation  of  the  heavens  may  not 
produce  new  results,  intimately  connected  with  and  highly  important 
to  some  of  the  economical  purposes  of  life.  What  T  mean  to  say  is, 
that  the  discoveries  yet  to  be  made  promise  only,  or  at  least  chiefly, 
to  gratify  that  high  and  laudable  curiosity  which  seeks  to  know  and 
understand,  as  far  as  human  intelligence  may,  the  sublime  and  won- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  361 

derful  works  of  the  Creator.  New  double  stars  maj'  be  discovered, 
revolving  about  each  other,  by  the  operation  of  strange  and  unknown 
laws,  the  investigation  of  which  may  be  a  subject  of  profound  inter- 
est. Their  compensating  colors,  shedding  a  mixed  stellar  influence 
upon  an  intimate  and  curious  examination,  may  possibly  reveal  to  some 
penetrating  eye  new  and  important  truths  connected  with  the  theory 
of  light.  The  occultation  of  Jupiter's  satellites  enable  us  to  measure 
its  velocity  with  almost  absolute  exactness.  The  contrasted  colors  of 
these  wonderful  binary  stars  may  eventually  settle  the  question,  if  it 
be  not  already  settled,  between  the  theory  of  undulations  and  that  of 
particles  emanating  in  straight  lines,  and  may,  in  some  lucky  hour  to 
some  favored  son  of  genius,  unfold  distinctly  and  forever  the  appar- 
ently intricate  and  now  hidden  relations  of  light,  heat,  electricity, 
magnetism,  and  gravitation.  A  higher  and  more  complete  generaliza- 
tion of  the  great  phenomena  of  the  universe  may  be  accomplished, 
and  it  is  wholly  impossible  to  tell  how  directly  and  immediately  such 
discoveries  may  bear  upon  the  practical  pursuits  which  contribute 
to  the  physical  well-being  of  man.  Who  at  the  present  da,y  can  cal- 
culate the  influence  exerted  upon  the  happiness  of  man  during  suc- 
cessive generations  by  the  knowledge  of  those  three  strange  and  won- 
derful laws  discovered,  not  without  long  and  laborious  investigation, 
by  the  celebrated  Kepler?  Who  can  trace  their  consequences  in  the 
subsequent  discoveries  of  that  science,  or  rather,  I  should  ask,  what 
would  now  be  our  knowledge  of  the  planetary  system  and  our  ability 
to  apply  it  to  exact  nautical  purposes  if  those  laws  and  all  that  results 
from  them  were  at  this  day  a  blank  in  astronomical  science  ?  That  the 
radius  vector  of  a  planet  describes  equal  areas  in  equal  times!  How 
simple  a  law,  yet  how  pregnant  of  consequences,  incalculable  in  extent 
and  value! 

Notwithstanding  these  admissions  and  my  deep  conviction  of  the 
great  value  of  astronomical  truth,  I  can  not  think  that  field  of  knowl- 
edge likely  to  be  so  productive  of  useful  fruit  that  the  Smithsonian 
fund  ought  ever  to  have  been  directed  entirely  or  chiefly  to  that  object. 
But  whatever  may  have  been  the  conflict  of  opinion  in  this  respect  the 
dispute  is  put  to  rest  by  the  establishment  of  the  observatory.  It  is  a 
matter  of  high  gratification  to  my  mind  that  the  Government  has  at 
last  awakened  to  the  importance  of  the  subject  and  has  found  a  com- 
plete justification  in  the  hydrographical  and  topographical  necessities 
of  its  service  by  sea  and  land  for  the  endowment  of  so  useful  an  insti- 
tution; and  I  am  glad,  sir,  to  hear  it  announced  that  the  distinguished 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts  finds  his  laudable  enthusiasm  for  a 
noble  branch  of  science  fully  met  and  satisfied  by  the  establishment  in 
question. 

I  think,  Mr.  Chairman,  if  there  be  anything  plain  and  obvious  in 
reference  to  the  plan  to  be  adopted  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  it 


362  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

is  that  no  university  or  college  of  an  ordinary  kind  would  come  within 
the  scope  of  the  testator's  intentions,  or  would  contribute  properly  to 
the  end  desired.  We  require  something  connected  with  the  great 
practical  purposes  of  life — something  in  accordance  with  the  progres- 
sive spirit  of  the  age — something  looking  immediately  to  the  eleva- 
tion, improvement,  and  happiness  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people. 
Sir,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  most  of  our  best  institutions  of  learning 
are  not  of  this  character.  They  look  chiefly  to  the  past,  searching  for 
the  obscure  beginnings  of  knowledge  in  the  dead  languages  and  in 
the  writings  of  ancient  sages,  poets,  and  philosophers.  It  is  our  busi- 
ness to  look  chiefly  to  the  great  future,  with  its  glorious  fruits,  ready 
to  burst  from  a  teeming  soil,  warmed  and  enlightened  by  the  great 
sun  of  science,  which  now  diffuses  its  energetic  rays  into  every  corner 
of  human  affairs,  wherever  life,  vegetable  or  animal,  and  wherever 
mental  or  physical  power  in  its  ten  thousand  inventive  forms  may  find 
a  foothold  for  existence. 

In  a  letter  of  Dr.  Thomas  Cooper,  of  South  Carolina,  addressed  to 
Mr.  Forsyth,  July  20,  1838,  in  answer  to  inquiries  on  the  subject  of 
the  Smithsonian  bequest,  that  distinguished  gentleman  says: 

I  object  to  all  belles-lettres  and  philosophical  literature,  as  calculated  only  to  make 
men  pleasant  talkers.  I  object  to  medicine. 

I  object  to  law.     Ethics  and  politics  are  as  yet  unsettled  branches  of  knowledge. 

I  want  to  see  those  studies  cultivated  which,  in  their  known  tendencies  and 
results,  abridge  human  labor  and  increase  and  multiply  the  comforts  of  existence  to 
the  great  mass  of  mankind. 

Richard  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  writes  to  the  Secretary  of  State  on 
the  same  subject  on  the  6th  of  November,  1838,  and  proposes  a  plan 
for  the  institution  not  greatly  dissimilar  from  that  proposed  by  this 
bill.  I  quote  this  short  passage: 

A  university  or  college  in  the  ordinary  sense,  or  any  institution  looking  to  primary 
education,  or  to  the  instruction  of  the  young  merely,  does  not  strike  me  as  the  kind 
of  institution  contemplated  by  Mr.  Smithson's  will;  declaring  it  in  language  simple 
yet  of  the  widest  import  to  be  "for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,"  and  making  the  United  States  the  trustee  of  its  intentions,  it  seems  to  follow 
that  it  ought  to  be  as  comprehensive  as  possible  in  its  objects  and  means,  as  it  must 
necessarily  be  national  in  its  government. 

These  letters  are  to  be  found  in  the  report  of  Mr.  Adams  to  this 
House  in  1842.  The  passage  quoted  seems  to  me  to  be  highly  judicious, 
and  correctly  descriptive  of  the  true  character  of  the  institution 
required.  And  I  think,  sir,  the  bill  under  consideration  conforms  in 
its  provisions  to  the  general  views  expressed  in  these  passages  and 
to  those  which  I  entertain.  All  the  labors  of  the  Institution  will  be 
directed  to  the  more  useful  sciences  and  arts,  and  its  advantages  must 
necessarily  be  eminently  practical  and  popular.  These  are  the  great 
leading  considerations,  which  should  commend  this  bill  to  the  favor  of 
the  House  and  of  the  country. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  363 

I  proceed  to  notice  more  particularly  the  general  characteristics 
of  the  plan.  I  pass  over  the  organization  of  the  Institution  as  a  cor- 
poration, not  regarding  that  as  a  matter  of  any  importance.  As  this 
feature  is  opposed,  I  am  very  willing  to  see  it  altered.  I  approve  the 
elasticity  and  freedom  of  action,  very  wisely  conferred  upon  an  insti- 
tution, new  and  untried  in  its  application  to  the  great  objects  in  view. 
Very  considerable  latitude  of  control  as  to  the  means  to  be  used  is 
given  to  the  board  of  managers,  and  the  ends  to  be  aimed  at  are 
described  in  comprehensive  terms.  But  the  most  ample  guaranty  for 
the  wise  and  faithful  use  of  this  discretionary  power  is  obtained  in  the 
fact  that  the  board  will  consist  of  the  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  three  Senators,  three 
members  of  the  House,  and  six  others  to  be  chosen  by  joint  resolution 
of  the  two  Houses,  who  are  required  to  submit  to  Congress  annual 
reports  of  the  operations,  expenditures,  and  condition  of  the  Institu- 
tion. In  addition  to  all  this  there  is  reserved  the  power  to  alter  and 
amend  the  charter,  as  the  results  of  experience  may  render  necessary 
or  expedient.  All  these  provisions  seem  to  be  wise,  and  make  it  almost 
impossible  that  any  abuse  or  misapplication  of  the  fund  can  ever  take 
place. 

The  sixth  section  of  the  bill  provides  for  a  "professor  of  agriculture, 
horticulture,  and  rural  economy,"  giving  him  power  to  employ  such 
laborers  and  assistants  as  may  be  necessary  "to  cultivate  the  ground 
and  maintain  a  botanical  garden" — "to  make  experiments  of  general 
utility  throughout  the  United  States" — "to  determine  the  utility  of 
new  modes  and  instruments  of  culture,  and  to  determine  whether  new 
fruits,  plants,  and  vegetables  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage  in  the 
United  States."  These  provisions  comprehend  all  which  relates  to  the 
great  agricultural  interest.  No  one,  I  presume,  will  question  the  prob- 
able usefulness  of  these  provisions  to  aid  and  benefit  by  far  the  largest 
number  of  our  citizens  who  employ  the  greatest  amount  of  capital, 
and  whose  productions  are  the  very  basis  of  our  prosperitj^,  wealth, 
and  happiness.  I  regret,  sir,  that  in  connection  with  this  arrangement 
there  is  no  express  provision  for  a  professor  of  chemistry;  but  as  a 
chemical  laboratory  is  provided  for,  and  as  the  professors  are  required 
to  be  of  the  most  useful  sciences  and  arts,  I  presume  this  professor- 
ship would  be  considered  first  in  importance,  and  would  by  no  possi- 
bility be  omitted. 

In  some  parts  of  the  country  it  is  not  unusual  to  hear  objections 
against  the  application  of  science  to  agriculture.  I  have  heard  it 
questioned  even  here  whether  experiments  and  investigations  con- 
ducted in  Washington  City  can  be  of  any  use  in  other  latitudes,  soils, 
and  climates  throughout  our  extended  country.  I  maintain,  sir,  that 
science  in  agriculture  is  practicable,  and  that  its  cultivation  even  here 
at  the  seat  of  government  may  be  made  to  contribute  most  important 
benefits  to  all  parts  of  the  Union;  for,  let  it  be  remembered,  science 


364  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

is  but  the  classification  of  facts  expressed  in  the  shape  of  general  rules 
or  laws.  If  any  important  fact  be  omitted  in  the  process  of  induction 
the  result  will  be  erroneous  and  calculated  to  mislead.  But  continued 
experiment  and  investigation  will  eventually  point  out  the  omitted  or 
misplaced  fact,  and  gradually  a  true  science  will  grow  up,  rising  from 
the  first  rude  attempts,  through  various  gradations  of  improvement, 
up  to  its  highest  and  most  perfect  form.  Results  predicted  from  cer- 
tain operations  without  due  consideration  and  experience  of  all  attend- 
ing facts  and  circumstances,  changes  of  soil  and  climate,  would  not  be 
verified  except  by  the  merest  accident.  But  is  it  not  plain  that  the 
experiments  here,  disseminated  throughout  the  country  by  appropri- 
ate means  and  illuminated  by  all  existing  knowledge  as  to  the  influence 
of  varied  circumstances,  will  be  seized  upon  by  the  intelligent  and 
skillful  agriculturist  in  all  quarters  and  submitted  to  still  further 
tests  in  order  to  eliminate  the  ultimate  truth—the  most  general  law — 
divested  of  all  extraneous  facts?  The  experiments  made  abroad  will 
be  reflected  back  again  to  the  central  institution,  and  they  will  enable 
it  to  correct  its  conclusions  whenever  these  may  have  proved  to  be  to 
any  extent  erroneous.  If  this  professorship  should  accomplish  noth- 
ing more  than  to  point  out  the  mode  of  investigation  to  be  adopted, 
and  to  compare  the  results  in  different  quarters  and  give  information 
of  them,  this  of  itself  would  be  an  essential  service  to  agriculture. 

It  will  not  be  disputed,  however,  that  there  are  some  things  in  agri- 
culture of  a  general  nature  which  science  at  any  place  can  determine 
with  absolute  certainty.  One  might  theorize  in  reference  to  processes 
of  cultivation,  and  the  results  would  be  very  generally  erroneous.  It 
might  be  plausibly  argued  that  to  disturb  and  break  the  roots  of  a  stalk 
of  corn  by  the  usual  mode  of  cultivation  must  injure  the  health  and 
produce  of  the  plant.  But  experience  determines  precisely  the  con- 
trary; whether  it  be  that  new  and  more  numerous  small  roots  are  put 
out,  penetrating  to  every  part  of  the  soil,  and  thereby  obtaining 
abundant  nutriment,  or  whether  it  be  simply  that  the  oxygen  and  car- 
bonic acid  gas  of  the  air  and  of  the  soil  are  rendered  more  accessible 
to  the  roots  of  the  plant  by  the  loosened  texture  of  the  ground.  Yet 
when  the  agricultural  chemist  ascertains  that  the  stalk,  leaf,  or  grain 
of  any  plant  contains  certain  substances,  the  silicates,  phosphates,  or 
carbonates,  and  that  these  are  indispensable  to  their  perfection,  he  is 
enabled  to  predicate  with  absolute  certainty  that  these  substances 
must  be  in  the  soil,  or  that  the  plant  will  not  flourish.  This  is  a  spe- 
cies of  information  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  applicable  under 
all  circumstances  and  in  all  climates.  In  its  perfect  form,  when  science 
shall  have  expended  her  fruitful  labor  upon  it,  it  will  enable  the 
farmer  to  control  the  growth  of  his  crop  and  give  it  any  desired 
development,  just  as  he  now  controls  the  growth  of  his  domestic  ani- 
mals, raising  his  cattle  for  milk  or  for  beef,  and  his  sheep  for  wool  or 
for  mutton,  at  his  pleasure. 


TWENTY -NINTH    CONGEESS,   1845-1847.  365 

I  would  say,  sir,  in  reference  to  this,  what  I  have  said  of  another 
branch  of  science,  and  indeed  what  may  be  said  of  all  knowledge, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  the  great  results  to  which  they  will 
lead.  I  have  unbounded  faith  in  the  resources  of  science  in  all  her 
departments,  and  I  look  forward  with  the  expectation  of  discoveries 
and  improvements  far  more  important  and  wonderful  than  anything 
which  has  yet  been  accomplished.  The  magnetic  telegraph  is  a  mar- 
vel, but  it  does  not  mark  the  extreme  boundary  of  human  ingenuity. 

Another  leading  and  important  feature  in  this  bill  is  that  it  proposes 
"a  professor  of  common  school  instruction,  with  other  professors, 
chiefly  of  the  more  useful  sciences  and  arts,"  and  that  it  contemplates 
the  education  of  young  persons  as  teachers  of  common  schools.  It 
looks  to  the  education  of  the  people — to  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  the  great  mass.  Of  course  this  aid  to  the  cause  of 
popular  education  can  only  be  of  the  most  general  kind.  No  direct 
application  of  the  means  of  the  Institution  to  that  purpose  could  be 
expected.  But  while  this  provision  is  one  of  high  generality,  it  is, 
nevertheless,  one  also  of  controlling  efficiency,  calculated  to  be  highly 
beneficial  in  its  directory  influence.  If  a  number  of  the  best  teachers, 
imbued  with  all  the  useful  science  of  the  age  and  thoroughly  qualified 
for  imparting  knowledge  to  the  young  mind  by  the  most  improved 
modes,  can  be  sent  abroad  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  doubtless  a 
great  point  will  have  been  gained.  No  business  is  so  imperfectly 
understood  and  so  badly  conducted  in  some  parts  of  the  Union  as  that 
of  teaching.  An  institution  which  will  have  the  effect  of  improving 
and  elevating  the  standard  of  instruction  generally  will  be  a  great 
national  blessing. 

Does  anyone  doubt  that  the  scheme  proposed  in  this  bill  can  be 
made  to  produce  that  result?  Even  though  teachers  may  not  be  gen- 
erally furnished  for  all  sections,  an  immense  advantage  will  be  obtained 
by  the  diffusion  of  correct  information  as  to  the  proper  mode  of  organ- 
izing schools  and  the  best  plans  for  instruction.  The  most  important 
kinds  of  knowledge  are  too  frequently  altogether  neglected  in  our 
primary  schools.  Let  the  members  of  this  House  look  back  to  their 
schoolboy  days  and  compare  the  instruction  they  received  with  that 
which  is  now  dispensed  in  the  best  public  schools.  We  were  fortunate, 
sir,  very  fortunate,  if  we  were  taught  anything  more  than  words;  if 
physical  science  constituted  any  part  of  our  early  instruction;  if  our 
attention  was  directed  for  a  moment  to  the  things  around  us,  among 
which  and  with  which  we  were  bound  to  accomplish  our  destiny. 
Important  changes  have  now  taken  place,  and  not  among  the  least 
important  is  that  of  teaching  the  outlines  of  physical  science  at  the  very 
earliest  period — to  make  the  child  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the 
ten  thousand  natural  objects  around  him — to  give  him  some  idea  of  the 
structure  of  the  globe  he  inhabits  and  of  the  system  of  which  this 


366  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

planet  is  a  part.  This  is  knowledge  which  the  child  can  comprehend 
and  which  the  man  can  never  fail  to  use  with  advantage.  It  is  prop- 
erly the  first  knowledge  to  be  imparted,  lying  obviously  at  the  very 
foundation  of  all  good  education. 

How  much  has  been  accomplished  of  late  in  this  respect  may  be 
inferred  from  the  following  passage,  which  I  read  from  the  last  report 
of  the  trustees  of  the  Public  School  Society  of  New  York: 

A  circular  sent  to  the  teachers  of  the  public  schools  about  three  weeks  since 
resulted  before  they  closed  in  not  less  than  10,000  elementary  cabinets  of  geology 
for  nearly  the  same  number  of  families,  collected,  labeled,  and  assorted  by  the 
pupils,  securing  in  very  many  instances  a  hearty  interest  and  essential  aid  from  their 
parents  and  other  friends.  Public  school  No.  15  collected,  prepared,  labeled,  and 
distributed  not  less  than  400  such  cabinets  in  one  day,  etc. 

These  are  interesting  facts.  They  show  that  the  science  of  educa- 
tion is  advancing  with  the  general  march  of  improvement;  and  they 
render  no  longer  doubtful  the  propriety  and  importance  of  devoting  a 
portion  of  the  means  of  this  national  institution  to  assist  in  carrying 
forward  even  more  rapidly  this  great  movement  of  the  age. 

The  bill  provides  for  the  "preparation  of  sets  of  illustrations, 
specimens,  apparatus,  and  schoolbooks  suitable  for  primary  schools." 
I  consider  these  provisions  of  the  highest  importance.  Next  to  the 
furnishing  of  proper  teachers  is  the  necessity  for  proper  instruments 
of  education.  Indeed,  I  do  not  know  but  this  should  be  placed  fore- 
most in  importance,  for  with  the  best  illustrations,  apparatus,  and 
books,  the  teacher  could  scarcely  fail  to  perform  his  part  with  the 
greatest  advantage  and  the  best  success.  The  propriety  of  having 
"professors  of  the  most  useful  sciences  and  arts"  connected  with  the 
"  normal  branch"  of  this  Institution  is  too  obvious  to  require  a  single 
remark. 

The  bill  does  not  propose  (for  indeed  the  proposition  would  be 
absurd)  to  give  to  such  schoolbooks  as  may  be  prepared  any  authority 
other  than  that  which  the  character  of  the  Institution  and  their  own 
intrinsic  worth  would  impress  upon  them.  But  it  is  very  certain  that 
able  and  experienced  men,  directing  their  minds  particularly  to  that 
object',  would  be  prepared  to  give  to  the  world  something  far  better 
than  we  now  possess — something  in  the  way  of  elementary  books 
which  would  essentially  contribute  to  the  uniformity  and  efficiency  of 
general  education.  I  think  it  will  be  acknowledged  by  all  who  know 
anything  of  the  subject  that  such  books  for  primary  schools  are  at  this 
moment  a  great  desideratum.  I  know  of  no  means  by  which  greater 
benefit  could  be  conferred  upon  the  people  at  large  than  by  the  judi- 
cious preparation  and  cheap  supply  of  such  books.  They  would  be 
equivalent  to  a  great  plan  of  education,  emanating  from  the  highest 
and  best  authority,  causing  the  light  of  all  modern  science  and  mod- 
ern improvement  to  converge  into  every  country  schoolhouse  in  the 
land. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  367 

There  are  other  features  in  this  bill,  Mr.  Chairman,  upon  which  it 
would  be  interesting  to  comment,  if  the  hour  allotted  by  the  rules  of 
the  House  would  permit.  The  lectures  by  able  men  of  science,  the 
cheap  and  useful  publications,  and  the  investigations  which  the  managers 
have  power  to  direct  may  be  made,  by  judicious  direction,  to  con- 
tribute to  the  most  useful  and  important  ends.  But  these  things  will 
suggest  themselves  to  the  mind  of  every  intelligent  man. 

I  approve  heartily  the  provision  which  forbids  the  establishment  of 
any  school  of  law,  or  medicine,  or  divinity,  or  any  professorship 
of  ancient  languages.  The  scope  of  my  remarks  throughout  has  been 
in  accordance  with  this  view  and,  I  hope,  will  fully  justify  the  position. 
The  number  of  persons  who  could  be  educated  by  all  the  funds  of  this 
Institution  must,  of  necessity,  be  very  limited;  and  unless  they  be 
instructed  with  a  view  to  communicate  the  light  and  diffuse  the 
knowledge  received,  the  benefits  of  the  establishment  would  not  be 


The  annual  appropriation  of  $10,000  for  the  gradual  formation  of 
a  library  might  have  been  limited  to  a  smaller  amount  with  a  better 
result.  But  the  managers  will  doubtless  act  with  wisdom  and  discretion. 

By  proper  management  this  Institution  may  doubtless  be  made  the 
instrument  of  immense  good  to  the  whole  country.  To  the  Govern- 
ment it  will  be  of  no  slight  advantage.  It  will  be  a  great  Institution. 
It  may  attain  a  character  as  high  as  that  of  the  French  Academy;  and 
its  authority  will  then  be  decisive  in  reference  to  numerous  questions 
of  a  scientific  nature,  continually  presented  to  the  committees  of  Con- 
gress and  the  Departments  of  Government  for  determination  and  con- 
sequent action.  Such  an  institution  is  greatly  needed  in  the  Federal 
city.  It  is  fortunate,  not  less  for  the  public  service  than  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  individual  citizen,  that  the  opportunity  is  now  afforded 
to  accomplish  so  important  an  object.  I  can  not  doubt  that  the  oppor- 
tunity will  be  seized  with  alacrity  and  improved  with  something  of 
that  spirit  of  liberality  and  intelligence  which  I  think  is  embodied  in 
the  bill  now  before  the  committee. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  SAWYER  moved  to  amend  the  bill  by  striking  out 
"  six,"  in  the  first  section,  and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof  "  five." 

There  was  a  motion  pending  to  strike  out  the  whole  bill,  and  therefore 
this  motion  to  amend  was  in  order. 

The  ninth  section  was  not  under  consideration,  but  when  it  should 
be  he  would  move  to  amend  it,  in  the  fourth  line,  by  inserting  after 
the  word  "therein"  the  following  proviso: 

Provided,  That  such  students  shall  be  selected  from  the  different  States  and  Terri- 
tories of  the  United  States  according  to  the  ratio  of  representation  in  Congress. 

He  thought  5  per  cent  as  high  a  rate  of  interest  as  was  proper.  He 
was  not  willing  that  his  constituents  should  be  saddled  with  so  high  a 
rate  of  interest  as  6  per  cent,  for  the  people  must  pay  it  out  of  their 
pockets.  For  a  permanent  loan  5  per  cent  was  high  enough. 


368  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  other  amendment  which  he  would  propose  related  to  the  regu- 
lations for  the  admission  of  students  into  the  various  departments  of 
the  Institution.  He  proposed  to  take  the  students  from  the  different 
States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States,  according  to  their  repre- 
sentation in  Congress,  so  that  they  shall  not  all  be  taken  from  Virginia, 
Maryland,  and  this  District,  as  had  been  the  case  in  regard  to  all  other 
appointments.  Heretofore  nine-tenths  of  all  appointments  had  been 
made  from  this  District  and  the  neighboring  States.  Other  States 
had  been  blotted  out  from  the  vocabulary  of  appointments.  There 
was  a  bill  before  the  House  to  do  this,  but  it  was  impossible  to  reach 
it,  obstacles  being  thrown  in  the  way  whenever  it  was  attempted. 
While  we  were  passing  laws  for  creating  more  public  institutions,  it 
was  proper  to  make  a  proviso  that  the  persons  benefited  by  it  should 
be  taken  from  every  portion  of  the  Union  instead  of  one  locality. 
With  proper  modifications  he  was  disposed  to  vote  for  this  bill. 

Mr.  D.  P.  KING  had  some  amendments,  he  said,  to  propose  to  the 
bill  at  a  proper  time.  In  establishing  an  institution  like  this,  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  there  ought  undoubt- 
edly to  be  some  arrangement  for  the  education  of  teachers.  He  would 
propose  that  lands  and  buildings  be  provided  for  young  men  to  enable 
them  to  prepare  for  such  an  education  as  will  qualify  them  for  use- 
fulness and  to  teach  others.  He  proposed  that  persons  should  be 
received  who,  by  their  labor,  would  maintain  themselves.  He  was 
desirous  of  promoting  the  interests  of  the  yeomanry  of  the  country — 
of  cultivating  the  hand  as  well  as  the  head  and  heart — and  he  hoped 
provisions  for  these  objects  would  be  made  in  the  bill.  He  should 
move  to  insert  in  the  seventh  section,  after  the  word  ''professors"  the 
words  "of  agriculture."  A  very  large  portion  of  the  people  were 
agriculturists,  and  it  was  the  most  useful  and  interesting  object  of 
pursuit.  He  wished  to  provide  for  the  use  of  those  who  became 
students  lands  and  buildings,  with  a  view  to  enable  them  to  engage 
in  practical  agriculture. 

He  was  not  disposed,  at  this  time,  to  go  into  the  subject  fully,  but 
he  submitted  that  the  best  mode  of  carrying  out  the  objects  of  the  donor 
was  to  promote  agricultural  knowledge. 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN  had  a  few  words  to  saj7  in  reply  to  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio  [Mr.  Sawyer],  who  had  urged  that  the  rate  of  interest  should 
be  5  instead  of  6  per  cent.  He  would  ask  the  committee  generally 
whether,  in  regard  to  a  perfect  gratuity — a  fund  for  public  objects  to 
which  this  Government  had  not  contributed  one  cent — we  ought  not 
to  be  willing  to  pay  as  large  an  interest  as  we  were  ordinarily  obliged 
to  pay  on  loans?  Ought  we  not  to  yield  something  to  the  object  of  the 
bequest? 

It  must  also  be  considered  that  by  this  bill  much  expense  was  saved 
to  the  Government.  Should  this  plan  be  carried  out  it  would  save  all 
the  expenses  attending  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  explor- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  369 

ing  expedition.  These  could  not  be  taken  care  of  without  considerable 
expense.  It  would  also  be  recollected  that  it  was  a  part  of  General 
Washington's  plan  in  laying  out  this  city  to  extend  the  public  grounds 
from  the  Capitol  to  the  President's  House.  These  grounds  embraced 
more  than  100  acres,  and  should  they  be  embellished  and  improved 
according  to  the  original  design  the  expense  would  be  very  great.  All 
these  expenses  were  to  be  defrayed  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
All  that  was  asked  was  the  ordinary  interest  of  6  per  cent,  which  the 
Government  had  recently  been  obliged  to  pay. 

In  regard  to  the  ninth  section  of  the  bill,  he  would  be  glad  if  the 
objections  of  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  should  prove  to  be  good,  and 
that  there  should  be  such  an  overflow  of  applications  for  admission  into 
the  Institution  as  to  render  any  restrictions  necessary.  He  apprehended 
that  there  would  be  no  necessity  for  such  restrictions,  for  we  did  not 
propose,  as  at  the  West  Point  Academy,  to  pay  any  expenses  of  the 
students.  In  case  of  such  a  rush  for  admission  as  the  gentleman  antici- 
pated, he  would  admit  that  the  students  ought  to  be  divided  among 
all  the  States  and  Territories.  He  would  agree  to  vote  for  the  amend- 
ment, but  he  apprehended  that  the  chief  difficulty  would  be  in  getting 
a  sufficient  number  of  persons  to  come. 

Mr.  D.  P.  KING  said  he  had  proposed  such  a  modification  of  the 
plan  as  would  enable  students  to  pay  their  board  by  laboring  on  the 
farm  of  the  Institution. 

Mr.  OWEN  said  that  this  point  was  before  the  committee,  and  it 
was  agreed  that  young  men  might  be  employed  as  managers  and 
laborers,  if  they  were  willing,  while  they  were  pursuing  their  studies. 

Mr.  SAWYER  remarked  that  it  had  been  suggested  that  the  ninth 
section  already  provided  for  this  object.  But  he  must  insist  upon  it 
that  it  did  not,  and  to  prove  it  he  would  read  the  section,  as  follows: 

That  the  said  board  of  managers  shall  also  make  rules  and  regulations  for  the 
admission  of  students  into  the  various  departments  of  the  Institution,  and  their  con- 
duct and  deportment  while  they  remain  therein. 

The  same  provision  applied  to  officers  of  the  Institution,  but  the 
managers  were  not  instructed  to  distribute  among  the  several  States 
and  Territories  all  the  students  applying  for  admission. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS  said  that  so  far  as  the  Government  was  con- 
cerned the  bill  conferred  no  powers  on  it.  All  objections  on  that 
score  were  unfounded.  He  was  afraid  that  the  benches  of  the  Institu- 
tion would  not  be  filled  to  overflowing,  and  that  no  restriction  would 
be  necessary  on  that  score.  The  ninth  section  might  stand  as  it  was 
for  the  present,  and  when  necessary  Congress  could  amend  the  act  in 
order  to  meet  any  circumstances  that  might  arise.  In  the  meantime 
he  would  throw  open  the  door  to  all,  whether  for  a  single  lecture  or 
for  a  whole  course,  and  he  regarded  lectures  as  the  greatest  means 
of  extending  knowledge  which  had  been  adopted  in  modern  times.  It 
was  second  only  to  the  invention  of  the  art  of  printing. 
H.  Doc.  732- — 24 


370  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Everything  in  the  bill  tended  to  the  increa.se  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men. 

Some  had  urged  that  the  trust  ought  not  to  have  been  accepted.  It 
was  too  late  to  make  that  objection.  He  held  that  we  were  now  obliged 
to  carry  it  into  execution,  and  as  to  the  funds  themselves,  they  ought 
to  be  considered  as  money  still  in  the  Treasury,  unconnected  with  any 
stocks.  He  regretted  that  anyone  had  proposed  to  return  the  stocks 
to  the  heirs  or  kin  of  the  original  owner. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES  said  he  did  not  profess  to  understand  the  whole 
doctrine  of  trusts,  but  if  trust  funds  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
Government,  was  the  Government  bound  to  keep  the  money,  instead 
of  investing  it?  Was  the  Government  bound  to  pay  interest  on  it 
without  in  vesting  it? 

Mr.  DAVIS.  That  will  depend  on  the  character  of  the  fund.  The 
fund  was  given  in  trust  for  a  specific  object. 

Mr.  JONES.  Suppose  the  fund  had  been  left  to  the  gentleman  from 
Mississippi;  was  he  bound  to  keep  it  and  pay  6  per  cent  interest  upon 
it?  Or,  if  he  invested  it  in  Mississippi  or  other  State  stocks,  in  good 
faith,  would  he  be  bound  as  trustee  to  make  good  the  principal  and 
interest  of  the  fund? 

Mr.  DAVIS  could,  he  said,  answer  that  case  in  perfect  conformity 
with  his  own  views  and  feelings  on  the  subject.  He  would  reject  the 
trust  unless  he  was  willing  to  execute  it;  and  if  he  misapplied  the 
money  and  delayed  to  execute  the  trust  for  eight  years  he  would 
consider  himself  bound  in  honor  to  make  good  the  whole  fund. 

Mr.  DAVIS  continued.  He  would  admit  that  the  Government  had 
no  authority  to  take  charge  of  the  subject  of  education,  and  he  did 
not  consider  this  bill  as  liable  to  that  objection.  The  normal  school 
system  he  considered  as  highly  beneficial,  serving  to  produce  uniform- 
ity in  the  language  and  to  lay  the  foundation  of  all  sciences.  The 
spelling  book  of  Noah  Webster,  which  had  been  used  extensively  in 
our  primary  schools,  had  done  more  to  produce  uniformity  in  our 
language  in  this  country  than  anything  else.  If  we  sent  out  good 
school  books  from  this  institution  it  would  be  of  vast  service  to  the 
country. 

Mr.  DAVIS  enlarged  upon  the  benefits  which  would  result  to  science 
and  the  diffusion  of  every  kind  of  useful  knowledge  from  an  institu- 
tion which  would  gather  young  men  from  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
country  at  the  common  point  where  every  facility  for  practical 
instruction  would  be  afforded.  The  taste  of  the  country  would  be 
refined,  and  he  did  not  consider  this  as  antidemocratic.  Knowledge 
was  the  common  cement  that  was  to  unite  all  the  heterogeneous  mate- 
rials of  this  Union  into  one  mass,  like  the  very  pillars  before  us.  If 
there  was  any  constitutional  objection  to  the  establishment  of  a  cor- 
poration he  was  willing  to  strike  out  that  feature  in  the  bill  and  pre- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  371 

serve  the  remainder.  But  let  us  do  something  to  carry  out  the  objects 
of  the  testator,  or  let  us  throw  back  the  fund  upon  the  chancery  court 
of  England. 

Mr.  G.  P.  MARSH  desired,  he  said,  to  add  a  few  words  on  this 
subject,  but  was  unable  to  proceed  at  present  in  consequence  of  indis- 
position. He  therefore  moved  that  the  committee  rise. 

Some  conversation  ensued,  upon  which  Mr.  MARSH  withdrew  the 
motion. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS  expressed  a  wish  that  some  progress  be  made  in 
the  bill  by  taking  a  vote  on  some  of  the  amendments. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  the  amendment  offered  b}^  Mr. 
Sawyer,  and  it  was  decided  in  the  negative. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MARSH  the  committee  then  rose  and  reported 
progress. 
April  23,  1846— House. 

Mr.  LINN  Bo  YD  offered  a  resolution  providing  that  all  debate  on  this 
bill  should  cease  in  one  hour  and  a  half  after  it  should  again  be  taken 
up  in  committee  unless  sooner  disposed  of,  and  that  the  committee 
should  then  proceed  to  vote  on  amendments  pending  or  to  be  offered. 

Mr.  J.  R.  INGERSOLL  moved  to  amend  the  resolution  by  striking  out 
"one  hour  and  a  half  after  it  shall  have  been  taken  up  in  committee," 
and  inserting  ""two  o'clock." 

Mr.  JAMES  GRAHAM  moved  that  the  resolution  and  amendment  be 
laid  on  the  table.  Agreed  to. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JOHN  W.  DAVIS)  announced  the  unfinished  busi- 
ness to  be  the  special  order  of  yesterday,  the  bill  to  establish  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN,  the  House  resolved  itself  into  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole  (Mr.  ARMISTEAD  BURT,  of  South  Carolina,  in  the 
chair),  and  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  said  bill. 

Mr.  G.  P.  MARSH,  of  Vermont,  after  some  preliminary  observations, 
said:  I  agree,  Mr.  Chairman,  with  those  who  doubt  whether  it  was 
entirely  wise  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  accept  the  munif- 
icent bequest  of  Mr.  Smithson.  Were  the  question  now  first  pre- 
sented I  should  hesitate.  Not  that  I  den}"  or  even  doubt  the  power  of 
Congress  to  administer  this  charity,  but  I  should  question  the  pro- 
priety of  assuming  a  trust  which  there  is  too  much  reason  to  fear  we 
shall  not  discharge  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  the  fullest  effect  to  the 
purposes  of  the  enlightened  donor.  The  history  of  this  bequest 
confirms  these  scruples.  It  is  now  nearly  ten  years  since  Con- 
gress, by  a  solemn  act,  assumed  the  trust  and  pledged  ' '  the  faith  of 
the  United  States"  to  its  faithful  execution.  The  money  was  soon 
after  received  and  immediately  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Government,  not  irrevocably,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  but  it  is,  at  all 


372  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

events,  now  beyond  our  control,  and  no  portion  of  it  has  been  yet 
applied  to  the  noble  ends  of  the  bequest.  The  difficulties  which  have 
thus  far  prevented  the  application  of  the  fund  to  its  proper  uses  still 
exist,  and  are  of  a  character  not  likely  to  be  removed.  Our  Govern- 
ment has  no  department  which  can  be  conveniently  charged  with  the 
administration  of  the  charity,  and  must  therefore  begin  with  the  organ- 
ization of  one  for  that  special  purpose.  In  this  incipient  step  we 
meet  with  obstacles  at  every  corner.  Questions  are  at  once  raised 
that  are  not  yet  solved,  and  are  certainly  in  themselves  of  no  easy 
solution.  How  far  can,  how  far  ought,  Congress  to  act  in  the  direct 
control  of  the  charity — how  far  should  it  make  specific  what  the  will 
of  the  testator  has  left  general?  If  Congress  shall  direct  the  particu- 
lar uses  to  which  the  fund  shall  be  applied,  what  shall  those  uses  be? 
Or  shall  we,  on  the  other  hand,  delegate  the  trust;  and,  if  so,  shall 
we  impose  its  duties  on  departments  already  too  heavily  burdened 
with  official  responsibilities,  or  shall  we  create  a  corporation  or  other 
special  agency  for  the  purpose  ?  Is  there  not  danger  that  the  institu- 
tion will  be  abused  for  party  ends,  and  merely  serve  to  swell  the 
already  overgrown  patronage  of  the  Executive  ?  A  previous  sugges- 
tion of  these  difficulties  might  well  have  led  us  to  hesitate  before  we 
contracted  obligations  of  so  delicate  a  character,  and  I  fear  they  are 
yet  destined  for  some  time  longer  to  impede  the  satisfactory  action  of 
Congress. 

But  it  is  now  quite  time  that  we  apply  ourselves  in  earnest  to  the 
work  of  redeeming  our  country  from  the  reproach  of  infidelity  in  the 
discharge  of  so  high  and  solemn  a  trust,  and  that  at  the  earliest  prac- 
ticable period,  and  before  the  subject  shall  become  an  element  in  our 
party  dissensions,  we  strive  to  make  available  to  our  fellow-citizens 
and  to  all  men  a  gift  as  splendid  as  its  purposes  are  noble. 

The  delay,  long  and  unwarrantable  as  it  is,  has  not  been  without  its 
issues.  It  has  afforded  abundant  time  for  the  collection,  comparison, 
and  concentration  of  opinion;  able  men  in  every  walk  of  scholastic 
and  professional  life  have  been  consulted;  many  of  the  wisest  Amer- 
ican statesmen  have  brought  the  energies  of  their  intellects  to  the 
examination  of  the  .subject;  it  has  been  largely  discussed  in  both 
branches  of  the  National  Legislature;  numerous  studiously  considered 
plans  have  been  suggested,  providing  in  different  ways  for  every  inter- 
est which  can  be  supposed  to  be  embraced  within  the  views  of  the 
testator,  and  the  bill  now  before  us  is  a  compilation,  an  anthology,  so 
to  speak,  from  all  these,  though  possessing  original  features— valuable 
features — the  credit  of  which  belongs  to  the  chairman  of  the  special 
committee  (Mr.  Owen),  by  whom  the  bill  was  reported. 

In  a  case  where  there  is  room  for  so  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  in 
this  there  can  be  no  hope  of  the  adoption  of  any  plan  not  conceived 
in  a  spirit  of  compromise;  and  on  this,  as  on  another  larger  question, 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  373 

however  widely  apart  we  ma}'  be  at  first,  we  shall  probably  find  our- 
selves in  the  end  obliged  to  settle  down  upon  the  parallel  of  49°.  The 
bill  is  reported  by  the  special  committee  as  a  compromise,  and  proba- 
bly no  one  of  the  gentlemen  concerned  in  its  preparation  is  quite  satis- 
fied with  its  provisions;  no  one  believes  it  to  be  the  best  plan  that 
could  be  devised;  but  they  felt  the  necessity  of  deferring  to  each  other, 
as  well  as  to  the  probable  opinion  of  Congress,  and  were  nearly  unan- 
imous in  thinking  it  more  likely  to  harmonize  discordant  views  than 
any  other  plan  suggested.  It  was  in  this  belief,  and  in  consideration 
of  the  importance  and  the  duty  of  early  action,  that  I,  as  a  member  of 
that  committee,  assented  to  the  report,  regarding  the  scheme,  how- 
ever, not  merely  as  a  necessary  compromise,  but  as  rather  an  experi- 
ment, which  admitted,  and  which  I  trusted  would  hereafter  receive, 
great  changes  in  its  conditions,  than  as  a  complete  working  model. 

It  has  all  along  been  assumed  as  'a  cardinal  principle  that  we  ought 
to  follow  implicitly  the  will  of  the  liberal  donor,  and  it  has  been 
thought  unfortunate  that  he  was  not  more  specific  in  the  appropria- 
tion of  his  bounty.  But  he  has  given  a  proof  of  a  generous  and 
enlightened  spirit,  and  at  the  same  time  has  paid  this  nation  the  high- 
est possible  compliment,  by  using  the  largest  and  most  comprehensive 
language  in  his  bequest;  thus  in  effect  saying  that  he  preferred  rather 
to  intrust  the  disposal  of  this  great  fund  to  the  wisdom  and  intelli- 
gence of  a  free  and  enlightened  people  than  to  limit  its  use  to  pur- 
poses accordant  with  his  own  peculiar  tastes.  Some  gentlemen  have 
thought  that  inasmuch  as  the  testator  has  not  specified  the  particular 
mode  by  which  he  would  have  the  great  ends  of  his  charity  accom- 
plished we  are  bound  to  infer  his  wishes  from  the  character  of  his 
favorite  pursuits  and  to  conform  to  his  supposed  views  by  confining 
the  fund  to  the  promotion  of  objects  to  the  cultivation  of  which  his 
own  time  and  researches  were  devoted;  but  this  would  be  no  true 
conformity  to  the  enlightened  liberality  which  prompted  so  munifi- 
cent a  gift.  It  would  be  a  disparagement  to  so  generous  a  spirit  to 
imagine  that  while  saying  so  much  he  meant  so  little.  It  would  be 
so  wide  a  departure  from  his  large  and  wise  purposes  as  fairly  to 
defeat  his  noble  aims.  Had  he  been  in  fact  a  person  of  so  narrow 
views  as  this  argument  supposes,  he  would  have  guarded  against  the 
possible  misapplication  of  his  charity  by  express  words  of  direction 
or  restriction;  and  it  is  a  proof  of  rare  generosity  in  an  enthusiastic 
lover  of  an  engrossing  pursuit  that  in  a  bequest  appropriating  his 
whole  estate  to  the  high  purpose  of  increasing  and  diffusing  knowl- 
edge among  men  he  made  no  special  provision  for  the  promotion  of 
those  sciences  which  were  to  him  the  most  attractive  of  studies. 

After  all,  however,  he  was  not  a  student  of  so  limited  a  range  of 
inquiry  as  has  been  sometimes  assumed.  He  was  a  man  of  studious 
and  scholastic  habits  and  of  large  and  liberal  research,  specially 


374  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

devoted,  indeed,  to  the  cultivation  of  certain  brunches  of  natural 
knowledge,  but  excluding  no  science,  no  philosophy,  from  his  sympa- 
thies. Too  enlightened  to  be  ignorant  of  the  commune  vinculum,  the 
common  bond  of  mutual  relation,  which  makes  all  knowledges  recipro- 
cally communicative  and  receptive — each  borrowing  light  from  all 
and  each  in  turn  reflecting  light  upon  all— he  was  too  generous  to  con- 
fine his  bounty  to  the  gratification  of  tastes  entirely  similar  to  his 
own.  None  of  the  objects  embraced  in  this  bill  are  alien  from  his 
probable  views.  Books,  indeed,  he  did  not  collect,  as  we  propose  to 
do,  because  to  one  who  had  no  fixed  habitation  a  library  would  have 
been  but  an  incumbrance,  and  he  lived  in  the  great  cities  of  Europe, 
where  public  and  private  munificence  has  collected  and  devoted  to 
general  use  such  ample  repositories  of  the  records  of  knowledge  that 
individual  accumulation  of  such  stores  is  almost  superfluous.  But, 
though  he  gathered  no  library,  his  writings  show  him  to  have  been  a 
man  of  somewhat  multifarious  reading,  and  it  is  quite  a  gratuitous 
assumption  to  suppose  him.  to  have  been  one  of  those  narrow  minds 
who  think  no  path  worth  traveling  but  that  which  they  have  trodden, 
no  field  worth  cultivating  whose  fruits  they  have  never  plucked. 
Apart,  then,  from  the  liberty  which  the  broad  words  of  the  will  give 
us,  we  are  entitled  to  believe  that  the  purposes  of  the  testator  were  as 
comprehensive  as  the  language  he  has  used — that  he  aimed  at  promot- 
ing all  knowledge  for  the  common  benefit  of  all  men — and  to  appro- 
priate to  the  American  people,  in  a  spirit  worth}"  of  the  object  and 
of  ourselves,  the  compliment  he  has  paid  us  by  selecting  us  as  the  dis- 
pensers of  a  charity  which  knows  no  limits  but  the  utmost  bounds  of 
human  knowledge  and  claims  as  its  recipients  the  men  of  this  and  of 
all  coming  ages. 

The  limitation  of  the  bequest,  then,  is  to  the  "increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men."  Here  two  objects  are  aimed  at — increase, 
enlargement,  extension,  progress;  and  diffusion,  spread,  communica- 
tion, dissemination.  These  the  bill  seeks  to  accomplish  by  various 
means.  It  proposes  to  increase  knowledge  by  collecting  specimens  of 
the  works  of  nature  from  every  clime,  and  in  each  of  her  kingdoms;  by 
gathering  objects  in  every  branch  of  industrial,  decorative,  representa- 
tive, and  imaginative  art;  by  accumulating  the  records  of  human  action, 
and  thought,  and  imagination  in  every  form  of  literature;  by  institut- 
ing experimental  researches  in  agriculture,  in  horticulture,  in  chem- 
istry, and  in  other  studies  founded  upon  observation.  It  proposes  to 
diffuse  the  knowledge  thus  accumulated,  acquired,  and  extended  by 
throwing  open  to  public  use  the  diversified  collections  of  the  Institu- 
tion in  every  branch  of  human  inquiry;  by  lectures  upon  every  sub- 
ject of  liberal  interest;  by  a  normal  school  where  teachers  shall  become 
pupils,  and  the  best  modes  that  experience  has  devised  for  imparting 
the  rudiments  of  knowledge  shall  be  communicated;  by  preparing  and 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  375 

distributing  models  of  scientific  apparatus;  and  by  the  publication  of 
lectures,  essays,  manuals,  and  treatises. 

Of  the  various  instrumentalities  recommended  by  this  noble  and 
imposing  scheme,  the  simplest  and  most  efficient,  both  as  it  respects 
the  increase  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  is,  in  my  judgment,  the 
provision  for  collecting  for  public  use  a  library,  a  museum,  and  a  gal- 
lery of  art,  and  I  should  personally  much  prefer  that  for  a  reasonable 
period  the  entire  income  of  the  fund  should  be  expended  in  carrying 
out  this  branch  of  the  plan. 

But  in  expressing  my  preference  for  such  a  present  application  of 
the  moneys  of  the  fund,  and  my  belief  that  we  should  thus  best  accom- 
plish the  purposes  of  the  donor,  I  desire  not  to  be  understood  as 
speaking  contemptuously  of  research  and  experiment  in  natural 
knowledge  and  the  economic  arts.  I  have  too  much  both  of  interest 
and  of  feeling  staked  upon  the  prosperity  of  these  arts,  and  they  are 
to  me  subjects  too  intrinsically  attractive  to  allow  me  to  be  indifferent 
to  any  measure  which  promises  to  promote  their  advancement.  I  am 
even  convinced  that  their  earnest  cultivation  and  extension  are  abso- 
lutely indispensable  to  our  national  prosperity,  our  true  independence, 
and  almost  our  political  existence,  and  I  am  at  all  times  ready  to  main- 
tain their  claim  to  all  the  legislative  favor  which  it  is  within  the  power  of 
the  General  Government  to  bestow.  I  would  not,  therefore,  exclude 
them  from  the  plan  of  a  great  national  institution  for  the  promotion  of 
all  good  learning;  but  I  desire  to  assign  them  their  true  place  in  the  scale 
of  human  knowledge,  and  I  must  be  permitted  to  express  my  dissent 
from  the  doctrine  implied  by  the  bill,  as  originally  framed  and  referred 
to  the  special  committee,  which  confines  all  knowledge,  all  science,  to 
the  numerical  and  quantitative  values  of  material  things.  Researches 
in  such  branches  as  were  the  favored  objects  of  that  bill,  have  in  gen- 
eral little  of  a  really  scientific  character.  Geology,  mineralogy,  even 
chemistry,  are  but  assemblages  of  apparent  facts,  empirically  estab- 
lished; and  this  must  always  be  true,  to  a  great  extent  of  every  study 
which  rests  upon  observation  and  experiment  alone.  True  science  is 
the  classification  and  arrangement  of  necessary  primary  truths,  accord- 
ing to  their  relations  with  each  other,  and  in  reference  to  the  logical 
deductions  which  may  be  made  from  them.  Such  science,  the  only 
absolute  knowledge,  is  the  highest  and  worthiest  object  of  human 
inquiry,  and  must  be  drawn  from  deeper  sources  than  the  crucible  and 
the  retort. 

The  bill  provides  for  the  construction  of  buildings,  with  suitable 
apartments  for  a  library,  and  for  collections  in  the  various  branches 
of  natural  knowledge  and  of  art,  and  directs  the  annual  expenditure 
of  a  sum  "  not  exceeding  an  average  of  $10,000,  for  the  gradual  for- 
mation of  a  library  composed  of  valuable  works  pertaining  to  ail 
departments  of  human  knowledge."  As  1  have  already  indicated,  I 


3V6  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

consider  thi.s  the  most  valuable  feature  of  the  plan,  though  I  think  the 
amount  unwisely  restricted;  and  I  shall  confine  the  few  observations  I 
design  to  submit  respecting  the  bill  chiefly  to  the  consideration  of  this 
single  provision.  I  had  originally  purposed  to  examine  the  subject 
from  quite  a  different  point  of  view,  but  the  eloquent  remarks  of  the 
chairman  of  the  special  committee  [Mr.  Owen],  which  seem  to  be 
intended  as  an  argument  rather  against  this  provision  than  in  favor  of 
the  bill,  and  as  a  reply  to  the  able  and  brilliant  speech  of  a  distin- 
guished member  of  another  branch  of  Congress  upon  a  former  occasion 
[Mr.  Choate],  has  induced  me  to  take  a  somewhat  narrower  range  than 
I  should  otherwise  have  done.  I  wrish,  sir,  that  Senator  were  here  to 
rejoin,  in  his  own  proper  person,  to  the  beautiful  speech  of  the  gentle- 
man from  Indiana,  who  seems  rather  to  admire  the  rhetoric  than  to 
be  convinced  by  the  logic  of  the  eloquent  orator  to  whom  I  refer.  In 
that  case,  sir,  I  think  my  friend  from  Indiana,  trenchant  as  are  his 
own  weapons,  would  feel  as  many  have  felt  before,  that  the  polished 
blade  of  the  gentleman  who  lately  did  such  honor  to  Massachusetts  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  is  not  the  less  keen,  because,  like 
Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  he  wraps  it  in  sprays  of  myrtle. 

It  has  been  objected  by  some,  that  the  appropriation  is  too  large  for 
the  purpose  expressed — "the  gradual  formation  of  a  library  composed 
of  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  departments  of  human  knowledge. " 
But  if  we  consider  how  much  is  embraced  in  these  comprehensive 
words,  we  shall  arrive  at  a  very  different  conclusion.  The  great  libra- 
ries of  Europe  range  from  200,000  to  500,000,  or  perhaps  even  750,000 
volumes.  That  of  the  University  of  Gottingen,  the  most  useful  of  all 
for  the  purposes  of  general  scholarship,  contains  about  300,000.  How 
long  would  it  require  to  collect  a  library  like  this,  with  an  annual 
expenditure  of  $10,000.  The  Library  of  Congress  is  said  to  have  cost 
about  $3.50  per  volume;  but  as  a  whole  it  has  not  been  economically 
purchased,  and  though  composed  chiefly  of  works  which  do  not  main- 
tain a  permanently  high  price,  yet  as  a  large  proportion  of  the  annual 
purchases  consists  of  new  books  from  the  press  of  London,  the  dearest 
book  market  in  the  world,  its  cost  has  been  much  higher  than  that  of 
a  great  miscellaneous  library  ought  to  be.  The  best  public  library 
in  America  for  its  extent  (10,000  volumes),  which  I  am  happy  to  say  is 
that  of  the  university  of  my  native  State,  Vermont,  costs  but  $1.50 
per  volume.  It  can  hardly  be  expected  that  the  Government,  which 
always  pays  the  highest  price,  will  be  so  favorably  dealt  with;  and  it  is 
scarcely  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  succeed  in  securing  the  services  of  so 
faithful  and  so  competent  an  agent  as  was  employed  by  the  University 
of  Vermont. 

I  have  myself  been,  unfortunately  for  my  purse,  a  book  buyer,  and 
have  had  occasion  to  procure  books  not  only  in  this  country  but  from 
all  the  principal  book  marts  in  Western  Europe.  From  my  own  expe-- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  377 

rience  and  some  inquiry  I  am  satisfied  that  the  whole  cost  of  such 
books  as  a  national  library  ought  to  consist  of,  including  binding  and 
all  other  charges,  except  the  compensation  and  traveling  expenses  of 
an  agent,  should  not  exceed  $2  per  volume.  If  you  allow  $2,000  for 
the  compensation  and  expenses  of  an  agent  (which  would  not  be 
increased  upon  a  considerably  larger  expenditure),  you  have  $8,000 
remaining,  which,  at  the  average  cost  I  have  supposed,  would  purchase 
4,000  volumes  a  year.  How  long,  I  repeat,  would  it  require  at  this 
rate  to  accumulate  a  library  equal  in  extent  to  that  of  Gottingen? 
More  than  seventy  years.  In  some  seventy  years,  then — in  three  score 
years  and  ten- — when  you,  sir,  and  I,  and  all  who  hear  my  voice,  and 
all  the  present  actors  in  this  busy  world  shall  be  numbered  with  the 
dead,  we  may  hope  that  free,  enlightened  America,  by  the  too  sparing 
use  of  the  generous  bounty  of  a  stranger,  will  possess  a  collection  of 
the  recorded  workings  of  the  human  mind  not  inferior  to  that  enjoyed 
by  a  single  school  in  the  miniature  kingdom  of  Hanover.  And  what 
provision  is  made  for  the  increase  of  books  meanwhile?  Look  at  the 
activity  of  the  presses  of  London  and  Paris — at  the  vastly  prolific 
literature  of  Germany — at  the  increasing  production  of  our  own  coun- 
try— to  omit  the  smaller  but  still  valuable  contributions  to  the  store 
of  human  knowledge  in  the  languages  of  other  countries,  and  you  will 
perceive  that  this  appropriation,  so  far  from  being  extravagantly  large, 
will  scarcely  even  suffice  for  keeping  up  with  the  current  literature  of 
the  day.  Gottingen  meantime  will  go  on;  her  300,000  volumes  will 
increase  in  seventy  years  to  half  a  million,  and  we  shall  still  lag 
200,000  volumes  behind. 

The  utility  of  great  libraries  has  been  questioned,  and  it  has  been 
confidently  asserted  that  all  truly  valuable  knowledge  is  comprised  in 
a  comparatively  small  number  of  volumes.  It  is  said  that  the  vast 
collections  of  the  Vatican,  of  Paris,  of  Munich,  and  of  Copenhagen 
are  in  a  great  measure  composed  of  works  originally  worthless,  or 
now  obsolete,  or  superseded  by  new  editions,  or  surpassed  by  later 
treatises.  That  there  is  some  foundation  for  this  opinion  I  shall  not 
deny,  but  after  every  deduction  is  made  upon  these  accounts,  there 
will  still  remain  in  any  of  these  libraries  a  great  number  of  works 
which,  having  originally  had  intrinsic  worth,  have  jet  their  permanent 
value.  Because  a  newer  or  better  or  truer  book  upon  a  given  sub- 
ject now  exists,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  the  older  and 
inferior  is  to  be  rejected.  It  may  contain  important  truths  or  inter- 
esting views  that  later  and,  upon  the  whole,  better  authors  have 
overlooked- — it  may  embody  curious  anecdotes  of  forgotten  times — it 
may  be  valuable  as  an  illustration  of  the  history  of  opinion,  or  as  a 
model  of  composition;  or,  if  of  great  antiquity,  it  may  possess  much 
interest  as  a  specimen  of  early  typography. 

Again,  because  any  one  individual,  even  the  most  learned,  can  not 


378  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

in  this  short  life  exhaust  all  art,  because  he  can  thoroughly  master  but 
a  few  hundred  volumes,  read  or  even  have  occasion  to  consult  but  a 
few  thousands,  we  are  not  therefore  authorized  to  conclude  that  all 
beyond  these  are  superfluous.  Each  of  the  hundred  authors  who  have 
produced  those  thousands  of  volumes  had  read  also  his  thousands. 
The  scholar  is  formed  not  by  the  books  alone  that  he  has  read,  but  he 
receives  at  second  hand  the  essence  of  multitudes  of  others;  for  every 
good  book  supposes  and  implies  the  previous  existence  of  numerous 
other  good  books. 

An  individual  even  of  moderate  means,  and  who  is  content  to  confine 
his  studies  within  somewhat  narrow  bounds,  may  select  and  acquire 
for  himself  a  library  adequate  to  his  own  intellectual  wants  and  tastes, 
though  entirely  unsuited  to  the  purposes  of  one  of  different  or  larger 
aims,  and  by  the  diligent  use  of  this  he  may  attain  a  high  degree  of 
mental  culture;  but  a  national  library  can  be  accommodated  to  no  nar- 
row or  arbitrary  standard.  It  must  embrace  all  science — all  history — 
all  languages.  It  must  be  extensive  enough,  and  diversified  enough, 
to  furnish  aliment  for  the  cravings  of  every  appetite.  We  need  some 
great  establishment  that  shall  not  hoard  its  treasures  with  the  jealous 
niggardliness  which  locks  up  the  libraries  of  Britain,  but  shall  emu- 
late the  generous  munificence  which  throws  open  to  the  world  the 
boundless  stores  of  literary  wrealth  of  Germany  and  France — some 
exhaustless  fountain,  where  the  poorest  and  humblest  aspirant  may 
slake  his  thirst  for  knowledge,  without  money  and  without  price. 

Of  all  places  in  our  territory,  this  central  heart  of  the  nation  is  the 
fittest  for  such  an  establishment.  It  is  situated  in  the  middle  zone  of 
our  system — easily  and  cheaply  accessible  from  every  quarter  of  the 
Union — blessed  with  a  mild,  a  salubrious,  and  an  equable  climate — 
abundant  in  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  physical  life — far  removed 
from  the  din  of  commerce,  and  free  from  narrow  and  sectional 
influences. 

Let  us  here  erect  a  temple  of  the  muses,  served  and  guarded  by  no 
exclusive  priesthood,  but  with  its  hundred  gates  thrown  open,  that 
every  votary  may  enter  unquestioned,  and  you  will  find  it  thronged 
with  ardent  worshipers,  who,  though  poverty  may  compel  them  to 
subsist,  like  Heyne,  on  the  pods  of  pulse  and  the  parings  of  roots, 
shall  yet  forget  the  hunger  of  the  body  in  the  more  craving  wants  of 
the  soul. 

From  the  limited  powers  of  our  National  Government,  and  the 
jealous  care  with  which  their  exercise  is  watched  and  resisted,  in  cases 
where  the  interests  of  mere  humanity — not  party — are  concerned,  it 
can  do  little  for  the  general  promotion  of  literature  and  science.  The 
present  is  a  rare  opportunity,  the  only  one  yet  offered,  and  never  per- 
haps to  be  repeated,  for  taking  our  proper  place  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  not  merely  as  a  political  society,  but  as  patrons  of  knowl- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  379 

edge  and  the  liberal  arts.  The  treasures  of  our  national  wealth  are, 
perhaps,  not  at  our  command  for  this  purpose;  and  it  is  only  by  the 
discreet  use  of  this  bequest,  and  of  the  funds  which  private  liberality 
will  assuredly  contribute  to  extend  the  means  of  the  Institution,  that 
we  can  hope  to  kindle  a  luminary  whose  light  shall  encompass  the 
earth,  and  to  repay  to  Europe  the  illumination  we  have  borrowed 
from  her. 

The  library  of  Gottingen,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  contains  six 
times  as  many  volumes  as  the  largest  American  collections;  it  has  been 
accumulated  within  a  comparatively  short  period — scarcely  a  century — 
and,  having  been  selected  upon  a  fixed  plan  by  the  ablest  scholars  in 
the  world,  it  contains  few  books  originally  without  merit,  few  dupli- 
cates, and  few  which  the  progress  of  science  and  literature  have  ren- 
dered worthless.  And  yet,  though  upon  the  whole  the  best  existing 
library,  it,  in  many  departments,  does  not  approach  to  completeness, 
and  the  scholars  who  resort  to  it  are  often  obliged  to  seek  elsewhere 
sources  of  knowledge  which  Gottingen  does  not  afford. 

We  shall  perhaps  be  best  able  to  estimate  our  own  deficiencies  and 
wants  by  comparing  the  contents  of  our  Congressional  Library  with 
the  actual  extent  of  existing  literature.  The  Library  of  Congress  con- 
tains more  than  40,000  volumes,  in  general  valuable  and  well  chosen, 
with  not  many  duplicates,  not  many  books  that  one  would  altogether 
reject.  It  is  not  composed,  like  too  many  of  our  public  libraries,  in 
any  considerable  degree,  of  books  which  have  been  given,  because  the 
proprietor  found  them  too  worthless  to  keep,  but  it  has  been  almost 
wholly  purchased  and  selected  from  the  best  European  sale  catalogues, 
and  yet  there  is  no  one  branch  of  liberal  study,  even  among  those  of 
greatest  interest  to  ourselves,  in  which  it  is  not  miserably  deficient. 

There  is  perhaps  no  better  general  catalogue  of  such  books  in  the 
various  departments  of  learning,  as  are  prized  by  collectors,  than  the 
Table  Methodique,  in  the  last  edition  of  Brunet's  Manuel  du  Libraire. 
Brunet  enumerates  more  than  30,000  works,  making  in  the  whole 
about  100,000  volumes,  and  professes  to  specify  only  the  most  impor- 
tant and  the  rarest.  The  list  contains,  no  doubt,  very  many  works  of 
little  intrinsic  worth,  or  even  of  adventitious  interest-,  but  it  is,  per- 
haps, not  too  much  to  say  that  a  library  of  the  larger  class  ought  to 
possess  at  least  25,000  of  the  volumes  it  specifies.  But  this  list  is  even 
tolerably  complete  in  but  few  departments.  In  French  history  and 
literature,  in  civil  and  international  law,  in  the  history  and  literature 
of  classical  antiquity  and  of  early  t}^pography,  in  theology,  in  medi- 
cine, you  will  find  it  perhaps  nearly  satisfactory;  but  in  the  history 
and  literature  of  all  other  nations,  and  in  almost  every  other  field 
of  inquiry  but  those  I  have  mentioned,  the  learned  scholar  will  miss 
the  titles  of  many  more  valuable  works  than  he  will  find,  while 
many  highly  interesting  and  important  chapters  are  almost  entirely 


380  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

blank.  The  Congressional  Library  does  not  probably  contain  one- 
fourth  even  of  the  small  proportion  of  Brunei's  list  which  I  have 
described  as  of  intrinsic  and  permanent  value.  But  are  there  not 
numerous  branches  of  knowledge  well  worthy  a  place  in  every  great 
literary  repositoiy,  and  which  are  yet  wholly  unrepresented  in  our 
alcoves?  Let  us  devote  a  moment  to  some  dry  statistics  concern- 
ing the  literature  of  continental  Europe.  The  Bibliotheca  Ilistorica 
Sueo-Gothica  of  Warmholtz,  the  last  volume  of  which  appeared  in 
1817,  enumerates  no  less  than  10,000  works  illustrative  of  the  his- 
tory of  Sweden  alone;  and  the  thirty  years  smce  have  added  greatly 
to  the  number.  The  Literatur-Lexicon  of  Nyerup,  published  in 
1820,  gives  the  titles  of  probably  an  equal  number  of  works  belong- 
ing to  the  literature  of  the  countries  subject  to  the  Danish  Crown. 
Holland,  too,  has  noble  historians,  naturalists,  poets,  and  dramatists, 
and  has  produced  many  works  of  unsurpassed  value  upon  the  history 
of  commerce  and  navigation.  The  list  of  Brunet  contains  not  one  in 
a  hundred  of  the  standard  authors  of  these  several  countries;  and  the 
Library  of  Congress,  as  far  as  I  remember,  does  not  possess  a  volume 
in  the  language  of  either  of  them.  Again,  consider  the  vast  extent 
and  surpassing  value  of  the  literature  of  Germany.  Of  the  3,000,000 
different  volumes  of  printed  books  supposed  to  exist,  it  is  computed 
that  more  than  one-third  are  in  the  German  language.  The  learning 
of  Germany  embraces  every  field  of  human  inquiry,  and  the  efforts  of 
her  scholars  have  done  more  to  extend  the  bounds  of  modern  knowl- 
edge than  the  united  labors  of  the  rest  of  the  Christian  world.  Every 
scholar  familiar  with  her  literature — let  me  not  say  familiar,  for  life 
is  too  short  for  any  man  to  count  its  boundless  treasures — but  every 
enlightened  student  who  has  but  dipped  into  it,  will  readily  confess  its 
infinite  superiority  to  any  other,  I  might  almost  say  to  all  other  litera- 
tures. It  has  been  affirmed  that  more  than  one-half  of  our  population 
is  of  recent  German  origin,  and  German  is  the  vernacular  tongue  of 
extensive  districts  of  American  soil.  Yet  the  Library  of  Congress 
contains  not  one  hundred,  probably  not  fifty,  volumes  in  that  noble 
language.  You  have  none  of  the  numerous  writers  of  the  vast  empire 
of  Russia,  or  of  Poland;  nothing  of  the  curious  literatures  of  Hungary 
and  Bohemia;  only  the  commonest  books  in  Italian  and  Spanish;  not 
a  volume  in  the  language  of  Portugal,  rich  as  it  is  in  various  litera- 
ture, and  especially  in  the  wild  yet. true  romance  of  Oriental  discover}' 
and  conquest  that  comes  down  to  us  through  the  pages  of  learned  De 
Barros  and  quaint  old  Castanheda,  ringing  upon  the  ear  and  stirring 
the  blood  like  the  sound  of  a  far-off  trumpet.  In  the  boundless  world, 
too,  of  Oriental  learning,  of  which  our  increasing  commercial  rela- 
tions with  the  countries  of  the  East  render  it  highly  desirable  that 
we  should  possess  the  means  of  acquiring  a  knowledge,  you  have  noth- 
ing to  show  but  a  few  translations  of  the  Bible,  and  perhaps  some 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGBESS,   1845-1847.  381 

works  of  devotion  or  elementary  religious  doctrine,  which  American 
missionaries  have  presented  you. 

Will  it  not  be  admitted  that  an  American  library,  the  national 
library  of  a  people  descended  from  men  of  every  clime,  and  blood, 
and  language — a  country  which  throws  open  its  doors  as  an  asylum 
for  the  oppressed  of  eveiy  race  and  every  tongue — should  be  some- 
what more  comprehensive  in  its  range  ?  That  it  should  at  least  have 
some  representatives  of  every  branch  of  human  learning,  some  memo- 
rials of  every  written  tongue  that  is  spoken  within  its  borders  ? 

But,  even  in  English  literature  our  Library  is  sadly  meager.  How 
far  are  we  from  possessing  a  tolerably  complete  series  of  the  English 
printed  books  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  or  even  of  that 
best  age  of  English  learning,  that  age  with  which  every  honest  Amer- 
ican most  truly  sympathizes,  the  age  of  Cromwell  and  of  Milton? 
Would  it  not  be  well  to  have  at  our  command  the  means  of  enabling 
some  diligent  scholar  to  write  what  has  not  yet  been  worthily  written, 
or  indeed  scarce  even  attempted,  a  complete  history  of  the  literature 
of  our  Anglo-Saxon  mother  tongue — or  to  perform  that  herculean  task 
which,  in  spite  of  the  vaunted  but  feeble  labors  of  Webster,  remains 
still  to  be  accomplished — the  preparation  of  a  respectable  English 
dictionary  ? 

If  there  is  any  department  of  learning  in  which  a  library  selected 
for  the  use  of  the  representatives  of  a  democracy  should  be  complete, 
it  is  that  of  history.     But  what  have  we  of  the  sources  of  historical 
investigation?     Histories,  indeed,  we  have;  but  little  history.     True, 
we  have  Robertson,  and  Hume,  and  Voltaire,  and  Gibbon,  and,  above 
all,  Alison,  a  popular  writer  in  these  days,  and — 
Like  Sir  Agrippa,  for  profound 
And  solid  lying,  much  renowned; 

but  of  those  materials  from  which  true  history  is  to  be  drawn  we  have 
little,  very  little.  The  works  belonging  to  the  proper  history  of  the 
American  Continent  alone,  every  one  of  which  it  would  be  highly 
desirable  to  possess,  number  certainly  more  than  20,000  volumes,  fully 
equal  to  one-half  the  Congressional  Library,  and  of  these  we  have, 
as  yet,  but  a  small  proportion. 

If  the  bounty  of  the  generous  foreigner,  in  spite  of  the  broad  lan- 
guage which  expresses  his  liberal  purpose,  is  to  be  confined  to  the 
narrow  uses  which  some  gentlemen  propose,  the  appropriation  of 
$10,000  per  annum  is  unnecessarily  large,  at  least  for  permanent 
expenditure.  A  moderate  amount  would  collect  all  that  is  worth  buy- 
ing in  the  experimental  sciences,  and  a  small  annual  appropriation 
would  keep  up  with  the  advance  of  knowledge  in  this  department. 
But  it  is  due  to  ourselves,  due  to  our  age,  due  to  the  lofty  views 
which  inspired  a  benefaction  so  splendid — a  gift  clogged  with  no  nar- 
row conditions — that  we  act  in  a  more  generous,  a  wider,  a  more 


382  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

catholic  spirit;  that  we  remember  that  "knowledge"  embraces  other 
arts  than  those  of  bread;  that  man's  economical  interests  are  not  his 
highest. 

The  purpose  of  the  testator,  which  we  are  to  carry  out,  was  "the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  What,  then,  is  the 
most  efficient  means  of  increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge '(  Increase, 
accumulation,  must  precede  diffusion.  Every  rill  supposes  a  fountain; 
and  knowledge  can  not  "flow  down  our  streets  like  a  river,"  without 
there  be  first  built  and  filled  a  capacious  reservoir,  from  which  those 
streams  shall  issue.  It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  accumulation 
of  the  stores  of  existing  learning,  the  amassing  of  the  records  of 
intellectual  action,  does  not  tend  also  to  increase  knowledge.  What 
is  there  new  in  the  material  world,  except  by  extraction  or  combina- 
tion ?  How  are  new  substances  formed,  or  the  stock  of  a  given  sub- 
stance increased,  by  the  chemistry  of  nature  or  of  art?  By  new 
combinations  or  decompositions  of  known  and  preexisting  elements. 
The  products  of  the  experimental  or  manufacturing  laboratory  are  no 
new  creations;  but  their  elements  are  first  extracted  by  the  decompo- 
sition of  old  compounds,  and  then  recombined  in  new  forms.  Thus  is 
it  also,  in  some  degree,  with  the  immaterial  products  of  the  human 
mind;  but  there  is  this  difference:  Knowledge  grows  not  alone  by 
extraction  and  combination,  but,  unlike  the  dead  matter  with  which 
chemistry  deals,  it  is  itself  organic,  living,  productive.  There  is 
moreover,  as  I  have  already  hinted,  between  all  branches  of  knowl- 
edge and  of  liberal  art,  whether  speculative  or  experimental,  such  an 
indissoluble  bond,  such  a  relation  of  interdependence,  that  you  can 
not  advance  any  one  without  at  the  same  time  promoting  all  others. 
The  pioneer  in  every  walk  of  science  strikes  out  sparks  that  not  only 
guide  his  own  researches,  but  illuminate  also  the  paths  of  those  around 
him,  though  they  ma}7  be  laboring  in  quite  other  directions.  Exam- 
ples of  this  kind  might  be  multiplied  without  end,  but  I  will  content 
myself  with  an  illustration  or  two  from  a  science  which  deals  only  in 
abstract  numbers  and  imaginary  quantities,  and  utterly  rejects  experi- 
ment and  observation  as  tests  of  truth  or  as  instruments  of  its  dis- 
covery. Who  would  have  supposed  that  the  intervals  of  the  diatonic 
scale  in  music  were  capable  of  exact  appreciation,  and  their  relations 
of  precise  ascertainment  by  numerical  quantities '(  Who  would  have 
expected  that  pure  mathematics  would  have  been  appealed  to  to 
decide  between  the  rival  claims  of  the  corpuscular  and  the  undulatory 
theories  of  light;  or  to  ascertain  the  proportions  and  relations  of  ele- 
mentary bodies  not  appreciable  by  any  of  the  senses,  in  chemical  com- 
binations; or,  as  my  accomplished  friend  from.  South  Carolina  (Mr. 
Holmes)  suggests,  that  the  authenticity  of  a  disputed  text  in  the 
Scriptures  would  be  determined  by  an  algebraical  theorem  (  What  do 
not  astronomy,  navigation,  civil  engineering,  practical  mechanics,  and 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  383 

all  the  experimental  sciences  owe  to  this  one  science,  which  in  its 
investigations  appeals  to  no  empiricism,  calls  in  the  aid  of  none  of  the 
senses,  none  of  the  machinery  of  art  or  of  nature. 

But,  independent  of  this  particular  point,  the  aid  which  the  physical 
sciences  may  expect  to  derive  from  mere  speculative  knowledge,  I 
should  hope  that  at  this  time,  and  in  this  place,  one  might  safely  venture 
a  plea  in  behalf  of  all  that  higher  knowledge  which  serves  to  humanize, 
to  refine,  to  elevate,  to  make  men  more  deeply  wise,  better,  less 
thoughtful  of  material  interests,  and  more  regardful  of  eternal  truths. 
And  let  it  not  be  said  that  our  own  brief  history  proves  that  great 
libraries  are  superfluous,  because  without  them  we  have  produced 
statesmen,  civilians,  orators,  and  jurisprudents,  nowise  inferior  to 
the  ablest  of  their  European  contemporaries.  Without  dwelling  upon 
the  stimulus  of  popular  institutions,  and  the  stirring  excitement  of 
our  revolutionary  and  later  history,  which  have  tended  to  encourage 
the  development  of  this  species  of  talent,  the  objection  is  sufficiently 
answered  by  saying  that,  in  the  case  of  most  of  the  American  states- 
men of  the  Revolution,  as  well  as  of  many  of  later  date,  private  wealth 
has  supplied  the  place  of  public  provisions  for  the  attainment  of 
knowledge.  In  the  period  of  our  colonial  history,  the  sons  of  wealthy 
families  were  often  educated  in  the  best  schools  of  Europe,  and  the 
framers  of  our  Constitution  were  chiefly  men  of  high  education  and 
elegant  attainments.  Jefferson,  whose  writings  are  canonical  with  the 
democracy,  had  the  best  private  library  in  America,  and  was  a  man  of 
multifarious  if  not  of  profound  learning.  The  State  papers  of  that 
remarkable  era  are,  with  few  exceptions,  obviously  productions  of  men 
not  merely  of  inspired  genius  or  of  patient  thought,  but  of  laborious 
acquisition;  and  they  are  full,  not  of  that  cheap  learning  which  is 
proved  by  pedantic  quotation,  but  of  that  sound  discipline  which  is 
the  unequivocal  result  of  extensive  reading  and  diligent  research. 
Who  have  been  the  men  in  all  ages  that  have  exercised  the  widest  and 
most  permanent  influence  both  on  the  moral  and  physical  well-being 
of  man?  The  spirit  of  the  crusades  was  roused  by  the  preaching  of 
a  thoughtful  solitary;  Columbus  was  a  learned  scholar,  and  Luther 
but  a  studious  monk.  Watt,  the  great  improver  of  the  steam  engine, 
was  a  man  of  curious  and  recondite  learning.  Bonaparte  was  care- 
fully educated  at  the  school  of  Brienne,  and  was  through  life  a  liberal 
patron  of  learning  and  the  arts.  The  glorious  rebellion  of  1649  was 
the  work  of  men  of  the  closet,  and  Milton,  who  to  our  shame  is  less 
known  among  us  by  his  prose  than  by  his  poetry,  was  its  apostle. 
Our  own  independence  was  declared  and  maintained  by  scholars,  and 
all  men  know  that  the  French  revolution  had  its  germ  in  the  writings 
of  the  Encyclopaedists.  All  men,  in  fact,  who  have  acted  upon  opinion, 
who  have  contributed  to  establish  principles  that  have  left  their  impress 
for  ages,  have  spent  some  part  of  their  lives  in  scholastic  retirement. 


384  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

It  is  this  very  point — the  maintenance  of  principles  discovered  and 
defended  by  men  prepared  for  that  service  by  severe  discipline  and 
laborious  study — that  so  strikingly  distinguishes  the  English  rebellion 
of  1649  and  our  own  Revolution  from  most  other  insurrectionary  move- 
ments, and  particularly  from  the  French  revolution.  The  English  and 
American  statesmen  of  those  two  periods  were  contending  for  truths, 
the  French  atheists  and  philosophers  for  interests;  the  former  sought 
to  learn  their  duties,  the  latter  concerned  themselves  only  about  their 
rights;  the  Anglo-Saxon  was  inspired  by  principle,  the  Gaul  was 
instigated  by  passion. 

The  principles  of  American  liberty,  which  education  and  habit  have 
rendered  so  familiar  to  us  that  we  fancy  them  intuitive  or  even  instinc- 
tive, are  in  truth  no  more  obvious  than  the  physical  theory  of  the 
universe;  and  the  study  of  the  philosophical  and  political  history  of 
the  last  three  centuries  will  convince  every  inquirer  that  their  devel- 
opment from  their  germs  as  involved  in  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation  has  been  the  work  not  of  unconscious  time  only,  but 
has  required  the  labor  of  successive  generations  of  philosophers  and 
statesmen. 

I  look  upon  a  great  and  well-selected  library  composed  of  the  mon- 
uments of  all  knowledge  in  all  tongues  as  the  most  effective  means  of 
releasing  us  from  the  slavish  deference,  which  in  spite  of  our  loud 
and  vaporing  protestations  of  independence  we  habitually  pay  to 
English  precedents  and  authorities  in  all  matters  of  opinion.  Our 
history  and  our  political  experience  are  so  brief  that  in  the  multitude 
of  new  cases  which  are  perpetually  arising  we  are  often  at  a  loss  for 
domestic  parallels,  and  find  it  cheaper  to  cite  an  English  dictum  than 
to  investigate  a  question  upon  more  independent  grounds.  Not  only 
are  our  parliamentary  law,  our  legislative  action,  our  judicial  proceed- 
ings, to  a  great  extent  fashioned  after  those  of  the  mother  country, 
but  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  Government,  our  theory  of  the 
political  rights  of  man,  are  often  distorted  in  order  that  they  may  be 
accommodated  to  rules  and  definitions  drawn  from  English  constitu- 
tional law.  Even  the  most  sacred  of  political  rights,  the  right  of 
petition,  I  have  heard  both  attacked  and  defended  upon  this  floor  by 
very  sufficient  Democrats  entirely  upon  precedents  drawn  from  the 
practice  of  the  British  Parliament.  Our  community  of  origin,  lan- 
guage, and  law  exposes  the  younger  nation  to  the  constant  danger  of 
being  overshadowed  by  the  authority  of  the  elder.  It  is  a  great  evil 
to  a  young  and  growing  people  as  well  as  to  a  youthful  and  aspiring 
spirit  to  have  its  energies  cramped  and  its  originality  smothered  by  a 
servile  spirit  of  conformity  to  any  one  model,  however  excellent;  and 
it  is  quite  time  for  us  to  learn  that  there  are  other  sources  of  instruc- 
tion than  the  counsels  and  example  of  our  ancient  mother. 

Sir,  I  make  these  remarks  in  no  narrow  feeling  of  jealous  hostility 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,    1845-1847.  385 

to  England;  still  less  at  this  crisis,  when  some  are  seeking  to  raise  a 
whirlwind  of  popular  indignation  against  that  country  upon  which 
they  may  themselves  float  to  power,  would  I  join  in  any  vulgar  denun- 
ciations of  a  people  from  whom  we  have  borrowed  so  much.  We 
owe  to  England  much  of  our  political  principles,  many  of  the  founda- 
tions of  our  civil  and  religious  liberties,  many  of  the  most  valuable 
features  of  our  jurisprudence.  Something,  indeed,  we  have  repaid. 
England,  in  common  with  all  Europe,  has  profited  by  our  experience. 
The  grasp  of  feudal  oppression  has  been  relaxed,  the  atrocious  severity 
of  the  criminal  law  has  been  mitigated,  judicial  proceedings  have  been 
simplified,  the  subject  has  been  admitted  to  a  larger  participation  in 
the  concerns  of  government,  monopolies  are  becoming  obsolete,  and 
the  responsibilities  of  rulers  are  felt  to  be  more  stringent.  To  the 
credit  of  many  of  these  ameliorations  we  may  fairly  lay  claim;  while 
in  science  and  its  application  to  the  arts  we  have  sustained  no  dis- 
graceful rivalry  with  our  trans- Atlantic  brethren.  But  no  generous 
man  thinks  his  debt  of  gratitude  canceled  till  it  is  thrice  repaid,  and 
we  have  therefore  yet  much  to  do  before  we  can  say  that  America  is 
no  longer  the  debtor  of  England.  Let  us  then  seize  this  one  oppor- 
tunity which  a  son  of  her  own  has  offered  us  and  build  with  it  a  pharos, 
whose  light  shall  serve  as  well  to  guide  the  mariner  in  the  distant 
horizon  as  to  illuminate  him  who  casts  anchor  at  its  foot. 

But  what  are  we  offered  instead  of  the  advantages  which  we  might 
hope  to  reap  from  such  a  library  as  I  have  described?  We  are  prom- 
ised experiments  and  lectures,  a  laboratory,  and  an  audience  hall. 
Sir,  a  laboratory  is  a  charnel  house,  chemical  decomposition  begins 
with  death,  and  experiments  are  but  the  dry  bones  of  science.  It  is 
the  thoughtful  meditation  alone  of  minds  trained  and  disciplined  in 
far  other  halls  that  can  clothe  these  with  flesh,  and  blood,  and  sinews, 
and  breathe  into  them  the  breath  of  life.  Without  a  library,  which 
alone  can  give  such  training  and  such  discipline,  both  to  teachers  and 
to  pupils,  all  these  are  but  a  masked  pageant  and  the  demonstrator  is  a 
harlequin.  This  is  not  a  question  of  idle  speculation,  it  is  one  that 
experience  has  answered.  There  are  no  foci  which  are  gathering  and 
reflecting  so  much  light  upon  the  arcana  of  natural  science  as  the 
schools  of  Paris  and  of  Germany,  and  all  scholars  are  agreed  that  the 
great  libraries  of  those  seminaries,  and  the  mental  discipline  acquired 
by  the  use  of  them  are,  if  not  the  sole  means,  at  least  necessary  condi- 
tions of  their  surpassing  excellence. 

But  we  are  told  that  these  experimental  researches  will  guide  us  to 
the  most  important  of  all  knowledge,  that,  namely,  of  common  things. 
Sir,  what  are  common  things  ?  Is  nothing  common  but  these  material 
frames  of  ours;  nothing  but  the  garments  we  wear,  the  habitations  that 
shelter,  and  the  food  that  nourishes  us;  nothing  but  the  air  we  breathe, 
the  fowls  of  heaven,  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  herbs,  the  trees,  and 
H.  Doc.  732 25 


38ti  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  rocks  around  us?  Is  nothing  common  but  the  glittering  sands 
beneath  our  feet  and  the  glittering  stars  on  which  we  gaze  ?  Sir,  these 
are  indeed  common,  and  well  it  is  to  understand  their  uses,  and,  so  far 
as  our  dim  vision  can  pierce,  even  their  natures  also;  but  are  there  not 
things  even  more  common,  nearer  to  our  inmost  selves,  harder,  indeed, 
but  more  profitable  to  be  understood;  objects  not  limited  by  the  three 
dimensions,  not  ponderable,  not  cognizable  by  any  of  the  senses,  and 
yet  subjects  of  precise  definition,  of  logical  argument,  of  philosophical 
interest,  and  of  overwhelming  importance?  Sir,  the  soul  of  man  is  a 
very  common  thing;  his  relations  to  his  Maker  and  to  his  fellows,  the 
laws  of  his  moral  and  intellectual  being,  his  past  history  and  his  prob- 
able future  destiny,  the  principles  of  government  and  the  laws  of 
political  economy — all  these  are  common  things,  the  commonest,  indeed, 
of  all  things,  and  shall  we  make  no  provision  for  instruction  in  these? 

But,  sir,  the  knowledge  of  what  are  called  the  physical  sciences  is  of 
far  less  importance,  even  in  reference  to  the  very  objects  which  they 
are  supposed  especially  to  promote,  than  is  generally  believed.  There 
was  an  age— I  should  say  ages— brilliant  and  glorious  ages  of  philoso- 
phers, of  statesmen,  of  patriots,  of  heroes,  and  of  artists,  and  artisans, 
too — when  as  yet  the  sciences  of  chemistry,  and  mineralogy,  and  metal- 
lurgy had  neither  name  nor  being;  when  experimental  research  wTas 
unknown,  and  the  raw  material  of  the  arts  was  prepared  for  subsequent 
manipulation  in  no  laboratory  but  the  hidden  workshops  of  nature; 
when  the  profoundest  philosophers  were  content  with  resolving  all 
material  things  into  the  four  elements,  and  men  knew  nothing  of  that 
subtle  analysis  and  those  strange  powers  whereby  the  elements  them- 
selves are  decomposed,  the  ingredients  of  the  atmosphere  solidified, 
and  granite,  porphyry,  and  adamant  resolved  into  imperceptible  gases. 
And  what,  sir,  have  our  boasted  researches  taught  us  to  accomplish  in 
the  industrial  arts  that  the  cunning  workman  of  Egypt,  and  Tyre,  and 
Greece  could  not  do  three  thousand  years  ago  ?  Can  our  machinery 
rear  loftier  piles  than  the  Pyramids,  or  move  more  ponderous  masses 
than  the  stones  of  Persepolis,  or  the  monolithic  temples  of  Egypt  ?  Is 
a  European  princess  arrayed  in  finer  webs  than  the  daughter  of  a 
Pharaoh,  or  decked  in  colors  more  gorgeous  than  the  Tyrian  purple  ? 
Can  the  chemistry  of  England  compound  more  brilliant  or  more  dura- 
ble pigments  than  those  which  decorate  the  walls  of  the  catacombs  of 
the  Nile?  Can  the  modern  artist,  with  all  the  aid  of  his  new  magni- 
fiers, rival  the  microscopic  minuteness  of  some  ancient  mosaics,  or  can 
the  glassworkers  of  our  times  surpass  the  counterfeit  gems  of  antiquity  ? 

Sir,  modern  chemistry,  metallurgy,  and  machinery  have  multiplied, 
cheapened,  and  diffused — not  improved — the  products  of  industrial 
art;  and  herein  lies  our  superiority,  not  that  we  can  do  better,  but,  by 
bringing  to  our  aid  the  obedient  forces  of  nature,  we  can  do  more, 
than  our  predecessors.  In  this  point  of  view,  regarding  modern  im- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGBESS,   1845-1847.  387 

provements  in  these  arts  as  the  great  equalizers  of  the  conditions  of 
different  ranks  in  society,  no  man  can  estimate  them  more  highly  than 
I  do,  and  I  hope  soon  to  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  that  I  duly 
appreciate  them.  But  I  must  protest  against  that  classification  of  the 
objects  of  human  knowledge  which,  by  giving  them  an  undue  pre- 
eminence, elevates  empiricism  above  true  science,  prefers  matter  to 
mind,  and  in  its  zeal  to  advance  the  means  quite  loses  sight  of  the  end. 

Sir,  these  arts  are  the  right  hand,  not  the  spirit,  of  true  progressive 
democracy;  they  are  the  lever  that  shall  move  the  world,  not  the 
immaterial  mind  that  shall  guide  it. 

Mr.  Chairman,  at  present  I  neither  propose  nor  expect  any  modifi- 
cation of  this  bill.  I  am  content  with  it  as  an  experiment,  though  I 
should  prefer  the  appropriation  of  the  entire  income  of  the  fund  for 
one  generation — three  times  only  as  long  as  it  has  now  lain  idle — to 
the  purpose  of  founding  such  a  library  as  the  world  has  not  yet  seen. 
If  I  support  the  bill,  I  shall  support  it,  I  repeat,  as  an  experiment,  but 
in  the  confident  hope  that  the  plan  will  soon  be  so  changed  as  to  make 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  a  fitter  representative  of  a  charity  which 
embraces  all  knowledge  as  its  object  and  appoints  the  whole  human 
race  its  beneficiaries. 

Mr.  ISAAC  E.  MORSE  said  he  desired  to  submit  a  few  observations 
in  relation  to  the  disposition  of  this  fund. 

Expressing  the  pleasure  which  he  had  derived  from  the  argument 
of  the  learned  and  eloquent  gentleman  [Mr.  Marsh]  who  had  just  taken 
his  seat,  he  [Mr.  Morse]  was  still  of  opinion  that  if  anything  could  be 
drawn  from  the  character  of  the  testator,  or  from  his  habits  and  pur- 
suits, as  to  the  direction  which  he  desired  his  bequest  should  take,  it 
was  of  a  much  more  practical  nature  than  that  contemplated  either  by 
the  gentleman  from  Vermont  [Mr.  Marsh]  or  by  the  originators  of 
the  bill  before  the  House.  Mr.  Smithson  was  a  practical  man;  and 
although  endowed  with  the  highest  learning,  he  yet  condescended  to 
devote  his  time  to  a  subject  of  the  most  domestic  and  homely  character. 
If  his  intention  had  been  to  establish  a  university  or  a  magnificent 
library,  and  thus  to  have  his  name  transmitted  to  posterity,  it  would 
have  been  easy  for  him  to  have  said  so,  and  nothing  would  have  been 
left  to  this  country  but  to  carry  out  his  enlightened  and  liberal  inten- 
tions. But  he  had  no  doubt  studied  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
American  people  and  discovered  that,  whilst  they  entertained  a  proper 
respect  for  the  learning  and  genius  of  the  German  universities,  of  the 
sciences  taught  in  the  universities  of  Europe,  still  there  was  some- 
thing in  the  common  sense  and  practical  knowledge  of  that  people 
which  comported  with  his  notions;  and  he  desired  that  this  money 
should  be  devoted  to  some  plan  of  diffusing  practical  and  useful 
knowledge  amongst  them. 

Mr.  MOUSE,  referring  to  some  portions  of  the  argument  of  Mr. 


388  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

Marsh,  inquired  what  there  was  in  the  learning  and  science  of  Europe 
comparable  to  the  discovery  of  the  steam  engine  by  an  American,  or 
of  the  cotton  gin,  or  of  the  magnetic  telegraph.  All  our  inventions 
had  a  tendency  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  human  race,  and  par- 
ticularly of  the  common  people;  and  it  was  no  doubt  under  a  just  and 
proper  appreciation  of  that  character  that  the  testator  left  his  money 
to  be  applied  to  such  objects.  Did  he  intend  to  establish  a  university? 
No.  Did  he  intend  to  establish  a  magnificent  library?  No.  He 
knew  that  the  world  was  full  of  musty  compilations,  of  the  produc- 
tions of  learned  authors,  to  be  wondered  at  more  for  their  extent  than 
for  their  usefulness.  He  [Mr.  Morse]  was  not  among  the  number  of 
those  who  wished  to  depreciate  the  learning  treasured  up  for  ages 
past  by  the  bookmakers  and  book  collectors  of  all  nations;  but  he 
proposed  to  offer  to  the  consideration  of  the  committee  ,a  substitute 
which,  he  thought,  would  remove  some  of  the  constitutional  objec- 
tions raised  against  the  bill  and  which  would,  in  his  judgment,  meet 
the  intention  of  the  donor. 

He  did  not  wish,  however,  to  interfere  with  the  progress  of  this 
bill.  He  concurred  in  the  opinion  which  had  been  expressed,  that  it 
was  a  crime,  a  burning  sin,  that  this  nation  should  have  held  this 
money  for  ten  years,  in  violation  of  a  solemn  trust  and  in  violation. of 
the  solemn  obligations  imposed  upon  every  man  who,  at  this  bar,  had 
taken  the  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  and  to  act  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  people.  It  was  in  violation  of  that  spirit  which  ever 
ought  to  actuate  the  American  nation  to  be  the  recipient  of  this 
munificent  sum,  and  yet  to  suffer  the  people — the  masses,  the  Jwi  pol- 
loi — to  be  so  long  deprived  of  any  benefit  from  it.  But  if  there  was 
strength  enough  in  the  House  to  pass  the  bill,  he  had  no  particular 
pride  in  taking  another  course.  He  should,  therefore,  submit  his 
proposition  at  the  proper  time,  leaving  the  committee  to  act  upon  it 
as  it  might  think  proper. 

The  substitute  of  which  Mr.  Morse  gave  notice  is  in  the  following 
words: 

A  bill  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  "increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 

men." 

Whereas  James  Smithson,  esquire,  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain, 
by  his  last  will  and  testament  did  give  the  whole  of  his  property  to  the  United  States 
of  America  to  found,  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  and  whereas 
the  creation  of  a  university,  academy,  or  college  is  liable  to  constitutional  difficulties, 
sectional  jealousies,  and  would  absorb  a  large  proportion  of  the  funds  in  the  erection 
of  buildings,  and  would  more  or  less  interfere  with  the  numerous  institutions  through- 
out our  country;  and  with  a  view  of  carrying  out  in  the  simplest  form  the  benevo- 
lent intentions  of  the  donor, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  management  of  this  fund  shall  be  entrusted  to  a  board 
of  managers,  to  be  styled  the  trustees  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  to  be  composed  of 
the  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  the  Chief  Justice,  during  the 
time  for  which  they  shall  hold  their  respective  offices,  the  heads  of  the  different 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  389 

Departments,  the  foreign  ministers,  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington,  members 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  together  with  seven  other  persons,  two 
of  whom  shall  be  members  of  the  National  Institute  and  resident  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, and  the  other  five  thereof  shall  be  inhabitants  of  States,  and  no  two  of  them 
of  the  same  State;  and  the  managers  to  be  selected  as  aforesaid  from  Congress  shall 
be  appointed  immediately  after  the  passage  of  this  act — the  members  of  the  Senate 
by  the  President  thereof  and  the  members  of  the  House  by  the  Speaker  thereof — and 
those  so  appointed  shall  serve  until  the  fourth  Wednesday  of  December  the  second 
next  after  the  passage  of  this  act;  and  then  and  biennially  thereafter  on  every  alter- 
nate fourth  Wednesday  of  December  a  like  number  shall  be  appointed  in  the  same 
manner  to  serve  until  the  fourth  Wednesday  in  December  the  second  succeeding  their 
appointment;  and  they  shall  also  constitute  and  be  denominated  a  joint  standing 
committee  of  Congress  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  vacancies  occasioned  by 
death,  resignation,  or  otherwise  shall  be  filled  as  vacancies  in  committees  are  filled; 
and  the  other  seven  managers  aforesaid  shall  serve  for  the  term  of  two  years  from 
the  fourth  Wednesday  of  December  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  when  and  on 
every  alternate  fourth  Wednesday  of  December  thereafter  a  new  election  thereof 
shall  be  made  by  joint  resolution  of  Congress;  and  vacancies  occasioned  by  death, 
resignation,  or  otherwise  may  be  filled  in  like  manner  by  joint  resolution  of  Con- 
gress. And  the  said  managers  shall  meet  and  organize,  by  the  choice  of  a  president, 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  on  the  first  Monday  in  September  next  after  the  passage 
of  this  act,  and  they  shall  then  fix  on  the  times  for  regular  meetings  of  the  board; 
and  on  application  of  any  three  of  the  managers  to  the  superintendent  of  the  said 
Institution  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  appoint  a  special  meeting  of  the  board,  of  which 
he  shall  give  notice  by  letter  to  each  of  the  members;  and  at  any  meeting  of  the 
board  of  managers  five  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business.  And  each  member 
of  the  board  of  managers  shall  be  paid  his  necessary  traveling  and  other  actual 
expenses  in  attending  meetings  of  the  board,  which  shall  be  audited  and  recorded 
by  the  superintendent  of  the  Institution;  but  his  service  as  manager  shall  be  gra- 
tuitous. And  whenever  money  is  required  for  the  payment  of  the  debts  or  perform- 
ance of  the  contracts  of  the  Institution,  incurred  or  entered  into  in  conformity  with 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  for  making  the  purchases  and  executing  the  objects 
authorized  by  this  act,  the  superintendent  or  the  managers,  or  any  three  thereof, 
may  certify  to  the  president  of  the  board  that  such  sum  of  money  is  required,  where- 
upon he  shall  submit  the  same  to  a  committee  of  three  of  the  managers,  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  for  examination  and  approval,  and  upon  such  examination  and 
approval  he  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper  officer  of  the  Treasury  for  payment, 
And  the  said  board  shall  make  all  needful  rules,  regulations,  and  by-laws  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Institution  and  the  persons  employed  therein,  and  shall  submit  to 
Congress,  at  each  session  thereof,  a  report  of  the  operations,  expenditures,  and  con- 
dition of  the  Institution. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  soon  as  the  board  of  managers  shall  be  regularly 
and  legally  organized,  it  shall  be  their  duty  to  cause  to  be  published  for  the  space  of 
one  year  in  such  of  the  most  widely  circulated  newspapers  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Europe,  as  they  may  deem  best,  the  offer  of  suitable  rewards  or  prizes  for  the  best  written 
essay  on  ten  subjects,  the  most  practical  and  useful  which  the  majority  of  said  board 
shall  determine  upon;  and  when,  after  a  decision  upon  the  relative  merits  of  the 
different  essays,  they  determine  to  which  the  prize  shall  be  awarded  on  the  several 
subjects,  it  shall  be  their  duty  to  have  as  many  copies  of  each  of  the  essays  printed 
as  they  may  deem  best,  to  be  distributed  to  the  governors  of  the  several  States,  to 
the  several  incorporated  literary  universities,  to  such  European  institutions  as  they 
may  choose,  and  the  balance"  to  be  distributed  throughout  the  United  States  by  the 
members  of  Congress,  thus  fulfilling  in  the  letter  and  spirit  the  wise  and  compre- 
hensive intentions  of  the  donor  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 


390  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  OWEN  desired  to  say  a  few  words  in  rc.pl}-  to  the  gentleman 
from  Vermont  [Mr.  Marsh],  and  the  gentleman  from  Louisiana  [Mr. 
Morse].  The  gentleman  from  Louisiana  had  already  given  the  most 
important  item  in  reply  to  the  gentleman  from  Vermont,  namely,  that 
we  had  no  right  to  run  counter  to  what  might  clearly  seem  to  be  the 
intention  of  Mr.  Smithson.  This  fund  was  not  ours;  it  was  intrusted 
to  us  for  a  special  purpose,  and  unless  we  could  believe  that  he  would 
desire,  if  living,  the  establishment  of  a  library  the  money  ought  not 
to  be  so  appropriated. 

This  bill  had  been  framed  in  a  spirit  of  compromise.  The  original 
Senate  bill  of  the  last  session  appropriated  $5,000  for  this  object.  The 
gentleman  from  Vermont,  Mr.  Owen  believed,  proposed  $20,000. 
The  bill  proposed  a  medium,  a  sum  not  exceeding  $10,000.  -He  hoped 
the  House  would  not  go  further.  A  gentleman  who  had  formerly 
been  Librarian  of  Congress,  in  conversation  with  him,  had  said  that  he 
thought  it  was  impracticable  to  purchase  with  advantage  more  than 
§10,000  worth  of  books.  The  duty  must  be  intrusted  to  one  agent  to 
prevent  the  purchase  of  duplicates,  and  no  one  agent  could  purchase 
advantageously  more  than  this  amount,  so  that  there  was  a  practical 
difficulty  in  the  way. 

In  relation  to  the  course  suggested  by  the  gentleman  from  Louisi- 
ana [Mr.  Morse],  the  same  plan  had  occurred  to  Dr.  Cooper,  of  South 
Carolina,  but  had  been  rejected  by  him. 

[Mr.  Owen  here  read  an  extract  in  support  of  this  assertion.] 

As  to  a  cheap  publication  branch,  he  would  remind  the  committee 
that  we  already  had  one.  In  looking  over  the  periodicals  of  the  day 
it  did  not  appear  that  the  prize  essays  were  the  best;  the  voluntary 
essays  seemed  to  be  so.  We  should  find  plenty  of  treatises  of  a  most 
useful  character  without  paying  a  dollar  for  them.  The  mere  gratifi- 
cation of  having  them  published  would  be  inducement  sufficient  to 
enable  us  to  obtain  them. 

The  gentleman  said  that  there  should  be  no  laboratory;  that  it  was 
not  the  design  of  Mr.  Smithson.  The  fact  that  Mr.  Smithson  spent 
half  of  his  life  in  a  laboratory  seemed  to  refute  this  objection. 

There  was  little  in  the  bill  of  an  imperative  character  in  relation  to 
all  these  various  branches.  Its  phraseology  was  "  may."  If,  there- 
fore, it  was  discovered  that  one  branch  would  be  more  beneficial  than 
another  there  was  the  power  to  adopt  it.  There  was  nothing  at  all 
binding  about  it. 

Mr.  JOHN  S.  CHIPMAN  spoke  urgently  in  opposition  to  the  bill.  His 
first  reason  for  voting  (as  he  said  he  intended  to  do)  was  based  on  a 
fact  that  was  irrevocable,  namely,  that  this  Government,  great  and 
powerful  as  it  was,  prospering  and  progressing  as  it  was  in  original 
native  intellect,  fostered  by  institutions  known  to  no  other  country 
and  no  other  people,  should  have  consented  to  be  the  recipient  of  what 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  391 

was  called  here  a  munificent  donation  of  half  a  million  from  an  Eng- 
lishman to  enlightened  American  republicans  in  this  country.  How 
did  it  happen  that  this  Government  accepted  such  a  boon  from  a  for- 
eigner— an  Englishman,  too?  He  looked  upon  it  as  a  stain  on  the  his- 
tory of  the  country,  as  an  insult  to  the  American  nation.  He  wished 
this  Government  to  wash  its  hands  of  all  such  eleemosynary  dealings. 
There  was  a  native  stock  in  this  country,  intellectual  and  physical, 
that  needed  no  foreign  aid,  and  he  trusted  in  God  it  would  not  conde- 
scend to  receive  any. 

In  making  these  remarks  he  would  probably  be  charged  with  being 
opposed  to  education.  He  was  opposed  to  it  in  the  light  in  which  in 
modern  times  it  was  sought  to  be  inculcated  in  this  country — an  edu- 
cation which  passed  over  all  thought,  all  reflection,  all  originality,  and 
was  based  upon  an  intellectual  lumber  house  of  undigested  and  indi- 
gestible matter,  thrown  together  in  the  head  of  some  aspirant  after 
immortal  intellectual  fame,  without  originality  enough  to  give  char- 
acter, he  would  not  say  to  what — he  had  a  term,  but  probably  it  might 
be  inappropriate  for  him  to  utter  it  here.  How  the  donor  of  this 
money,  being  an  Englishman,  came  to  love  this  country  so  well,  God 
only  knew;  but  he  (Mr.  Chipman)  would  say  that  in  yielding  to  his 
suggestion  the  country  had  humbled  and  degraded  itself. 

He  objected  to  the  bill  because,  clearly  and  in  terms,  it  established 
a  corporation.  He  appealed  to  his  political  friends,  after  all  their 
opposition,  after  all  their  arguments,  after  all  their  efforts  to  put  down 
a  United  States  bank  on  the  ground  of  its  unconstitutionality,  whether — 
tickled,  amused,  their  pride  touched  by  the  great  advantages  of  dis- 
pelling the  cloud  of  ignorance  which  overshadowed  the  American 
Republic — they  would  now  belie  all  their  principles  and  all  their  pro- 
fessions? What  distinction  was  there  between  a  corporation  in  the 
form  of  a  United  States  bank  and  a  corporation  intended  to  elevate 
humanity  in  close  approximation  to  the  throne  of  Heaven?  He 
appealed  to  his  friends  here — to  those  who  held  their  seats  by  virtue  of 
the  very  opposition  they  had  made  to  the  bank  of  the  United  States — 
whether  this  Government  had  the  power  to  create  a  corporation  ?  The 
rose  by  any  other  name,  etc.,  and  a  corporation  by  any  other  name 
should  be  as  offensive  to  the  Democracy.  Was  it  necessary  to  label 
the  animal  that  we  might  know  to  what  species  it  belonged,  as  was 
done  in  the  case  of  the  Dutchman's  picture  of  a  man  with  the  horse, 
where  the  name  was  put  upon  it  that  the  beholder  might  know  what  it 
was  ?  He  declared  that  the  bill  proposed  the  establishment  of  one  of 
the  most  withering  and  deadly  corporations,  carrying  with  it  all  the 
features  of  an  aristocracy  the  most  offensive  that  could  be  established 
in  any  country  under  heaven.  He  was  opposed  to  an  aristocracy  of 
wealth,  but  he  was  in  favor  of  an  aristocracy  of  intellect — not  of  false 
education — not  of  knowledge  that  consisted  in  bringing  together 


392  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

exploded  ideas — but  of  that  knowledge  which  was  the  offspring  of  an 
intellect  patented  directly  by  the  Almighty. 

Mr.  Chipman  then  proceeded  to  state  some  general  objections  to  the 
bill,  diverging  considerably  into  the  field  of  party  politics. 

In  conclusion,  he  declared  himself  in  favor  of  some  such  plan  as  had 
been  proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  Jones]. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  THOS.  H.  BAYLY,  the  committee  rose,  and  reported. 

Mr.  OWEN  offered  a  resolution  to  close  the  debate  in  an  hour  and  a 
half. 

The  resolution,  by  ayes  92,  noes  44,  was  laid  on  the  table.  After 
some  conversation — 

On  motion  of  Mr.  JOHN  Q.  ADAMS,  the  rules  were  suspended,  to 
enable  him  to  offer  the  following  substitute  amendment  to  the  bill; 
which  amendment  having  been  read  by  itself,  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  ordered  to  be 
printed: 

Strike  out  the  preamble,  and  all  except  the  enacting  clause,  and 
insert : 

That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  requested,  by  the  use  of  suitable  means 
of  moral  suasion,  and  no  others,  to  obtain  from  the  governments  of  the  States  of 
Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Michigan,  payment  of  the  arrears  of  interest  due  from  the 
said  States  to  the  United  States,  and  the  interest  thereafter,  and  the  principal  as  it 
shall  become  due,  according  to  the  promises  on  the  face  of  the  bonds  given  by  the 
said  States  for  moneys  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson,  a  benevolent  Englishman,  to 
the  United  States  of  America,  for  the  special  purpose  of  founding  at  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  which 
bequest  was,  by  act  of  Congress,  approved  on  the  first  of  July,  1836,  accepted,  with 
a  pledge  of  the  faith  of  the  United  States  that  it  should  be  applied  to  the  purposes 
prescribed  by  the  testator. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  when  payment  shall  have  been  obtained  from 
the  said  States  of  Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Michigan,  of  the  arrears  of  interest  due  on 
their  said  bonds,  Congress  shall  forthwith  proceed  to  appropriate  said  sums  of  interest 
so  recovered,  together  with  the  interest  hitherto  received,  or  hereafter  to  be  received, 
until  the  time  of  making  such  appropriations,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  deem 
suited,  to  redeem  the  pledge  of  the  faith  of  the  United  States,  to  the  application  of 
the  funds  of  the  bequest  of  the  said  James  Smithson,  to  the  specific  purpose  pre- 
scribed by  the  testator. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  until  the  arrears  of  interest  due  by  the  said 
States  of  Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Michigan  to  the  United  States,  upon  their  said 
respective  bonds,  shall  have  been  received  at  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  no 
appropriation  shall  be  made  by  Congress  chargeable  upon  the  people  of  the  United 
States  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  purposes  prescribed  by  the  testator,  James  Smithson, 
for  the  disposal  of  his  bequest. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  within  the  first  thirty  days  of  each  and  every 
successive  session  of  Congress  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to 
report  to  Congress  the  then  actual  state  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  particularly 
the  amount  of  arrears  of  interest  due  upon  the  said  bonds  of  the  States  of  Arkansas, 
Illinois,  and  Michigan;  together  with  copies  of  all  correspondence,  showing  the  result 
of  the  means  of  moral  suasion  used  during  the  preceding  year  to  obtain  payment  of 
the  said  arrears  of  interest;  and  the  said  annual  reports  shall  be  printed  for  the 
information  of  the  people. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  393 

The  further  consideration  of  the  bill  was  postponed  until  the  Monday 
following. 

April  27,  1846— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JOHN  W.  DAVIS)  said  the  special  order  of  the  day 
was  the  bill  in  relation  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  Ho  WELL  COBB  offered  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  all  debate  in  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  on  the  state  of 
the  Union  on  House  bill  (No.  5)  to  establish  the  "  Smithsonian  Institution,"  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  shall  cease  in  two  hours  after  the 
same  shall  be  again  taken  up  in  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  on  the  state  of 
the  Union  (if  the  committee  shall  not  sooner  come  to  a  conclusion  upon  the  same); 
and  the  committee  shall  then  proceed  to  vote  on  such  amendments  as  may  be  pend- 
ing or  offered  to  the  same,  and  shall  then  report  it  to  the  House  with  such  amend- 
ments as  may  have  been  agreed  to  by  the  committee. 

The  resolution  was  read;  when  the  question  was  stated,  Will  the 
House  agree  to  the  said  resolution  ?  Mr.  JAMES  GRAHAM  moved  that  it 
be  laid  upon  the  table. 

And  the  question  being  put,  it  was  decided  in  the  negative — 3reas, 
78;  nays,  81. 

The  yeas  and  nays  being  desired  by  one-fifth  of  the  members  present, 

Those  who  voted  in  the  affirmative  were— 

YEAS — Messrs.  John  Q.  Adams,  Arnold,  Ashmun,  Barringer,  Bedinger,  Bell, 
Buffington,  Burt,  W.  W.  Campbell,  J.  H.  Campbell,  Carroll,  John  G.  Chapman,  A. 
A.  Chapman,  Cocke,  Cranston,  Crozier,  Dargan,  Darragh,  Garret  Davis,  Delano, 
Dixon,  Dockery,  J.  H.  Ewing,  E.  H.  Ewing,  Foot,  Giddings,  Graham,  Grider,  Grin- 
nell,  Hampton,  Harper,  Herrick,  Hoge,  E.  B.  Holmes,  S.  D.  Hubbard,  Hudson, 
Washington  Hunt,  Hunter,  C.  J.  Ingersoll,  Joseph  Johnson,  Daniel  P.  King,  Thomas 
Butler  King,  Lewis,  Long,  McHenry,  Marsh,  J.  P.  Martin,  Barkley  Martin,  Miller, 
Morris,  Moseley,  Parrish,  Payne,  Pendleton,  Pettit,  Pollock,  John  A.  Rockwell, 
Root,  Runk,  Seaman,  Seddon,  Severance,  A.  D.  Sims,  Truman  Smith,  Albert  Smith, 
Caleb  B.  Smith,  Stephens,  Strohm,  Thibodeaux,  Tilden,  Trumbo,  Vinton,  Wood, 
Woodruff,  Woodward,  Wright,  Yancey,  and  Young. 

Those  who  voted  in  the  negative  were — 

NAYS — Messrs.  Atkinson,  Bayly,  Biggs,  James  A.  Black,  Bowlin,  Brodhead, 
Brockenbrough,  W.  G.  Brown,  R.  Chapman,  Chipman,  Clarke,  Cobb,  Collin,  Con- 
stable, Cunningham,  Daniel,  J.  Davis,  Dillingham,  Dobbin,  Dromgoole,  Erdman, 
Faran,  Ficklin,  Fries,  Garvin,  Gentry,  Giles,  Gordon,  Grover,  Hamlin,  Haralson, 
Harmanson,  Hopkins,  Hough,  G.  S.  Houston,  J.  B.  Hunt,  Andrew  Johnson,  George 
W.  Jones,  Seaborn  Jones,  Preston  King,  Lawrence,  Leake,  Leib,  La  Sere,  Lumpkin, 
Maclay,  McClelland,  McConnell,  McCrate,  McGaughey,  Mcllvaine,  McKay,  Morse, 
Moulton,  Norris,  Owen,v  Perrill,  Phelps,  Price,  Rathbun,  Relfe,  Ritter,  Sawtelle, 
Sawyer,  Scammon,  Simpson,  Thomas  Smith,  Robert  Smith,  Stanton,  St.  John,  Strong, 
Thomasson,  Jacob  Thompson,  Thurman,  Tibbatts,  Vance,  Wentworth,  Wick,  Wil- 
mot,  Yell,  and  Yost. 

The  question  recurred  on  agreeing  to  the  said  resolution. 

Mr.  Ho  WELL  COBB  moved  the  previous  question,  which  was  sec- 
onded, and  the  main  question  was  ordered  and  put,  viz,  Will  the 
House  agree  to  the  said  resolution  ?  and  decided  in  the  negative — yeas, 
73;  nays,  85. 


394  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  yeas  and  nays  being  desired  by  one-fifth  of  the  members  present, 
Those  who  voted  in  the  affirmative  were- 

YEAS— Messrs.  Stephen  Adam.s,  Atkinson,  Bayly,  Biggs,  Bowlin,  Brockenbrough, 
Brodhead,  William  G.  Brown,  Augustus  A.  Chapman,  Reuben  Chapman,  Chase, 
Clarke,  Cobb,  Collin,  Constable,  Cunningham,  Daniel,  Dillingham,  Dobbin,  Drom- 
goole,  Dunlap,  Erdman,  Faran,  Giles,  Goodyear,  Gordon,  Grover,  Hamlin,  Ilaralson, 
Harmanson,  Hopkins,  Hough,  George  S.  Houston,  James  B.  Hunt,  Hunter,  Andrew 
Johnson,  George  W.  Jones,  Seaborn  Jones,  Preston  King,  Lawrence,  La  Sere,  Lump- 
kin,  McClelland,  McConneil,  McCrate,  McKay,  Morris,  Morse,  Moulton,  Norris, 
Payne,  Phelps,  Price,  Rathbun,  Reid,  Relfe,  Ritter,  Sawyer,  Scammon,  Seddon, 
Thomas  Smith,  Robert  Smith,  St.  John,  Strong,  Jacob  Thompson,  Thurman,  Tib- 
batte,  Vance,  Wentworth,  Wick,  Wilmot,  Yell,  and  Yost. 

Those  who  voted  in  the  negative  were — 

NAYS — Messrs.  John  Quincy  Adams,  Arnold,  Barringer,  Bedinger,  Bell,  Milton 
Brown,  Buffington,  Burt,  William  W.  Campbell,  John  H.  Campbell,  Carroll,  John 
G.  Chapman,  Cocke,  Collamer,  Cranston,  Crozier,  Dargan,  Darragh,  Garret  Davis, 
Jefferson  Davis,  Dockery,  John  H.  Ewing,  Edwin  H.  Ewing,  Foot,  Fries,  Giddings, 
Graham,  Grider,  Grinnell,  Hampton,  Harper,  Herrick,  Hilliard,  Hoge,  Elias  B. 
Holmes,  Samuel  D.  Hubbard,  Hudson,  Washington  Hunt,  Charles  J.  Ingersoll, 
Joseph  R.  Ingersoll,  Joseph  Johnson,  Daniel  P.  King,  Thomas  B.  King,  Leake, 
Lewis,  Levin,  Long,  Maclay,  James  McDowell,  McGaughey,  McHenry,  Mcllvaine, 
Marsh,  Barkley  Martin,  Miller,  Moseley,  Parrish,  Pendleton,  Perrill,  Pollock,  John 
A.  Rockwell,  Root,  Runk,  Sawtelle,  Schenck,  Seaman,  Severance,  Alexander  D.  Sims, 
Truman  Smith,  Albert  Smith,  Caleb  B.  Smith,  Stephens,  Strohm,  Thibodeaux, 
Thomasson,  Tilden,  Trumbo,  Vinton,  Wood,  Woodruff,  Woodward,  Wright,  Yancey, 
and  Young. 

So  the  said  resolution  was  rejected. 
April  28,  1846— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN,  the  House  resolved  itself  into  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole  (Mr.  A.  BURT,  of  South  Carolina,  in  the  ehair)  and 
resumed  the  consideration  of  the  bill  to  provide  for  the  establishment 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl 
edge  among  men,  and  the  amendments  thereto  pending. 

Mr.  A.  D.  SIMS  said  that,  before  entering  on  the  consideration  of 
the  main  question  before  the  committee,  he  desired  to  invite  its  atten- 
tion to  the  consideration  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  to  express  his 
views  upon  what  he  considered  to  be  the  true  light  in  which  that  fund 
should  be  regarded. 

Under  the  will  of  the  late  James  Smithson,  the  bequest  made  by  him 
was  paid  over  to  the  United  States.  The  money,  under  the  action  of 
Congress,  was  loaned  out  to  certain  States.  No  matter  for  what  pur- 
pose that  fund  might  be  dedicated,  the  faith  and  the  honor  of  the 
country,  by  the  action  of  Congress,  were  pledged"  to  regard  it  at  all 
times  as  being  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States;  and  the  United 
States  was  in  fact  itself  a  creditor  of  the  States  to  whom  the  money 
was  loaned;  so  that  the  Arkansas,  or  Michigan,  or  Illinois  bonds  or 
securities — or  the  securities  of  any  State  to  which  this  money  had  been 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  395 

loaned — were  in  fact  debts  due  to  the  General  Government;  and  the 
fund  itself  must  be  regarded  as  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  11.  MCCLELLAND  here  rose  to  explain,  and  (Mr.  Sims  yielding) 
said  that  a  misapprehension  prevailed  in  the  committee  as  to  the  pay- 
ment of  the  interest  by  the  State  of  Michigan  on  that  portion  of  the 
Smithsonian  fund  invested  in  the  bonds  of  that  State.  He  considered 
this  interest  paid;  and  from  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury it  appeared  that  the  amount  claimed  to  be  due  on  the  1st  of  Janu- 
ary last  was  $181.07;  and  this  had,  in  all  probability  ^  been  more  than 
paid  by  the  application  of  the  5  per  cent  fund  up  to  this  period.  In 
June,  1845,  the  then  auditor-general  of  the  State  of  Michigan  endeav- 
ored to  obtain  a  statement  of  this  account  and  the  5  per  cent  fund, 
in  order  to  make  provision  for  the  payment  of  any  balance  that  might 
be  found  due,  but  failed.  On  the  7th  of  November  last  he  wrote  and 
requested  him  (Mr.  McClelland)  to  make  the  necessary  inquiries  with 
the  same  view;  and  soon  after  his  arrival,  at  the  commencement  of 
this  session,  he  wrote  to  the  proper  department  for  the  required  infor- 
mation, but  did  not  receive  any  reply  until  the  27th  of  February,  and 
then  he  was  advised  that  the  small  amount  before  stated  was  due. 
This  statement  he  had  forwarded  to  the  present  auditor-general.  He 
(Mr.  McClelland)  had  no  doubt  provision  would  be  made  for  the 
prompt  payment  of  the  interest  hereafter  to  accrue  if  the  5  per  cent 
fund  was  found  to  be  insufficient.  While  up,  he  would  state  that  the 
authorities  of  Michigan  had  consented  to  the  application  of  the  5 
per  cent  fund  to  the  payment  of  this  interest,  and  that  the  resolution 
passed  by  the  last  Congress,  directing  this  application,  was  shown  to 
him  by  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  [Mr. 
M  -Kay]  before  it  was  offered,  and  was  fully  approved  of  by  him,  and 
was  supported  by  the  entire  delegation  from  Michigan  in  both  Houses. 
In  conclusion,  he  would  say  that  he  believed  the  State  would  make 
every  effort  to  pay  all  just  claims  against  it,  and  in  regard  to  this 
fund  would  at  all  times  pay  the  interest  fairly  and  honorably. 

Mr.  SIMS  continued.  He  had  not  intended,  he  said,  by  any  remark  he 
had  made  to  inculpate  any  State  to  which  this  fund  might  have  been 
loaned.  He  merely  wished  to  show  what  the  duty  and  the  obligation 
of  the  Government  were  in  regard  to  the  fund  itself.  Whatever  dis- 
position might  finally  be  made  of  it — whether  an  institution  such  as 
was  contemplated  should  be  established;  whether  the  fund  should  be 
returned  to  the  British  chancery,  or  whether  it  should  be  distributed 
among  the  heirs  of  Smithson — no  difficulty  ought  to  arise  as  to  the 
fact  of  the  fund  itself  having  been  loaned  out  by  the  Government; 
and  that,  for  all  honorable,  practical,  and  proper  purposes,  it  must  be 
regarded  in  good  faith  as  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  to 
be  devoted  to  whatever  purpose  might  be  thought  proper.  For  his 
own  part,  he  had  no  apprehension  or  fear  but  what  each  of  the  States 


396  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

would  in  good  time  and  in  good  faith  redeem  their  obligations  and 
refund  every  dollar  that  had  been  loaned  to  them. 

He  now  approached  the  main  question.  Much  had  been  said  in 
praise  of  the  munificent  and  splendid  liberality  of  James  Smithson. 
It  had  been  said  that,  animated  by  a  spirit  of  benevolence  to  his  race, 
he  had  made  his  will,  constituted  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
his  trustee  to  carry  out  his  intentions,  and  had  dedicated  to  the  noble 
purpose  of  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men  an 
entire  estate,  under  the  management  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  It  was  not  his  (Mr.  Sims)  disposition,  nor  was  it  his  wont,  nor 
would  it  become  him  to  speak  in  terms  of  reproach  of  one  who  now 
slept  under  the  sod.  But  he  must  be  permitted  to  say  that  none  of 
these  feelings  of  pride  and  admiration  which  seemed  to  glow  in  the 
bosoms  of  some  gentlemen  in  contemplating  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson 
found  an  echo  in  his  (Mr.  Sims)  heart.  He  saw  in  the  will  of  that 
individual  what  he  had  seen  in  the  wills  of  many  other  men.  After 
having  griped,  through  their  lives,  every  shilling  that  came  into  their 
hands,  animated  at  last  by  some  posthumous  vanity,  they  sought  to 
build  up  a  name  which  should  live  after  them;  and  such,  rather  than 
any  feeling  for  humanity,  so  much  lauded,  was  the  motive  that  guided 
them.  In  the  present  case  he  saw  abundant  evidence  of  this  disposi- 
tion in  the  appointment  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as  a 
trustee  to  carry  out  this  splendid  vanity. 

Mr.  SIMS  then  proceeded  to  contend  that  the  Government  was  not 
instituted  for  any  such  purposes  as  the  administration  of  charities. 
There  was  no  grant  of  power  in  the  Constitution  admitting  such  an 
exercise.  And  as  there  was  no  such  power,  and  as  this  fund  was  still 
under  our  control,  and  as  the  trust  had  not  been  executed,  it  became 
Congress  to  pause,  and  to  retrace,  so  far  as  possible,  the  errors  it 
had  already  committed.  There  was  but  one  power  in  the  Constitution 
under  which  this  charity  could  be  administered,  and  that  was  as  a  local 
legislature  for  the  District  of  Columbia.  But  that  would  not  fall 
within  the  intention  and  design  of  the  testator.  It  was  not  intended 
that  this  fund  should  be  applied  to  the  exclusive  purpose  of  the  use 
of  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  only  true  bourse  would  be  to  reject 
all  these  plans,  including  the  substitute  which  had  been  offered  by  the 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Adams];  and  if  this  were  done, 
he  (Mr.  Sims)  pledged  himself  that,  should  no  other  member  do  so, 
he  would  introduce  a  bill  repealing  all  laws  heretofore  enacted  on  this 
subject,  and  giving  authority  and  direction  for  the  restoration  of  the 
money  to  the  British  chancery.  It  could  then  be  devoted  to  purposes 
in  England  similar  to  those  which  had  been  contemplated  in  the  city 
of  Washington.  The  only  difference  would  be  in  the  location  of  the 
institution. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS  said,  in  this  matter  he  was  in  favor  of  carrying 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  397 

out  the  principle  of  the  ancient  proverb,  "Catch  the  bear  before  you 
sell  his  skin."  But  a  very  small  portion  of  these  funds  was  now  in 
the  Treasury;  and  the  bill  proposed  to  take  from  the  Treasury  the 
money  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  raised  by  taxation,  to  the 
amount  of  $700,000  or  $800,000,  to  be  expended  in  lieu  of  the  fund  of 
the  late  Mr.  Smithson,  which  was  not  in  our  power  at  present.  The 
gentleman  from  South  Carolina  [Mr.  Sims]  said  that  this  money  was 
to  be  considered  as  if  it  was  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Adams  would  be  very  glad  if  he  could  so  consider  it. 

Mr.  SIMS  said,  in  the  report  which  the  gentleman  from  Massa- 
chusetts made  to  this  House  a  few  years  ago  he  took  the  identical 
ground  that  this  money  ought  to  be  considered  in  the  Treasury,  and 
that  Arkansas,  and  the  other  States  in  whose  bonds  this  was  invested, 
were  debtors  of  the  General  Government. 

Mr.  ADAMS  replied,  that  if  any  report  made  by  him  three  or  four 
years  ago  stated  that  this  money  was  to  be  considered  in  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States  he  would  inform  the  gentleman  and  the  com- 
mittee that  he  had  had  some  experience  since  that  time  that  convinced 
him  very  perfectly  that  it  was  not  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States. 

It  was  the  office  of  the  amendment  which  he  proposed  to  try  to  get 
it  back  into  the  Treasury,  to  enable  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
to  redeem  the  pledge  which  they  gave,  by  the  acceptance  of  this  fund, 
to  this  nation,  to  the  memory  of  the  testator,  and  the  civilized  world, 
that  it  should  be  faithfully  applied  according  to  the  intentions  of  the 
donor.  The  money  was  not  in  the  Treasury,  and  could  not  without  a 
violation  of  all  reason  be  considered  in  it. 

The  question  whether  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  or  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States,  were  responsible  for  this  money  and  for  its 
application  according  to  the  intent  of  the  testator,  Mr.  Adams  was 
understood  to  say,  was  another  question.  If  it  were  necessary  now, 
in  order  to  redeem  the  plighted  faith  of  the  nation,  he  was  ready  to 
vote  an  appropriation  of  that  amount,  or  of  ten  times  that  amount,  to 
be  raised  by  a  tax  upon  the  people.  But  he  did  not  think  the  contin- 
gency had  arisen,  and  especially  that  it  had  not  arisen  for  the  appli- 
cation of  the  money  to  any  of  the  purposes  proposed  in  this  bill. 

He  had  heard  with  great  delight  the  learned  and  ingenious  remarks 
of  the  gentleman  from  Vermont  [Mr.  Marsh]  a  few  days  since,  and 
especially  that  portion  which  advocated  the  application  of  that  fund 
ultimately  to  the  only  purpose  of  erecting  a  great  and  magnificent 
library,  instead  of  the  paltry  application  of  $5,000  a  year  out  of  the 
more  than  $30,000  which  this  sum  ought  to  give  us.  There  was  no 
other  object  to  which  it  could  be  more  worthily  applied  to  promote 
the  object  of  the  testator. 

To  the  main  object  proposed  by  the  bill — viz,  the  application  of 


398  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

a  large  portion  of  the  fund  to  the  education  of  teachers  of  normal 
schools— Mr.  Adams  expressed  his  decided  opposition.  He  would 
rather  have  the  whole  money  thrown  into  the  Potomac  than  to  appro- 
priate one  dollar  for  that  purpose. 

Mr.  Adams  alluded  to  some  facts  in  the  history  of  this  fund,  showing 
his  own  connection  with  it,  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was 
received,  the  investment,  three  days  after  it  was  received,  of  $500,000 
in  Arkansas  bonds,  and  the  remainder  in  bonds  of  Michigan,  Illinois, 
and  Ohio;  the  payment  by  Ohio  of  her  interest,  and  the  failure  on  the 
part  of  Arkansas  to  pay  a  cent  of  her  interest,  etc. 

Mr.  A.  G.  THURMAN  (Mr.  Adams  yielding)  inquired  for  information 
of  Mr.  Adams  whether  this  investment  in  the  bonds  of  Arkansas  was 
made  without  any  warrant  or  authority  of  law  ? 

Mr.  ADAMS.  The  fact  is  directly  the  reverse.  Mr.  Adams  stated  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  legalized  investment  was  made.  On  a 
bill  for  the  support  of  the  West  Point  Academy  a  provision  was 
ingrafted  (he  said)  that  this  fund  should  be  invested  in  State  stocks. 
He  commented  upon  the  incongruity  of  the  two  subjects  in  terms 
which  excited  the  merriment  of  the  committee. 

He  next  reviewed  the  legislative  history  of  this  subject  during  the 
four  Congresses  which  have  elapsed  since  the  receipt  of  the  fund  eight 
years  since,  giving  a  minute  account  of  the  various  propositions  made 
in  reports  to  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  their  respective  fates — 
none  of  them  having  received  the  sanction  of  both  Houses.  When  it  first 
came  before  Congress,  and  he  believed  this  money  was  in  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States,  he  was  of  opinion  among  the  sciences  the 
pursuit  of  which  was  recommended  by  the  testator  that  of  astronomy 
was  the  first  to  which  a  portion  of  the  interest  should  be  applied. 

In  the  administration  of  this  fund  there  were  two  or  three  principles 
that  should  be  pursued.  One  was  that  it  should  never  cost  the  people 
of  the  United  States  a  dollar — that  it  should  support  itself.  Another, 
that  no  part  should  ever  be  applied  to  the  ordinary  purposes  of  edu- 
cation of  children.  He  felt  on  that  subject  something  the  feeling  of 
the  gentleman  from  Michigan  [Mr.  Chipman],  that  it  was  unworthy 
the  people  of  the  United  States  to  receive  foreign  aid  for  the  educa- 
tion of  their  children.  It  was  their  own  duty  to  do  it  for  themselves, 
and  not  to  depend  on  any  eleemosynary  bequest  for  it.  There  was  no 
way  in  which  the  States  could  more  degrade  themselves  than  by  rely- 
ing on  foreign  aid  or  on  the  General  Government  for  the  education  of 
their  children.  He  differed  with  him  on  other  points,  however,  and 
thought  it  highly  proper  that  it  should  be  received  to  carry  out  the 
intent  of  the  testator,  for  the  "increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men." 

Mr.  SIMS  inquired  of  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  the  power 
under  the  Constitution  by  which  Congress  was  authorized  to  accept 
and  administer  this  fund? 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  399 

Mr.  ADAMS.  If  the  gentleman  will  point  me  to  the  power  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  to  annex  Texas,  I  will  answer  his 
question. 

Mr.  SIMS.  If  the  gentleman  finds  the  power  under  the  same  clause, 
it  is  certainly  a  novel  clause  under  which  to  claim  it — that  which,  in 
express  terms,  permits  new  States  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union. 

Mr.  ADAMS.  I  presume  the  gentleman  considers  that  a  constructive 
power;  and  if  so,  it  will  answer  for  what  it  is  worth.  He  (Mr.  Adams) 
could  find  in  the  Constitution  many  clauses  besides  that  authorizing 
Congress  to  provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare. 
What  means  more  efficient  to  this  end  than  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men  ? 

Mr.  Adams  further  opposed  the  application  proposed  by  the  bill 
under  consideration  to  the  ordinary  purposes  of  education,  on  the 
ground  of  inequality  of  the  benefits  it  would  confer — the  State  of 
Massachusetts  (a  fact  of  which  he  was  proud),  the  State  of  New  York 
(the  "Empire  State"),  and  Virginia,  another  empire  State  (to  whose 
citizens  our  present  minister  to  Brazil,  before  he  left  the  country, 
addressed  a  letter. calling  on  them  to  tax  themselves  for  the  education 
of  their  children — for  which  he  should  honor  him,  if  he  had  never 
done  anything  else  in  his  life),  and  other  States,  having  themselves 
made  provision  for  the  education  of  their  children,  so  that  they  would 
not  thank  Congress  for  making  this  application  of  this  fund.  The 
State  of  Indiana,  from  which  the  gentleman  [Mr.  Owen]  came  who 
reported  this  bill,  had  property  enough  to  take  care  of  her  own  chil- 
dren without  wasting  this  fund  for  such  a  purpose. 

He  would  say  nothing  further  of  other  provisions  of  the  bill.  Some 
of  them  were  proper,  others  were  not.  But  an  experience  of  eight  or 
ten  years,  since  we  received  this  money,  had  shown  him  that  whenever 
distinguished  scientific  men  were  called  upon  for  their  opinions, 
scarcely  two  agreed. 

In  addition  to  the  application  of  a  portion  of  this  fund  to  the  science 
of  astronomy,  there  was  another  provision  which  he  found  and  which 
he  was  happy  to  see  this  bill  made,  viz,  that  no  portion  of  the  fund 
should  be  appropriated — that  it  should  be  a  perpetual  fund.  It  was 
the  interest  which  was  to  be  applied. 

But  in  the  meantime,  while  this  delay  had  taken  place,  he  was 
delighted  that  an  astronomical  observatory — not  perhaps  so  great  as 
it  should  have  been — had  been  smuggled  into  the  number  of  the 
institutions  of  the  country  under  the  mask  of  a  small  depot  for  charts, 
etc.  There  was  not  one  word  about  it  in  the  law.  He  would  like  to 
ask  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina  [Mr.  Sims],  where  was  the 
power  under  the  Constitution  to  make  this  appropriation  ? 

Mr.  SIMS  said  he  did  not  know;  but  since  the  doctrine  promulgated 
by  a  distinguished  President  of  the  United  States  of  erecting  light- 


400  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

houses  in  the  skies  had  grown  into  popular  favor,  he  should  presume 
that  the  gentleman  would  find  no  difficult}-  as  to  the  question  of  power. 

Mr.  ADAMS  said  he  was  very  glad  to  hear  that  it  had  grown  into 
popular  favor.  The  appropriation  for  this  astronomical  observatory, 
he  repeated,  had  been  clandestinely  smuggled  into  the  law,  under  the 
head  of  a  depot  for  charts,  when  a  short  time  before  a  provision  had 
been  inserted  in  a  bill  passed,  that  no  appropriation  should  be  applied 
to  an  astronomical  observatory.  He  claimed  no  merit  for  the  erection 
of  the  astronomical  observatory;  but  in  the  course  of  his  whole  life, 
no  conferring  of  honor,  of  interest,  of  office,  had  given  him  more 
delight  than  the  belief  that  he  had  contributed,  in  some  small  degree, 
to  produce  these  astronomical  observatories,  both  here  and  elsewhere. 
He  no  longer  wished  any  portion  of  this  fund  applied  to  an  astronomical 
observatory. 

Nor  did  he  think  it  important  to  the  people  that  any  provision  of 
this  bill  should  be  carried  into  effect  immediately,  but  rather  that 
measures  should  be  taken  to  induce  the  States  to  pay  the  interest  on 
their  bonds,  and  then  let  the  money  be  appropriated  to  any  purpose 
on  which  Congress  could  agree  more  unanimously  than  on  this  bill. 

He  noticed  among  the  objections  made,  that  against  making  of  this 
Institution  an  incorporation.  He  urged  that  it  was  indispensably 
necessary  to  form  the  board  into  an  incorporation;  that  unless  it  were 
done,  the  funds  would  be  wasted  in  five  years;  that  there  would  be  no 
power  in  the  Institution,  not  even  the  power  of  succession;  that  it 
would  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  joint  committee  of  Congress,  who  would 
dispose  of  it  as  faction,  party  spirit,  or  caprice  should  dictate.  He 
scouted  the  idea  of  the  unconstitutionally  of  the  establishment,  by 
Congress,  of  the  corporations  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  as  in  con 
travention  of  the  uniform  legislation  of  the  country,  in  the  incorpora- 
tion of  colleges,  benevolent  societies,  the  National  Institute,  etc. 

In  conclusion,  believing  that  they  could  not  agree  very  wrell  on  this 
bill,  and  that,  by  the  time  we  got  this  money  of  Arkansas  and  the 
other  States,  they  could  agree  better,  he  sent  up  to  the  clerk's  table, 
where  it  was  again  read,  the  amendment  of  which  he  gave  notice  last 
week. 

On  the  faith  (he  said)  of  observations  of  the  gentleman  from  Michi- 
gan, that  Michigan  had  regularly  paid  the  interest  on  her  bonds,  he 
modified  his  amendment,  by  striking  out  the  word  "Michigan," 
wherever  it  occurred  therein. 

[While  Mr.  Adams  was  speaking,  the  Speaker  resumed  the  chair 
informally,  to  receive  a  message  from  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  the  hands  of  J.  K.  Walker,  esq.,  his  private  secretary, 
informing  the  House  that  the  President  had  yesterday  approved  and 
signed  the  joint  resolution  of  notice  to  Great  Britain,  to  annul  and 
abrogate  the  convention  of  1827  respecting  the  Oregon  Territory. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  401 

Mr.  ADAMS  remarked:  A  propitious  interruption  of  the  few  re- 
marks—worthless, in  comparison — which  I  was  addressing  to  the 
committee!] 

When  Mr.  Adams  had  concluded — 

Mr.  JOHN  W.  TIBBATTS  rose  to  propose  an  amendment,  which,  not 
being  at  the  moment  in  order,  was  not  presented. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON  expressed  himself  favorable  to  the  adoption 
of  the  substitute  amendment  of  Mr.  Adams;  but  proposed,  if  that 
substitute  should  be  voted  down,  to  amend  the  first  section  as  follows: 

Strike  out  all  after  the  word  "next,"  in  the  eleventh  line,  to  the 
word  "be,"  in  the  fourteenth  line,  and  insert  the  following: 

And  actually  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  by  the  States  which  have 
borrowed  and  used  said  fund. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  satisfied  [he  said]  that  a  large  majority  of  the 
House  was  opposed  to  taking  this  sum  out  of  the  Treasury,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  such  an  Institution  as  was  contemplated  by 
this  bill.  It  was  true  that  the  money  had  been  received  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States;  but  if  the  Government  had  been  acting 
in  good  faith,  and  had  vested  these  funds  in  bonds  of  the  States,  and 
these  States  had  repudiated  or  refused  to  pay,  was  there  a  man  here, 
who  at  this  time  would  be  willing  to  take  this  amount  out  of  the 
pockets  of  his  constituents  for  the  erection  of  an  Institution  of  this 
kind?  Was  this  Government  bound  to  levy  a  tax  upon  the  people  for 
such  a  purpose  ?  If  it  had  been  acting  fairly  as  a  trustee,  if  it  had 
acted  in  good  faith,  and  if  this  fund  had  been  lost  and  destroyed,  and 
not  intentionally  perverted  or  misapplied,  it  was  no  more  responsible 
than  any  other  trustee  under  such  circumstances  would  be. 

Some  conversation  took  place  between  Mr.  Johnson  and  Mr.  Sims 
of  South  Carolina  as  to  the  legal  liability  of  trustees  in  certain  cases. 

Mr.  Johnson  insisted  that  there  was  neither  authority  for,  nor  jus- 
tice in,  taking  this  sum  of  money  from  the  pockets  of  the  people  for 
the  establishment  of  this  Institution,  and  he  contended  that  no  sub- 
stantial good  could  result  to  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  that  an  annual 
appropriation  would  be  necessary  from  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States  to  keep  it  in  operation. 

Mr.  GEORGE  RATHBUN  said  he  knew  very  little  about  this  subject. 
He  had  taken  very  little  pains  to  examine  the  bill  before  the  commit- 
tee. He  had  read  no  reports  from  previous  committees.  He  had  heard 
what  had  been  said  in  relation  to  the  project  generally.  And  there 
were  a  few  things  connected  with  facts  known  to  everybody  which 
would  control  his  vote. 

We  had  received  a  fund  of  half  a  million  of  dollars  and  upward,  and 

had  pledged  the  faith  of  the  Government  to  execute  the  trust  in  the 

manner  directed  by  the  will  of  the  testator — a  solemn  pledge  in  which 

every  department  of  the  Government  had  united.      The  fund  was 

H.  Doc.  732 26 


402  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

received  for  a  particular  and  specified  purpose — a  purpose  noble  in  its 
object  and  desirable  to  all  men  who  had  any  regard  for  the  welfare  of 
the  human  family.  We  had  received  this  money,  he  repeated,  to  be 
applied  to  a  specific  purpose.  Had  it  been  so  applied  ?  We  were  told 
that  we  were  not  in  possession  of  the  money;  that  it  had  been  loaned 
out  improperly  and  improvidently  to  States  that  refused  to  pay.  Were 
we  authorized  to  loan  it  to  States,  whether  they  would  pav  or  not? 
Was  it  given  to  us  to  be  loaned  out  to  anyone?  Was  it  not  expressly 
designed  by  the  person  who  gave  it  to  the  Government  that  it  should 
be  applied  to  a  particular  purpose,  and  none  other?  And  was  it  not 
received  on  the  condition  that  it  should  be  so  applied? 

After  yielding  for  an  inquiry  to  Mr.  A.  Johnson,  Mr.  RATIIBUN  pro- 
ceeded. This  Government  had  misapplied  a  fund  given  for  a  specific 
purpose;  and  when  it  was  called  upon,  through  a  respectable  commit- 
tee, to  appropriate  the  money  to  the  object  for  which  it  was  received, 
it  was  no  answer  to  say,  "We  have  loaned  it  out  to  the  States,  and 
they  can  not  pay  us."  It  would  not  answer  for  an  individual  to  say 
so — still  less  for  a  nation  like  ours.  We  were  bound  to-day,  and  we 
had  been  bound  every  day  when  Congress  was  in  session  for  eight 
years  past,  to  appropriate  the  money  honestly,  without  undertaking 
to  avoid  the  just  responsibility  by  an  excuse  which  was  one  of  our  own 
creation.  Arkansas,  it  is  said,  would  not  pay,  and  some  other  States 
refused  to  pay  the  interest.  That  was  a  matter  between  this  Govern- 
ment and  the  State  of  Arkansas,  and  was  no  answer  to  the  solemn 
pledge  given  to  apply  this  money  to  a  specific  purpose. 

The  question  arose,  How  should  the  money  be  appropriated?  What 
was  the  mode  best  calculated  to  produce  the  most  beneficial  results? 
One  gentleman  wanted  a  library;  another,  an  observatory;  a  third, 
common  schools;  a  fourth,  farming  schools;  a  fifth,  some  other  par- 
ticular object;  and  among  the  number  was  that  proposed  by  the  bill 
under  consideration.  For  his  own  part,  he  did  not  feel  disposed  to 
object  to  any  plan  bearing  plausibility  on  its  face.  He  was  in  favor 
of  expending  the  money  in  some  way,  and  upon  some  scheme,  faith  - 
full3T  and  honestly;  but  above  all  he  was  in  favor  of  appropriating  and 
expending  the  money  whether  the  final  result  should  be  good  or  not. 
He  wished  to  wipe  out  the  stain  which  rested  on  the  character  of  this 
Government  of  withholding  the  money  because  we  were  not  able  to 
discover  the  best  mode  of  expending  it.  Let  us  take  one  step,  let  us 
do  something;  and  if  any  blunder  should  be  committed,  experience 
would  enable  us  to  correct  it.  In  his  judgment  a  library  was  the  least 
plausible  of  the  schemes  proposed.  The  plan  proposed  in  the  bill 
was,  in  his  opinion,  one  of  the  best  that  had  been  suggested. 

The  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  A.  Johnson]  had  asked  whether 
any  gentleman  here  would  take  the  money  from  the  pockets  of  the 
people  for  this  purpose.  He  (Mr.  llathhun),  for  one,  answered,  "Yes." 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  403 

Let  us  take  this  money  which  the  Government  had  taken  and,  if  gen- 
tlemen pleased,  had  squandered;  let  us  honestly  appropriate  it  and 
expend  it  as  was  designed. 

He  represented  a  constituency  who  would  be  among  the  last  in  the 
world  to  withhold  a  fair  and  honest  expenditure  of  the  public  money 
because  the  Government  representing  the  people  had  misapplied  it. 
He  had  no  fear  of  a  constituency  worthy  to  be  represented  here  for 
doing  what  was  honest  on  behalf  of  the  Government  and  reputable  on 
behalf  of  themselves.  We  had  had  the  gold,  as  we  had  been  informed. 
It  had  been  placed  in  the  public  Treasury.  It  had  not  been  wasted  by 
accident.  It  had  been  applied  under  the  deliberate  action  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. The  Government  held  the  bonds.  It  might  at  some  future 
day  receive  the  money  for  them,  but  he  did  not  believe  in  the  pro- 
priety of  waiting  until  by  "moral  suasion,"  or  any  other  kind  of  per- 
suasion, the  money  was  to  be  recovered  from  that  improvident  loan. 
He  was  ready  to  vote  for  the  bill,  in  which,  so  far  as  he  understood 
it,  he  could  discover  no  objectionable  features.  It  had  been  digested 
and  arranged  by  a  committee  as  competent  in  point  of  learning,  judg- 
ment, and  capacity  as  could  be  found  in  this  or  any  other  county. 
Some  confidence  must  be  placed  in  their  recommendations,  otherwise 
no  action  ever  could  be  had  on  the  subject.  If  the  plan  had  defects, 
time  would  develop  them,  and  the  proper  remedy  could  be  applied. 

Mr.  O.  B.  FICKLIN  opposed  the  bill.  He  thought,  however,  that 
the  good  faith  of  the  Government  required  that  this  money  should  be 
considered  as  being  in  the  Treasury,  and  that  we  could  not  excuse 
ourselves  by  saying  that  the  fund  had  been  loaned  out  to  the  States 
and  could  not  now  be  realized. 

The  objections  which  he  entertained  to  the  bill  applied  to  all  its  sec- 
tions; but  to  the  first  his  objection  was  radical.  He  alluded  to  the 
connection  to  be  established  between  this  Institution  and  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States.  A  million  of  dollars  would  be  required  to  meet 
the  deficiency  in  this  Smithsonian  bequest. 

He  was  willing  to  expend  the  money  for  a  library,  or  in  carrying 
out  the  propositions  of  a  substitute  bill  which  he  had  prepared — in 
building  a  house  and  providing  a  library,  and  for  scientific  apparatus. 
He  was  in  favor  of  any  sj^stem  or  plan  by  which  the  fund  could  be 
disconnected  from  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  OWEN  desired  to  inquire  whether  the  gentleman  proposed  to 
appropriate  the  principal  or  the  interest  only. 

Mr.  FICKLIN  said  he  was  willing  that  the  gentleman  and  others  who 
were  the  peculiar  friends  of  the  bill  should  take  their  own  course  in 
that  respect.  He  (Mr.  Ficklin)  was  willing  to  apply  the  whole  of  the 
principal  or  a  part  of  it  to  keep  up  whatever  institution  might  be 
adopted;  or  he  was  willing  that  the  sum  of  $500,000  should  be  loaned 
to  some  natural  or  artificial  person,  and  that  the  interest  alone  should 


404  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

be  applied.  He  was  indifferent  on  that  point.  The  great  object  he 
had  in  view  was,  he  repeated,  the  disconnection  of  the  fund  from  the 
public  Treasury.  He  was  for  any  bill  in  preference  to  this. 

Mr.  OWEN.  Does  the  gentleman  understand  that  one  dollar  except 
that  belonging  to  the  Smithsonian  fund  is  appropriated  by  this  bill, 
either  presently  or  prospectively  ? 

Mr.  FICKLIN.  The  first  section  of  the  bill  connects  the  fund  with  the 
Treasury — places  it  in  the  Treasury. 

Mr.  OWEN.  Not  places  it  there;  it  was  placed  there  eight  years  ago. 

Mr.  FICKLIN.  Exactly  so;  but  this  bill  recognizes  it  there  by  law. 
Then  the  interest  is  to  be  paid  upon  the  money  out  of  the  Treasury. 
This  is  sucking  the  lifeblood  from  the  Treasury.  We  do  not  want  to 
create  a  perpetual  debt  of  interest  upon  half  a  million  of  money  to  be 
paid  whilst  this  Government  endures.  We  want  no  such  polypus, 
no  such  wen,  fastened  upon  the  Government.  As  to  present  or  pro- 
spective appropriations,  I  say  that  the  machinery,  the  paraphernalia, 
connected  with  this  bill  can  not  be  carried  out  on  a  respectable  scale 
for  less  (Mr.  Ficklin  was  understood  to  say)  than  $1,000.000  a  year. 
It  is,  to  be  sure,  provided  that  the  money  shall  not  come  out  of  the 
Treasury  at  present;  but  do  we  not  know  that  subsequent  Congresses 
can  enlarge  the  appropriations  ?  Experience  should  teach  us  to  guard 
against  everything  of  this  kind. 

He  regarded  the  bill  as  one  of  the  most  odious  and  abominable  ever 
presented  here.  He  would  rather  see  this  half  million  returned  to  the 
British  court  of  chancery;  he  would  rather,  see  ten  millions  sunk  to 
the  bottom  of  the  Potomac,  or  melted,  or  destroyed,  than  see  this 
bill  pass. 

Mr.  ALLEN  G.  THURMAN  said  that  he  had  heard  it  stated  this  morn- 
ing that  the  investment  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  in  State  bonds  was  an 
act  unauthorized  by  law.  Not  having  time  to  investigate  the  laws  him- 
self, he  had  privately  inquired  of  a  number  of  members  whether  such 
was  the  fact,  but  they  were  unable  to  inform  him.  He  had  thereupon 
made  the  inquiry  of  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Adams], 
whose  acquaintance  with  the  subject  was  so  thorough.  The  inquiry 
was  important,  for  if  the  investment  was  an  unauthorized  act  it  would 
not  do  for  this  Government  to  shield  itself  behind  the  misconduct  of 
its  officers  and  say  that  the  money  is  not  in  the  Treasury.  But  if,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  Government  had  in  good  faith  invested  the  fund 
so  that  it  might  produce  interest  until  an  application  of  it  should  be 
made  pursuant  to  the  design  of  the  testators,  then  the  objection  of 
the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  that  the  money  is  not  in  the  Treas- 
ury is  entitled  to  great  weight.  For  as  a  general  rule  it  is  the  duty 
of  a  trustee  to  make  the  trust  fund  produce  interest;  and  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  probably  did  right  in  directing  this  fund  to 
be  invested  and  ought  not,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  be  held  bound  to 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  405 

reimburse  it  at  any  moment  on  a  failure  to  pay  by  those  to  whom  it 
had  been  loaned.  Whether  the  investments  made  were  judicious  or 
otherwise,  Mr.  Thurman  did  not  know.  He  had  not  inquired,  for  it 
was  not  his  purpose  to  cast  censure  anywhere. 

As  to  the  merits  of  the  bill  under  consideration,  he  would  do  noth- 
ing more  than  express  an  opinion  without  going  into  any  argument 
whatever.  He  could  not  vote  for  the  bill  unless  it  were  most  materially 
changed.  He  was  opposed  to  the  erection  of  an  immense  institution 
at  the  city  of  Washington  that  would  ultimately  become  a  charge 
upon  the  Treasury  and  would  necessarily  be  partial  in  its  operations 
and  benefits.  He  was  rather  inclined  to  believe  that  the  best  disposi- 
tion of  the  fund  that  could  be  made  would  be  to  invest  the  interest 
arising  from  it  in  a  library.  There  were  great  objections  to  this  plan, 
to  be  sure.  They  had  been  forcibly  stated  by  the  chairman  of  the 
select  committee  [Mr.  Owen].  But  there  was  one  great  recommenda- 
tion it  possessed  that  strongly  influenced  him.  That  was  that  though 
it  might  not  effect  the  greatest  amount  of  benefit  that  could  be  pro- 
duced by  the  fund,  it  was  not  liable  to  the  abuses  to  which  all  the 
other  plans  would  probably  give  rise.  It  would  create  no  large  body 
of  office  holders,  no  patronage,  no  favoritism,  no  partial,  sectional 


Mr.  OWEN  wished  to  say  a  few  words  in  reply  to  the  gentleman  from 
Massachusetts  [Mr.  Adams].  He  was  sorry  that  duty  devolved  upon 
him.  He  had  for  that  gentleman,  in  more  senses  than  one,  a  most 
wholesome  respect.  Not  only  did  he  respect  his  character  most  sin- 
cerely, his  acquirements,  his  long  experience,  his  information,  so 
accurate  on  every  subject,  but  in  addition  to  all  that  he  had  for  him, 
as  opposed  to  him  in  argument,  a  most  wholesome  respect.  If  any 
one  who  ever  debated  with  him  came  off  the  better  in  the  contest  it 
was  while  he  [Mr.  Owen]  was  out  of  the  House.  And  it  was  nothing 
but  a  sense  of  duty  which  induced  him  to  reply  to  the  gentleman. 

The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  had  labored  more  zealously  in 
this  good  cause  than,  perhaps,  any  other  individual.  He  read  from  a 
report  of  Mr.  Adams,  of  March,  1840,  in  regard  to  the  application  of 
these  moneys,  in  which,  among  other  things,  it  was  declared: 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  United  States  have  made  themselves  creditors  to  the 
States,  and  made  themselves  responsible  for  the  punctual  payment  of  the  interest  of 
these  bonds,  etc. 

That  (said  Mr.  Owen)  was  the  opinion  of  the  gentleman  from  Massa- 
chusetts in  1840.  It  was  Mr.  Owen's  opinion  to-day.  He  believed  it 
is  the  United  States  that  are  the  creditors  of  the  State  of  Arkansas 
and  the  other  States,  and  that  their  faith  is  plighted  for  the  due 
administration  of  this  fund.  And  this  included  the  question  of  time. 
Delay  was  equivalent  to  denial.  To  say  you  will  administer  a 
fifty  years  hence  is  to  say  you  will  not  administer  it  at  all. 


400  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

But  not  only  in  1840,  but  a  much  later  date,  when  everybody  knew 
that  Arkansas  had  failed  for  three  years  to  pay  her  interest,. did  the 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts  bring  in  a  bill — in  June,  1844 — (from 
which  Mr.  Owen  read)  which  went  further  than  the  bill  now  before 
the  committee,  absolutely  declaring  that  $800,000  was  now  in  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States,  the  interest  of  which,  being  about 
$33,000,  more  than  this  bill  applied,  was  to  be  appropriated. 

He  alluded  to  the  objection  of  Mr.  Ficklin,  that  we  should  doubtless 
appropriate  hundreds  of  thousands  more  than  this  sum  if  we  now 
began;  and  said  in  the  unwillingness  of  members  to  appropriate  even 
the  interest  there  was  no  very  great  reason  to  imagine  that  they 
would  be  so  ready  to  appropriate  a  larger  sum,  not  included  in  this 
amount  at  all,  over  which  the  Institution  has  no  right  and  with  which 
no  connection. 

He  was  no  lawyer  and  would  not  argue  the  case  technically,  but  he 
would  say,  if  there  be  any  means  of  lowering  our  national  character 
over  the  whole  civilized  world  (and  with  so  small  a  gain  to  the  Gov- 
ernment) more  effectually  than  this,  he  did  not  know  what  it  was.  He 
held  in  regard  to  public  and  private  morals  there  is  no  difference. 
The  interest  that  had  accrued  on  this  sum  was  about  $242,000  (about 
one-half  of  which  had  been  paid),  or  about  one-hundreth  part  of  the 
annual  expenditures  and  receipts  of  the  Government;  and  in  addition 
to  this  we  had  $10,000  or  $12,000  surplus  in  the  Treasury.  And  still  we 
claimed  that  we  were  relieved  of  the  obligation  for  this  money  because 
we  had  invested  it  in  stocks,  the  interest  of  which  was  not  paid.  It 
was  like  a  man  with  an  annual  income  of  $2,000,  and  in  addition  having 
(say)  $1,000  deposited  in  bank,  who  had  loaned  to  a  way  ward  or  unfor- 
tunate son  $20  (one  hundredth  part  of  his  income),  which  he  had  received 
in  trust  for  a  friend;  and  who,  one-half  of  it  having  been  paid  when 
called  upon  for  the  return  of  that  trust,  should  refuse  it  on  the 
ground  that  one-half  of  the  sum  had  not  been  paid  by  his  son,  to  whom 
as  trustee  of  the  fund  he  had  loaned  it.  No  one  would  hesitate  to  say 
that  as  a  matter  of  common  justice  and  honesty  he  should  pay  this 
small  amount  even  if  the  son  never  paid  it  to  him.  And  what  we 
ought  to  do  as  individuals  we  ought  also  to  do  as  public  men. 

He  would  not  follow  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  through 
the  whole  course  of  his  remarks.  He  believed  the  gentleman  admitted 
that  the  Government  was  ultimately  responsible  for  the  application  of 
this  fund  according  to  the  intention  of  the  testator.  If  it  did  happen 
(which  was  not  probable,  for  he  did  not  doubt  her)  that  Arkansas  did 
not  at  some  future  period  pay  the  interest,  we  should  be  called  upon 
to  pay  it  from  the  Treasury,  according  to  the  gentleman  from  Massa- 
chusetts. Now,  he  wanted  to  know  what  was  the  difference  between 
taxing  our  constituents  (as  the  phrase  was)  then  and  now?  So  far  as 
the  burden  was  concerned,  it  was  nothing;  so  far  as  reputation  was 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  407 

concerned,  it  was  eveiything.  The  first  duty  of  a  trustee  was  to  carry 
into  effect  the  object  of  the  trust,  and  if  the  duty  was  neglected  were 
we  not  bound  to  provide  at  least  against  the  loss  of  the  fund? 

In  reference  to  the  advocacy  by  Mr.  Adams  of  the  application  of  the 
fund  to  a  library,  and  to  some  remarks  of  Mr.  Adams  [as  the  reporter 
understood]  that  it  was  more  in  accordance  with  his  fancy,  Mr.  Owen 
urged  that  fancy  should  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  question;  that  we 
were  bound  to  appropriate  this  fund  strictly  according  to  the  intentions 
of  the  testator,  whose  intentions  the  appropriation  of  the  principal 
portion  of  which  to  a  library,  he  argued,  could  not  meet,  inasmuch  as, 
though  a  library  might  tend  to  the  "diffusion,"  it  would  not  to  the 
"increase"  "of  knowledge  among  men;"  and  as,  if  a  library  had  been 
intended  by  Mr.  Smithson,  he  would  undoubtedly  have  expressed  it. 

He  was  not  specially  wedded  to  this  feature  of  normal  schools,  yet 
he  confessed  he  considered  it  the  most  important  one  in  the  bill.  And 
the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  wholly  misunderstood  him  if  he 
supposed  that  his  (Mr.  Owen's)  proposition  was  to  supersede  the  State 
normal  schools.  It  was  rather  a  supplement  to  them — an  institution 
which  would  carry  them  farther,  where  the  science  of  education  should 
be  improved.  And  for  this  they  had  high  authority.  He  referred  to 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  language  on  the  subject,  from  which,  though  not 
express  to  this  point,  he  considered  the  inference  fair  that  he  would 
be  in  favor  of  such  a  feature. 

As  to  the  disgrace  of  educating  our  children  with  foreign  aid,  there 
was  no  proposition  in  this  bill  to  educate  children,  but  the  teachers  of 
children.  And  as  to  the  disgrace,  it  might  be  said  with  equal  propri- 
ety that  it  was  disgraceful  to  receive  foreign  aid  for  the  founding  of  a 
library. 

One  special  portion  of  the  duties  of  this  normal  branch  would  be  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  States  generally  to  these  normal  schools,  and 
it  might,  and  he  hoped  would,  in  this  way  become  the  means  of  increas- 
ing these  schools. 

In  conclusion,  he  said  the  practical  effect  of  the  amendment  of  Mr. 
Adams  would  be  to  postpone  the  matter  indefinitely.  His  (Mr.  Owen's) 
opinion  coincided  much  more  nearly  with  the  opinion  heretofore 
expressed  (from  a  source  he  respected  so  highly)  on  at  least  four  dif- 
ferent occasions;  and  he  hoped  that  Congress  would  no  longer  delay 
to  appropriate  this  fund,  as  in  honor  and  justice  they  were  bound,  so 
as  to  carry  out  as  near  as  might  be  the  intentions  of  James  Smithson. 

Mr.  E.  H.  EWING  dissented  from  that  part  of  the  amendment  of 
Mr.  Adams,  which  went  to  make  a  legislative  promise  that  nothing 
should  be  done  until  the  arrears  of  interest  were  collected  from  the 
States  in  whose  bonds  the  funds  had  been  invested,  and  gave  notice  of 
a  motion  to  strike  it  out. 

He  was  not  able  to  say  that  this  Government  had  performed  in  a 


408  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

proper  manner  the  duties  of  trustee,  and  with  proper  precaution 
invested  these  funds.  Clearly,  if  this  investment  had  thus  been  made 
and  the  duties  of  trustee  faithfully  performed  the  Government  could 
not  be  held  to  assume  the  debt  and  carry  out  the  intentions  of  the 
testator. 

He  could  not  agree  with  Mr.  Sims  that  this  fund  could  ever  be 
replaced  in  the  chancenr  of  England.  This  Government  was  now  a 
trustee  in  regard  to  this  fund.  By  its  acceptance  of  it  it  had  obligated 
itself  to  make  a  disposal  of  it  according  to  the  intentions  of  the  testator 
and  was  incapable  of  divesting  itself  of  it. 

If  it  had  been  properly  invested,  as  a  trustee  should  invest  it,  the 
Government  was  not  bound  for  the  sake  of  keeping  up  its  name  to 
make  an  appropriation  of  the  money  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  for  the  support  of  this  charity  or  any  other.  The  question  was, 
whether  this  investment  had  been  made  in  good  faith — whether  at  the 
time  there  was  a  reasonable  probability  that  it  would  be  returned  or 
the  interest  on  it  paid  regularly. 

That  question  he  was  not  able  now  to  determine,  and  he  presumed 
this  was  the  case  with  other  members  of  the  House.  Hence,  in  the 
absence  from  the  Treasury  of  this  fund,  he  was  willing  to  postpone 
action  on  the  subject  for  the  present. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS  had,  he  said,  a  few  words  to  say.  In  regard  to 
the  purposes  of  this  bequest  and  the  obligation  and  duty  of  the  United 
States  to  carry  them  into  effect,  he  agreed  with  the  honorable  chair- 
man of  the  committee  who  reported  the  bill.  Both  had  the  same 
object  in  view.  In  regard  to  the  mode  of  reaching  the  object  he  did 
not  agree  with  the  gentleman.  He  regretted  this  difference  of  opinion, 
but  in  all  the  public  discussions  of  this  question  hardly  any  two  per- 
sons had  been  found  to  agree.  If  he  differed  from  the  honorable  chair- 
man, the  honorable  chairman  had  also  differed  from  all  who  had  pre- 
ceded him  in  the  investigation  of  this  subject.  This  bill  was  entirely 
different  from  any  that  had  been  reported  heretofore.  The  chairman 
had  done  him  the  honor  to  refer  to  his  (Mr.  Adams's)  former  views  on 
this  subject,  but  did  not  propose  to  carry  them  out.  It  was  important 
to  the  argument  to  consider  how  the  fund  was  expended.  He  admitted 
that  at  the  time  when  the  fund  was  invested  in  Arkansas  stocks  those 
stocks  were  at  par,  as  were  all  the  State  stocks.  The  banks  after- 
wards suspended,  and  not  only  the  Arkansas  stocks  but  all  the  State 
stocks  depreciated.  The  interest  on  these  bonds  was  not  paid,  and  it 
was  the  same  case  with  the  bonds  of  other  States.  He  entertained 
and  cherished  the  hope  that,  by  means  of  what  he  called  moral  sua- 
sion— by  considerations  of  justice  between  State  and  State,  and  man 
and  man— the  people  of  Arkansas,  having  this  subject  presented  to 
them  year  after  year  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  would,  for 
the  sake  of  their  own  honor  and  interests,  pay  the  debt.  He  had  that 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  409 

faith.  [Mr.  Adams  went  on  to  explain  the  provisions  of  his  substitute 
for  the  bill.]  He  proposed  that  no  appropriation  for  the  purposes  of 
this  institution  should  be  made  a  tax  on  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  Should  this  be  agreed  to  and  become  a  part  of  the  act,  he 
believed  that  it  would  be  more  effectual  in  persuading  the  people  of 
Arkansas  to  pay  this  money  than  would  be  the  thunder  of  the  line-of- 
battle  ships  with  which  we  have  been  lately  threatened  in  the  British 
Parliament.  No  application  of  force  was  proposed  by  him.  He 
would  speak  to  them  only  as  friends  to  friends.  He  would  say  to 
them,  we  would  not  tax  our  own  people  to  pay  the  sum  for  which  you 
are  indebted — which  you  ought  to  pay — and  which  you  can  pay  almost 
without  feeling  it. 

Mr.  ARCH.  YELL  said,  with  the  leave  of  the  honorable  gentleman,  he 
would  make  some  explanations.  The  remarks  of  the  gentleman  left  it 
to  be  understood  that  the  interest  of  the  Arkansas  bonds  had  not  been 
paid,  and  that  the  State  was  not  disposed  to  pay  its  debts.  He  wished 
to  let  the  House  know  the  state  of  this  matter.  Half  a  million  of  State 
bonds  were  (in  1838)  sold,  and  the  proceeds  invested  in  the  Real  Estate 
Bank  of  Arkansas.  The  bonds  invested  were  to  be  paid  in  twenty-five 
years.  To  secure  them  was  pledged  the  bank  capital  of  a  million  and 
a  half,  and  real  estate  which  had  been  valued  at  three  millions.  In 
addition  to  this  the  State  took  the  bills  receivable  and  the  assets  of  the 
bank.  The  State  at  length  saw  its  error,  and  the  whole  country  had 
opened  its  eyes  to  the  evils  of  such  a  system.  The  State  acted  as  hon- 
estly as  the  nature  of  the  case  would  admit.  It  wound  up  the  bank 
and  determined  to  pay,  first,  the  outstanding  notes,  and,  second,  the 
special  deposits.  All  these  had  been  paid.  At  the  expiration  of  the 
time  for  which  the  bonds  were  given  he  had  no  doubt  that  they  would 
be  paid;  and  if  the  assets  of  the  bank  were  insufficient  the  State  would 
pay  them. 

Mr.  YELL  also  showed,  from  an  official  document,  that  about  $90, 000 
had  been  paid  toward  the  interest  on  these  Arkansas  bonds.  He  went 
on  to  show  that  the  State  of  Arkansas  had  been  greatly  misused  by 
the  General  Government.  The  distribution  act  passed  in  1841.  He, 
as  the  executive  of  Arkansas,  recommended  to  the  legislature  not  to 
accept  the  share  of  that  State.  That  body,  though  one-third  of  them 
were  good  AVhigs,  unanimously  refused  to  accept  it.  But  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  credited  the  sum  not  to  Arkansas,  but  to  the 
bank.  The  bank  received  it,  and  there  it  remained.  When  Arkansas 
came  into  the  Union,  5  per  cent  of  the  proceeds  of  lands  sold  in  her 
limits  were  given  to  the  State.  Till  1842  the  sum  was  promptly  paid. 
After  that  time  the  Government  retained  the  amount.  He  argued 
that  they  had  no  more  right  to  take  it  than  they  had  to  take  the  lands  set 
apart  for  the  support  of  schools.  When  the  Government  was  disposed 
to  do  justice  to  Arkansas,  the  people  of  that  State  would  be  better 


410  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

enabled  to  meet  their  obligations.  The  assets  of  the  bank  were  equal 
to  the  payment  of  all  the  debts. 

He  would  not,  however,  pledge  his  State  to  pay  for  the  default  of 
the  bank.  When  the  bonds  had  become  due,  and  the  bank  was  found 
unable  to  pay  them,  then  the  State  might  be  called  upon. 

Mr.  ADAMS  said  the  United  States  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
bank.  The  State  of  Arkansas  gave  bonds  for  the  money,  and  they 
were  in  the  Treasury  now.  The  money  was  paid  to  an  agent,  and  the 
United  States  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  investment  of  the  money. 

Mr.  YELL  said  the  State  of  Arkansas  made  a  bank.  They  issued 
bonds  and  invested  them  in  the  Real  Estate  Bank. 

Mr.  ADAMS.  Sir,  I  had  heard  before  that  the  State  of  Arkansas 
never  received  any  benefit  from  this  money.  But  it  was  paid  to  their 
authorized  agents.  It  was  received  in  the  name  of  the  State  and  not 
of  the  bank.  As  to  the  argument  that  the  money  was  invested  in  the 
bank,  and  the  bank  was  broken,  he  would  leave  that  to  such  operation 
as  it  might  have  upon  this  committee,  and  let  it  go  for  what  it  was 
worth.  He  would  say  nothing  to  the  disparagement  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas  or  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  on  account  of 
this  contract.  But  if  the  $500,000  in  British  sovereigns  was  sent  by 
an  agent  to  the  sovereign  State  of  Arkansas,  it  was  a  matter  of  no 
concern  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  whether  the  money 
was  filched  on  the  way. 

Mr.  YELL  here  asked  if  the  gentleman  intimated  that  the  money  was 
misapplied  by  any  agent  or  agents  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 

Mr.  ADAMS  had  not  said  a  word  (he  said)  intimating  any  such  thing. 
He  had  stated  the  fact.  He  repeated  that  the  United  States  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  concerns  of  the  bank,  which  the  gentleman  had  said 
was  broken,  and  upon  which  fact  the  gentleman  had  argued  that  the 
State  was  not  bound  to  pay  the  money. 

Mr.  ADAMS  was  very  sorry  (he  said)  that  this  question  had  been 
brought  on.  He  had  made  no  reflection  on  the  State  of  Arkansas,  or 
on  the  bank,  or  on  the  agent.  He  still  expressed  the-  hope  that  the 
State  of  Arkansas,  after  an  appeal  to  her  sense  of  justice  and  honor, 
would  pay  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  debt  as  it  became  due. 

As  to  the  State  of  Michigan,  that  portion  of  the  substitute  which 
applied  to  it  he  should  strike  out.  The  State  had  made  a  provision  for 
the  payment  of  the  money  due  by  her. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON  wished  to  ask  one  or  two  questions  on  this 
subject  of  the  honorable  chairman  who  reported  the  bill. 

Was  the  money  appropriated  by  the  bill  actually  in  the  Treasury  I 

Mr.  OWEN  said  it  would  take  a  lawyer  to  answer  such  a  question. 
Half  of  the  interest  had  been  paid  and  half  not. 

Mr.  A.  JOHNSON.  Then  I  understand  that  more  than  $200,000  for 
the  buildings,  etc.,  are  to  be  paid,  not  out  of  the  funds  of  the  Institu- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,    184,5-1847.  411 

tion,  but  out  of  the  Treasury.  He  wished  this  to  be  understood  by  the 
people. 

Mr.  OWEN  said  the  gentleman  might  so  consider  it,  but  he  did  not 
wish  him  to  construe  what  he  had  said  into  an  admission  that  he  [Mr. 
Johnson]  was  correct. 

Mr.  A.  JOHNSON  said  he  would  now  propose  a  question  to  the  learned 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary.  The  first  section  of  the 
bill  proposed  to  lend  money  to  the  Treasury.  Suppose  we  had  loaned 
the  fund  to  the  United  States  Bank  when  it  was  in  existence,  and  the 
bank  had  failed,  would  the  Government  be  bound  to  make  good  the 
fund? 

Mr.  GEORGE  RATHBUN  had  no  objection  to  answer,  as  he  said;  and 
as  a  lawyer  he  would  say  that  a  trustee  investing  money  in  execution 
of  a  trust,  and  in  good  faith,  would  not  be  bound  to  return  it  if  it 
should  be  lost.  But  a  Government  professing  to  be  the  first  in  the 
world  ought  not,  in  his  opinion,  to  avail  itself  of  a  legal  and  technical 
excuse,  but  should  proceed  to  see  the  trust  faithfully  executed. 

Mr.  A.  JOHNSON  contended  that  the  same  moral  reasons  applied  in 
both  cases.  The  bill  itself,  he  proceeded  to  show,  did  not  hold  the 
Government  to  be  responsible  if  it  acted  in  good  faith,  for  it  provided 
that  all  the  investments  on  account  of  the  fund  be  pledged  to  refund 
the  money  to  the  Treasury.  This  proved  that  the  bill  did  not  appro- 
priate money  in  the  Treasury,  and  it  was  not  bound  for  the  money. 

There  was  something  a  little  farcical  and  amusing  in  this  system  of 
normal  instruction  which  was  to  provide  the  country  with  school- 
teachers. He  would  like  to  see  a  young  man  educated  at  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  and  brought  up  in  all  the  extravagance,  folly,  aris- 
tocracy, and  corruption  of  Washington  go  out  into  the  country  to 
teach  the  little  boys  and  girls  to  read  and  write!  Those  young  men 
so  educated  would  steal  or  play  the  little  pettifogger  sooner  than 
become  teachers.  Ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  of  those  who  received 
the  benefit  of  this  Institution  would  hang  about  a  law  office — get  a 
license — become  a  pack  of  drones  instead  of  schoolmasters.  Washing- 
ton City  was  not  a  place  for  such  an  institution.  He  believed  that  it 
would  result  in  an  injury  to  the  country  instead  of  a  benefit. 

Mr.  OWEN  asked  if  the  gentleman  was  aware  that  the  will  of  Mr. 
Smithson  designated  Washington  City  as  the  place  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Institution. 

Mr.  A.  JOHNSON  objected,  he  said,  to  the  entire  scheme. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS  asked  whether  the  gentleman  would  send  the 
money  back  to  the  court  of  chancery. 

Mr.  A.  JOHNSON  replied  that  he  objected  to  the  whole  principle  of 
the  measure,  and  that  he  would  send  the  money  back  to  the  source 
from  whence  it  came. 

Mr.  DAVIS  followed  with  some  remarks  in  support  of  the  measure. 


412  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  Government  was  bound,  after  solemnly  accepting  the  trust,  to 
execute  it  faithfully. 

Mr.  JOHN  BELL  spoke  on  the  same  side  of  the  question.  It  was  eight 
years  since  the  United  States  (he  said)  had  accepted  this  trust,  which 
was  one  of  a  delicate  and  important  character.  The  question  was  in 
what  manner  the  trust  should  be  discharged.  He  held  that  the  United 
States  was  responsible  for  the  fund  and  ought  to  appropriate  it  for 
its  object.  He  hoped  that  Arkansas  would  one  day  pay  the  mone^, 
but  he  feared  it  would  be  a  distant  day.  It  was  necessary  to  act  now. 
He  did  not  wholly  approve  of  the  bill  reported,  but  he  would  take  it 
rather  than  do  nothing. 

Mr.  W.  J.  HOUGH  sent  to  the  Chair  a  substitute  for  the  bill,  which 
he  gave  notice  he  would  offer,  and  it  was  read. 

The  committee  then  rose  and  reported  progress. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  GEORGE  W.  HOPKINS  (and  under  the  operation 
of  the  previous  question),  a  resolution  was  adopted  providing  that  all 
debate  on  this  bill  (in  committee)  should  cease  in  one  hour  after  it 
should  again  have  been  taken  up. 
April  29,  1846— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  JAMES  J.  McKAY,  the  House  resolved  itself  into 
Committee  of  the  Whole  (Mr.  A.BURT,  of  South  Carolina,  in  the  chair), 
and  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  bill  to  provide  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men. 

The  amendment  given  notice  by  Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON  on  the  pre- 
vious evening  was  read  at  the  request  of  several  members. 

Some  conversation  ensued  between  Mr.  Owen  and  others. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN  briefly  addressed  the  committee.  He 
regarded  this  fund  as  one  which  had  been  received  by  the  Government 
to  carry  out  the  intentions  of  Mr.  Smithson,  to  which,  by  their  accept- 
ance, they  had  solemnly  bound  themselves. 

He  alluded  to  the  difficulty — nay,  the  impossibility — of  any  select 
committee  agreeing  upon  a  plan  which  in  all  its  details  should  be  in 
accordance  with  the  views  of  all.  Notwithstanding  this,  he  trusted  we 
should  not  let  this  opportunity  go  by  to  make  a  commencement  in  this 
matter.  He  had  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  full  and  unqualified 
power  of  this  Government  to  take  charge  of  this  money  and  give  it 
the  direction  required  by  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson. 

While  there  were  features  in  the  bill  with  which  he  was  not  entirely 
pleased,  he  should  vote  for  the  bill  in  case  it  was  not  amended.  But 
there  were  some  amendments  to  the  bill  of  the  gentleman  from  Indiana 
[Mr.  Owen]  to  which  he  would  fain  hope  that  gentleman  himself  would 
lend  a  favorable  ear.  One  related  to  the  appropriation  of  a  part  of  it 
to  the  science  of  agriculture.  He  referred  to  the  general  and  deplora- 
ble want  of  information  of  the  components  of  the  soil,  the  proper 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGEESS,   1845-1847.  413 

mode  of  treating  it,  the  proper  adaptation  of  crops  to  different  soils, 
etc. ,  and  said  he  wished  to  see  connected  with  this  institution  a  depart- 
ment of  agricultural  chemistry  and  a  professor  of  agriculture  proper. 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN  (Mr.  Hamlin  yielding)  explained  that  there  was  an 
express  provision  of  the  bill  to  appoint  professors  of  agriculture,  and 
there  was  also  another  by  which  such  professors  of  more  useful  arts 
and  sciences  were  to  be  appointed,  which  would  undoubtedly  include 
a  professor  of  chemistry,  part  of  whose  duties  it  would  be  to  lecture 
on  the  application  of  chemistry  to  agriculture. 

Mr.  HAMLIN  was  aware  of  this;  but  it  should  be  more  specifically 
provided  for. 

He  noticed  one  or  two  features  of  the  bill,  and  suggested  one  or  two 
modifications  he  would  like  to  see  made;  but,  if  it  could  not  be  amended, 
he  urged  its  passage  without  further  delay  as  a  matter  of  good  faith, 
common  honesty,  and  one  promising  important  benefits  to  the  people 
and  the  nation.  He  considered  the  money  in  the  Treasury,  and  the 
United  States  responsible  for  the  investment  of  the  fund  according  to 
the  intentions  of  the  testator. 

Mr.  BRAD.  R.  WOOD  desired  to  say  a  very  few  words  upon  the  bill. 
Much  had  been  said  about  national  honor  during  this  session  on  this 
floor,  but  if  there  ever  was  a  point  in  which  the  national  honor  was 
concerned  it  was  in  carrying  out  the  intentions  of  the  testator  in  his 
bequest.  For  my  own  part,  I  consider  it  an  honor  to  my  country  that 
the  subject  of  a  monarchical  government  should  have  selected  this  as 
the  instrument  of  his  expansive  benevolence.  The  bill,  however, 
before  us  was,  in  his  opinion,  defective  in  some  of  its  provisions.  I 
refer  particularly  to  that  section  which  contemplates  a  normal  school. 
When  this  subject  was  first  mooted  this  part  of  the  bill  struck  him 
favorably,  but  upon  more  mature  reflection  he  had  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  this  clause  was  objectionable.  Normal  instruction  could 
only  be  done,  and  well  done,  in  the  respective  States,  among  several 
of  which  it  had  already  been  commenced,  and  besides,  sir,  I  should 
deprecate  that  kind  of  education  that  should  flow  down  from  this  place 
among  the  people.  He  responded  with  all  his  heart  to  the  remarks 
made  by  the  honorable  gentleman  from  Maine  [Mr.  Hamlin],  in  rela- 
tion to  agricultural  instruction.  He  would  do  all  he  could  to  increase 
and  diffuse  useful  knowledge  among  the  masses,  but  this  could  not 
and  would  not  be  attained  by  such  education  as  would  be  obtained 
here,  or  by  collecting  at  this  point  a  splendid  library.  The  latter 
might,  and  unquestionably  would,  benefit  those  already  learned,  but 
not  the  people.  With  the  view  of  attaining  that  object,  he  should 
offer  an  amendment,  which  he  would  ask  the  clerk  to  read.  [The 
clerk  here  read  the  amendment,  which  will  be  found,  as  offered,  at  a 
subsequent  stage  of  the  proceedings.]  He  had  hastily  glanced  at  a  sub- 
stitute offered  by  his  colleague  [Mr.  Hough],  just  laid  on  his  table,  and 


414  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

which  he  thought  was  less  objectionable  than  the  original  bill.  Yet, 
sir,  I  feel  in  common  with  others,  what  is  due  to  the  honorable  gen- 
tleman from  Indiana  [Mr.  Owen],  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  for 
his  exertions  in  this  matter,  and  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  frame  a 
bill  to  meet  the  views  of  all;  but  difficult  as  it  might  be,  it  was  no 
reason  why  a  beginning  should  not  be  made  to  carry  out  the  intentions 
of  the  testator. 

Mr.  A.  D.  SIMS  offered  a  substitute  for  the  bill;  which  was  read. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  F.  GILES  submitted  an  amendment  providing  for  the 
publication  and  distribution  of  books  for  the  instruction  of  the  blind; 
which  was  read.  He  would  say  nothing  in  favor  of  the  amendment 
just  read,  for  it  would  be  a  libel  on  the  House  to  suppose  that  any 
argument  in  favor  of  it  would  be  required.  He  took  it  for  granted 
that  the  committee  would  now  act  on  this  subject,  and  he  could  not 
believe  that  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  [Mr. 
Adams]  would  receive  the  sanction  of  the  committee.  In  the  face  of 
the  world  we  had  assumed  this  trust.  We  had  taken  the  money  under 
the  will  of  this  distinguished  stranger,  but  we  had  delayed  for  a  long 
time  the  execution  of  the  trust.  He  hoped  the  faith  of  the  United 
States  would  not  be  allowed  to  suffer  any  injury  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world  by  longer  delay  of  action  on  the  subject.  There  were  some  por- 
tions of  the  bill  of  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  which  he  would  like  to 
see  altered.  While  he  had  no  constitutional  scruples  himself  as  to  the 
incorporation  of  the  institution,  yet  he  would  be  willing,  in  courtesy 
to  the  opinion  of  others,  to  strike  out  that  provision  from  the  bill,  for 
all  its  ends  could  be  accomplished  without  it.  He  urged  the  committee 
not  to  delay  action,  because  there  was  difficulty  in  each  step  before 
them.  Congress  had  power  to  alter  and  amend  the  act  and  it  was  now 
necessary  only  to  take  the  initiatory  step.  The  form  could  be  altered 
from  time  to  time  so  as  to  carry  out  the  intentions  of  the  testator. 
The  objections  urged  to  a  normal  school  were  not  well  founded.  It 
would  send  abroad  a  number  of  educated  men;  and  was  not  education 
the  richest  boon  that  could  be  conferred  on  the  country  next  to  the 
preservation  of  liberty.  Our  institutions  were  dependent  upon  intel- 
ligence and  reason;  and  no  matter  what  profession  the  young  men 
educated  at  this  school  should  adopt  they  would  add  to  the  stock  of 
knowledge  and  diffuse  it  among  men. 

Mr.  W.  W.  WICK  said  that  some  opinions  had  been  expressed  in  the 
course  of  the  debate  which  he  could  not  suffer  to  pass  uncontradicted. 
He  alluded  to  the  opinions  on  the  subject  of  the  doctrine  of  trust.  It 
was  alleged  that  all  which  the  Government  was  responsible  for  was  the 
stocks  in  which  the  fund  had  been  invested.  This  fund  was  intrusted 
to  our  charge,  and  it  wTas  important  that  the  honor  of  the  country 
should  be  sustained  by  its  faithful  execution.  He  totally  dissented,  a,s 
a  lawyer,  from  the  doctrines  which  had  been  advanced.  A  trustee  in 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  415 

ordinary  cases  was  not  bound,  if  he  was  authorized  to  use  his  discre- 
tion, as  to  the  mode  of  investing  the  fund  intrusted  to  him.  But  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  had  no  such  discretion  in  this  case. 
There  was  no  power  given  by  the  will  of  Smithson  to  invest  the  money 
in  any  special  mariner,  and  the  Government  invested  it  at  its  own 
hazard. 

If,  of  his  own  accord,  and  without  authority,  a  trustee  made  an 
investment,  he  was  responsible  for  it.  Thus  the  United  States  stood 
in  relation  to  this  matter,  and  to  this  extent  they  were  responsible,  if 
at  all.  If  his  wishes  had  been  consulted,  the  burden  of  this  trust  would 
never  have  been  accepted  by  the  Government.  But  we  did  accept  the 
trust,  and  the  national  faith  would  be  tarnished  should  it  not  be  exe- 
cuted. Had  he  been  here  at  the  time  he  would  have  voted  against  it. 
He  knew  that  the  Government  had  no  constitutional  power  to  establish 
a  college  of  itself.  The  power  was  not  granted  in  the  Constitution; 
but  it  might  be  admitted  that  the  Government  had  the  power  to  accept 
a  trust  for  the  purpose.  He  had  always  advocated  a  strict  construc- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  but  he  believed  that  the  Government  might 
accept  the  trust.  We  had  accepted  the  trust,  and  it  was  our  duty  to 
execute  it. 

Mr.  A.  D.  SIMS  made  some  remarks  on  the  constitutional  question. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES  asked  whether,  if  the  money  should  be  given  by 
will  for  the  establishment  of  a  national  bank,  the  Government  would  be 
bound  to  execute  the  trust  or  have  power  to  accept  it? 

Mr.  WICK  replied  that  he  would  vote  against  the  acceptance  of  such 
a  trust, 

Mr.  WASHINGTON  HUNT  entirely  concurred  with  the  gentleman  from 
Indiana  [Mr.  Wick]  in  his  view  of  this  subject.  It  appeared  to  him 
that  it  was  a  reproach  to  the  Government  to  delay  carrying  out  the 
purposes  of  this  trust. 

The  committee  proceeded  to  vote. 

The  first  question  was  on  the  following  amendment  of  Mr.  Andrew 
Johnson  to  the  first  section : 

Strike  out  all  after  the  word  "next,"  in  the  eleventh  line,  to  the  word  "be,"  in 
the  fourteenth  line,  and  insert  the  following:  "And  actually  paid  into  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States  by  the  States  which  have  borrowed  and  used  said  fund." 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN  inquired  of  the  mover  of  the  amendment  whether, 
if  this  amendment  was  carried,  it  would  apply  to  any  moneys  that 
have  been  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  as  interest  and 
have  been  reinvested  in  State  stocks? 

No  answer  being  returned. 

Mr.  OWEN  said  he  hoped  the  amendment  would  not  prevail. 

The  question  being  taken,  the  amendment  was  rejected  without  a 
division. 

The  second  section  being  under  consideration, 


416  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  J.  W.  TIBBATTS  moved  the  amendment  of  which  notice  had 
previously  been  given,  to  strike  out  the  words  providing  that  the  board 
of  managers  "shall  be,  and  hereby  are,  constituted  a  board  politic 
and  corporate,  by  the  style  and  title  of  the  '  Smithsonian  Institution,' 
with  perpetual  succession,  and  the  usual  powers,  duties,  and  liabilities 
incident  to  corporations. " 

The  question  was  taken  by  tellers,  and  decided  in  the  affirmative — 
ayes  70,  noes  4A. 

So  these  words  were  stricken  out. 

Mr.  OWEN  moved  to  insert  after  the  word  "managers"  (in  lieu  of 
the  words  stricken  out)  the  words  "and  the  said  Institution  shall  be 
known  by  the  style  and  title  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution." 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

The  fourth  section  being  under  consideration, 

Mr.  OWEN  moved  an  amendment  (which  he  stated  to  be  necessary  in 
consequence  of  the  previous  amendment  striking  out  the  clause  con- 
stituting a  corporation)  to  insert  at  the  forty -fourth  line  the  words: 

And  all  questions  which  may  arise  between  the  United  States  and  any  person 
claiming  under  and  by  virtue  of  any  such  contract  shall  be  heard  and  determined  by 
said  board  of  managers. 

The  question  being  taken,  the  amendment  was  agreed  to. 
Mr.  OWEN  also  moved  to  insert  at  the  tenth  line  the  words: 

And  all  prosecutions  for  trespass  on  said  property,  and  all  civil  suits  in  behalf  of 
said  Institution,  shall  be  prosecuted  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  in  any  court 
having  competent  jurisdiction  of  the  same. 

Agreed  to — ayes  61,  noes  not  counted. 

The  fifth  section  being  under  consideration,  Mr.  J.  R.  INGERSOLL 
moved  an  amendment  to  insert  at  the  twenty -first  line  these  words: 

Which  collection  shall  be  denominated  the  National  Museum.  And  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  the  National  Institute  to  deposit  its  collections  in  said  museum  [in  consid- 
eration whereof  said  institute  shall  have  the  right  to  appoint  a  curator  to  said  museum, 
with  such  compensation  as  the  managers  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  assign], 
and  the  said  National  Institute  shall  have  a  right  to  hold  its  meetings  in  the  buildings 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  any  room  which  shall  be  assigned  for  such  purpose 
by  the  managers  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  TIBBATTS  moved  an  amendment  to  the  amendment,  to  strike  out 
the  words  in  brackets. 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

The  question  recurring  on  the  original  amendment  of  Mr.  J.  R. 
INGERSOLL,  was  decided  in  the  affirmative — ayes  67,  noes  50. 

So  the  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  RICHARD  BRODHEAD  moved  an  amendment  to  the  fifth  section 
(which  provides  for  suitable  arrangements  for  the  reception  of  all 
objects  of  art,  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research,  of  natural  history, 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGEESS,   1845-1847.  417 

of  plants,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  United  States,  "which  may  be  in  the 
city  of  Washington"),  to  insert,  after  the  word  "  Washington,"  the 
words  "or  elsewhere." 

The  amendment  was  rejected. 

The  seventh  section  being  under  consideration,  Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAM- 
LIN  moved  to  insert,  after  the  word  "arts,"  in  the  provision  for  the 
appointment  of  professor  of  common-school  instruction,  with  such 
others  "chiefly  of  the  more  useful  sciences  and  arts,"  the  w.ords 
"especially  chemistry  as  applied  to  agriculture."  Rejected. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  ADAMS  moved  to  strike  out  the  following: 

SEC.  7.  And  whereas  the  most  effectual  mode  of  promoting  the  general  diffusion 
of  knowledge  is  by  judiciously  conducted  common  schools,  to  the  establishment  of 
which  throughout  the  Union  much  aid  will  be  afforded  by  improving  and  perfecting 
the  common-school  system  of  the  country,  and  by  elevating  the  standard  of  qualifi- 
cation for  common-school  teachers;  and  whereas  knowledge  may  be  essentially  in- 
creased among  men  by  instituting  scientific  researches,  and,  generally,  by  spreading 
among  the  people  a  taste  for  science  and  the  arts: 

Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  board  of  managers  shall  establish  a  normal  branch 
of  the  Institution,  by  appointing  some  suitable  person  as  professor  of  common-school 
instruction,  with  such  other  professors,  chiefly  of  the  more  useful  sciences  and  arts, 
as  may  be  necessary  for  such  a  thorough  scientific  and  liberal  course  of  instruction 
as  may  be  adapted  to  qualify  young  persons  as  teachers  of  common  schools,  and  to 
give  to  others  a  knowledge  of  an  improved  common-school  system;  and  also,  when 
desired,  to  qualify  students  as  teachers  or  professors  of  the  more  important  branches 
of  natural  science.  And  the  board  of  managers  may  authorize  the  professors  of  the 
Institution  to  grant  to  such  of  its  students  as  may  desire  it,  after  suitable  examina- 
tion, certificates  of  qualification  as  common-school  teachers,  and  also  as  teachers  or 
professors  in  the  various  branches  of  science;  they  may  also  employ  able  men  to 
lecture  upon  useful  subjects,  and  shall  fix  the  compensation  of  such  lecturers  and 


The  question  was  taken  by  tellers,  and  decided  in  the  affirmative — 
ayes  72,  noes  42.  \ 

So  the  words  were  stricken  out. 
[The  section,  as  amended,  read  as  follows: 

Be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  shall  not  be  established  in  connection  with  the 
institution,  any  school  of  law,  or  medicine,  or  divinity,  nor  any  professorship  of 
ancient  languages.  And  the  said  managers  shall  make,  from  the  interest  of  said  fund, 
an  appropriation,  not  exceeding  an  average  of  ten  thousand  dollars  annually,  for  the 
gradual  formation  of  a  library,  composed  of  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  depart- 
ments of  human  knowledge.] 

Section  8  being  under  consideration,  Mr.  OWEN  moved  an  amend- 
ment to  add  at  its  close  an  amendment,  which,  after  various  modifica- 
tions, assumed  the  following  form: 

And  the  said  board  of  managers  shall  appoint  such  professors  of  the  more  useful 
sciences  and  arts  as  may  be  necessary  for  a  thorough,  scientific,  and  liberal  course  of 
instruction;  they  may  also  employ  able  men  to  lecture  upon  useful  subjects,  and  shall 
fix  the  compensation  of  such  lecturers  and  professors:  Provided,  That  the  expendi- 
ture on  account  of  the  Institution  shall  at  no  time  exceed  the  interest  of  the  fund. 

H.  Doc.  732 27 


418  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  LINN  BOYD  and  Mr.  ADAMS,  respectively,  raised  the  point  of 
order  against  this  amendment,  on  the  ground  of  identity  with  the  words 
stricken  out  on  motion  of  Mr.  Adams. 

The  CHAIRMAN  overruled  the  point  of  order;  thus  deciding  the 
amendment  in  order. 

The  question  was  taken,  and,  after  some  delay  for  want  of  a  quorum, 
was  decided  in  the  negative — ayes  42,  noes  77. 

So  the  motion  was  rejected. 

Mr.  ADAMS  moved  to  strike  out  the  ninth  section,  in  the  words  fol- 
lowing (which  he  said  were  now  rendered  useless  by  the  amendments 
previously  made): 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  board  of  managers  shall  also  make 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  admission  of  students  into  the  various  departments  of 
the  Institution,  and  their  conduct  and  deportment  while  they  remain  therein:  Pro- 
vided, That  all  instruction  in  said  Institution  shall  be  gratuitous  to  those  students  who 
conform  to  such  rules  and  regulations. 

The  question  being  taken,  was  decided  in  the  affirmative. 
So  the  section  was  stricken  out. 

The  tenth  section  being  under  consideration,  Mr.  W.-  F.  GILES 
moved  an  amendment,  to  add  at  the  end  thereof  the  following: 

And  shall  cause  to  be  published,  from  time  to  time,  books  in  raised  characters  for 
the  education  of  the  blind,  to  be  distributed  by  the  said  board  of  managers  among 
the  different  State  institutions  for  the  education  of  the  blind. 

The  question  being  taken,  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

Mr.  B.  R.  WOOD  moved  an  amendment,  to  insert  in  the  fourth  line 
of  tenth  section  the  word  "  useful,"  and  strike  out  the  eleventh,  twelfth, 
and  thirteenth  lines. 

The  question  being  taken,  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

Mr.  ADAMS  moved  to  strike  out  the  tenth  section  (in  order  to  conform 
to  previous  amendments). 

The  question  being  taken,  was  decided  in  the  affirmative;  ayes,  68, 
noes,  57. 

So  the  section  was  stricken  out. 

Mr.  WOOD  moved  an  amendment,  to  add  as  a  new  section,  between 
the  tenth  and  eleventh  sections,  the  following: 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $20,000  of  the  interest  of  said  fund  be,  and 
is  hereby,  appropriated  annually  for  the  purchase  or  publication  of  a  library  for  the 
diffusion  of  useful  knowledge,  to  be  selected  or  published  under  the  direction  of  the 
said  board  of  managers,  which  shall  include  the  best  elementary  popular  works  upon 
the  history,  geography,  and  statistics  of  the  United  States;  upon  botany,  mineralogy, 
geology,  agriculture,  agricultural  chemistry,  mechanics,  and  physiology;  and  which 
said  library  shall  be  distributed  among  the  several  States  and  Territories  in  the  ratio 
of  their  representation,  and  be  forwarded  to  the  several  governors  of  said  States  and 
Territories  to  be  distributed  among  the  people  thereof  in  such  a  manner  as  their 
respective  legislatures  shall  determine  and  shall  most  tend  to  increase  and  diffuse 
knowledge. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  419 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS  moved  an  amendment,  to  add  at  the  close  of 
the  last  section  the  following  proviso: 

And  provided  further,  That  no 'appropriation  shall  be  made  for  the  advancement  of 
this  Institution  except  from  moneys  which  properly  belong  to  the  Smithsonian  fund. 

Agreed  to. 

Mr.  JOHN -A.  MCCLERNAND  gave  notice  of  a  substitute  which  he 
intended  to  offer  when  in  order  (which  was  read  for  information). 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES  moved  a  further  proviso  at  the  end  of  the  bill,  as 
follows: 

Prodded,  That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  connect  in  any  manner 
whatever  said  Smithsonian  Institution  with  any  other"  institution  or  society  what- 
ever. 

Rejected. 

The  bill  having  now  been  gone  through  with,  the  question  recurred 
on  the  amendment  of  Mr.  G.  W.  Jones,  to  strike  out  all  of  the  bill 
after  the  word  "be,"  in  the  sixth  line,  first  section,  and  insert: 

Paid  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  the  heirs  at  law  or  next  of  kin  or  resid- 
uary legatee  of  the  said  James  Smithson,  or  their  authorized  agents,  whenever  they 
shall  demand  the  same:  Provided,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall,  in  paying 
over  said  money  as  herein  directed,  deliver  to  said  heirs  all  State  bonds  or  other 
stocks  of  every  kind  which  have  been  purchased  with  said  money  or  any  part  thereof, 
in  lieu  of  so  much  of  said  money  as  shall  have  been  so  invested  in  State,  bonds  or 
other  stocks,  and  the  balance  of  said  sum  of  money,  if  any,  not  so  invested,  shall  be 
paid  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

Mr.  A.  D.  SIMS  moved  as  an  amendment  to  the  amendment  the 
proposition  of  which  he  had  given  notice  (as  a  substitute  for  the  bill) 
to  provide  for  the  return  of  the  money. 

The  CHAIRMAN  decided  the  amendment  out  of  order  at  this  time. 

Mr.  GEORGE  RATHBUN  moved  to  amend  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Jones 
by  striking  out  so  much  as  relates  to  the  restoring  to  the  heirs,  etc. , 
of  Mr.  Smithson  the  bonds  of  the  States  (so  that  the  money  and  not 
the  bonds  should  be  returned). 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

The  question  then  recurring  on  the  original  amendment  of  Mr. 
Jones  was  taken  by  tellers  and  decided  in  the  negative — ayes  8,  noes 
115. 

So  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

The  question  then  being  on  rising  and  reporting  the  bill  as  amended — 

Mr.  ADAMS,  in  compliance  with  previous  notice,  offered  the  fol- 
lowing substitute  for  the  bill: 

Strike  out  the  preamble,  and  all  except  the  enacting  clause,  and 
insert: 

That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  requested,  by  the  use  of  suitable  means 
of  moral  suasion,  and  no  others,  to  obtain  from  the  governments  of  the  States  of 
Arkansas  and  Illinois  payment  of  the  arrears  of  interest  due  from  the  said  States  to 
the  United  States,  and  the  interest  thereafter,  and  the  principal  as  it  shall  become 


420  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

due,  according  to  the  promises  on  the  face  of  the  bonds  given  by  the  said  States  for 
moneys  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson,  a  benevolent  Englishman,  to  the  United 
States  of  America  for  the  special  purpose  of  founding,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  an 
institution  for  the  increase  and .  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  which  bequest 
was,  by  an  act  of  Congress  approved  on  the  first  of  July,  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty^six,  accepted,  with  a  pledge  of  the  faith  of  the  United  States  that  it  should  be 
applied  to  the  purposes  prescribed  by  the  testator. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  when  payment  shall  have  been  obtained  from 
the  said  States  of  Arkansas  and  Illinois  of  the  arrears  of  interest  due  on  their  said 
bonds  Congress  shall  forthwith  proceed  to  appropriate  said  sums  of  interest  so  recov- 
ered, together  with  the  interest  hitherto  received,  or  hereafter  to  be  received  until 
the  time  of  making  such  appropriations,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  deem  suited 
to  redeem  the  pledge  of  the  faith  of  the  United  States  to  the  application  of  the  funds 
of  the  bequest  of  the  said  James  Smithson  to  the  specific  purpose  prescribed  by  the 
testator. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  until  the  arrears  of  interest  due  by  the  said 
States  of  Arkansas  and  Illinois  to  the  United  States  upon  their  said  respective  bonds 
shall  have  been  received  at  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  no  appropriation  shall 
be  made  by  Congress  chargeable  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States  for  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  purposes  prescribed  by  the  testator  James  Smithson  for  the  disposal  of 
his  bequest. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  within  the  first  thirty  days  of  each  and  every 
successive  session  of  Congress  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
to  report  to  Congress  the  then  actual  state  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  particularly 
the  amount  of  arrears  of  interest  due  upon  the  said  bonds  of  the  States  of  Arkansas 
and  Illinois,  together  with  copies  of  all  correspondence,  showing  the  result  of  the 
means  of  moral  suasion  used  during  the  preceding  year  to  obtain  payment  of  the 
said  arrears  of  interest;  and  the  said  annual  reports  shall  be  printed  for  the 
information  of  the  people. 

Mr.  GEORGE  W.  HOPKINS  moved  an  amendment  to  the  amendment, 
to  strike  out  in  its  first  section  the  words  "of  moral  suasion  and  no 
others."  Agreed  to. 

The  third  Section  of  the  said  substitute  amendment  being  under 
consideration, 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS  moved  an  amendment,  to  add  at  the  end  of 
the  section  the  following: 

Provided,  however,  That  if  the  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  shall  make  it 
appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  that  he  has 
used  suitable  means  to  obtain  from  the  Real  Estate  Bank  of  Arkansas  payment  of 
the  debt  due  by  said  bank  to  the  State  of  Arkansas,  but  without  success,  then,  and  in 
that  case,  and  until  the  arrears  due  by  the  said  Real  Estate  Bank  shall  have  been 
received  into  the  treasury  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  the  said  State  shall  be,  and  is 
hereby,  declared  to  be  absolved  from  the  promises  on  the  face  of  her  bonds  by 
which  the  said  State  heretofore  pledged  her  faith  for  the  due  payment  of  the 
principal  and  interest  of  said  bonds. 

The  question  being  taken,  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

Mr.  JOHN  WENTWORTH  moved  an  amendment,  to  add  at  the  end  of 
the  section  the  following: 

That  the  State  of  Illinois  shall  have  the  power  hereafter,  like  other  States,  to  tax 
all  lands  within  that  State  as  soon  as  sold,  providing  the  proceeds  of  said  tax  shall 
be  applied  to  paying  the  interest  due  the  Smithson  fund,  so  far  as  may  be  necessary, 
and  the  balance,  if  any,  to  paying  the  interest  upon  her  other  bonds. 


TWENTY -NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  421 

Mr.  GEORGE  W.  HOPKINS  raised  the  point  of  order  against  the 
amendment,  on  the  ground  of  irrelevancy. 

The  CHAIRMAN  sustained  the  point,  and  decided  the  amendment  out 
of  order. 

Mr.  E.  H.  EWING  moved  an  amendment  to  the  substitute,-  to  strike 
out  the  third  section.  Rejected. 

The  fourth  section,  on  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Hopkins,  was  so  mod- 
ified by  Mr.  Adams  as  to  conform  to  the  amendment  of  the  first,  by 
striking  out  the  words  "  moral  suasion." 

The  question  then  being  on  the  substitute  of  Mr.  Adams,  as 
amended,  was  taken  by  tellers,  and  decided  in  the  negative — ayes  57, 
noes  74. 

So  the  substitute  of  Mr.  Adams  was  rejected. 

The  question  again  recurring  on  the  original  bill  as  amended, 

Mr.  W.  J.  HOUGH  offered  the  amendment  of  which  he  had  given 
notice  as  a  substitute  for  the  entire  bill,  being  a  bill  consisting  of  four- 
teen sections. 

Mr.  G.  P.  MARSH  moved  several  amendments,  all  with  a  view,  as  he 
said,  to  direct  the  appropriation  entirely  to  the  purposes  of  a  library. 

The  first  one  was  to  section  7,  to  strike  out  the  words  "  and  such  lec- 
turers as  may  be  employed  by  said  board,"  and  the  words  "  and  lectur- 
ers, and  all  other  officers  of  the  Institution." 

The  question  being  taken,  was  decided  in  the  affirmative — ayes  72, 
noes  39. 

So  the  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  MARSH  next  moved  to  strike  out  section  8,  as  follows: 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  Board  of  Regents  shall  employ  so 
many  and  such  able  men  to  lecture  upon  useful  subjects  and  at  such  times  and  places 
as  they  may  deem  most  beneficial  for  the* ' '  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men; "  and  shall  also,  during  each  session  of  Congress,  cause  a  course  of  such  lectures 
to  be  delivered,  weekly  or  semiweekly,  publicly,  in  the  lecture  room  of  said  Institu- 
tion, and  shall  make  all  suitable  provisions  for  the  accommodation  of  all  members 
and  honorary  members  of  said  Institution,  and  of  both  Houses  of  Congress. 

Also,  an  amendment  to  the  ninth  section,  to  increase  the  annual  appro- 
priation for  the  library  from  $20,000  to  $25,000.  Agreed  to. 

Mr.  J.  W.  TIBBATTS  moved  to  strike  out  the  first  section. 

The  CHAIRMAN  decided  the  amendment  to  be  out  of  order,  that  por- 
tion of  the  substitute  bill  having  been  passed. 

Mr.  MARSH  moved  an  amendment  to  strike  out  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
sections  of  the  substitute,  in  the  words  following: 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  Board  of  Regents  shall  make  all 
needful  rules,  regulations,  and  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  Institution  and  the 
persons  employed  therein;  and  in  prescribing  the  duties  of  the  professors  and  lectur- 
ers they  shall  have  reference  to  the  introduction  and  illustration  of  subjects  connected 
with  the  application  of  science  to  the  productive  and  liberal  arts  of  life,  improvements 
in  agriculture,  in  manufactures,  in  trades,  and  in  domestic  economy;  and  they  shall 
also  have  special  reference  to  the  increase  and  extension  of  scientific  knowledge  gen- 


422  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

erally,  by  experiment  and  research.  And  the  said  Regents  shall  cause  to  be  printed, 
from  time  to  time,  any  lecture,  or  course  of  lectures*,  which  they  may  deem  useful. 
And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  lecturer,  while  in  the  service  of  the  Institution,  to 
submit  a  copy  of  any  lecture  or  lectures  delivered  by  him  to  the  Regents  if  required. 
SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  competent  for  the  board  of  man- 
agers to  cause  to  be  printed  and  published,  periodically  or  occasionally,  essays, 
pamphlets,  magazines,  or  other  brief  works  or  productions  for  the  dissemination  of 
information  among  the  people,  especially  works  in  popular. form  on  agriculture  and 
its  latest  improvements,  or  the  sciences  and  the  aid  they  bring  to  labor,  manuals 
explanatory  of  the  best  systems  of  common  school  instruction,  and,  generally,  tracts 
illustrative  of  objects  of  elementary  science,  and  treatises  on  history,  natural  and  civil, 
chemistry,  astronomy,  or  any  other  department  of  useful  knowledge;  and  may,  at 
their  discretion,  offer  and  pay  to  any  citizen  or  foreigner  such  sum  or  prize  as  they 
may  deem  discreet  for  the  best  written  production  of  any  such  prize  essay  or  work; 
and  shall,  whenever  required  by  resolution  of  either  House  of  Congress,  cause  to  be 
printed  and  delivered  to  such  House,  for  distribution  among  the  people  at  large,  as 
public  documents  of  Congress  are  distributed,  so  many  copies  of  such  lectures,  essays, 
pamphlets,  magazines,  tracts,  or  other  brief  works,  as  they  may  procure  to  be  written 
or  delivered,  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  as  shall  be  required  by  such  resolution, 
the  expenses  of  which  to  be  paid  out  of  the  funds  of  said  Institution. 

.  The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  A.  G.  THURMAN  moved  an  amendment,  to  .strike  out  the  twelfth 
section.  Rejected. 

Mr.  S.  A.  DOUGLASS  moved  an  amendment,  as  an  additional  section 
(the  thirteenth),  in  the  words  following: 

SEC.  13.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  author  or  proprietor  of  any  book,  map, 
chart,  musical  composition,  print,  cut,  or  engraving,  for  which  a  copyright  shall  be 
secured  under  the  existing  acts  of  Congress,  or  those  which  shall  hereafter  be  enacted, 
respecting  copyrights,  shall,  within  three  months  from  the  publication  of  said  book, 
map,  chart,  musical  composition,  print,  cut,  engraving,  deliver,  or  cause  to  be  deliv- 
ered, one  copy  of  the  same  to  the  librarian  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  one 
copy  to  the  librarian  of  the  Congress  Library,  for  the  use  of  said  libraries. 

The  question  being  taken,  the  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

The  question  now  being  on  adopting  the  substitute  of  Mr.  W.  J. 
Hough,  as  amended,  was  taken  by  tellers,  .and  decided  in  the  affirma- 
tive— ayes  83,  noes  40. 

So  the  substitute  was  adopted. 

The  committee  then  rose  and  reported  the  bill  and  amendments  to 
the  House. 

The  question  being  first  on  agreeing  to  the  substitute  amendment  of 
the  committee,  Mr.  LINN  BOYD  demanded  the  previous  question,  which 
was  seconded. 

The  main  question  was  ordered. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  asked  and  ordered,  and  being  taken, 
resulted — yeas  81,  nays  76 — as  follows: 

YEAS— Messrs.  John  Q.  Adams,  Arnold,  Atkinson,  Barringer,  Bell,  J.  A.  Black, 
Brockenbrough,  Milton  Brown,  William  G.  Brown,  Buftington,  William  W.  Camp- 
bell, John  H.  Campbell,  Carroll,  Chiprnan,  Clarke,  Cobb,  Cocke,  Collin,  Cranston, 
Crozier,  Cullom,  Garret  Davis,  Delano,  Dockery,  Douglass,  Dunlap,  John  H.  Ewing, 
Edwin  H.  Ewing,  Faran,  Ficklin,  Foot,  Giddings,  Grider,  Grinnell,  Hampton,  Har- 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,    1845-1847.  423 

per,  Herrick,  Hilliard,  Elias  B.  Holmes,  Hough,  Edmund  W.  Hubard,  Samuel  D. 
Hubbard,  Hudson,  Washington  Hunt,  Andrew  Johnson,  George  W.  Jones,  Daniel 
P.  King,  Thomas  Butler  King,  Lawrence,  Lewis,  Levin,  Ligon,  Maclay,  McGaughey, 
McHenry,  Mcllvaine,  Marsh,  Morse,  Moseley,  Norris,  Parish,  Payne,  Relfe,  John  A. 
Eockwell,  Root,  Scammon,  Seaman,  Simpson,  Truman  Smith,  Albert  Smith,  Strohm, 
Benjamin  Thompson,  Thurman,  Tilden,  Trumbo,  Vance,  Vinton,  Young,  and 
Yost— 81. 

NAYS — Messrs.  Stephen  Adams,  Bowlin,  Boyd,  Brinkerhoff,  Brodhead,  Burt,  Cath- 
cart,  Reuben  Chapman,  Chase,  Constable,  Cunningham,  Daniel,  Dargan,  Jefferson 
Davis,  Dillingham,  Dobbin,  Dromgoole,  Giles,  Goodyear,  Gordon,  Graham,  Grover, 
Hamlin,  Harmanson,  Henley,  Hoge,  Hopkins,  George  S.  Houston,  Hungerford, 
James  B.  Hunt,  Hunter,  Charles  J.  Ingersoll,  Joseph  R.  Ingersoll,  Joseph  Johnson, 
Preston  King,  Leake,  La  Sere,  Lumpkin,  McLean,  McClernand,  McCrate,  James 
McDowell,  McKay,  J.  P.  Martin,  B.  Martin,  Morris,  Moulton,  Owen,  Perrill,  Phelps, 
Pollock,  Price,  Rathbun,  Reid,  Ritter,  Sawtelle,  Severance,  Alexander  D.  Sims, 
Leonard  H.  Sims,  Caleb  B.  Smith,  Robert  Smith,  Stanten,  St.  John,  Sykes,  Thibo- 
deaux,  Thomasson,  Jacob  Thompson,  Tibbatts,  Wentworth,  Wheaton,  Wick,  Wil- 
mot,  Woodruff,  Woodward,  Yancey,  and  Yell — 76. 

So  the  amendment  of  the  committee  was  adopted. 

The  bill  was  then  ordered  to  be  engrossed. 

Mr.  SAMUEL  GORDON  demanded  the  yeas  and  nays  on  the  passage  of 
the  bill:  which  were  ordered,  and  being  taken,  resulted— j^eas  85,  nays 
76 — as  follows: 

YEAS— Messrs.  John  Q.  Adams,  Arnold,  Bell,  James  A.  Black,  Brinkerhoff,  Milton 
Brown,  Buffington,  'William  W.  Campbell,  John  H.  Campbell,  Carroll,  Cathcart, 
Cranston,  Crozier,  Cunningham,  Garret  Davis,  Jefferson  Davis,  Delano,  Dockery, 
Douglass,  Dunlap,  Edwin  H.  Ewing,  Faran,  Foot,  Garvin,  Giddings,  Giles,  Good- 
year, Grider,  Grinnell,  Hamlin,  Hampton,  Harper,  Herrick,  Hilliard,  E.  B.  Holmes, 
Hough,  Samuel  D.  Hubbard,  Hudson,  Hungerford,  Washington  Hunt,  Charles  J. 
Ingersoll,  Daniel  P.  King,  Thomas  B.  King,  Lawrence,  Leib,  Lewis,  Levin,  Maclay, 
McCrate,  McGaughey,  McHenry,  Mcllvaine,  Marsh,  Morse,  Moseley,  Owen,  Pollock, 
Rathbun,  Relfe,  John  A.  Rockwell,  Root,  Sawtelle,  Scammon,  Seaman,  Severance, 
Truman  Smith,  Albert  Smith,  Caleb  B.  Smith,  Stanton,  Strohm,  Strong,  Sykes, 
Thomasson,  Benjamin  Thompson,  Thurman,  Tilden,  Trumbo,  Vance,  Vinton,  Went- 
worth, Wick,  Wilmot,  Wood,  Young,  and  Yost— 85. 

NAYS— Messrs.  Stephen  Adams,  Atkinson,  Barringer,  Bayly,  Bowlin,  Boyd,  Brock- 
enbrough,  Brodhead,  William  G.  Brown,  Burt,  Reuben  Chapman,  Chase,  Chipman, 
Clarke,  Cobb,  Cocke,  Collin,  Constable,  Cullom,  Daniel,  Dargan,  Dillingham,  Dob- 
bin, Dromgoole,  Erdman,  Graham,  Grover,  Harmanson,  Hoge,  Hopkins,  George  S. 
Houston,  E.  W.  Hubard,  James  B.  Hunt,  Hunter,  Joseph  R.  Ingersoll,  Joseph 
,  Johnson,  Andrew  Johnson,  George  W.  Jones,  Preston  King,  Leake,  La  Sere,  Ligon, 
Lumpkin,  McLean,  McClelland,  McClernand,  James  McDowell,  McKay,  John  P. 
Martin,  Barkley  Martin,  Morris,  Moulton,  Norris,  Parrish,  Payne,  Perrill,  Phelps, 
Price,  Reid,  Ritter,  Alexander  D.  Sims,  Leonard  H.  Suns,  Simpson,  Thomas  Smith, 
Robert  Smith,  Stephens,  St.  John,  Thibodeaux,  Jacob  Thompson,  Tibbatts, 
Wheaton,  Woodruff,  Woodward,  Yancey,  and  Yell — 76. 

So  the  bill  was  passed  in  the  following  form  (being  the  substitute 
of  Mr.  W.  J.  Hough,  as  amended): 

A  bill  to  establish  the  "  Smithsonian  Institution,"  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 

among  men. 

James  Smithson,  esquire,  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  having  by 
his  last  will  and  testament  given  the  whole  of  his  property  to  the  United  States  of 


424  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

America,  to  found  at  AVashington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  and  the 
United  States  having,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  received  said  property  and  accepted 
said  trust;  therefore,  for  the  faithful  execution  of  said  trust  according  to  the  will  of 
the  liberal  and  enlightened  donor — 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America 
in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  the  Postmaster-General,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Chief  Justice, 
and  the  Commissioner  of  the  Patent  Office  of  the  United  States,  .and  the  mayor  of 
the  city  of  Washington,  during  the  time  for  which  they  shall  hold  their  respective 
offices,  and  such  other  persons  as  they  may  elect  honorary  members,  be,  and  they  are 
hereby,  constituted  an  "  establishment,"  by  the  name  of  the  "  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion," for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  and  by  that  name 
shall  be  known  and  have  perpetual  succession,  with  the  powers,  limitations,  and 
restrictions  hereinafter  contained,  and  no  other. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  much  of  the  property  of  the  said  James 
Smithson  as  has  been  received  in  money,  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  being  the  sum  of  five  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  dollars,  be  lent  to  the  United  States  Treasury,  at  six  per  cent  per  annum  interest 
from  the  first  day  of  September,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight,  when  the  same  was  received  into  the  said  Treasury;  and  that  so  much  of  the 
interest  as  may  have  accrued  on  said  sum  on  the  first  day  of  July  next,  which  will 
amount  to  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  forty-two  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  dollars,  or  so  much  thereof  as  shall  by  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Institution 
established  by  this  act  be  deemed  necessary,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated 
for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  and  for  other  current  incidental  expenses  of 
said  Institution;  and  that  six  per  cent  interest  on  the  said  trust  fund — it  being  the  said 
amount  of  five  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  dollars 
received  into  the  United  States  Treasury  on  the  first  of  September,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  payable,  in  half-yearly  payments,  on  the  first  of 
January  and  July  in  each  year  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  per- 
petual maintenance  and  support  of  said  Institution;  and  all  expenditures  and  appro- 
priations to  be  made  from  time  to  time,  to  the  purposes  of  the  Institution  aforesaid, 
shall  be  exclusively  from  the  accruing  interest,  and  not  from  the  principal  of  the  said 
fund.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  the  moneys  and  stocks  which  have  been,  or 
may  hereafter  be,  received  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  on  account  of  the 
fund  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson,  be,  and  hereby  are,  pledged  to  refund  to  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  the  sums  hereby  appropriated. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  business  of  the  said  Institution  shall  be 
conducted  at  the  city  of  Washington  by  a  Board  of  Regents  by  the  name  of  the 
Regents  of  the  ' '  Smithsonian  Institution, "  to  be  composed  of  the  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city 
of  Washington,  during  the  time  for  which  they  shall  hold  their  respective  offices; 
three  members  of  the  Senate  and  three  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
together  with  six  other  persons,  other  than  members  of  Congress,  two  of  whom  shall 
be  members  of  the  National  Institute  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  resident  in  the 
said  city;  and  the  other  four  thereof  shall  be  inhabitants  of  States,  and  no  two  of 
them  of  the  same  State.  And  the  Regents,  to  be  selected  as  aforesaid,  shall  be 
appointed  immediately  after  the  passage  of  this  act— the  members  of  the  Senate  by 
the  President  thereof,  the  members  of  the  House  by  the  Speaker  thereof,  and  the  six 
other  persons  by  joint  resolution  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives;  and 
the  members  of  the  House  so  appointed  shall  serve  until  the  fourth  Wednesday  in 
December,  the  second  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act;  and  then,  and  biennially 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  425 

thereafter,  on  every  alternate  fourth  Wednesday  of  December,  a  like  number  shall  be 
appointed  in  the  same  manner,  to  serve  until  the  fourth  AVednesday  in  December,  the 
second  succeeding  their  appointment.  And  the  Senators  so  appointed  shall  serve 
during  the  term  for  which  they  shall  hold,  without  reelection,  their  office  as  Senators. 
And  vacancies,  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  shall  be  filled  as 
vacancies  in  committees  are  filled;  and  the  other  six  members  aforesaid  shall  serve, 
two  for  two  years,  two  for  four  years,  and  two  for  six  years;  the  terms  of  service,  in 
the  first  place,  to  be  determined  by  lot;  but  after  the  first  term,  then  their  regular 
term  of  service  shall  be  six  years;  and  new  elections  thereof  shall  be  made  by  joint 
resolution  of  Congress;  and  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise, 
may  be  filled  in  like  manner,  by  joint  resolution  of  Congress.  And  the  said  Regents 
shall  meet  in  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  first  Monday  of  September  next  after  the 
passage  of  this  act,  and  organize  by  the  election  of  one  of  their  number  as  Chancellor, 
who  shall  be  the  presiding  officer  of  said  Board  of  Regents,  by  the  name  of  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  ' '  Smithsonian  Institution, ' '  and  a  suitable  person  as  Secretary  of  said  Insti- 
tution, who  shall  also  be  the  Secretary  of  said  Board  of  Regents;  said  Board  shall  also 
elect  three  of  their  own  body  as  an  Executive  Committee,  and  said  Regents  shall  then 
fix  on  the  time  for  the  regular  meeting  of  said  Board ;  and  on  application  of  any  three 
of  the  Regents  to  the  Secretary  of  the  said  Institution,  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  appoint 
a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  of  which  he  shall  give  notice  by  letter  to 
each  of  the  members;  and  at  any  meeting  of  said  Board,  five  shall  constitute  a  quorum 
to  do  business.  And  each  member  of  said  Board  shall  be  paid  his  necessary  travelling 
and  other  actual  expenses  in  attending  meetings  of  the  Board,  which  shall  be  audited 
by  the  Executive  Committee,  and  recorded  by  the  Secretary  of  said  Board;  but  his 
services  as  Regent  shall  be  gratuitous.  And  whenever  money  is  required  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debts  or  performance  of  the  contracts  of  the  Institution,  incurred  or 
entered  into  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of,  this  act,  or  for  making  the  purchases 
and  executing  the  objects  authorized  by  this  act,  the  Board  of  Regents  or  the  Exec- 
utive Committee  thereof,  may  certify  to  the  Chancellor  and  Secretary  of  the  Board 
that  such  sum  of  money  is  required;  whereupon,  they  shall  examine  the  same,  and, 
if  they  shall  approve  thereof,  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper  officer  of  the 
Treasury  for  payment.  And  the  said  Board  shall  submit  to  Congress,  at  each  session 
thereof,  a  report  of  the  operations,  expenditures,  and  condition  of  the  Institution. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  after  the  Board  of  Regents  shall  have  met  and 
become  organized,  it  shall  be  their  duty  forthwith  to  proceed  to  select  a  suitable  site 
for  such  building  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  Institution,  which  ground  may  be  taken 
and  appropriated  out  of  that  part  of  the  public  ground  in  the  city  of  Washington 
lying  between  the  Patent  Office  and  Seventh  street:  Provided,  The  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  Secretary  of 
War,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  the  Commissioner  of  the  Patent  Office  shall 
consent  to  the  same;  but  if  the  persons  last  mentioned  shall  not  consent,  then  such 
location  may  -be  made  upon  any  other  of  the  public  grounds  within  the  city  of 
Washington  belonging  to  the  United  States  which  said  Regents  may  select,  by  and 
with  the  consent  of  the  persons  herein  named ;  and  the  said  ground  so  selected  shall 
be  set  out  by  proper  metes  and  bounds  and  a  description  of  the  same  shall  be  made 
and  recorded  in  a  book  to  be  provided  for  that  purpose,  and  signed  by  the  said 

Agents  or  so  many  of  them  as  may  be  convened  at  the  time  of  their  said  organization; 
record  or  a  copy  thereof,  certified  by  the  Chancellor  and  Secretary  of  the 
of  Regents,  shall  be  received  in  evidence  in  all  courts  of  the  extent  and  bound- 
aries of  Nie  lands  appropriated  to  the  said  Institution;  and  upon  the  making  of  such 
record  such  site  and  lands  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  appropriated  by  force  of 
this  act  to  the  said  Institution. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  soon  as  the  Board  of  Regents  shall  have 
selected  the  said  site,  they  shall  cause  to  be  erected  a  suitable  building  of  plain  and 


426  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

durable  materials  and  structure,  without  unnecessary  ornament  and  of  sufficient  size 
and  with  suitable  rooms  or  halls  for  the  reception  and  arrangement  upon  a  liberal  scale 
of  objects  of  natural  history,  including  a  geological  and  mineralogical  cabinet;  also  a 
chemical  laboratory,  a  library,  a  gallery  of  art,  and  the  necessary  lecture  rooms; 
and  the  said  Board  shall  have  authority  by  themselves  or  by  a  committee  of  three 
of  their  members  to  contract  for  the  completion  of  such  building,  upon  such  plan  as 
may  be  directed  by  the  Board  of  Regents,  and  shall  take  sufficient  security  for  the 
building  and  finishing  the  same  according  to  the  said  plan,  and  in  the  time  stipulated 
in  such  contract;  and  may  so  locate  said  building,  if  they  shall  deem  it  proper,  as  in 
appearance  to  form  a  wing  to  the  Patent  Office  building,  and  may  so  connect  the  same 
with  the  present  hall  of  said  Patent  Office  building  containing  the  national  cabinet 
of  curiosities,  as  to  constitute  the  said  hall,  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  deposit  for  the 
cabinet  of  said  Institution,  if  they  deem  it  expedient  to  do  so;  provided  said  building 
shall  be  located  upon  said  Patent  Office  lot  in  the  manner  aforesaid:  Provided,  however, 
That  the  whole  expense  of  building  and  enclosures  aforesaid  shall  not  exceed  the 
amount  of  —  — ;  which  sum  is  hereby  appropriated,  payable  out  of  money  in  the 
Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  together  with  such  sum  or  sums  out  of  the 
annual  interest  accruing  to  the  Institution  as  may  in  any  year  remain  unexpended 
after  p'aying  the  current  expenses  of  the  Institution.  And  duplicates  of  all  such  con- 
tracts as  may  be  made  by  the  said  Board  of  Regents  shall  be  deposited  with  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States;  and  all  claims  on  any  contract  made  as  aforesaid 
shall  be  allowed  and  certified  by  the  Board  of  Regents,  or  the  Executive  Committee 
thereof,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  being  signed  by  the  Chancellor  and  Secretary  of  the 
Board  shall  be  a  sufficient  voucher  for  settlement  and  payment  at  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States.  And  the  Board  of  Regents  shall  be  authorized  to  employ  such  persons 
as  they  may  deem  necessary  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  buildings  and  fitting 
up  the  rooms  of  the  Institution.  And  all  laws  for  the  protection  of  public  property 
in  the  city  of  Washington  shall  apply  to,  and  be  in  force  for,  the  protection  of  the 
lands,  buildings,  and  other  property  of  said  Institution.  And  all  moneys  recovered 
by  or  accruing  to  the  Institution  shall  be  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States 
to  the  credit  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  and  separately  accounted  for,  as  provided 
in  the  act  approved  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-six,  accepting  the  bequest. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That,  in  proportion  as  suitable  arrangements  can 
be  made  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research, 
and  all  objects  of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens 
belonging,  or  hereafter  to  belong,  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such 
persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  Board  of  Regents  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be 
arranged  in  such  order,  and  so  classed,  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and 
study  of  them,  in  the  building  so  as  aforesaid  to  be  erected  for  the  Institution;  and 
the  Regents  of  said  Institution  shall  afterwards,  as  new  specimens  in  natural  history, 
geology,  or  mineralogy,  may  be  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  Institution  by 
exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens  belonging  to  the  Institution  (which  they  are 
hereby  authorized  to  make),  or  by  donation,  which  they  may  receive,  or  otherwise, 
cause  such  new  specimens  to  be  also  appropriately  classed  and  arranged.  And  the 
minerals,  books,  manuscripts,  and  other  property  of  James  Smithson,  which  have 
been  received  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  are  now  placed  in  the 
Department  of  State,  shall  be  removed  to  said  Institution,  and  shall  be  preserved 
separate  and  apart  from  the  other  property  of  the  Institution. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents  shall 
take  charge  of  the  building  and  property  of  said  Institution,  and  shall,  under  their 
direction,  make  a  fair  and  accurate  record  of  all  their  proceedings,  to  be  preserved 
in  said  Institution;  and  the  said  Secretary  shall  also  discharge  the  duties  of  librarian 
and  of  keeper  of  the  museum,  and  may,  with  the  consent  of  the  Board  of  Regents, 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  42T 

employ  assistants;  and  the  said  officers  shall  receive  for  their  services  such  sum  as 
may  be  allowed  by  the  Board  of  Regents,  to  be  paid  semiannually  on  the  first  day 
of  January  and  July,  and  the  said  officers  shall  be  removable  by  the  Board  of 
Regents,  whenever,  in  their  judgment,  the  interests  of  the  Institution  require  any 
of  the  said  officers  to  be  changed. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  members  and  honorary  members  of  said 
Institution  may  hold  such  stated  and  special  meetings,  for  the  supervision  of  the 
affairs  of  said  Institution,  and  the  advice  and  instruction  of  said  Board  of  Regents, 
to  be  called  in  the  manner  provided  for  in  the  by-laws  of  said  Institution,  at  which 
the  President,  and  in  his  absence,  the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  shall 
preside.  And  the  said  Regents  shall  make,  from  the  interest  of  said  fund,  an  appro- 
priation not  exceeding  an  average  of.  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  annually,  for  the 
gradual  formation  of  a  library,  composed  of  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  depart- 
ments of  human  knowledge. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  of  any  other  moneys  which  have  accrued, 
or  shall  hereafter  accrue,  as  interest  upon  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein 
appropriated,  or  not  required  for  the  purposes  herein  provided,  the  said  managera 
are  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for  the 
promotion  of  the  purposes  of  the  testator,  anything  herein  contained  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  author  or  proprietor  of  any  book,  map, 
chart,  musical  composition,  print,  cut,  or  engraving,  for  which  a  copyright  shall  be 
secured  under  the  existing  acts  of  Congress,  or  those  which  shall  hereafter  be  enacted 
respecting  copyrights,  shall,  within  three  months  from  the  publication  of  said  book, 
map,  chart,  musical  composition,  print,  cut,  or  engraving,  deliver,  or  cause  to  be 
delivered,  one  copy  of  the  same  to  the  Librarian  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and 
one  copy  to  the  Librarian  of  Congress  Library,  for  the  use  of  the  said  libraries. 

SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  is  reserved  in  Congress  the  right  of 
altering,  amending,  adding  to,  or  repealing  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act:  Pro- 
vided, That  no  contract,  or  individual  right,  made  or  acquired  under  such  provisions, 
shall  be  thereby  divested  or  impaired. 

Mr.  R.  D.  OWEN  moved  to  reconsider  the  vote  on  the  passage  of 
the  bill,  and  moved  the  previous  question. 

The  previous  question  was  seconded,  and  the  main  question  was 
ordered,  and,  being  taken,  was  decided  in  the  negative. 

So  the  House  refused  to  reconsider  the  vote,  and  the  bill  finally 


April  30,  1846— Senate. 

Message  from  the  House  that  bill  H.  5  had  passed.     The  bill,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  DIXON  H.  LEWIS,  was  referred  to  a  select  committee  of 
three  members  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  Senate.    Mr.  John  A. 
Dix,  Mr.  Thomas  Corwin,  and  Mr.  D.  H.  Lewis  were  appointed. 
May  21,  1846— Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  A.  Dix  presented  a  memorial  of   citizens  of  Madison 
County,  New  York,  praying  the  adoption  of  a  plan  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  which  was  referred  to  the  select 
committee  on  the  subject. 
June  1,  1846— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  Dix,  from  the    select  committee,  reported  H.  5,  with 
amendments. 


428  CONGEESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

June  24,  1846— Senate. 

Mr.  D.  S.  DICKINSON  presented  the  proceedings  and  resolutions  of 
a  convention  of  county  superintendents  of  common  schools,  held  at 
Albany,  New  York. 

Ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 

At  a  convention  of  county  superintendents  of  common  schools  and  friends  of  educa- 
tion generally,  held  at  the  city  of  Albany,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  on  the  12th, 
13th,  14th,  and  15th  days  of  May  last,  the  following  resolutions  offered  by  the  Hon. 
Jabez  D.  Hammond,  of  the  county  of  Otsego,  were  unanimously  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  while  this  convention  are  impressed  with  profound  respect  and 
veneration  for  the  memory  of  the  late  James  Smithson,  of  England,  and  gratitude 
for  his  munificent  legacy  to  the  United  States,  made  with  a  view  to  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  they  can  not  suppress  their  deep  mortification 
and  painful  regret  that  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  these  United  States 
should  have  suffered  a  fund  created  for  such  noble  and  exalted  purposes  to  remain 
so  long  unemployed,  and  they  do  respectfully,  but  most  earnestly,  recommend  to  the 
present  Congress  to  adopt  such  measures  as  will  carry  into  immediate  effect  the 
benevolent  intentions  of  the  philanthropic  and  liberal  donor. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolution,  signed  by  the  president  and  secretaries,  be 
forwarded  to  each  of  the  Senators  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  from  the  State 
of  New  York. 

SAMUEL  S.  RANDALL,  President. 
EDWARD  COOPER, 
W.  PUTNAM, 

Secretaries. 

August  7,  1846— Senate. 

H.  5  was  passed  over  in  consequence  of  want  of  time  for  consid- 
eration. 
August  10,  1846— Senate. 

The  Senate  proceeded  to  consider  the  bill  (H.  5)  to  establish  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men,  together  with  the  amendments  reported  thereto;  and  the 
reported  amendments  having  been  disagreed  to,  the  bill  was  reported 
to  the  Senate. 

Ordered,  That  it  pass  to  a  third  reading.  The  said  bill  was  read  a 
third  time. 

On  the  question,  "Shall  this  bill  pass?"  It  was  determined  in  the 
affirmative — yeas,  26;  nays,  13. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  WILLIAM  ALLEN,  the  yeas  and  nays  being  desired 
by  one-fifth  of  the  Senators  present, 

Those  who  voted  in  the  affirmative  were: 

YEAS — Messrs.  Archer  Atchison,  Barrow,  Berrien,  Cameron,  Cilley,  Thomas 
Clayton,  John  M.  Clayton,  Corwin,  Davis,  Evans,  Greene,  Houston,  Huntington, 
Jarnagin,  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  Johnson,  of  Louisiana,  Lewis,  Manguni,  Miller, 
Morehead,  Phelps,  Speight,  Sturgeon,  Upham,  Webster. 

Those  who  voted  in  the  negative  were: 

NAYS — Messrs.  Allen,  Ashley,  Atherton,  Bagby,  Benton,  Calhoun,  Dickinson, 
Fairfield,  McDuffie,  Semple,  Turney,  Westcott,  Yulee. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGEESS,   1845-1847.  429 

The  bill  was  accordingly  passed. 

Ordered,  That  the  Secretary  notify  the  House  of  Representatives 
accordingly. 

Mr.  GEORGE  EVANS  (by  unanimous  consent)  asked  and  obtained 
leave  to  bring  in  a  resolution,  S.  37,  appointing  regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  Considered  in  Committee  of  the  Whole.  Passed. 

Mr.  GEORGE  EVANS  submitted  resolution: 

Resolved  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring) ,  That  the  sixteenth  joint  rule  of 
the  two  Houses  be  suspended,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  a  resolution  (S.  37)  appointing 
regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Considered,  by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to. 
August  10,  1846. 

An  act  to  establish  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 

knowledge  among  men. 
[As  finally  adopted  and  made  a  law.] 

James  Smithson,  esquire,  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain,  having  by  his  last  will  and  testament  given  the  whole  of  his 
property  to  the  United  States  of  America,  to  found  at  Washington, 
under  the  name  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  an  establishment  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  and  the  United 
States  having,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  received  said  property  and 
accepted  said  trust;  Therefore,  for  the  faithful  execution  of  said 
trust,  according  to  the  will  of  the  liberal  and  enlightened  donor— 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
the  Postmaster-General,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Chief  Justice,  and 
the  Commissioner  of  the  Patent  Office  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington,  during  the  time  for  which  they 
shall  hold  their  respective  offices,  and  such  other  persons  as  they  may 
elect  honorary  members,  be,  and  they  are  hereby  constituted,  an 
"establishment,"  by  the  name  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  and  by  that  name 
shall  be  known  and  have  perpetual  succession,  with  the  powers,  lim- 
itations, and  restrictions,  hereinafter  contained,  and  no  other. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  much  of  the  property  of 
the  said  James  Smithson  as  has  been  received  in  money,  and  paid  into 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  being  the  sum  of  five  hundred  and 
fifteen  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  dollars,  be  lent  to  the 
United  States  treasury  at  six  per  cent,  per  annum  interest,  from  the 
first  day  of  September,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
thirty-eight,  when  the  same  was  received  into  the  said  treasury;  and 
that  so  much  of  the  interest  as  may  have  accrued  on  said  sum  on  the 
first  day  of  July  next,  which  will  amount  to  the  sum  of  two  hundred 


430  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

and  forty-two  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  dollars,  or  so 
much  thereof  as  shall  by  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Institution 
established  by  this  act  be  deemed  necessary,  be,  and  the  same  is 
hereby,  appropriated  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  and  for 
other  current  incidental  expenses  of  said  Institution;  and  that  six  per 
cent,  interest  on  the  said  trust  fund,  it  being  the  said  amount  of  five 
hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  dollars, 
received  into  the  United  States  treasury  on  the  first  of  September, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  payable,  in  half-yearly 
payments,  on  the  first  of  January  and  July  in  each  year,  be,  and  the 
same  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  perpetual  maintenance  and  sup- 
port of  said  Institution;  and  all  expenditures  and  appropriations  to 
be  made  from  time  to  time,  to  the  purposes  of  the  Institution  afore- 
said, shall  be  exclusively  from  the  accruing  interest,  and  not  from  the 
principal  of  the  said  fund.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  the 
moneys  and  stocks  which  have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be,  received  into 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States  on  account  of  the  fund  bequeathed 
by  James  Smithson,  be,  and  the  same  hereby  are,  pledged  to  refund  to 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States  the  sums  hereby  appropriated. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  business  of  the  said 
Institution  shall  be  conducted  at  the  city  of  Washington  by  a .  board 
of  regents,  by  the  name  of  the  Regents  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion," to  be  composed  of  the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  the 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city  of 
Washington,  during  the  time  for  which  they  shall  hold  their  respec- 
tive offices;  three  members  of  the  Senate,  and  three  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives;  together  with  six  other  persons,  other  than 
members  of  Congress,  two  of  whom  shall  be  members  of  the  National 
Institute  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  resident  in  the  said  city;  and 
the  other  four  thereof  shall  be  inhabitants  of  States,  and  no  two  of 
them  of  the  same  State.  And  the  regents  to  be  selected  as  aforesaid 
shall  be  appointed  immediately  after  the  passage  of  this  act — the  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  by  the  president  thereof,  the  members  of  the  House 
by  the  speaker  thereof,  and  the  six  other  persons  by  joint  ^resolution 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives;  and  the  members  of  the 
House,  so  appointed,  shall  serve  until  the  fourth  Wednesday  in  Decem- 
ber, the  second  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act;  and  then,  and  bien- 
nially thereafter,  on  every  alternate  fourth  Wednesday  of  December, 
a  like  number  shall  be  appointed  in  the  same  manner,  to  serve  until  the 
fourth  Wednesday  in  December,  the  second  succeeding  their  appoint- 
ment. And  the  senators  so  appointed  shall  serve  during  the  term  for 
which  they  shall  hold,  without  reelection,  their  office  as  senators. 
And  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  shall  be 
filled  as  vacancies  in  committees  are  filled;  and  the  other  six  members 
aforesaid  shall  serve,  two  for  two  years,  two  for  four  years,  and  two  for 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  431 

six  years;  the  terms  of  service,  in  the  first  place,  to  be  determined  by 
lot;  but,  after  the  first  term,  then  their  regular  term  of  service  shall 
be  six  years;  and  new  elections  thereof  shall  be  made  by  joint  resolu- 
tion of  Congress;  and  vacancies- occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or 
otherwise,  may  be  filled  in  like  manner,  by  joint  resolution  of  Con- 
gress. And  the  said  regents  shall  meet  in  the  city  of  Washington,  on 
the  first  Monday  of  September  next  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  and 
organize  by  the  election  of  one  of  their  number  as  chancellor,  who 
shall  be  the  presiding  officer  of  said  board  of  regents,  by  the  name 
of  the  Chancellor  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  and  a  suitable 
person  as  secretary  of  said  institution,  who  shall  also  be  the  secretary 
of  said  board  of  regents;  said  board  shall  also  elect  three  of  their 
own  body  as  an  executive  committee,  and  said  regents  shall  then  fix 
on  the  time  for  the  regular  meetings  of  said  board;  and,  on  applica- 
tion of  any  three  of  the  regents  to  the  secretary  of  the  said  Institution, 
it  shall  be  his  duty  to  appoint  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of 
regents,  of  which  he  shall  give  notice,  by  letter,  to  each  of  the  mem- 
bers; and,  at  any  meeting  of  said  board,  five  shall  constitute  a  quorum 
to  do  business.  And  each  member  of  said  board  shall  be  paid  his 
necessary  traveling  and  other  actual  expenses,  in  attending  meetings 
of  the  board,  which  shall  be  audited  by  the  executive  committee,  and 
recorded  by  the  secretary  of  said  board;  but  his  services  as  regent 
shall  be  gratuitous.  And  whenever  money  is  required  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debts  or  performance  of  the  contracts  of  the  institution, 
incurred  or  entered  into  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
or  for  making  the  purchases  and  executing  the  objects  authorized  by 
this  act,  the  board  of  regents,  or  the  executive  committee  thereof, 
may  certify  to  the  chancellor  and  secretary  of  the  board  that  such 
sum  of  money  is  required,  whereupon  they  shall  examine  the  same, 
and,  if  they  shall  approve  thereof,  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper 
officer  of  the  treasury  for  payment.  And  the  said  board  shall  sub- 
mit to  Congress,  at  each  session  thereof,  a  report  of  the  operations, 
expenditures,  and  condition,  of  the  institution. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  after  the  board  of  regents 
shall  have  met  and  become  organized,  it  shall  be  their  duty  forthwith 
to  proceed  to  select  a  suitable  site  for  such  building  as  may  be  neces- 
sary for  the  institution,  which  ground  may  be  taken  and  appropriated 
out  of  that  part  of  the  public  ground  in  the  city  of  Washington  lying 
between  the  patent  office  and  Seventh  Street:  Provided,  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  the 
Commissioner  of  the  Patent  Office,  shall  consent  to  the  same;  but,  if 
the  persons  last  named  shall  not  consent,  then  such  location  may  be 
made  upon  any  other  of  the  public  grounds  within  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, belonging  to  the  United  States,  which  said  regents  may  select, 


432  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  persons  herein  named;  and  the  .said 
ground,  so  selected,  shall  be  set  out  by  proper  metes  and  bounds,  and  a 
description  of  the  same  shall  be  made,  and  recorded  in  a  book  to  be 
provided  for  that  purpose,  and  signed  by  the  said  regents,  or  so  many 
of  them  as  may  be  convened  at  the  time  of  their  said  organization; 
and  such  record,  or  a  copy  thereof,  certified  by  the  chancellor  and 
secretary  of  the  board  of  regents,  shall  be  received  in  evidence,  in 
all  courts,  of  the  extent  and  boundaries  of  the  lands  appropriated  to 
the  said  institution;  and,  upon  the  making  of  such  record,  such  site  and 
lands  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  appropriated,  by  force  of  this 
act,  to  the  said  institution. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  furtJier  enacted,  That,  so  soon  as  the  board  of 
regents  shall  have  selected  the  said  site,  they  shall  cause  to  be  erected 
a  suitable  building,  of  plain  and  durable  materials  and  structure,  with- 
out unnecessary  ornament,  and  of  sufficient  size,  and  with  suitable 
rooms  or  halls,  for  the  reception  and  arrangement,  upon  a  liberal 
scale,  of  objects  of  natural  history,  including  a  geological  and  mincr- 
alogical  cabinet;  also  a  chemical  laboratory,  a  library,  a  gallery  of  art, 
and  the  necessary  lecture  rooms;  and  the  said  board  shall  have  author- 
ity, by  themselves,  or  by  a  committee  of  three  of  their  members,  to 
contract  for  the  completion  of  such  building,  upon  such  plan  as  may 
be  directed  by  the  board  of  regents,  and  shall  take  sufficient  security 
for  the  building  and  finishing  the  same  according  to  the  said  plan,  and 
in  the  time  stipulated  in  such  contract;  and  may  so  locate  said  build- 
ing, if  they  shall  deem  it  proper,  as  in  appearance  to  form  a  wing  to 
the  patent  office  building,  and  may  so  connect  the  same  with  the 
present  hall  of  said  patent  office  building,  containing  the  national 
cabinet  of  curiosities,  as  to  constitute  the  said  hall,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  the  deposit  for  the  cabinet  of  said  institution,  if  they  deem  it 
expedient  to  do  so:  provided,  said  building  s-hall  be  located  upon  said 
patent  office  lot,  in  the  manner  aforesaid:  Provided,  however,  That 
the  whole  expense  of  the  building  and  enclosures  aforesaid  shall  not 
exceed  the  amount  of  —  — ,  which  sum  is  hereby  appropriated,  pay- 
able out  of  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated, 
together  with  such  sum  or  sums  out  of  the  annual  interest  accruing  to 
the  institution,  as  may,  in  any  year,  remain  unexpended,  after  pa}ring 
the  current  expenses  of  the  institution.  And  duplicates  of  all  such 
contracts  as  may  be  made  by  the  said  board  of  regents  shall  be 
deposited  with  the  treasurer  of  the  United  States;  and  all  claims  on 
any  contract  made  as  aforesaid  shall  be  allowed  and  certified  by  the 
board  of  regents,  or  the  executive  committee  thereof,  as  the  case  may 
be,  and,  being  signed  by  the  chancellor  and  secretary  of  the  board, 
shall  be  a  sufficient  voucher  for  settlement  and  payment  at  the  treas- 
ury of  the  United  States.  And  the  board  of  regents  shall  be  author- 
ized to  employ  such  persons  as  they  may  deem  necessary  to  .superintend 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  433 

the  erection  of  the  building  and  fitting  up  the  rooms  of  the  institu- 
tion. And  all  laws  for  the  protection  of  public  property  in  the  city 
of  Washington  shall  apply  to,  and  be  in  force  for,  the  protection  of 
the  lands,  buildings,  and  other  property,  of  said  institution.  And  all 
moneys  recovered  by,  or  accruing  to,  the  institution,  shall  be  paid  into 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  to  the  credit  of  the  Smithsonian 
bequest,  and  separately  accounted  for,  as  provided  in  the  act  approved 
July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-six,  accepting  said  bequest. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  in  proportion  as  suitable 
arrangements  can  be  made  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  art  and  of 
foreign  and  curious  research,  and  all  objects  of  natural  history,  plants, 
and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens,  belonging,  or  hereafter  to 
belong,  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
in  whosesoever  custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such 
persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  board  of  regents  to  receive 
them,  and  shall  be  arranged  in  such  order,  and  so  classed,  as  best  [to] 
facilitate  the  examination  and  study  of  them,  in  the  building  so  as 
aforesaid  to  be  erected  for  the  institution;  and  the  regents  of  said 
institution  shall  afterwards,  as  new  specimens  in  natural  history, 
geology,  or  mineralogy,  may  be  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the 
institution  by  exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens  belonging  to  the 
institution  (which  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  make,)  or  by  dona- 
tion, which  they  may  receive,  or  otherwise,  cause  such  new  specimens 
to  be  also  appropriately  classed  and  arranged.  And  the  minerals, 
books,  manuscripts,  and  other  property,  of  James  Smithson,  which 
have  been  received  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  are 
now  placed  in  the  department  of  state,  shall  be  removed  to  said  insti- 
tution, and  shall  be  preserved  separate  and  apart  from  other  property 
of  the  institution. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  secretary  of  the  board 
of  regents  shall  take  charge  of  the  building  and  property  of  said 
institution,  and  shall,  under  their  direction,  make  a  fair  and  accurate 
record  of  all  their  proceedings,  to  be  preserved  in  said  institution; 
and  the  said  secretary  shall  also  discharge  the  duties  of  librarian  and 
of  keeper  of  the  museum,  and  may,  with  the  consent  of  the  board  of 
regents,  employ  assistants;  and  the  said  officers  shall  receive  for  their 
services  such  sums  as  may  be  allowed  by  the  board  of  regents,  to  be 
paid  senii-annually  on  the  first  day  of  January  and  July;  and  the  said 
officers  shall  be  removable  by  the  board  of  regents,  whenever,  in 
their  judgment,  the  interests  of  the  institution  require  any  of  the 
said  officers  to  be  changed. 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  members  and  honorary 
members  of  said  institution  may  hold  such  stated  and  special  meet- 
ings, for  the  supervision  of  the  affairs  of  said  institution  and  the 
advice  and  instruction  of  said  board  of  regents,  to  be  called  in  the 
H.  Doc.  732 28 


434  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

manner  provided  for  in  the  by-laws  of  said  institution,  at  which 
the  President,  and  in  his  absence  the  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States  shall  preside.  And  the  said  regents  shall  make,  from  the 
interest  of  said  fund,  an  appropriation,  not  exceeding  an  average  of 
twenty -five  thousand  dollars  annually,  for  the  gradual  formation  of  a 
library  composed  of  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  departments  of 
human  knowledge. 

SEC.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  of  any  other  moneys  which 
have  accrued,  or  shall  hereafter  accrue,  as  interest  upon  the  said 
Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein  appropriated,  or  not  required  for  the 
purposes  herein  provided,  the  said  managers  are  hereby  authorized  to 
make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for  the  promotion 
of  the  purpose  of  the  testator,  anything  herein  contained  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

SEC.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  author  or  proprietor  of 
any  book,  map,  chart,  musical  composition,  print,  cut,  or  engraving, 
for  which  a  copyright  shall  be  secured  under  the  existing  acts  of  Con- 
gress, or  those  which  shall  hereafter  be  enacted  respecting  copy- 
rights, shall,  within  three  months  from  the  publication  of  said  book, 
map,  chart,  musical  composition,  print,  cut,  or  engraving,  deliver,  or 
cause  to  be  delivered,  one  copy  of  the  same  to  the  librarian  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  and  one  copy  to  the  librarian  of  Congress 
Library,  for  the  use  of  the  said  libraries. 

SEC.  11.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  is  reserved  to  Con- 
gress the  right  of  altering,  amending,  adding  to,  or  repealing,  any  of 
the  provisions  of  this  act:  Provided,  That  no  contract,  or  individual 
right,  made  or  acquired  under  such  provisions,  shall  be  thereby 
divested  or  impaired. 

(Stat,  IX,  102.) 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
March  4,  1846. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  librarian  of  Congress  be,  and  he  hereby  is, 
authorized  and  directed  to  procure  a  complete  series  of  reports  of  all 
the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the 
Circuit  and  District  Courts  thereof,  which  have  been  heretofore  pub- 
lished; as  also  a  complete  copy  of  the  public  Statutes  at  Large  of  the 
United  States,  now  being  edited  by  Richard  Peters,  esq.,  by  authority 
of  Congress,  the  whole  to  be  uniformly  bound  and  lettered;  and  to 
cause  the  same,  under  the  direction  of  the  chief  justice  of  said 
Supreme  Court,  to  be  transmitted  and  presented  to  the  minister  of 
justice  of  France,  in  return  and  exchange  for  works  of  French  law 
heretofore  presented  by  the  minister  to  the  Supreme  Court  aforesaid. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That,  for  the  purpose  aforesaid, 
there  be  appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated,  a  sum  not  exceeding  live  hundred  dollars. 

(Stat,  IX,  109.) 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  435 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 
July  15,  1846. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  of  the  thirty -seven  copies  of  the  narrative  and 
scientific  works  of  the  exploring  expedition,  deposited,  and  to  be 
deposited,  in  the  library  of  Congress,  one  copy  shall  be  presented  to 
the  State  of  Florida;  and  whenever  any  new  State  shall  be  admitted 
into  the  Union,  one  copy  of  said  works  shall  be  presented  to  such  State. 

(Stat.,  IX,  111.) 

August  10,  1846. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1847. 

For  continuing  the  publication  of  the  works  of  the  exploring  expe- 
dition, including  the  printing  of  charts,  the  pay  of  the  scientific  corps, 
and  the  salary  of  the  horticulturist,  $30,000. 

(Stat.,  IX,  94.) 

March  3,  1847. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1848. 

For  continuing  the  publication  of  the  works  of  the  exploring  expe- 
dition, including  the  printing  of  the  charts,  the  pay  of  the  scientific 
corps,  salary  of  the  horticulturist,  and  care  of  the  collections,  $15,000. 

(Stat,  IX,  164.) 

CATLIN  JENDIAN   GALLERY. 
July  24,  1846— House. 

Mr.  W.  W.  CAMPBELL,  from  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library, 
to  which  was  referred  the  memorial  of  Mr.  Catlin  for  the  purchase  of 
his  gallery  of  Indian  collections  of  paintings,  made  a  report  thereon, 
and  recommended  an  amendment  to  the  bill  of  the  Houtee  "To  estab- 
lish the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men,"  providing  for  the  purchase  of  said  gallery 
of  Indian  collections  of  paintings,  which  report  was  laid  upon  the 
table. 
February  27,  1847— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  M.  CLAYTON  moved  an  amendment  to  the  civil  and  diplo- 
matic appropriation  bill  appropriating  a  sum  ($5,000)  to  be  paid 
annually  for  the  purchase  of  Catlin's  gallery  of  Indian  portraits,  etc. 

Mr.  Clayton  stated  that  this  was  probably  the  last  opportunity  which 
would  be  offered  for  obtaining  this  gallery  of  paintings  perpetuating 
the  lineaments  of  these  aborigines.  He  would  not  now  go  into  the 
merits  of  these  paintings.  They  had  been  seen  by  all  the  Senators. 
At  the  last  session  memorials  had  been  presented  from  the  principal 
artists  praying  that  they  might  be  purchased  by  the  Government, 
and  this  was  the  last  opportunity.  They  were  about  six  hundred 
in  number  and  were  now  at  the  Louvre,  in  Paris,  where  they  met  with 
unqualified  approbation.  It  was  provided  by  his  amendment  that  they 
were  not  to  be  purchased  unless  the  Smithsonian  Institution  would  find 


436  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

a  place  for  them  in  their  gallery,  which  he  understood  would  probably 
be  done.  They  might,  perhaps,  be  purchased  for  about  $50,000,  of 
which  it  was  proposed  to  pay  $5,000  annually. 

Mr.  SIDNEY  BREESE  said  he  was  not  aware  of  any  arrangement  which 
had  been  suggested  in  the  Institute  for  these  paintings,  and  (500  of 
them  would  till  the  entire  gallery  intended  for  tine  arts.  These  pictures 
are  not  of  themselves  of  such  excellence  as  would  probably  be  selected 
for  the  gallery  of  the  arts. 

Mr.  JAMES  D.  WESTCOTT  was  opposed  to  purchasing  the  portraits 
of  savages.  What  great  moral  lesson  are  they  intended  to  inculcate  ? 
He  would  rather  see  the  portraits  of  the  numerous  citizens  who  have 
been  murdered  by  these  Indians.  He  would  not  vote  a  cent  for  a  por- 
trait of  an  Indian. 

Mr.  CLAYTON  added  that  this  collection  had  cost  Mr.  Catlin  not  less 
than  $10,000.  Propositions  had  been  made  for  their  purchase  in 
Europe  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  these  Indians,  but  we 
are  more  bound  to  preserve  them  than  foreigners  were.  As  to  the 
Institute,  this  appropriation  was  to  depend  on  their  decision.  If  they 
could  not  provide  a  place  for  them  the  paintings  wTould  not  be  pur- 
chased. 

The  motion  was  then  decided  in  the  negative. 

APPOINTMENT    OF    REGENTS. 

By  Vice- President. 

August  10,  1846— Senate. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.   GEORGE   M.  DALLAS)  appointed  George 
Evans,  Sidney  Breese,  and  Isaac  S.  Pennybacker  as  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  August  10, 
1846,  establishing  the  Institution. 
January  16,  1847— Senate. 

Mr.  SIDNEY  BREESE  rose  and  stated  that  there  was  a  vacancy  in  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  Senator  Pennybacker,  and  that  it  was  important  that  the  same 
be  filled,  inasmuch  as  there  was  to  be  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Regents 
on  the  20th  of  this  month,  at  which  important  business  would  be 
brought  forward. 

Mr.  Breese  referred  to  the  law  in  relation  to  the  mode  of  making 
appointments  to  fill  vacancies  occurring  in  the  said  board,  which 
directs  that  such  vacancies  shall  be  filled  in  the  same  manner  as  vacan- 
cies occurring  in  standing  committees  of  the  Senate.  These  were  filled 
either  by  election  on  the  part  of  the  Senate  or  by  the  appointment  of 
the  presiding  officer.  He  moved  that  the  Vice-President  be  authorized 
to  appoint  a  person  to  fill  the  vacancy. 


TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1845-1847.  437 

Mr.  JOHN  J.  CRITTENDEN  remarked  that  he  was  entirely  satisfied 
with  the  appointments  which  had  been  made,  although  they  were  made 
after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  and  consequently  he  had  no  par- 
ticipation in  making  them.  But  as  a  vacancy  now  occurred  during  a 
session  of  Congress,  he  thought  it  would  be  proper  that  the  Senate 
should  exercise  its  right  to  select  a  person  to  fill  that  vacancy.  He 
was  the  more  desirous  that  this  should  be  done  inasmuch  as  he  had  in 
his  mind  a  gentleman  who  had  lately  distinguished  himself  in  writing 
upon  this  subject,  and  who,  he  believed,  would  be  the  proper  person 
to  be  selected. 

Mr.  GEORGE  EVANS  reminded  the  Senator  from  Kentucky  that  the 
person  to  be  appointed  must  be  a  member  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  CRITTENDEN.  Oh!  That  being  the  case,  Mr.  President,  1  offer 
no  further  objection  to  the  motion.  The  person  I  wished  to  see 
appointed  is  Dr.  Bird. 

Mr.  JAMES  D.  WESTCOTT  said  when  the  Smithsonian  bill  was  before 
Congress  at  the  last  session  he  was  opposed  to  it,  and  he  believed  he 
voted  against  it  throughout  when  present  in  the  Senate,  while  it  was 
under  consideration.  He  had  many  objections  to  the  bill.  An  insu- 
perable one  was,  that  he  objected  to  those  provisions  by  which  Senators 
and  Representatives  were  to  be  appointed  "regents,"  an  office  created 
by.  the  law  passed  by  themselves.  He  had  no  idea  that  it  was  consti- 
tutional or  in  any  wise  proper  for  members  of  Congress  to  make 
offices  for  themselves  of  this  character.  The  office  of  regent  was  a 
civil  office,  and  the  Constitution  prohibited  members  of  Congress 
from  being  appointed  to  any  office  created  "during  the  term  for  which 
they  were  elected."  It  was  an  office  of  trust  and  honor,  and,  in  some 
respects,  of  emolument.  With  this  belief,  he  should  not  vote  upon 
this  motion,  to  which  he  had  no  other  objection.  If  he  voted  against 
it,  his  vote  would  be  subject  to  misconstruction.  He  knew  a  majority 
of  the  Senate  differed  with  him  on  the  constitutional  question  he  had 
adverted  to,  but  on  such  a  question  he  must  obey  the  dictates  of  his 
own  conscience. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Breese  was  then  agreed  to. 
January  18,  1847— Senate. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  DALLAS)  announced  that  he  had  appointed 
Lewis  Cass  to  be  a  regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  the  place 
of  Isaac  S.  Penuybacker,  deceased. 

February  22,  1847— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  SIDNEY  BREESE,  the  Vice-President  (Mr.  DALLAS) 
was  authorized  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  caused  by  the  resignation  of  George  Evans. 

James  A.  Pearce,  of  Maryland,  was  appointed. 


438  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

J3y  Speaker. 

August  10,  1846— House. 

A  message  was  received  from  the  President  informing  the  House 
that  he  had  approved  the  bill  to  provide  for  the  establishment  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JOHN  W.  DAVIS)  said  that  b}^  one  provision  of 
the  bill  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  Chair  to  appoint  three  regents, 
and  he  announced  that  he  had  accordingly  appointed: 

Robert  Dale  Owen,  of  Indiana;  William  J.  Hough,  of  ISew  York; 
Henry  W.  Hilliard,  of  Alabama. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
August  10,  1846. 

Rexolved,  etc.,  That  Rufus  Choate,  of  Massachusetts,  Gideon  Hawley, 
of  New  York,  Richard  Rush,  of  Pennsylvania,  William  C.  Preston,  of 
South  Carolina,  and  Alexander  Dallas  Bache  and  Joseph  G.  Totten, 
residents  of  the  city  of  Washington,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby, 
appointed  regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  the  act  establishing  said  institution. 

(Stat,  IX,  115.) 

PURCHASE    OF   CITY    HALL    FOR   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

February  15,  1847— Senate. 
Mr.  GEORGE  EVANS  presented  bill: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be,  and  they  are 
hereby,  authorized  to  purchase  of  Ihe  corporation  of  the  city  of  Washington,  all  the 
right,  title,  and  interest  of  the  said  corporation  in  and  to  the  City  Hall  of  the  said 
city;  subject,  however,  to  the  conditions  and  provisions  hereinafter  specified:  Pro- 
vided, That  the  corporation  shall,  on  or  beforethe  tenth  day  of  March  next,  enter  into 
bond,  with  sufficient  sureties,  to  be  approved  by  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  that  they  will  erect  on  the  Market  Space,  between  Seventh  and  Ninth  streets 
west,  and  between  Pennsylvania  avenue  and  B  street  north,  a  suitable  and  commo- 
dious building,  in  which  there  shall  be  included  such  apartments  as  may  be  neces- 
sary for  the  accommodation  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  for  the  county 
of  Washington,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  for  the  use  of  the  grand  and  petit  jurors 
of  the  said  county,  for  the  offices  of  the  clerk  of  the  said  court  and  the  marshal  of 
said  District,  and  for  the  preservation  and  security  of  the  book?,  papers,  and  records 
of  the  said  court;  and  that  they  will  complete  the  said  building,  or  so  much  of  the 
same  as  may  contain  the  apartments  and  accommodations  aforesaid,  and  shall  pre- 
pare the  same  for  the  said  courts  and  offices,  on  or  before  the  tenth  day  of  March, 
1848.  And  upon  such  purchase  being  completed,  the  said  corporation  shall  release 
and  forever  quitclaim  unto  the  said  Smithsonian  Institution  all  the  right  and  title  of 
the  said  corporation  unto  the  said  city  hall,  and  unto  the  possession  and  occupation 
of  the  lot  or  square  on  which  the  same  now  stands. 


TWENTY-NINTH   CONGRESS,  1845-1847.  439 

SEC.  2.  Ami  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  soon  as  the  said  bond  and  release  shall  be 
executed  by  the  said  corporation,  and  sufficient  evidence  thereof  be  laid  before  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  President  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to 
grant  unto  the  said  corporation  the  right  to  occupy  and  improve,  for  public  purposes, 
all  or  any  portion  of  that  lot  or  square  of  ground  in  the  city  of  Washington,  includ- 
ing the  Market  space,  lying  between  Seventh  and  Ninth  streets  west,  and  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  south  line  of  Pennsylvania  avenue,  and  on  the  south  by  the 
north  line  of  B  street  north.  And  then,  and  in  that  case,  there  shall  also  be  paid  to 
the  corporation,  towards  the  erection  of  the  building,  as  provided  in  the  first  section 
of  this  act,  the  sum  of  $35,000,  which  sum  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money 
in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated;  and  the  said  sum  of  $35,000  is  hereby 
declared  to  be  in  full  of  the  apartments  and  accommodations  specified  in  the  first 
section  of  this  act;  and  the  said  apartments  and  accommodations  shall  forever  remain 
subject  to  the  occupation  of  the  courts  and  their  offices  aforesaid. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  in  case  of  the  execution,  by  the  said  corpo- 
ration, of  the  bond  and  release  aforesaid,  the  regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
be,  and  they  are  hereby,  authorized,  by  resolution  of  the  board  of  regents,  to  retro- 
cede  to  the  United  States  that  certain  building  site  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  in 
the  public  reservation  commonly  called  the  Mall,  which,  according  to  the  provisions 
of  the  act  organizing  said  Institution,  approved  August  tenth,  1846,  has  become  the 
property  of  the  said  Institution;  and  upon  proper  evidence  being  adduced,  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  of  said  retrocession,  the  President  shall 
be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  convey  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  by  metes 
and  bounds,  so  much  of  that  public  reservation  in  the  city  of  Washington,  commonly 
called  the  Judiciary  square,  as  lies  south  of  the  extension  of  the  south  line  of  E  street 
north,  being  the  same  lot  or  square  on  which  the  city  hall  now  stands;  and  the  said 
conveyance  by  the  President  shall  be  received  in  evidence  in  all  courts  of  the  extent 
and  boundaries  of  the  lot  or  square  of  land  which,  by  virtue  of  this  act,  may  become 
the  property  of  the  said  Smithsonian  Institution. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  commissioner  of  public  buildings  in  the 
city  of  Washington  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  required  to  provide  tempo- 
rary accommodations  in  some  suitable  building  for  the  circuit  court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  county  of  Washington,  and  for  its  offices  and  records,  until  the  tenth 
day  of  March,  1848.  And  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  said  accommodations,  the 
sum  of  $1,000,  or  so  much  of  the  same  as  may  be  required  for  that  object,  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia. 

REPORT   OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 
March  2,  1847— Senate. 

Mr.  SIDNEY  BREESE  presented  a  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  made  agreeably  to  law,  showing  the 
operations,  expenditures,  and  condition  of  the  Institution,  which  was 
ordered  to  be  printed. 


III. 


LEGISLATION  RELATIVE  TO  THE  INSTITUTION  AND  ITS 
DEPENDENCIES:  1847  TO  1899. 


441 


THIRTIETH  CONGRESS,  1847-1849. 

COMMITTEE    ON   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

December  8,  1847 — House. 

Mr.  HUGH  WHITE  gave  notice  that  on  some  subsequent  day  he  would 
move  to  amend  the  rules  of  the  House  so  as  to  provide  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
December  13,  1847— House. 

Mr.  HUGH  WHITE,  in  compliance  with  the  notice  he  had  given,  intro- 
duced resolution. 

Resolved,  That  the  rules  of  this  House  be  amended  by  adding  one  to  the  commit- 
tees, to  consist  of  nine  members,  which  shall  be  entitled  a  Committee  on  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  committee  to  supervise  the 
proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  examine  accounts  and  the  condition  of  the 
funds  of  the  Institution,  suggest  such  alterations  or  amendments  of  the  law  under 
which  the  Institution  was  established  as  may  be  deemed  necessary,  and  report  to  the 
House  from  time  to  time,  as  the  interest  of  the  Institution  may  require. 

Mr.  H.  W.  HILLIARD  said  he  supposed  that  the  resolution  would, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  lie  over. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  R.  C.  WINTHROP)  said  that  the  resolution  was 
now  before  the  House. 

Mr.  HILLIARD  deemed  this  resolution  entirely  unnecessary.  The 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  were  selected,  three  from  the 
Senate  and  three  from  the  House.  What  possible  necessity,  then, 
could  there  be  to  justify  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  inspect 
the  affairs  of  that  Institution?  Besides,  other  departments  of  this 
Government  were  required  to  act  in  concert  with  them,  and  therefore 
there  could  be  no  reason  to  justify  the  bringing  of  the  affairs  of  that 
Institution  into  this  arena  of  debate,  that  its  progress  might  be 
embarrassed,  its  harmony  of  action  impaired,  and  the  objects  which 
it  had  undertaken  be  defeated.  He  asked  the  gentleman  what  good 
he  proposed  to  accomplish  by  it?  He  would  impute  no  sinister  mo- 
tive to  a  gentleman  of  his  enlarged  and  enlightened  views,  but  still  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  bill  itself  encountered  great  difficulties 
in  its  progress  through  the  House  during  the  last  session.  Much 
hostility  was  manifested  to  it,  and  therefore  he  again  asked,  what 
good  could  be  anticipated  from  the  appointment  of  such  a  committee  ? 

Mr.  HILLIARD  believed  they  ought  not  to  change  the  present 
relations  of  Congress  to  that  Institution.  A  committee  appointed  by 
this  House  would  not  share  in  the  daily  deliberations  of  the  Board  of 

443 


444  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

Regents,  and,  without  participating  in  them,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
comprehend  all  its  designs.  The  Board  of  Regents  had  endeavored  in 
good  faith  to  carry  out  the  law  passed  by  Congress;  and,  having  done 
so,  he  said,  let  them  go  on;  and  if  their  affairs  .should  hereafter  call 
for  the  appointment  of  a  select  committee,  appoint  one  when  required, 
but  do  not  now  provide  the  means  unnecessarily  of  constantly  bring- 
ing on  this  floor,  where  they  were  so  much  oppressed  with  debate, 
the  affairs  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  WHITE  disclaimed  all  hostility  to  that  Institution,  and  declared 
his  ardent  desire  to  cooperate  with  the  Regents.  The  bequest  was  a 
noble  one,  and  it  should  be  carried  out  in  the  same  spirit.  The  com- 
mittee which  he  proposed  to  create,  on  which  he  did  not  desire  to  be 
placed,  would  merely  supervise  the  appropriations  and  review  its 
affairs,  and  his  could  not,  therefore,  be  considered  a  hostile  motion. 
It  was  a  new  Institution,  under  the  care  and  guardianship  of  Congress, 
and  such  a  committee  might  be  necessary  to  report  what  was  useful 
and  requisite  to  carry  out  the  design  of  the  testator,  which  was  to 
increase  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

Mr.  C.  J.  INGERSOLL  suggested,  to  save  time,  that  the  resolution 
should  be  referred  to  the  Select  Committee  on  Rules,  who  could  take 
it  into  consideration  and  report  thereon  to  the  House. 

Mr.  WHITE  had  no  objection  to  that  course.     He  modified  his  res- 
olution  accordingly,  and  it  was   referred  to   the   select  committee 
designated. 
December  19,  1847— House. 

The  House  having  under  consideration  the  Rules  of  the  House,  the 
seventh  proposed  rule  was  read  as  follows: 

7.  In  addition  to  the  other  standing  committees  of  the  House,  there  shall  be  one 
called  the  Smithsonian  Committee,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  superintend  the  affairs 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  C.  J.  INGERSOLL  expressed  a  desire  to  postpone  the  considera- 
tion of  this  rule  to  a  future  day. 

Mr.  II.  W.  HILLIARD  said  he  desired  to  occupy  about  ten  minutes 
of  the  time  of  the  House  on  this  subject  at  this  time.  He  thought 
this  was  the  precise  occasion  on  which  a  few  words  should  be  said. 

Mr.  IXGERSOLL  had  no  objection;  but  as  the  other  rules  had  been 
disposed  of,  he  wished  to  defer  this  for  the  present. 

Mr.  HILLIARD  undertook  to  move  the  postponement  to  a  day  certain, 
and  then  proceeded  as  follows: 

Mr.  Speaker,  it  so  happens  that  I  am  the  only  member  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  now  entitled  to  a  seat  on 
this  floor.  It  is  important  to  secure  the  good-will  of  the  country  in 
behalf  of  an  enterprise  so  elevated — one  might  say,  so  sublime. 

There  exists  some  misconception  in  regard  to  the  Institution,  and 
idle  rumors  are  afloat  which  may  affect  it  injuriously.  Scientific 


THIRTIETH   CONGRESS,   1847-1849.  445 

establishments  are  not  to  go  out  and  court  popularity,  but  they  must 
not  be  indifferent  to  public  sentiment.  Before  entering  upon  the 
stormy  and  engrossing  debates  in  which  we  shall  presently  be  engaged, 
I  desire  by  a  simple  statement  of  facts  to  give  the  House  a  view  of  the 
history,  condition,  and  plans  of  an  institution  which  so  strongly 
appeals  to  us  for  protection. 

Mr.  Smithson's  bequest  was  a  noble  one.  He  gave  his  whole  prop- 
erty to  found  at  the  city  of  Washington  "an  establishment  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  America  was 
selected  as  a  field  for  so  wide  and  beneficent  a  design.  Young,  vigor- 
ous, rapidly  increasing  in  numbers,  this  country  afforded  the  best 
ground  upon  which  to  rest  an  establishment  which  was  designed  to 
enlighten  mankind. 

Entering  into  the  spirit  of  this  bequest  Congress  passed  an  act  mak- 
ing the  most  liberal  provision  for  carrying  it  into  practical  effect. 
The  whole  sum,  with  its  accumulated  interest,  was  turned  over  to  the 
establishment  created  by  the  act,  composed  of  the  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Secretary  of  the -Navy,  the 
Postmaster-General,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Chief  Justice,  and  the 
Commissioner  of  the  Patent  Office  of  the  United  States,  and  the  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Washington,  during  the  time  for  which  they  shall  hold 
their  respective  offices,  and  such  other  persons  as  they  may  elect  hon- 
orary members.  The  sum  amounted  to  $515,169,  and  a  further  sum 
of  $242,129,  being  the  accumulated  interest  upon  that  sum  since  it 
came  into  possession  of  the  Government.  The  principal  sum  was  for- 
ever to  remain  untouched;  the  interest  was  appropriated  to  the  erection 
of  the  building  and  incidental  expenses.  The  building  to  be  erected 
was  to  meet  the  provisions  of  the  act,  which  required  it  to  contain 
suitable  rooms  or  halls  for  the  reception  and  arrangement,  upon  a  lib- 
eral scale,  of  objects  of  natural  history,  including  a  geological  and  min- 
eralogical  cabinet;  also  a  chemical  laboratory,  a  library,  a  gallery  of 
art,  and  the  necessary  lecture  rooms.  Another  section  provides  that, 
in  proportion  as  suitable  arrangements  can  be  made  for  their  reception, 
all  objects  of  art,  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research,  and  all  objects 
of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens, 
belonging  or  hereafter  to  belong  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  shall  be  delivered  to  the  care  of  the  Insti- 
tution, and  so  classed  and  arranged  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination 
and  study  of  them  in  the  building  to  be  erected.  This  at  once  empties 
the  great  hall  of  the  Patent  Office,  350  feet  long,  of  its  contents.  It 
must  be  at  once  seen  that  the  Smithsonian  building  ought,  if  it  is  to 
accommodate  these  great  and  various  objects,  to  be  of  ample  dimen- 
sions. This  building,  too,  was  to  be  erected  without  delay.  The  site 
was  to  be  selected  "forthwith,"  "and  so  soon"  as  that  was  done  the 
Board  was  to  proceed  with  the  erection  of  the  building. 


44(3  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  Board  of  Regents  faithfully  studied  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson 
and  the  law  creating  the  establishment. 

Two  things  were  to  be  accomplished:  First,  to  increase  knowledge 
by  original  research;  and  then,  second,  to  diffuse  it  by  suitable  and 
efficient  agencies;  or,  in  the  language  of  the  venerable  and  distinguished 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts  (Mr.  Adams),  "to  spread  knowledge 
throughout  the  world." 

The  task  devolved  by  Congress  on  the  Regents  was  no  light  one. 
They  were  called  on  to  organize  and  set  on  foot  this  establishment,  so 
beneficent  in  its  conception,  so  comprehensive  in  its  design.  The  act 
of  Congress  prescribed  certain  parts  of  the  plan  and  left  the  other 
parts  to  be  devised  by  the  Board  of  Regents.  That  part  of  the  plan 
which  was  embraced  in  the  act  of  Congress  had  almost  exclusive  refer- 
ence to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge.  The  means  which  provide  for  the 
increase  have  been  supplied  by  the  Regents. 

We  have  been  charged  with  being  wildhy  extravagant — laying  out 
large  sums  in  purchase  of  old  books.  A  story  has  been  circulated  that 
we  paid  $2,500  for  an  old  and  rare  copy  of  the  Bible.  Now,  sir,  no 
man  loves  the  Bible  more  than  I  do,  but  I  could  not  have  consented  to 
an  expenditure  of  that  sort.  I  dare  say  no  one  member  of  the  Board 
ever  dreamed  of  such  an  expenditure. 

Again,  some  have  charged  us  with  being  too  utilitarian,  confining 
our  operations  to  an  improvement  of  the  physical  condition  of  man- 
kind. We  have  certainly  endeavored  in  our  plan  of  organization  to 
provide  for  the  entire  wants  of  mankind  and  to  meet  the  spirit  of  the 
age.  We  have  brought  into  our  service  a  gentleman  who  stands  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  science  of  the  country — I  mean  Professor  Henry, 
formerly  of  Princeton.  His  name  is  well  known  in  Europe,  and  is 
associated  with  that  of  Faraday,  and  Arago,  and  Quetelet.  I  have 
before  me  the  plan  of  organization  adopted  for  the  operations  of  the 
Institution,  to  which  I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  the  House,  but 
which  (as  Mark  Antony  said  on  a  much  more  important  occasion 
about  the  will  of  Caesar) — pardon  me,  I  do  not  intend  to  read.  I  wish 
every  gentleman  in  the  House  would  read  it,  for  it  would  receive  on  all 
sides  a  warm  and  generous  support. 

I  desire  to  submit  a  few  remarks  in  regard  to  our  building.  We 
were  authorized  by  Congress  to  expend  $240,000  in  its  erection;  but, 
in  view  of  the  wide  field  of  knowledge  to  be  cultivated,  the  Regents 
resolved  to  save  a  part  of  this  sum  and  add  it  to  the  principal.  Keep- 
ing in  view  the  great  interests  to  be  provided  for,  it  was  resolved  to 
erect  a  building  of  proportions  sufficiently  ample  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  act  of  Congress,  and  of  a  style  which  should  not  offend 
the  eye.  This  has  been  effected,  a  contract  has  been  entered  into,  and 
a  plan  of  expenditure  agreed  upon,  which,  while  the  building  is 
gradually  constructed,  will  carry  out  the  plan  to  full  completion,  and 


THIRTIETH    CONGRESS,   1847-1849.  447 

at  the  end  of  five  years  from  the  time  of  its  commencement.  So  far 
from  having  expended  the  sum  appropriated  by  Congress  for  the  pur- 
pose, we  shall  have  after  erecting  the  structure,  providing  for  its  warm- 
ing and  ventilation,  and  the  inclosure  of  the  grounds,  $140,000  to 
return  to  the  principal  sum.  In  the  meanwhile  we  are  carrying  on 
the  operations  of  the  Institution,  stimulating  original  researches,  pub- 
lishing contributions  to  science,  and  gradually  increasing  our  library. 
At  the  same  time  we  pay  our  debts  as  we  go  on.  This  is,  of  course, 
accomplished  by  using  the  interest  on  the  $240,000  for  the  building 
and  the  annually  accruing  interest  on  the  principal  fund  for  meeting 
the  regular  expenses  of  the  Institution. 

The  transactions  of  the  present  year  are  highly  interesting,  and  will 
soon  be  published  in  a  volume  which  will  compare  well  with  similar 
publications  in  Europe. 

With  the  building,  so  far  as  it  has  gone,  all  paid  for  and  every  debt 
discharged,  we  shall  have  at  the  end  of  the  year  $10,000  more  than  we 
received  from  Congress. 

Is  there  any  necessity  for  a  standing  committee  of  this  House  ?  How 
is  the  Board  of  Regents  composed?  The  act  of  Congress  declares 
that  it  shall  be  constituted  of  the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  the  mayor  of  the  city  of 
Washington,  three  members  of  the  Senate,  three  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  together  with  six  other  persons  not  mem- 
bers of  Congress.  Each  House  of  Congress,  it  will  be  perceived,  has 
three  members  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  and  it  is  required  by  law  that 
the  Board  shall  submit  to  Congress  at  each  session  a  report  of  the 
operations,  expenditures,  and  condition  of  the  institution. 

At  the  last  session  I  presented  a  full  report  according  to  law  which 
I  now  have  before  me;  it  was  printed  and  circulated.  Another  report 
is  about  to  be  presented  embracing  the  report  of  the  building  commit- 
tee, a  paper  containing  some  300  pages  full  of  useful  information 
which  I  should  be  happy  to  see  printed.  Is  it,  then,  necessary  to 
appoint  a  committee ?  Is  it  proper?  Is  it  becoming?  A  committee  of 
this  House  appointed  "to  superintend  the  affairs  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution ! "  This  committee  will  bring  under  its  supervision  the 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  the  Chief  Justice,  three  Senators, 
three  Representatives,  and  six  citizens  at  large  selected  because  of 
their  character  and  attainments.  May  I  most  respectfully  ask  who 
will  superintend  the  affairs  of  that  committee  of  five  ?  Where  is  the 
necessity  for  thus  complicating  the  machinery  of  an  institution  which 
ought  to  be  left  to  enjoy  the  repose  which  science  loves. 

I  hope,  sir,  that  this  Institution,  so  important  to  this  country  and  to 
mankind,  will  not  be  launched  on  the  ever-heaving  sea  of  politics.  If 
that  should  happen,  we  should  soon  lose  sight  of  land;  storms  and 
shipwreck  would  await  us,  and  the  hopes  which  crowned  our  noble 
enterprise  in  its  commencement  would  perish  with  us. 


448  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

I  thank  the  House  for  the  attention  with  which  they  have  heard 
these  remarks;  it  evinces  the  interest  which  they  feel  in  an  institution 
which  claims  their  protection. 

Mr.  Hilliard  concluded  by  moving  to  lay  the  proposed  rule  on  the 
table. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON  said  he  thought  he  understood  the  agreement 
between  the  gentleman  from  Alabama  and  the  gentleman  f rojn  Penn- 
sylvania to  be  that  this  subject  should  be  postponed  to  a  day  certain. 

Mr.  C.  J.  INGERSOLL.  My  suggestion  was  that  the  consideration  of 
the  subject  be  postponed  to  any  given  day  which  the  gentleman  from 
Alabama  might  name. 

Mr.  H.  AV.  HILLIARD.  I  had  no  choice  at  all,  sir. 

Mr.  INGERSOLL  indicated  his  wish  that  the  gentleman  from  Alabama 
should  name  the  day. 

Mr.  HILLIARD  said  he  would  move,  if  agreeable  to  the  House,  that 
it  be  postponed  to  this  day  twelve  months. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON  addressed  the  Chair,  and  inquired  if  that 
motion  was  not  debatable. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  R.  C.  WINTHROP)  replied  in  the  affirmative. 

Mr.  INGERSOLL  suggested  to  Mr.  Hilliard  that  his  understanding 
was  that  it  should  be  postponed  to  some  day  not  distant,  when  the 
House  could  reach  and  dispose  of  it. 

Mr.  HILLIARD  said  he  would  withdraw  the  motion,  as  he  preferred 
the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  should  make  his  own  motion. 

The  SPEAKER  said  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  had  not  the 
floor  to  make  the  motion.  The  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  A. 
Johnson]  had  taken  the  floor. 

Mr.  HILLIARD  then  remarked  that  he  had  been  reminded  that  his 
pledge  was  to  move  a  postponement  to  a  day  within  a  reasonable 
period,  and  said  he  would  modify  his  motion  so  as  to  name  the  3d  day 
of  January  next. 

The  SPEAKER  said  the  motion  could  not  be  altered  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee,  who  had  the  floor. 

Mr.  HILLIARD  appealed  to  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  to  permit 
the  modification  to  be  made. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON  had  no  objection,  provided  it  did  not  deprive 
him  of  the  floor. 

The  motion  was  according^  modified  by  Mr.  Hilliard,  so  as  to  post- 
pone to  the  3d  day  of  January. 

Mr.  JOHNSON  then  proceeded  in  his  remarks.  He  said  the  gentle- 
man who  had  just  closed  his  remarks  had  seen  no  propriety  or  neces- 
sity for  the  appointment  of  this  committee.  He  seemed  to  think  it 
would  be  humiliating,  and  detracting  somewhat  from  the  dignity  of 
these  individuals — who  were  called  "Regents,'1  he  believed,  in  the  act 
establishing  the  Smithsonian  Institution — to  have  their  proceedings 
come  under  the  supervision  of  a  committee  of  this  House.  Now,  his 


.THIRTIETH   CONGRESS,   1847-1849.  449 

[Mr.  Johnson's]  conceptions  about  dignity  and  position  in  this  coun- 
try were  perhaps  different  from  those  of  the  gentleman  from  Ala- 
bama. According  to  his  notions  of  government  this  body  occupied 
the  highest  and  most  elevated  position.  In  this  democratic  govern- 
ment it  was  held  that  the  people  are  sovereign — the  source  of  all 
power;  this  body  stands  next  to  the  people,  next  to  the  sovereignty, 
and  instead  of  detracting  from  their  dignity  he  thought  it  was  assign- 
ing them  their  true  position.  He  knew  there  were  some  who  were 
really  fascinated  by  that  word  "Regent,"  and  the  fondness  of  such 
things  was  increasing  in  our  country. 

He  thought  the  gentleman  from  Alabama  had  demonstrated  clearly 
to  this  House,  in  his  opposition  to  the  creation  of  this  committee,  the 
necessity  of  its  creation.  If  all  was  done  well,  everything  regularly 
transacted,  if  the  money  was  judiciously  expended,  in  the  name  of 
common  reason  would  it  in  jure  or  affect  their  proceedings  to  be  super- 
vised by  a  committee  appointed  by  this  body  ?  Why,  the  very  dispo- 
sition to  shrink  from  the  supervision  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the 
popular  branch  of  the  Government  ought  to  carry  conviction  to  the 
mind  of  this  House  of  the  necessity  of  its  creation. 

He  was  no  prophet,  but  when  the  bill  was  before  the  House  for  the 
establishment  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  he  had  predicted  what 
had  already  become  a  matter  of  fact — that  this  Institution  would  be  an 
incubus  upon  the  Treasury,  that  it  would  be  a  perpetual  source  of 
expenditure.  The  clause  in  Mr.  Smithson's  will  "for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men  "  read  well,  it  was  true.  And  the 
gentleman  from  Alabama  undertook  also  to  prove  how  great  financiers 
the  Board  of  Regents  were,  and  said  after  all  the  improvements  are 
done  the}T  would  have  over  $100,000  left.  And  how  was  this  done? 
Why,  they  had  taken  $242,000,  supposed  to  be  the  interest  which  had 
accumulated  on  this  fund,  and  put  that  upon  interest,  having  bought 
Treasury  notes,  he  supposed,  on  which  they  were  drawing  interest; 
and  by  this  means  they  had  saved  an  immense  sum.  Did  not  every 
member  know  who  had  paid  attention  to  the  discussion  of  this  subject 
when  the  bill  passed  placing  $500,000  at  the  discretion  of  the  Board  of 
Regents  that  not  a  dollar  of  it  was  there  ?  They  first  placed  a  certain 
amount  in  the  Treasury  that  did  not  exist  there,  and  then  calculated 
interest  on  this  fictitious  amount  and  then  interest  on  the  interest; 
which  is  the  way  in  which  they  are  to  carry  on  their  extensive  works. 

Mr.  HILLIARD.  Is  the  gentleman  charging  that  upon  the  board  or 
this  House? 

Mr.  JOHNSON.  Charging  what? 

Mr.  HILLIARD.  Why,  that  a  fictitious  amount  was  placed  in  the 
Treasury. 

Mr.  JOHNSON.  I  was  going  on  to  prove  the  position  that  this  Institu- 
tion would  be  an  incubus  upon  the  Treasury. 
H.  Doc.  732 29 


450  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS- 

Mr.  MILLIARD.  But  does  the  gentleman  charge  the  putting  this 
fictitious  sum  in  the  Treasury,  etc.,  on  the  board  or  on  Congress?  I 
wish  him  to  answer  on  that  point. 

Mr.  JOHNSON.  On  Congress.  The  bill  of  last  session  placed  $500,000 
in  the  Treasury  which  was  not  there  in  reality.  It  is  true  the  Gov- 
ernment received  it;  but  they  acted  as  a  faithful  trustee  and  loaned  it 
out,  and  not  a  cent  has  ever  been  returned.  In  this  state  of  the  case, 
Mr.  JOHNSON  denied  that  the  Government  was  justly  bound  to  refund 
the  money,  and  that  very  few  of  their  constituencies  would  sanction 
it.  It  would  have  been  much  better  if  she  had  never  consented  to  act 
as  trustee  of  it;  for  notwithstanding  their  flourishing  with  "Regents," 
etc.,  and  talking  of  such  a  sum  as  in  the  Treasury,  it  was  not  there, 
and  the  expenses  of  this  Institution  came  out  of  the  Treasury,  which 
was  already  heavily  taxed  and  burdened  with  debt  to  carry  on  the  war. 
He  insisted,  now  that  they  had  commenced  operations,  that  reports  of 
their  proceedings  should  be  regularly  laid  before  a  committee  of  this 
House  who  would  thus  have  supervision  over  them  and  be  a  check  upon 
them.  Such  a  restraint  was  needed  in  all  Government  establishments, 
and  there  was  no  reason  in  this  case  why  this  institution  should  be 
excepted. 
January  17,  1848— House. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  of  Tennessee,  presented  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  in  addition  to  the  standing  committees  of  this  House  there  shall  be 
one  called  the  Smithsonian  Committee,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  superintend  the 
affairs  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Resolved,  That  the  report  made  by  the  Regents,  and  accompanying  documents,  be 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
examine  the  same  in  connection  with  the  original  journal  and  other  documents  from 
which  they  have  been  made,  and  report  to  this  House  whether,  in  their  opinion,  it  is 
necessary  to  print  all  or  any  portion  of  them,  or  not;  and  that  said  committee  be,  and 
is  hereby,  authorized  and  required  to  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  and 
expediency  of  suspending  all  further  operations  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  until 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  be  relieved  from  the  heavy  and  pressing  burden 
created  by  the  existing  war  between  the  anarchy  of  Mexico  and  the  American  Union. 
And,  further,  that  said  committee  be  authorized  and  required  to  procure  the  aid  of 
three  architects,  distinguished  in  their  profession,  associated  with  two  responsible 
and  highly  reputed  scientific  practical  builders,  who  shall  take  into  consideration 
the  site,  the  design,  and  material  of  wrhich  the  present  building  is  composed,  and 
report  the  result  of  such  examination  to  this  House.  And,  further,  that  said  com- 
mittee take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  so  changing  and  remodelling  the 
present  design  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  as  to  convert  it  into  a  "university,"  in 
the  extended  sense  of  the  term,  including  the  manual-labor  feature,  as  to  embrace 
agriculture,  horticulture,  and  all  the  various  branches  of  mechanism,  or  as  many  of 
them  as  may  be  deemed  practicable  and  useful  to  the  country. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  R.  C.  WINTHROP)  ruled  the  resolution  out  of 
order. 

Mr.  JOHNSON  moved  to  suspend  the  rules  that  the  resolution  might 
be  received. 


THIRTIETH    CONGRESS,   1847-1849.  451 

The  question  was  put  on  suspending  the  rules,  and  the  motion  was 
disagreed  to. 

Notices  of  motions  for  leave  to  introduce  bills  being  in  order,  the 
following  notice  was  given: 

Bv  Mr.  JOHNSON,  of  Tennessee:  Of  a  bill  to  change  the  title  of  an 
act  approved  on  the  10th  day  of  August,  1846,  entitled  "An  act  to 
establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men,"  to  that  of  the  "Washington  University 
for  the  benefit  of  the  indigent  children  of  the  District  of  Columbia," 
in  memory  of  and  out  of  respect  to  George  Washington,  the  Father  of 
his  Country.  - 
December  11,  1848— House. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  of  Tennessee,  moved  to  amend  the  resolu- 
tion of  Mr.  Truman  Smith,  so  as  to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  a 
standing  committee  to  be  called  the  Committee  on  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

Mr.  W.  L.  GOGGIN  rose,  and  was  understood  to  express  his  desire 
to  offer  an  amendment  providing  that  no  member  should  have  the 
right  to  call  the  previous  question  on  any  proposition  presented  to 
the  House  until  the  same  should  have  been  distinctly  stated  by  the 
Chair  or  the  Clerk. 

Mr.  Goggin  desired,  if  in  order,  to  offer  this  as  an  amendment  to 
the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  Johnson]. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  R.  C.  WINTHROP)  was  understood  to  say  that  the 
proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Virginia  [Mr.  Goggin]  would  be  in 
order  after  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr. 
Johnson]  had  been  disposed  of.  The  question  now  was,  on  ordering 
the  appointment  of  an  additional  committee  on  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

The  question  was  accordingly  put  by  the  Chair,  but  before  the 
decision  had  been  announced — 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON  hoped,  he  said,  that  the  House  would  adopt 
his  amendment.  The  subject  involved  the  expenditure  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars,  and  he  could  see  no  substantial  reason  why  oppo- 
sition should  be  made  to  the  appointment  of  such  a  committee.  The 
Regents  were  prepared,  as  he  understood,  to  make  a  report.  This  Con- 
gress had  the  supervision  of  the  fund,  and  had  the  appointment  of  some 
of  its  Regents,  and  he  could  not  see  why  this  body,  or  incorporation, 
or  Institution,  upon  which  so  much  money  had  been  expended,  should 
not  be  reported  upon  as  to  its  proceedings  and  conditions  to  this 
House.  Congress  had  received  the  fund  and  had  become  responsible 
for  it.  They  were  the  trustees.  Were  they  to  act  before  a  committee 
of  the  House  had  reported  upon  the  manner  in  which  the  funds  had 
been  disposed  of,  and  upon  other  matters  of  that  kind?  He  was  utterly 
astonished  that  his  amendment  should  find  any  opponent  on  this  floor. 


452  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Did  gentlemen  wish  to  exclude  all  light  upon  the  subject — to  prevent 
the  country  receiving  such  information  as  it  was  in  their  power  to 
give — to  keep  from  public  view  the  facts  connected  with  the  expendi- 
ture of  the  money?  It  was  strange  that  any  gentleman  should  be 
found  willing  to  say  that  he  did  not  want  a  committee  which  might 
ascertain  all  the  facts  and  report  them  to  the  country.  Various  com- 
plaints had  been  made  as  to  the  expenditure  of  the  money,  the  struc- 
ture of  the  building,  and  the  material  of  which  it  was  composed.  Were 
gentlemen  willing  to  exclude  all  those  facts  which  it  was  requisite 
should  be  known  in  order  to  arrive  at  correct  conclusions,  and  intelli- 
gently to  direct  the  future  operations  of  the  Institution^  If  all  was 
going  on  well,  if  the  building  was  properly  constructed,  and  the  money 
had  been  properly  expended,  let  the  country  understand  it.  He  trusted 
that  the  House  would  adopt  his  proposition  and  that  a  committee  would 
be  appointed. 

Mr.  ROBERT  MCCLELLAND,  of  Michigan,  said  that  he  was  not 
opposed  to  the  appointment  of  the  committee  contemplated  by  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  Johnson].  At  the 
same  time,  if  he  had  no  other  reasons  than  those  which  had  been 
assigned  by  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee,  he  (Mr.  McClelland)  should 
be  radically  opposed  to  such  an  appointment.  Reports  had  been  sent 
in  by  the  Board  of  Regents  that  were  very  full  and  ample  in  regard 
to  all  the  facts  that  the  people  throughout  the  country  could  desire  to 
know  concerning  this  Institution.  One  very  full  report  of  all  facts 
touching  the  Institution  had  been  laid  before  the  House  at  the  last  ses- 
sion of  Congress.  The  House  had  refused  to  print  it.  That  report, 
his  friend  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  Johnson]  would  find,  had  set  forth,  in 
a  simple  and  lucid  manner,  everything  connected  with  the  Institution 
since  its  organization — everything  that  had  been  done  under  the  law 
passed  by  Congress  down  to  that  time.  He  (Mr.  McClelland),  for  one, 
as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  would  say  that  it  was  not  afraid 
of  any  investigation  by  a  committee  of  this  House  or  otherwise.  He 
would  go  as  far  as  any  reasonable  man  in  favor  of  economy  and 
retrenchment;  and  he  would  say  that  the  Board  of  Regents,  so  far  as 
his  knowledge  extended,  had  acted  upon  both  these  principles  in  every 
step  they  had  taken.  He  was  astonished,  on  entering  upon  his  official 
duties,  to  find  that  almost  every  report  which  had  been  put  in  circula- 
tion in  regard  to  the  Institution  was  entirely  false  and  groundless. 
He  hoped  that  every  gentleman  here  who  was  a  friend  to  the  Institu- 
tion would  permit  a  committee  to  be  appointed,  and  that  it  might  be 
composed  of  members  who  were  radically  opposed  to  the  Institution, 
so  that  no  barrier  should  be  interposed  to  the  most  rigorous  and 
searching  scrutiny.  And  (continued  Mr.  McClelland)  if  that  com- 
mittee shall  give  to  the  country  such  a  report  as  I  know  they  will  give, 
for  none  other  can  they  make,  the  effect  will  be  to  raise  the  Institu- 


THIRTIETH    CONGRESS,   1847-1849.  453 

tion  to  a  higher  point  in  public  estimation  than  any  which  it  has  ever 
yet  attained. 

Mr.  H.  W.  HILLIARD  rose,  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents  in 
this  House,  to  make  no  opposition  to  the  amendment  of  the  gentle- 
man from  Tennessee,  if  it  should  be  the  deliberate  opinion  of  the 
House  that  such  a  committee  should  be  appointed.  But  he  wished 
the  House  to  mark  the  spirit  in  which  the  motion  was  made.  When 
the  report  was  brought  forward  by  him  (Mr.  Hilliard)  from  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  at  the  last  session  of  Con- 
gress, and  a  motion  was  made  to  print  it,  the  gentleman  from  Ten- 
nessee was  the  very  one  who  interposed  his  objection  to  the  printing. 
They  had  been  reproached  with  not  being  willing  to  exhibit  their 
doings  to  the  country.  It  had  been  said  that  there  had  been  improper 
expenditures  of  money,  an  indiscreet  distribution  of  funds  authorized 
by  them.  Here  was  an  ample  report  setting  forth  all  the  facts,  mak- 
ing everything  plain,  and  when  he  had  moved  the  printing  of  the 
report,  for  the  information  of  the  country,  to  his  amazement  that 
very  gentleman  objected  to  the  printing  on  the  simple  ground  of 
expense.  But  now  the  gentleman  came  forward  with  a  proposition 
to  form  a  standing  committee  whose  business  it  should  be  to  super- 
vise the  action  of  the  three  members  of  this  House  and  the  three  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  who  were  already  charged  with  directing  the  affairs 
of  this  Institution.  He  should  offer  no  objections  to  the  proposition; 
he  left  it  to  the  taste  and  judgment  of  the  House.  For  one,  he  gave 
way,  and  yielded  any  objections  which  he  had  hitherto  offered  to  the 
proposition. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  of  Tennessee,  said  the  gentleman  from  Ala- 
bama seemed  to  have  stepped  off  upon  the  wrong  track  when  he  said 
that  the  simple  objection  which  he  (Mr.  Johnson)  had  had  to  the 
printing  at  the  last  session  of  Congress  was  that  it  would  involve  an 
expenditure  of  money. 

Mr.  HILLIARD  (in  his  seat)  said  he  had  so  understood  it. 

Mr.  JOHNSON  continued.  The  gentleman  from  Alabama  had  wholly 
misconceived  his  opposition  to  the  printing  of  this  report  at  the  last 
session  of  Congress.  It  would  be  remembered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Alabama  and  by  the  whole  House  that  he  (Mr.  Johnson)  was  striving 
the  whole  session,  that  he  had  made  effort  after  effort,  to  procure  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  before  this  report  should  be  printed,  that 
they  might  ascertain  whether  this  was  the  report  which  should  be 
printed  or  not.  This  was  the  objection  he  had  to  the  printing  of  the 
report.  He  wanted  it  referred  to  a  committee,  with  instructions  to 
inquire  into  the  expediency  of  printing  this  report,  and  also  of  print- 
ing a  work  which  they  desired  to  have  printed  upon  architecture — a 
kind  of  mongrel  report  prepared  by  some  of  the  Regents.  He  wanted 
a  committee  appointed  to  inquire  into  all  the  facts  about  the  Institu- 


454  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

tion,  and  to  report  them  to  this  House,  as  well  as  to  inquire  into  the 
expediency  of  printing  this  long,  voluminous  report  of  the  Regents. 

Mr.  HILLIARD  said  he  believed  he  had  understood  the  gentleman's 
remarks  correctly,  so  far  as  his  objections  went  to  the  expenses  of 
the  printing.  The  gentleman  now  chose  to  assume  other  ground,  that 
he  desired  to  examine  whether  it  was  such  a  report  as  the  House  ought 
to  receive.  Now,  it  would  have  been  far  better  for  the  gentleman  to 
have  allowred  it  to  be  printed,  and  then  this  House  would  have  been 
better  enabled  at  this  session  to  ascertain  the  fact  whether  it  was  such 
a  report  as  they  would  receive. 

But  there  was  no  concealing  the  fact  that  the  spirit  in  which  the 
gentleman  made  his  motion  did  not  grow  out  of  any  desire  to  have  the 
affairs  of  this  Institution  better  conducted,  or  to  make  its  action  more 
efficient,  or  to  relieve -it  of  a  single  burden,  but,  on  the  contrary,  from 
the  uncompromising  hostility  which  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  and 
a  few  others — he  was  happy  to  say  they  were  but  few — felt  against 
this  Institution.  The  gentlemen  would  be  for  destroying  its  organi- 
zation, for  razing  its  structure  to  the  very  foundations,  and  for  return- 
ing to  the  British  Government,  or  to  the  trustees  of  the  donor,  the 
munificent  sum  which  had  been  received  from  that  quarter.  He  asked 
the  gentleman  if  it  was  not  so  and  if  he  was  not  opposed  to  any  use 
whatever  being  made  of  the  fund  for  the  establishment  of  an  institu- 
tion in  this  country  called  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  JOHNSON  said  as  the  question  had  been  asked  him  he  would 
very  cheerfully  answer  it.  The  gentleman  wanted  to  know  if  his  hos- 
tility was  not  fixed  to  this  Institution. 

Mr.  TRUMAN  SMITH,  of  Connecticut,  rose  to  a  question  of  order. 
He  wished  to  know  of  the  Speaker  whether  it  was  in  order  to  discuss 
the  general  merits  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  upon  a  mere  propo- 
sition to  appoint  a  committee. 

The  SPEAKER  replied  that  the  House  had  adopted  no  rules  of  pro- 
ceeding, and  that  the  parliamentary  law  allowed  a  very  wide  range  of 
debate. 

Mr.  JOHNSON  proceeded  in  his  explanation.  He  was  satisfied  that 
the  gentleman  from  Alabama  with  no  unkind  spirit  asked  if  he  (Mr. 
Johnson)  was  not  fixed  in  his  hostility  to  the  very  organization  of  this 
Institution.  He  could  inform  the  gentleman  from  Alabama  that  he 
misconceived  his  relation  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  He  had  no 
fixed  hostility  to  it.  The  hostility  (if  it  could  be  so  called) — the  oppo- 
sition which  he  had  to  this  Institution — rested  upon  other  and  different 
grounds  from  a  mere  hostility  to  the  design  of  such  an  institution. 
One  of  the  principal  reasons  why  he  wanted  this  committee  appointed 
was  not  out  of  opposition  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  but,  taking 
into  consideration  the  peculiar  crisis  of  the  country  at  that  time,  and 
the  continuation  of  that  crisis  at  this  time,  and  the  burdens  which  this 


THIRTIETH    CONGRESS,   1847-1848.  455 

Institution  was  imposing  upon  the  Government,  he  wished  to  see  its 
affairs  thoroughly  investigated  and  brought  before  the  public.  That 
this  fund  had  been  received  from  the  United  States;  that  the  United 
States  had  discharged  its  duty  as  trustee  with  fidelity;  that  this  fund 
had  been  sunk  and  lost — these  were  all  true;  and,  according  to  his 
construction  of  the  Constitution  and  of  the  duties  of  a  trustee,  he  con- 
sidered that  the  Government  was  exonerated  from  any  further  respon- 
sibility in  connection  with  this  fund.  It  was  well  known  that  the 
original  fund  had  been  lost,  and  it  was  known,  too,  that  the  law  estab- 
lishing the  Smithsonian  Institution  took  the  money  out  of  the  Treasury 
of  the  Government — out  of  the  people's  pocket.  When  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  was  founded  every  dollar  of  the  money  received  from 
Mr.  Smithson  was  gone — not  a  dollar  of  it  was  available.  He  had 
opposed  an  institution  of  this  kind  being  established  with  funds  taken 
out  of  the  Treasury;  not  that  he  was  opposed  to  an  institution  estab- 
lished upon  the  Smithsonian  fund — not  that  he  disapproved  of  the 
object  of  the  donor — but  he  was  opposed  in  time  of  war,  when  we  were 
incurring  a  very  heavy  public  debt,  to  going  into  the  Treasury  and 
establishing  an  institution  of  this  description,  at.  an  expense  to  the 
people  of  some  five  or  six  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Another  reason  was  that  he  believed  under  the  law  itself  the  money 
had  been  improperly  withdrawn  from  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 
The  House  had  been  informed  by  the  able  and  eloquent  gentleman  from 
Alabama  that  the  Regents  had  withdrawn  money  from  the  Treasury  to 
the  amount  of  $242,000,  and  by  an  extraordinary  process  of  financier- 
ing were  doubling  and  compounding  it.  They  had  been  informed  also 
that  none  of  the  principal  had  been  expended.  How  had  this  been 
done?  Why,  when  the  law  was  passed  every  gentleman  here  at  all 
familiar  with  the  subject  knew  that  this  fund  was  gone — that  not  one 
dollar  of  it  was  left.  He  had  the  documents  before  him  to  show  that 
this  was  the  fact.  But  the  law  placed  that  in  the  Treasury  which  was 
not  there;  it  was  a  legal  fiction.  It  said  that  a  certain  amount  had 
been  placed  in  the  Treasury  in  1836  and  had  remained  there  and  been 
drawing  interest  from  1836,  and  that  the  interest  on  that  sum  (which 
was  not  in  the  Treasury)  was  $242,000;  and  this  amount  was  appropri- 
ated to  the  erection  of  this  institution  called  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion. He  had  believed  it  wrong;  he  still  believed  it  so.  But  under 
this  law  how  this  amount  of  money  had  been  drawn  out  of  the  Treasury 
he  had  never  been  able  to  ascertain.  He  was  in  hope,  now  that  a  run- 
ning discussion  had  arisen  on  the  subject,  that  they  would  be  informed 
how  this  large  amount  of  money  had  been  drawn  out  of  the  Treasury. 
He  could  find  no  authority  for  it  in  the  act  establishing  the  Institution — 
no  authority  for  drawing  out  of  the  Treasury  this  large  amount  of" 
money  and  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  their  secretary,  or  at  interest,  or 
making  any  other  disposition  of  it. 


45ti  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  reason  why  he  had  opposed  the  printing  of  this  report  at  the 
last  session,  and  proposed  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  was  that 
there  were  rumors  about  the  city  in  relation  to  the  contract  for  erect- 
ing the  buildings;  it  had  been  charged  that  there  had  been  bribery 
going  on;  cards  had  been  published  that  there  was  maladministration 
in  all  these  matters;  that  there  was  corruption  in  the  very  incipiency 
of  this  Institution.  They  had  been  told  that  the  building  was  bad, 
that  the  materials  furnished  were  perishable,  while  he  understood  it 
was  the  design  of  the  donor  to  have  it  made  fireproof — a  substantial, 
enduring  building.  He  wanted  all  these  facts  ascertained.  Let  the 
committee  take  the  whole  matter  under  their  charge  and  report  the 
facts,  and  let  the  House  and  the  country  determine  whether  it  was  all 
right  or  not. 

He  referred,  a;;  another  objection,  to  the  question  of  the  incompati- 
bility, under  the  Constitution,  of  the  same  individuals  holding  at  the 
same  time  the  office  of  members  of  Congress,  drawing  per  diem  and 
mileage  as  such,  and  the  office  of  Regents  of  this  Institution,  drawing 
also  mileage  and  expenses  from  it — expenses  which,  when  they  came 
to  look  into  these  reports,  they  saw  were  extraordinary. 

The  gentleman  had  gravely  charged  that  he  had  manifested  hostility 
to  the  institution.  Suppose  he  had;  suppose  he  was  determined  to 
oppose  it  in  eveiy  mood  and  tense;  why,  if  the  Institution  was 
right — if  the  object  of  the  individual  who  gave  the  mone3T  was  being 
carried  out — in  the  name  of  common  sense,  would  not  a  committee, 
by  their  investigation,  convince  the  House  and  the  country  that  his 
objections  were  not  well  founded,  if  such  was  the  fact?  Would  not 
such  investigation  put  the  Institution  and  the  Regents  on  a  better,  a 
more  enduring  foundation?  Then  let  them  have  a  committee.  If  the 
Institution  was  right — if  the  Regents  were  carrying  out  the  design  of 
James  Smithson — let  it  be  ascertained  by  the  committee  and  be 
published  to  the  House  and  the  country. 

Mr.  H.  W.  HILLIARD  resumed.  The  gentleman  now  said  he  had  no 
hostility  to  the  Institution.  And  how  did  he  prove  it?  Why,  he  said 
they  had  put  a  fictitious  sum  into  the  Treasury,  and  therefore  he  would 
repeal  the  law  and  replace  the  money  in  the  Treasury.  It  was  well 
known  that  this  Government  had  received  the  fund  from  the  trustees 
of  James  Smithson  as  a  sacred  trust.  The  Government  had  thought 
proper  to  loan  the  money  to  the  State  of  Arkansas,  he  believed.  The 
money  had  been  squandered,  and  now  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee 
was  opposed  to  the  use  of  a  single  dollar  by  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion until  the  State  of  Arkansas  was  made  to  refund  the  money.  Was 
he  not  opposed  to  the  Institution,  and  was  not  the  very  object  of  his 
motion  to  uproot  the  whole  establishment,  on  the  ground  that  the 
Government  had  loaned  the  money  to  the  State  of  Arkansas  and  that 
it  had  never  been  returned?  By  every  moral,  by  every  equitable  con- 


THIETIETH    CONGEESS,   1847-1849.  457 

sideration,  the  Government,  having  loaned  and  lost  the  money,  was 
bound  to  make  good  the  trust.  Therefore,  when  the  Government  had 
thought  proper  to  make  the  establishment,  it  had  authorized  the 
Regents  in  proper  form  to  draw  the  money  bequeathed  by  James 
Smithson.  It  was  in  this  way  that  the  money  had  been  taken;  and 
because  they  had  thought  proper  to  make  a  judicious  use  of  it  from 
time  to  time  they  were  arraigned  by  the  gentleman  as  having  squan- 
dered the  funds.  Let  him  agree  to  have  the  report  published,  and  he 
would  find  that  it  gave  a  full  account  of  what  the}^  had  done. 

But  the  gentleman  had  said  it  was  a  crisis.  It  had  been  a  long  crisis. 
Thank  heaven,  the  crisis  to  which  the  gentleman  referred  had  passed 
away.  The  gentleman's  allusion  to  the  war  reminded  him  of  the  apol- 
ogy always  offered  by  the  steward  in  the  Bride  of  Lammermoor,  who 
always  accounted  for  the  absence  of  articles  of  luxury  about  the  castle 
of  his  master  on  the  ground  that  there  had  been  a  great  fire  there; 
and  now  the  gentleman  would  put  down  every  appropriation,  whether 
for  new  objects  or  to  maintain  a  great  existing  establishment  by  the 
cry,  "the  war,  the  war."  He  thanked  heaven  the  war  was  at  an  end. 
He  thanked  heaven  peace  had  come  in  our  time,  and  he  trusted  that  if 
there  had  been  much  treasure  squandered  in  war,  this  establishment, 
so  sublime  in  its  design,  so  magnificent  in  its  conception,  was  not  to 
share  in  the  calamities  of  war.  His  objection  to  the  gentleman's 
scheme  was  that  it  would  launch  the  Institution  on  a  political  sea. 
Leave  the  superintendence  of  the  establishment  to  the  Board  of 
Regents,  of  whom  three  were  members  of  the  House  and  three  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate,  and  who  in  some  sense  constituted  a  committee  of 
Congress,  and  leave  to  them  to  report  upon  the  state  of  its  affairs  from 
time  to  time.  If  their  fidelity  and  discretion  could  not  be  confided  in, 
then  we  had  fallen  on  evil  times.  But  he  would  not  oppose  the  motion. 
He  would  leave  it  to  the  judgment  of  the  House  to  dispose  of. 

Mr.  TKUMAN  SMITH,  of  Connecticut,  thought  this  proposition  alto- 
gether premature.  He  had  offered  a  resolution  in  the  ordinary  form — 
a  resolution  which  really  ought  to  have  been  offered  early  last  week — 
for  the  adoption  of  the  ordinary  rules  and  orders  of  the  House,  and 
had  connected  with  this  a  proposition,  as  at  the  last  session  of  Con- 
gress, to  raise  a  committee  to  revise  and  report  upon  the  rules  from 
time  to  time.  If  this  resolution  as  offered  should  pass,  then  they 
would  have  a  committee  upon  the  rules  and  orders  of  the  House,  and 
the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  could  then  offer  his  proposition  and 
refer  it  to  that  committee,  who  would  take  such  action  upon  it  as  they 
might  deem  proper.  He  was  now  very  apprehensive  that  there  was 
to  be  no  end  to  this  discussion,  and  no  end  to  their  efforts  to  amend 
the  rules,  if  they  were  to  favor  propositions  of  this  character  at  all, 
and  he  desired  to  ask  of  the  Chair  whether  it  was  competent  for  him 
to  move  the  previous  question. 


458  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  SPEAKER  replied  that  the  previous  question  might  be  moved; 
but  the  question  of  the  amendment,  having1  been  first  moved,  must 
be  first  put. 

Mr.  SMITH  inquired,  in  case  the  previous  question  was  sustained,  if 
it  did  not  cut  off  the  amendment? 

The  SPEAKER  said  the  previous  question  could  not  be  put  until  after 
the  question  was  taken  on  the  amendment;  and  he  read  from  the  man- 
ual on  this  point. 

Mr.  SMITH.  If  the  previous  question  is  moved,  does  it  stop  debate 
on  this  proposition? 

The  SPEAKER  replied  in  the  negative,  but  said  he  would  regard  the 
previous  question  as  moved,  so  that  when  this  amendment  was  dis- 
posed of  no  other  could  be  moved,  and  then  no  debate  could  arise 
except  upon  the  previous  question,  the  previous  question  being 
debatable -under  the  parliamentary  law. 

Mr.  HUGH  WHITE  inquired,  in  case  this  resolution  was  adopted,  if 
it  did  not  place  all  the  bills  and  resolutions,  etc.,  on  the  calendar  as 
they  were  at  the  close  of  the  last  session — if  it  did  not  leave  the  House 
precisely  in  the  position  in  which  they  were  at  the  close  of  the  last 
session. 

The  SPEAKER  replied  in  the  affirmative. 

Mr.  WHITE  said,  then,  that  a  proposition  of  this  character  had  been 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Rules,  and  remained  unacted  on.  He 
wished  to  know  whether  it  would  not  be  competent  to  reach  it  in  the 
ordinary  way;  and  whether  there  was,  therefore,  any  necessity  for  the 
adoption  of  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee. 

MR.  GEORGE  P.  MARSH  said  he  did  not  rise  for  the  purpose  of 
impugning  or  defending  the  conduct  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  or  even 
for  the  purpose  of  entering  into  the  discussion  of  the  merits  of  this 
motion,  but  simply  that  it  might  not  be  inferred  from  his  silence  that 
any  member  of  the  board  in  this  House  was  opposed  to  the  adoption 
of  the  resolution.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  now,  and  had  been  from 
the  time  it  was  offered  at  the  last  session,  decidedly  in  favor  of  its 
adoption.  He  was  satisfied,  from  what  he  had  seen  of  the  manage- 
ment of  this  Institution,  that  a  committee  such  as  was  proposed  by  the 
gentleman  from  Tennessee  would  serve  as  a  most  wholesome  and  neces- 
sary check  upon  the  proceedings  of  this  Institution.  He  believed  that 
the  Board  of  Regents  would  be,  and  ought  to  have  been  long  since, 
made  acquainted  with  its  direct  responsibility  to  the  poWer  which 
created  it. 

Mr.  R.  B.  RHETT,  of  South  Carolina,  said,  for  the  reasons  which 
the  gentleman  from  Vermont  had  assigned,  he  trusted  a  committee 
would  not  be  appointed.  He  wanted  no  such  direct  responsibility  as 
the  gentleman  had  spoken  of.  He  was  opposed  to  any  connection  of 
the  Government  with  this  Institution;  and  he  would  suggest  to  the 


THIRTIETH    CONGRESS,  1847-1849.  459 

-• 

gentleman  from  Tennessee  that  his  establishment  of  a  standing  com- 
mittee was  the  very  method  of  all  others  which  was  to  give  perma- 
nency to  this  Institution,  and  attach  it  forever  to  the  Government. 
The  only  way  to  get  rid  of  it  was  to  let  all  the  money  be  paid  over  to 
these  gentlemen — the  Regents,  and  the  Government  cut  themselves 
loose  from  it  entirely.  He  was  opposed  to  any  committee,  standing 
or  otherwise,  which  set  up  a  Congressional  supervision  over  the  Regents 
of  this  Institution,  or  over  the  Institution  itself.  He  hoped,  there- 
fore, unless  the  House  was  determined  to  carry  on  this  connection,  to 
perpetuate  it,  and  be  responsible  for  the  acts  of  this  Institution,  that 
this  committee  would  not  be  appointed.  On  the  contrary,  if  the 
Regents  thought  proper,  let  the  whole  money  be  paid  over  to  them, 
and  the  Government  be  cut  off  entirely  from  all  responsibility  or  con- 
nection with  it. 

Mr.  ROBERT  W.  JOHNSON,  of  Arkansas,  said  he  would  take  the  lib- 
erty of  making  a  remark  here  for  the  purpose  of  setting  himself  and 
the  State  which  he  had  the  honor  to  represent  in  some  degree  right,  in 
reference  to  this  Smithsonian  fund.  The  gentleman  from  Alabama 
had  said  that  the  State  of  Arkansas  had  squandered  all  this  fund.  Now, 
whether  it  was  any  enjoyment  to  the  gentleman  to  assail  his  (Mr.  John- 
son's) State — 

Mr.  H.  W.  HILLIARD  explained,  disclaiming  the  slightest  intention 
to  assail  the  gentleman's  State,  and  saying  that  he  had  merely  spoken 
of  the  money  as  being  lost  or  squandered  by  the  General  Government. 

Mr.  JOHNSON,  of  Arkansas,  said  the  gentleman  ought  to  have  been 
aware  of  the  fact  that  he  might  wound  the  feelings  of  some  persons 
on  the  floor  in  his  rather  loose  and  general  style  of  speaking.  He  had 
heard  those  who  did  not  like  some  of  the  Yankees  damn  them  all  as 
a  class.  He  never  thought  they  did  exactly  right  to  damn  every 
Yankee  because  the}"  disliked  some  few  whom  they  had  met.  There 
were  some  very  clever  gentlemen  amongst  them;  he  wished  there  were 
as  good  elsewhere. 

Now,  he  wished  to  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  his  State  and  this 
fund.  The  gentleman  had  said  the  whole  of  this  Smithsonian  legacy 
had  been  squandered  by  the  State  of  Arkansas.  Squandered — how? 
Did  the  gentleman  know  anything  about  the  disposal  of  this  money  by 
the  State  of  Arkansas  ?  If  he  did,  he  knew  that  it  had  been  lost  by 
the  adoption  by  that  State  of  his  loved  system — the  banking  system. 

He  wished  to  state,  in  order  that  his  State  might  stand  free  from 
any  unjust  charge  here,  that  there  was  not  within  the  limits  of  that 
State,  and  never  had  been,  a  respectable  party,  known  as  a  party,  who 
would  repudiate  the  first  dollar  of  the  debt  she  owed.  If  there  were 
such  persons,  he  could  only  pledge  himself,  as  an  humble  individual, 
that  he  would  always  fight  them.  Small  as  she  was,  insignificant  as 
she  was,  there  was  no  man  within  her  limits  who  could  live  a  political 


400  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

life  for  one  day  and  espouse-  such  a  doctrine.  What  was  her  condition  ? 
She  was  poor;  her  population  was  small;  the  taxes  upon  her  people 
would  be  increased  beyond  human  endurance  if  they  were  put  on  to 
pay  this  debt  at  once.  She  was  growing;  she  had  natural  resources, 
great  and  extensive;  give  them  time  to  be  developed  and  she  would 
pay  this  debt  and  every  other  debt  she  owed.  He  believed  it,  before 
God. 

But  in  the  account  between  the  United  States  and  the  State  of 
Arkansas  the  debt  was  not  altogether  on  the  side  of  the  latter.  It 
had  used  to  be  a  matter  of  jest  with  his  predecessor — a  proud  and 
honorable  man,  whose  post  he  could  never  fill — that  whenever  the 
United  States  would  settle,  then  Arkansas  would  settle  too.  There 
was,  nevertheless,  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  this.  The  whole  percent- 
age on  the  sales  of  the  public  lands  which  belonged  to  that  State  had 
been  reserved  by  the  Government — for  what?  To  apply  toward  the 
pa}Tment  of  this  Smithsonian  fund.  What  the  amount  was  he  did 
not  know.  He  hoped  there  would  be  enough  to  pay  the  interest;  he 
would  like  it  if  there  was  enough  to  pay  the  principal  too;  there 
might  not  be  enough  for  either.  But  that  that  State  would  come  up 
to  the  mark  and  fully  pay  all  her  debts,  both  principal  and  interest, 
whenever  she  was  able  to  do  so,  he  assured  the  gentleman  from  Ala- 
bama and  the  country.  He  hoped  the  gentleman  would  not  further 
attack  the  State  in  general;  he  would  rather  he  would  attack  him. 
He  did  hope  they  would  hear  no  more  of  this  general  denunciation — 
as  far,  at  least,  as  the  State  of  Arkansas  was  concerned.  He  did  not 
care  if  the  gentleman  attacked  Alabama,  or  any  other  State,  with  the 
consent  of  those  who  were  to  defend  her;  but  let  him  not  jump  upon 
his  State  because  she  was  small!  Why,  gentlemen  of  magnanimity 
ought  to  be  ashamed  of  themselves  for  such  a  course. 

He  was  against  this  amendment  because  this  business  was  already 
placed  in  the  hands  of  honorable  men,  the  Regents  of  the  Institution, 
who  were  fully  competent  to  discharge  the  duty  assigned  to  them; 
and  furthermore,  because  they  were  amply  severe  upon  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  from  the  experience  he  had  had  with  them,  without  other 
men  being  added  to  them. 

Mr.  H.  W.  HILLIARD  rose  simply  for  the  purpose  of  disclaiming 
any  intention  in  the  remarks  he  had  made  to  assail  the  State  of 
A  rkansas. 

Mr.  ABRAHAM  R.  MC!LVAINE  rose,  and  was  understood  to  intimate 
his  desire  to  move  an  amendment.  But  it  was  not  now  in  order. 

The  question  was  thereupon  taken  on  the  amendment  of  Mr.  John- 
son, of  Tennessee,  and  was  decided  in  the  negative. 

So  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

The  demand  for  the  previous  question  was  then  seconded  and  the 
main  question  was  ordered  to  be  put;  and  under  its  operation  the 
resolution  of  Mr.  Truman  Smith  was  adopted. 


THIRTIETH    CONGRESS,    1847-1849.  461 

December  12,  1848— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  R.  C.  WINTHROP)  announced  the  call  for  petitions 
to  be  in  order,  and  the  call  having  reached  the  State  of  Louisiana — 

Mr.  ISAAC  H.  MORSE  observed  that  he  did  not  rise  to  present  a  petition 
from  the  State  of  Louisiana,  but  to  a  privileged  question,  and  he 
asked  the  attention  of  the  House  for  a  few  moments.  It  was  to  the 
reconsideration  of  the  vote  on  that  part  of  the  resolution  for  the 
adoption  of  the  rules  of  the  House  which  rejected  the  application 
for  a  commission  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  He  thought,  with- 
out entering  into  any  argument  on  this  subject,  that  the  House  would 
see  the  propriety  of  appointing  a  committee,  in  order  to  meet  the 
views  expressed  by  the  gentleman  from  Vermont  (Mr.  Marsh),  as  well 
as  by  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina  (Mr.  Rhett).  And  he  had 
no  doubt  that  those  of  their  friends  on  this  side  of  the  House  who 
desired  to  terminate  all  connection  between  the  Government  and  this 
Institution  would  see  as  well  the  propriety  of  submitting  this  matter 
to  a  committee  who  would  be  authorized,  without  further  instruction, 
to  examine  and  see  whether  it  would  not  be  better,  and  whether  it 
would  not  be  carrying  out  the  trust  which  the  Government  had  sol- 
emnly accepted  from  the  late  James  Smithson,  to  hand  over  all  the 
moneys  which  had  been  received  by  the  United  States  to  an  incorpo- 
rated body,  who  should  have  the  sole  charge  of  the  funds  arising  from 
this  legacy.  Such  of  the  gentlemen  on  the  other  side  of  the  House  as 
thought  the  affairs  of  the  Institution  would  be  better  managed  under 
the  surveillance  of  a  committee  must  be  of  the  opinion  that  it  would 
be  well  to  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  House  the  true,  exact  state  of 
that  Institution.  It  was  true  a  very  elaborate,  a  very  able  report  had 
been  made  by  the  Regents;  but  it  was  an  ex  parte  report,  so  far  as  the 
interests  of  this  country  and  the  House  were  concerned.  Let  a  com- 
mittee be  appointed  of  capable  men  who  should  take  the  matter  into 
consideration,  and  see  whether  the  ends  of  the  donor  would  be  best 
carried  out  by  keeping  it  under  the  control  of  this  Government,  or 
whether  they  would  not  faithfully  discharge  their  trust,  after  having 
passed  a  law  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  by  disembarrassing 
the  Government  and  the  House  from  all  connection  with  the  Institu- 
tion. He  held  it  to  be  a  responsible  duty  which  this  House  had  taken 
upon  itself,  and  whatever  might  have  been  the  opinion  of  gentlemen 
on  this  side  of  the  House  as  to  the  propriety  of  accepting  the  legacy, 
it  was  now  too  late  to  interpose  any  objections  on  that  score.  The 
two  Houses  of  Congress  were  under  solemn  obligation  faithfully  to 
discharge  the  duty  which,  as  the  trustees  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  and  of  James  Smithson,  they  had  undertaken;  and  that  duty 
could  only  be  discharged  by  referring  the  matter  to  a  committee, 
impartial  in  its  character,  capable  of  examining,  who  should  report 
the  facts  to  this  House  as  to  the  future  conduct  of  this  Institution. 


462  CONGEESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

He  was  not  disposed  to  commit  himself  now  to  either  course, 
whether  he  should  be  in  favor  of  continuing  the  connection  of  this 
Institution  with  the  Government  or  not,  or  whether  he  could  see  his 
way  clear  to  disembarrass  the  Government  from  any  further  connection 
with  it.  He  merely  threw  out  the  suggestion  that  if  a  committee  of 
gentlemen  on  this  floor  should  show  them,  should  indicate  clearly,  that 
this  could  be  done,  then  he  apprehended  there  was  no  gentleman  who 
would  not  be  willing  to  leave  it  in  the  hands  of  the  gentlemen  who 
should  have  charge  of  this  Institution.  The  bill  which  established 
this  Smithsonian  Institution  had  passed  hastily  without  having  under- 
gone the  surveillance  of  any  committee.  It  was  true  a  distinguished 
gentleman  had  made  an  elaborate  report  from  a  committee  appointed 
on  this  subject,  accompanied  by  a  bill,  but  the  House  would  recollect 
that  that  report  was  rejected,  and  a  substitute,  offered  by  a  gentleman 
from  New  York  (Mr.  Hough),  which  embodied  some  amendments 
offered  by  himself  (Mr.  Morse)  and  by  other  gentlemen,  was  passed,  and 
became  the  act  under  which  the  Institution  was  at  present  organized. 
That  act  was  imperfect  in  itself.  His  objection  to  it  was,  that  so  far 
as  this  House  at  least  was  concerned,  it  was  very  little  discussed,  very 
little  debated.  He  held  that  Congress  could  not  be  true  to  its  trust 
unless  once  in  a  year  or  two  (if  they  were  to  continue  the  management 
of  the  Institution)  they  authorized  and  delegated  a  part  of  their  body 
to  examine  and  report  all  the  facts  of  the  case.  He  did  not  desire  to 
take  a  position  either  with  his  friend  from  Vermont  or  his  friend  from 
South  Carolina,  but  he  did  desire  that  this  House  and  the  country  at 
large  should  be  possessed  of  all  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  disbursement 
and  management  of  the  large  amount  of  money  left  by  this  gentleman, 
and  committed  to  them  as  trustees,  and  the  committee  might  suggest 
some  plan  better  calculated  to  carry  out  the  views  of  the  distinguished 
donor  than  this  hasty,  imperfect  act  which  they  had  passed. 

With  these  views  he  moved  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote  by  which 
the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  (Mr.  Johnson)  was 
rejected. 

The  SPEAKER  said  it  would  be  necessary  first  to  move  to  reconsider 
the  adoption  of  the  resolution,  and  announced  the  question  accordingly. 

Mr.  JAMES  POLLOCK  moved  to  lay  the  motion  to  reconsider  on  the 
table,  which  was  agreed  to — yeas,  107;  nays,  76;  as  follows: 

YEAS — Messrs.  Abbott,  Adams,  Ashmun,  Atkinson,  Barringer,  Bayly,  Boale, 
Belcher,  Blackmar,  Blanc-hard,  Botts,  Boydon,  Wm.  G.  Brown,  Butler,  Canby,  Chap- 
man, Clingman,  Cocke,  Collamer,  Conger,  Cranston,  Crowell,  Dickey,  Donnell,  Garnett 
Duncan,  Dunn,  Eckert,  Alexander  Evans,  Nathan  Evans,  Faran,  Farrelly,  Fisher, 
Flournoy,  Fulton,  Gentry,  Giddings,  Goggin,  Gott,  Green,  Greeley,  Gregory,  Grinnell, 
Hale,  Willard  P.  Hall,  Nathan  K.  Hall,  James  G.  Hampton,  Moses  Hampton,  Henry, 
Isaac  E.  Holmes,  Hubbard,  Hunt,  Charles  J.  Ingersoll,  Jenkins,  James  H.  Johnson, 
George  W.  Jones,  John  W.  Jones,  Daniel  P.  King,  William  T.  Lawrence,  Leffler,  Ligon, 
Lincoln,  Lunipkin,  Mcllvaine,  McKay,  McLane,  Marvin,  Morehead,  Mullin,  Mur- 


THIRTIETH    CONGRESS,    1847-1849.  463 

phy,  Nelson,  Nes,  Nicoll,  Outlaw,  Peck,  Pollock,  Preston,  Putnam,  Rhett,  Julius  Rock- 
well, John  A.  Rockwell,  Rumsey,  St.  John,  Shepperd,  Sherrill,  Silvester,  Slingerland, 
Caleb  B.  Smith,  Truman  Smith,  Stanton,  Stephens,  Strohm,  Strong, Tallmadge,Taylor, 
Thibodeaux,  Thomas,  James  Thompson,  R.  W.  Thompson,  Robert  A.  Thompson, 
Tompkins,  \7an  Dyke,  Wallace,  Warren,  White,  Wick,  and  Wilson— 107. 

NAYS — Messrs.  Bedinger,  Bingham,  Bocock,  Bowdon,  Brady,  Brodhead,  Charles 
Brown,  Albert  G.  Brown,  Buckner,  Cathcart,  Clapp,  Franklin  Clark,  Howell  Cobb, 
Williamson  R.  W.  Cobb,  Crozier,  Cummins,  Daniel,  Darling,  Dickinson,  Dixon,  Duer, 
Edwards,  Embree,  Featherston,  Ficklin,  Freedley,  French,  Fries,  Games,  Hammon?, 
Haralson,  Harris,  Hill,  Elias  B.  Holmes,  Inge,  Irvin,  Iverson,  Kaufman,  Kellogg,  Ken- 
non,  Lahm,  La  Sere,  Sidney  Lawrence,  Levin,  Lord,  Lynde,  Maclay,  Job  Mann,  Marsh, 
Miller,  Morris,  Morse,  Palfrey,  Peasley,  Phelps,  Richardson,  Richey,  Robinson,  Rock- 
hill,  Root,  Sawyer,  Smart,  Robert  Smith,  Starkweather,  Charles  E.  Stuart,  Jacob 
Thompson,  John  B.  Thompson,  William  Thompson,  Thurston,  Tuck,  Venable,  Vinton, 
Wentworth,  Wiley,  Williams,  and  Woodward— 76. 

So  the  motion  to  reconsider  was  laid  on  the  table. 

APPOINTMENT    OF    REGENTS. 

By  the  Vice- President. 
December  30,  1847— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  SIDNEY  BREESE,  it  was 

Ordered,  That  a  member  be  appointed  by  the  Vice-President  to  fill  the  vacancy  in 
the  Board  of  Regents,  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  the  Hon.  Lewis  Cass. 

Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  was  appointed  by  the  Vice-President. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS. 

By  the  /Speaker. 
December  22,  1847 — House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  R.  C.  WINTHROP)  reappointed  Henry  W.  Hil- 
liard,  of  Alabama,  a  regent  of  the  said  Institution;  and  appointed 
George  P.  Marsh,  of  Vermont,  and  Robert  McClelland,  of  Michigan, 
to  the  Board  of  Regents  on  the  part  of  the  House,  in  the  place  of 
W.  J.  Hough  and  R.  D.  Owen,  whose  terms  had  expired. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS. 

By  joint  resolution. 
March  4,  1848— Senate. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi,  on  leave,  introduced  a  joint 
resolution  appointing  regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.    Referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Library. 
December  11,  1848— Senate. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi,  on  leave,  introduced  joint 
resolution: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Congress,"  be  filled  by  the 
reappointment  of  the  late  incumbents,  viz:  Rufus  Choate,  of  Massachusetts,  and 
Gideon  Hawley,  of  New  York. 


464  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  DAVIS  explained  the  necessity  for  the  immediate  passage  of  the 
resolution,  as  a  meeting1  of  the  Regents  would  take  place  on  Wednes- 
day, and  it  was  important  that  the  Board  should  be  fully  organized. 

Passed. 
December  11,  1848— House. 

The  joint  resolution  of  the  Senate  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  in 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  was  taken  up  and  passed. 

December  19,  1848. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies'! in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  of  the  class  "  other  than  members  of  Congress,"  be  filled  by  the 
reappointment  of  the  late  incumbents,  viz:  Rufus  Choate,  of  Massachusetts,  and 
Gideon  Hawley,  of  New  York. 

(Stat.  IX,  417.) 

REPORT   OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

January  5,  1848— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  R.  C.  WINTHROP)  laid  before  the  House  a  report 
from  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  showing  the  opera- 
tions, expenditures,  and  condition  of  that  Institution  for  the  past  year. 

Mr.  JOHN  W.  HOUSTON,  of  Delaware,  moved  to  lay  the  report  on 
the  table,  and  that  it  be  printed. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  of  Tennessee,  called  for  a  division  of  the 
question,  so  as  to  take  the  question  separately  on  each  branch  of  the 
motion. 

The  question  was  divided  accordingly,  and  the  report  was  ordered 
to  be  laid  on  the  table.  The  question  then  recurring  on  the  motion  to 
print — 

Mr.  JOHNSON,  of  Tennessee,  opposed  the  printing  at  present.  The 
House  saw,  in  the  proposition  to  print  this  cumbrous  document,  a 
beginning  of  what  had  been  anticipated  by  some  who  were  opposed  to 
this  Institution.  Here  was  a  long  report,  accompanied  by  many  docu- 
ments, and  this  House  was  called  upon  to  print  them,  and  he  expected 
they  would  have  a  proposition  soon  to  print  an  extra  number.  It  was 
true  the  law  establishing  this  Institution  provides  that  the  Regents 
should  make  a  report  to  the  House,  but  before  this  report  was  printed, 
before  an  order  to  print  was  made,  the  Committee  on  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  ought  to  be  established  and  ought  to  report  to  the  House 
the  propriety  of  having  this  report  and  the  accompanying  documents 
printed. 

Perhaps  it  might  be  considered  by  some,  as  he  from  the  beginning 
had  opposed  this  Institution,  that  he  had  some  personal  dislike  to  those 
connected  with  it,  or  that  he  was  operated  upon  from  some  other 
unworthy  consideration,  that  produced  his  opposition  to  it.  He  availed 
himself  of  this  occasion  to  disavow  anything  of  this  kind.  He  wanted 
this  committee  established;  he  wanted  everything  connected  with  this 


THIRTIETH   CONGRESS,   1847-1849.  465 

Institution  referred  to  this  committee.    Let  that  committee  report  the 
result  of  their  investigation  to  this  House. 

But  while  he  was  upon  the  floor,  there  were  some  other  things  to 
which  he  would  advert,  for  it  was  very  difficult  for  him  to  get  the  floor 
here  on  any  given  subject.  He  had  had  the  honor  of  making  a  few 
remarks  the  other  day  upon  the  resolution  providing  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  committee  upon  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  but  before  he 
had  concluded  his  remarks  the  House  adjourned,  and  the  resolution 
had  laid  over  from  that  day.  The  whole  thing  was  left  in  the  fog,  and 
no  one  could  tell  when  it  would  be  reached  again. 

He  had  no  personal  hostility  to  this  Institution.  He  appreciated 
and  approved  the  design  of  the  donor.  He  thought  the  motives  and 
intentions  of  Mr.  Smithson  were  good;  but  this  thing  had  received  an 
improper  direction,  and  was  already  beginning,  as  he  had  remarked, 
to  result  in  a  large  annual  expenditure  to  this  Government,  and  Con- 
gress were  called  upon  to  appropriate  sum  after  sum  for  printing  and 
for  other  expenses  in  getting  up  this  Institution,  which  was  to  result 
in  no  good  to  the  Government  or  the  country.  What  good  could  result 
from  this  Institution,  with  its  peculiar  organization?  Why,  it  would 
have  been  much  better,  and  would  no  doubt  have  fulfilled  the  good 
intentions  and  motives  of  the  man's  heart,  had  he  bequeathed  this  sum 
to  the  United  States  to  be  expended  in  erecting  schoolhouses  of  some 
description  in  this  District,  and  in  the  districts  throughout  the  country, 
in  which  the  common  children  of  the  country  could  be  educated.  It 
would  have  been  diffusing  knowledge  among  men  more  profitabhT, 
more  in  accordance  with  the  design  of  the  donor.  But  what  good  has 
this  Institution  done,  as  now  organized? 
June  1,  1848— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi, 

Resolved,  That  one  thousand  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Senate. 
July  7,  1848—  Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  JAMES  A.  PEARCE, 

Resolved,  That  one  hundred  and  fifty  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  be  furnished  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Institution,  for  the  use  of  said  Institution. 
February  19,  1849— House. 

Mr.  H.  W.  HILLIARD  presented  a  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  showing  the  operations,  expenditures, 
and  condition  of  that  Institution  to  the  present  time.     Laid  on  the 
table,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 
February  22,  1849— Senate. 

Mr.  JAMES  M.  MASON  presented  the  annual  report  of  the  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  moved  that  one  thousand  copies 
be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Senate.     Agreed  to. 
H.  Doc.  732 30 


466  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

AMENDMENT  TO   ACT   OF   ORGANIZATION. 

March  13,  1848— House. 

Mr.  ELISHA  EMBREE  offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolution: 

Whereas  James  Smithson,  esq.,  by  his  last  will  and  testament,  having  given  the 
whole  of  his  property,  now  amounting  to  more  than  $700,000,  to  the  United  States 
to  found  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men, 
and  Congress,  to  carry  out  the  liberal  designs  of  the  donor,  having  passed  an  act 
entitled  "An  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  among  men,"  approved  August  10,  1846;  and  whereas  officers  have 
been  appointed  under  said  act  and  are  proceeding  to  erect  a  building  which,  with  the 
improvements  attached,  according  to  their  estimate,  is  to  cost  about  $250,000;  and 
said  officers  are  about  to  establish  in  said  building,  with  the  funds  of  the  Institution, 
a  library  to  contain  100,000  volumes,  a  museum  on  a  large  scale,  a  chemical  labora- 
tory, lecture  rooms  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  lectures,  and  a  gallery  of  art;  and 
whereas  all  of  said  objects  are  local  in  their  nature  and  confined  to  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington and  its  vicinity,  when  the  design  of  the  liberal  donor  was  not  only  the  increase 
of  knowledge  but  the  diffusion  of  it  amongst  men  for  the  general  good;  and  whereas 
said  act  provides  ' '  that  there  is  reserved  to  Congress  the  right  of  altering  or  amend- 
ing, adding  to,  or  repealing  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act:"  Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  of  the  Library  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  so  chang- 
ing and  modifying  said  act  as  to  establish  a  department  in  said  Institution  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  and  arranging  information  on  agriculture,  common-school  edu- 
cation, political  economy,  and  the  useful  arts  and  sciences;  which  information, 
together  with  the  useful  lectures  that  may  be  delivered  in  said  Institution,  shall  be 
published  and  circulated  gratuitously  among  the  people,  so  as  to  carry  out  the  design 
of  the  testator  in  diffusing  useful  knowledge  amongst  men,  and  that  said  committee 
report  by  bill  or  otherwise. 

Adopted. 
August  8,  1848— House. 

Mr.  "W.  C.  PRESTON,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  to  which 
was  referred  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  March  13,  1848,  relative 
to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  reported  the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  to  change  and  modify  the  act  establishing  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  manner  proposed  in  said  resolution. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  be  discharged  from  the  further  consideration  of  said 
resolution,  and  that  it  be  laid  upon  the  table. 

Agreed  to. 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
June  26,  1848. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  joint  committee  on  the  Library  shall 
appoint  such  agents  as  they  may  from  time  to  time  deem  requisite,  to 
carry  into  effect  the  donation  and  exchange  of  such  documents  and 
other  publications  as  have  been,  or  shall  be,  placed  at  their  disposal  for 
the  purpose. 

SEC.  2.  Andl)e  it  further  enacted^  That  all  books  transmitted  through 
such  agents  for  the  use  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  of 
any  government  of  a  State  or  of  its  legislature,  or  of  any  department 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States  or  of  a  State,  or  of  the  Academy 


THIRTIETH    CONGRESS,   1847-1849.  467 

at  West  Point,  or  of  the  National  Institute,  shall  be  admitted  into  the 
United  States  duty  free. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted*  That  the  sum  of  $2,000  is  hereby 
appropriated,  out  of  an}'  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appro 
priated;  and  the  same  is  put  at  the  disposal  of  the  Library  Committee, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  such  agency  and  donation,  and 
exchange,  and  of  paying  the  expenses  already  incurred  in  relation 
thereto. 

(Stat.,  IX.,  240.) 
June  30,  1848. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  Secretary  of  State  be  directed  to  furnish  to 
Alexandre  Vattemare  one  complete  series  of  the  standard  weights  and 
measures  of  the  United  States,  now  in  the  Department  of  State,  to  be 
presented  to  the  government  of  France;  and  that  he  furnish  to  the  Joint 
Committee  on  the  Library  twenty-five  copies  of  the  revolutionary 
archives,  and  an  equal  number  of  copies  of  Little  and  Brown's  edition 
of  the  Laws  of  the  United  States,  to  be  disposed  of  by  them  for  the 
purposes  of  international  exchange. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  furtlier  resolved,  That  seven  copies  of  the  works 
of  the  exploring  expedition  now  published,  and  an  equal  number  of 
such  of  the  works  of  the  same  as  may  hereafter  be  published,  be  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Joint  Library  Committes  of  Congress  for  the 
purposes  of  international  exchange. 

(Stat,  IX,  336.) 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 

August  12,  1848. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1849. 

For  continuing  the  publication  of  the  works  of  the  exploring  expe- 
dition, including  the  printing  of  the  charts,  the  pay  of  the  scientific 
corps,  salary  of  the  horticulturist,  and  care  of  the  collection,  $30,753. 

(Stat.,  IX,  297.) 
February  1,  1849. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.^  That  the  proper  accounting  officers  of  the 
Treasury  Department  be  authorized  and  directed,  in  the  settlements  of 
the  accounts  of  the  forward  officers  of  the  late  Exploring  Expedition, 
under  the  command  of  Charles  Wilkes,  esquire,  to  allow  them  the 
extra  pajr  of  $250  per  annum,  credited  to  said  officers  on  the  pay  rolls 
rendered  on  the  arrival  of  said  expedition  in  the  United  States,  agree- 
ably to  the  direction  of  said  commander. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  farther  enacted,  That  the  accounting  officers  of 
the  Treasury  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  authorized  and  directed,  in  the 
settlement  of  the  accounts  of  Lieutenant  Cadwallader  Ringgold,  late 
commanding  the  United  States  brig  Porpoise,  attached  to  the  Explor- 
ing Expedition,  to  allow  and  credit  him  in  the  extra  pay  for  scientific 
duties,  at  the  rate  of  $1,000  per  annum,  and  upon  the  principle  applied 


4(38  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

to  the  accounts  of  Lieutenant  W.  L.  Hudson,  then  commanding  the 
United  States  sloop  Peacock,  attached  to  said  expedition. 

(Stat.,  IX,  344.) 
March  2,  1849. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  librarian  of  Congress  be,  and  is  hereby, 
directed  to  procure  and  deliver  to  the  Secretary  of  State  two  copies  of 
volumes  six  and  seven  of  the  Narrative  of  the  Exploring  Expedition 
under  Captain  Wilkes;  and  the  Secretary  of  State  is  hereby  directed 
to  deliver  them  to  the  government  of  Russia  in  lieu  of  those  hereto- 
fore delivered,  which  were  lost  at  sea  on  their  passage  to  Russia;  and 
that  the  cost  of  the  same  be  paid  out  of  the  funds  heretofore  appro- 
priated to  the  publication  of  the  works  of  the  Exploring  Expedition. 

SEC.  2.  And  l)e  it  further  resolved.  That  the  librarian  of  Congress 
deliver  one  copy  of  the  works  of  the  Exploring  Expedition,  as  they 
shall  be  completed,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  be  presented  by  him 
to  the  government  of  Ecuador. 

(Stat.  IX,  418.) 

March  3,  1849. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act,  1850. 

For  continuing  the  publication  of  the  works  of  the  exploring  expe- 
dition, including  the  salary  of  the  horticulturist,  and  addition  to  the 
greenhouse,  $15,000. 

(Stat.  IX,  365.) 


THIRTY-FIRST  CONGRESS,  1849-1851. 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 
February  20,  1850. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  of  the  thirty-seven  copies  of  the  Narrative  and 
Scientific  works  of  the  Exploring  Expedition,  deposited  and  to  be 
deposited  in  the  library  of  Congress  one  copy  shall  be  presented  to 
each  of  the  Territories  of  Oregon,  Minnesota,  and  such  other  Territo- 
ries as  may  be  hereafter  organized  by  act  of  Congress,  to  belong  to  the 
Territorial  libraries  of  such  Territories,  respectively,  and  to  stand  in 
the  place  of  the  copy  each  of  those  Territories  would  be  entitled  to 
receive  upon  being  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State. 

(Stat.  IX,  561.) 

September  30,  1850. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1851. 

For  continuing  the  publication  of  the  works  of  the  Exploring  Expe- 
dition, including  the  printing  of  the  charts,  the  pay  of  the  scientific 
corps,  salary  of  the  horticulturist,  and  care  of  the  collections,  $25, 000. 

(Stat.  IX^  543.) 


THIRTY-FIRST    CONGRESS,   1849-1851.  469 

February  24,  1851— House. 

Mr.  JACOB  THOMPSON,  of  Mississippi,  moved  an  amendment  to  the 
clause  appropriating  money  for  the  purchase  of  books  for  the  Library 
of  Congress,  viz: 

To  enable  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  publish  a  new  edition  of  Wilkes'  Narra- 
tive and  the  accompanying  series  of  papers,  the  plates  and  engravings  of  which  have 
been  made  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States,  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  ordered  to 
be  delivered  over  to  the  said  Institution,  to  be  used  for  that  purpose. 

He  said  that  as  these  plates  were  valuable  and  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  did  not  propose  to  use  them,  he  should  be  glad  that 
some  use  might  be  made  of  them.  It  appeared  to  him  that  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  was  as  proper  a  party  to  whom  to  intrust  these 
plates  for  publication  as  any.  Congress  had  already  provided  for  the 
distribution  of  books  published  by  that  Institution.  He  (Mr.  Thomp- 
son) did  not  wish  that  they  should  be  published  and  distributed  among 
members,  but  as  it  was  really  a  valuable  work  and  a  new  edition  was 
called  for,  he  thought  it  was  proper  that  the  publication  should  be 
intrusted  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  JOHN  WENTWORTH  (interposing)  said  that  he  thought  that  it 
was  quite  proper  that  copies  of  the  work  should  be  distributed  among 
members  of  Congress.  He  would  therefore  ask  the  gentleman  from 
Mississippi  to  modify  his  amendment  so  as  to  furnish  each  member  of 
Congress  with  a  copy  of  Wilkes'  Exploring  Expedition.  He  had 
been  a  member  of  that  body  eight  years,  and  although  he  had  received 
copies  of  other  works,  he  had  never  received  a  copy  of  this,  nor  had 
he  ever  heard  of  other  members  receiving  copies. 

Mr.  JACOB  THOMPSON  stated  that  only  about  one  hundred  copies 
had  been  published. 

Mr.  WENTWORTH  said  that  he  was  entirely  opposed  to  the  amend- 
ment unless  modified  as  he  had  indicated. 

.  Mr.  THOMPSON  wished  to  explain  that  the  original  resolution  pro- 
vided for  the  publication  of  only  one  hundred  copies.  There  was  a 
great  demand  for  the  work,  and  it  was  desirable  to  have  copies  that 
might  be  furnished  to  different  foreign  nations.  There  were  only,  he 
believed,  twenty  copies  left  in  the  Library. 

Mr.  WENTWORTH  inquired  if  it  had  ever  been  distributed  to  members 
of  Congress. 

Mr.  THOMPSON  said  that  copies  never  had  been  distributed  among 
members. 

Mr.  WENTWORTH  requested  the  gentleman  from  Mississippi  to 
modify  his  amendment  as  he  had  desired. 

Mr.  THOMPSON  said  that  books  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution were  distributed  among  the  various  libraries,  and  he  was 
willing  that  such  a  distribution  should  take  place. 

Mr.  WEXTWORTH  again  inquired  if  the  gentleman  from  Mississippi 
would  modif  v  his  amendment. 


•±70  CONGKESSIONAL    PEOCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  THOMPSON  said  that  ho  was  opposed  to  giving  copies  to  members 
of  Congress. 

Mr.  WENTWORTH  then  moved  to  amend  Mr.  Thompson's  amend- 
ment by  adding  that  a  copy  of  the  work  should  be  furnished  to  each 
Senator,  Representative,  and  Delegate  to  the  present  Congress. 

Mr.  TIIADDEUS  STEVENS  said  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  amendment 
to  the  amendment.  He  understood  that  the  original  amendment 
merety  contemplated  giving  the  plates  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  that  Institution  to  publish  them.  Congress  had  a  perfect  right  to 
do  this,  but  he  could  not  understand  by  what  right  they  could  call 
upon  the  Institution  to  furnish  a  copy  to  each  member  of  Congress 
from  its  own  resources.  If  Congress  intended  granting  an  appropri- 
ation to  defray  the  expense  of  the  publication  and  distribution,  as  the 
gentleman  from  Illinois  proposed,  he  would  have  no  objection  to  it, 
but  unless  such  an  appropriation  were  made  he  should  feel  himself 
compelled  to  vote  against  the  gentleman's  amendment. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  Mr.  Wentworth's  amendment,  and. 
it  was  not  agreed  to. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  Mr.  Thompson's  amendment,  and  it 
was  adopted. 

March  3,  1851. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1852. 

To  enable  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  publish  a  new  edition  of 
Wilkes'  Narrative  and  the  accompanying  series  of  papers;  the  plates 
and  engravings  which  have  been  made  at  the  expense  of  the  United 
States  to  be  turned,  and  they  are  hereby  ordered  to  be  delivered  over 
to  the  said  Institution  to  be  used  for  that  purpose. 

(Stat,  IX,  599.) 
March  3,  1851. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  naval  service  for  1852. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  for  continuing  the  prepara- 
tion and  publication  of  the  works  of  the  exploring  expedition,  includ- 
ing the  pay  of  the  scientific  corps,  care  of  property,  payment  for 
printing,  and  paper,  and  other  contracts  under  the  law  of  1842,  author- 
izing the  preparation  and  publication  of  said  works,  $25,000. 

(Stat,  IX,  626.) 

CARE    OF   GOVERNMENT    COLLECTIONS. 

April  15,  1850— Senate. 

The  bill  for  the  completion  of  the  Patent  Office  being  under  consid- 
eration, Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi,  said: 

Mr.  President:  What  the  wants  of  the  Patent  Office  are  now  is  one 
thing,  and  what  those  wants  will  be  in  a  few  years  is  another  and  an 
entirely  different  thing.  Not  only  from  the  report  of  the  last  Com- 


THIRTY-FIRST   CONGRESS,  1849-1851.  471 

missioner  of  Patents,  but  from  inspection,  if  anyone  choose  to  make 
it  and  see  the  condition  of  things  in  that  department,  I  think  it  may 
be  denied  that  there  is  room  enough  in  the  present  building  for  the 
wants  of  the  department.  If  I  understand  the  report  of  the  present 
Commissioner  of  Patents  or  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the  argu- 
ment against  the  want  of  further  room  by  the  Patent  Department  is 
based  upon  the  supposition  that  all  which  now  belongs  to  the  National 
Institute,  all  connected  with  the  exploring  expedition  which  now  fills 
the  museum  of  the  Patent  Office,  is  to  be  transferred  to  the  Smithson- 
ian Institution.  That  seems  to  be  the  basis  of  the  conclusion.  Now, 
sir,  I  wish  to  state  to  the  Senate  that  Congress  has  no  power  to  impose 
upon  that  Institution  the  duty  of  taking  charge  of  this  collection  of 
the  exploring  expedition — we  may  infer  from  their  act — nor  did  they 
ever  intend  to  do  so.  They  gave  to  that  Institution  the  right  to  take 
all  such  curiosities  brought  home  by  the  exploring  expedition  as  might 
be  desired  for  that  Institution,  and  I  will  inform  the  Senate  that  it  is 
not  the  intention  of  the  present  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  to  take  charge  of  the  museum  of  the  Patent  Office,  and 
the  room  appropriated  to  these  curiosities  will  be  required  hereafter 
as  now. 
January  28,  1851— Senate. 

Mr.  ISAAC  P.  WALKER,  of  Wisconsin,  submitted  resolution,  which 
laid  over  one  day  under  the  rule. 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be  directed  to 
inform  the  Senate  why  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  entitled  '  'An  act  to  establish  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men" 
has  not  been  complied  with  by  making  suitable  arrangements  for  the  reception  of 
the  "objects  of  art,"  etc.,  named  in  said  section. 

January  30,  1851— Senate. 

The  Senate  proceeded  to  consider  the  resolution,  submitted  by  Mr. 
ISAAC  P.  WALKER  on  January  28. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi.  I  hope  that  the  resolution  will 
not  be  favorably  entertained  by  the  Senate.  The  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution is  not  a  department  of  the  Government,  and  I  hope  Congress 
will  never  undertake  to  take  charge  of  it.  This  is  a  call  upon  the 
Board  of  Regents  to  explain  to  us  something  in  connection  with  the 
execution  of  their  duty.  If  it  were  a  proper  and  a  well-founded  call,  I 
should  still  think  it  improper  for  Congress  to  interfere  with  the  admin- 
istration of  a  fund  which  it  has  confided  to  a  Board  of  Regents  not 
entirely  formed  of  members  of  Congress  and  not  responsible  to  it. 
An  examination  of  the  charter  would  have  shown  the  Senator  who 
introduced  the  resolution  that  there  was  no  obligation  on  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  to  receive  the  museum,  which,  I  suppose,  is  the  mat- 
ter referred  to,  but  that,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  considered  a  grant, 
which  the  Government  was  willing  to  make,  in  a  friendly  spirit,  of 


472  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

objects  of  art  and  curiosity  whenever  the  Institution  should  appoint 
some  person  to  receive  them.  It  is  obligatory  to  deliver,  but  not  to 
receive.  In  some  other  countries  there  is  a  courtesy  between  the  king 
and  his  ministers  that  a  minister  shall  never  refuse  a  present.  In 
Siam  whenever  the  King  wishes  to  crush  a  minister  he  sends  him  the 
present  of  an  elephant.  The  minister  can  not  refuse  the  present, 
because  it  comes  from  the  King,  but  the  expense  of  keeping  the  pres- 
ent crushes  the  minister.  It  is  exactly  such  a  present  that  the  Senator 
from  Wisconsin  wishes  to  force  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  receive. 
It  is  a  present  the  charge  of  which  would  deduct  very  greatly  from 
the  means  of  the  Institution  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  its  donor — a 
foreigner  who  gave  a  fund  for  a  special  object  enumerated  in  his  will. 

If  it  were  in  the  power  of  this  Government  to  charge  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  with  the  keeping  of  this  museum,  I  should  deem 
it  more  than  improper  in  the  Government  to  transfer  an  extensive 
collection  which  it  holds,  and  fasten  the  charge  of  maintaining  it  upon 
the  fund  given  by  a  foreigner  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men,  and  the  establishment  of  an  institution  for  that  pur- 
pose, to  be  located  at  the  city  of  Washington,  in  the  United  States. 
But  it  is  clearly  not  within  the  power  of  Congress  to  charge  that  fund 
with  the  keeping  up  of  any  establishment  which  the  Government  may 
choose  either  to  create  or  which  it  may  now  have  in  its  possession, 
and  which  would  pervert  the  trust  from  its  proper  use. 

If  the  Senator  had  examined  the  charter  he  would  have  found  still 
further  that  in  the  kindness  which  prevailed,  and  the  anticipation  of 
a  good  understanding  between  that  Institution  and  Congress,  terms 
so  general  were  employed  that  a  power  was  given  to  the  Institution 
to  strip  the  Rotunda  of  the  paintings  which  now  adorn  it,  to  take  the 
models  from  the  Patent  Office,  not  merely  the  museum  which  is  col- 
lected as  the  result  of  exploring  expeditions,  but  everything  which 
that  Institution,  if  they  claim  the  strict  letter  of  the  law,  might  choose 
to  abstract  from  the  various  departments  of  the  Government.  But, 
without  going  into  this  question,  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Sen- 
ate to  the  fact  that  here  is  an  institution  founded  by  the  bequest  of  a 
foreigner,  of  which  bequest  the  United  States,  properly  or  improp- 
erly I  will  not  now  stop  to  consider,  have  taken  charge  as  trustee, 
and  to  administer  which  fund  they  have  organized  a  Board  of  Regents. 
Its  active  operations  have  already  been  encumbered  by  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  requiring  them  to  erect  an  expensive  building 
with  apartments  for  a  museum  and  gallery  of  art.  Now  it  is  pro- 
posed to  encumber  them  still  further  by  charging  them  with  keeping 
a  large  museum  of  the  United  States  with  which  that  Institution  has  HO 
proper  connection.  It  is  no  part  of  the  general  plan  of  that  Institu- 
tion to  collect  a  large  museum.  The  object  is,  according  to  the  will 
of  the  founder,  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  among  men.  They 


THIRTY-FIRST   CONGRESS,  1849-1851.  473 

therefore  only  wish  to  collect  those  things  which  are  not  to  be  found 
in  the  other  museums  of  the  country.  The}'  only  wish  to  explore 
fields  which  have  not  been  trodden  before. 

The  object  of  the  Senator  from  Wisconsin — the  effect  of  his  con- 
struction if  sustained — is  to  cripple  that  fund  in  the  very  object  for 
which  it  was  given,  and  encumber  it  with  the  keeping  of  a  great  col- 
lection of  art  which  now  belongs  to  the  United  States.  I  do  hope 
that  the  Senate  will  reject  the  resolution. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEAECE.  Mr.  President,  after  what  has  been  said  by  the 
Senator  from  Mississippi  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  say  anything 
more.  But  I  wish  to  state  two  considerations  which  I  trust  will  be 
sufficient  to  induce  the  Senate  not  to  adopt  the  resolution.  In  the  first 
place,  the  resolution  assumes  that  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith 
sonian  Institution  have  neglected  their  duty.  I  think  it  can  very  easilv 
be  shown  that  they  have  not  neglected  this  or  any  other  duty  imposed 
upon  them.  In  the  next  place,  all  the  information  which  the  Senate 
can  possibly  derive  from  any  communication  the  Board  of  Regents 
might  make  in  answer  to  such  a  call  is  already  in  the  possession  of  the 
Senate.  The  last  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  has  been  laid 
before  the  Senate  and  printed.  That  report  explains  fully  their  system 
of  operations  from  the  time  of  their  organization.  It  sets  forth  the 
scheme  of  finance  which  they  adopted,  and  in  pursuance  of  that  scheme 
of  finance,  the  enlargement  of  the  principal  fund,  which  was  rather 
small,  for  the  great  objects  of  the  institution.  They  propose  to  extend 
the  erection  of  the  building  over  a  series  of  years  instead  of  complet- 
ing it  at  once  by  the  whole  sum  which  the  act  of  Congress  authorized 
them  to  apply  for  that  purpose.  They  have  erected  the  building 
slowly,  so  as  to  apply  the  accruing  interest  to  the  enlargement  of  the 
fund  and  the  increase  of  the  general  endowment  of  the  institution. 
The  plan  of  the  building  under  which  it  is  now  being  erected  is  pre- 
cisely that  which  was  adopted  in  the  first  instance  by  the  Board  of 
Regents,  and  which,  if  it  be  completed,  will,  if  Congress  choose  to 
compel  the  institution  to  accept  of  this  donation,  enable  them  to 
accommodate  this  museum.  The  central  building  will  accommodate 
the  library  which  it  is  proposed  the  institution  shall  have,  and  also  the 
museum  of  art.  The  upper  story  of  the  central  building  is  designed 
for  the  museum  of  art,  where  the  collections  now  in  the  Patent  Office 
can  be  placed  if  Congress  insist  upon  it.  They  have,  therefore,  neg- 
lected no  duty;  they  have  done  their  duty  properly,  judiciously, 
economically,  faithfully.  I  suppose  no  one  will  charge  them  with  a 
dereliction  of  duty  because  they  have  endeavored  to  increase  the  prin- 
cipal fund,  with  the  view  of  having  the  institution  better  enabled  to 
carry  out  the  great  and  noble  purposes  of  its  founder. 

We  have,  therefore,  all  the  information  which  we  can  desire,  and  I 
see  no  necessitv  for  the  resolution  of  the  Senator.  I  would  mention 


474  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

that  in  the  last  annual  report  there  is  a  distinct  expression  of  the  will 
of  the  Board  of  Regents  that  the}-  should  not  be  compelled  to  accept 
of  this  donation,  and  their  belief  that  under  the  law  as  it  now  is  they 
can  not  be  compelled  to  accept  it,  and  that  it  would  be  a  present 
which  would  be  very  expensive  to  them  and  take  from  their  funds  that 
which  might  be  used  for  much  more  useful  purposes. 

Mr.  II.  S.  FOOTE.  I  rise  simply  for  the  purpose  of  moving-  to  lay 
the  resolution  on  the  table.  I  am  sure  my  friend  from  Wisconsin  will 
feel  satisfied,  after  the  explanation  which  has  been  given,  that  no  good 
can  result  to  the  country  by  further  pressing  this  resolution.  With 
the  view  of  avoiding  any  further  debate,  unless  the  Senator  from  Wis- 
consin wishes  to  be  heard  on  his  resolution,  and  inasmuch  as  the  time 
has  arrived  for  the  consideration  of  the  special  order,  1  shall  move  to 
lay  this  resolution  on  the  table.  If  my  friend  from  Wisconsin  will 
promise  to  make  a  very  short  speech,  and  then  make  the  motion,  how- 
ever, I  will  withdraw  it;  but  otherwise  I  can  not. 

Mr.  I.  P.  WALKER.  I  wish  to  say  a  few  words,  but  do  not  wish  to 
promise  to  make  any  such  motion. 

Mr.  FOOTE.  Then  I  must  insist  upon  the  motion. 

Mr.  WALKER.  I  ask,  is  this  fair? 

Mr.  FOOTE.  It  is  perfectly  courteous.  1  may  be  allowed  to  say  that 
1  wish  to  proceed  with  the  discussion  of  another  important  question, 
and  that  is  the  reason  I  make  the  motion,  but  which  I  will  withdraw 
provided  the  Senator  will  renew  it. 

Mr.  WALKER.  I  will  make  the  motion,  but  not  vote  fov  it. 

Mr.  FOOTE.  Then  I  withdraw  my  motion. 

Mr.  WALKER.  I  should  not,  perhaps,  have  said  anything  on  this 
resolution  had  it  not  been  for  an  observation  which  fell  from  the  Sena- 
tor from  Mississippi  [Mr.  Davis].  He  attributed  to  me  in  emphatic 
terms  an  object  which  was  to  cripple  the  fund,  as  he  said,  by  imposing 
upon  it  the  burden  of  this  museum. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi.  I  did  not  intend  to  charge 
the  Senator  from  Wisconsin  with  any  improper  motive.  1  merely 
stated  what  the  effect  of  the  proposition  would  be.  But  I  did  not 
believe  that  the  Senator  from  Wisconsin  uninvited  would  have  directed 
his  attention  to  this  subject.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  some  one  sug- 
gested the  resolution  to  him. 

Mr.  I.  P.  WALKER.  In  that  the  Senator  is  altogether  mistaken.  I 
have  heard  the  subject  spoken  of  in  a  great  many  quarters,  but  my 
own  mind  suggested  to  me  the  course  I  have  taken  here  and  elsewhere. 
I  think  I  can  appeal  to  the  Senate  that  1  generally  introduce  my  own 
thoughts,  and  a  great  many  of  them,  in  opposition  to  what  seems  to 
be  the  mind  of  the  Senate.  I  shall  always  act  on  the  suggestions  of 
my  own  mind  when  right  and  justice  requires  me  to  do  so. 

Both  the  Senator  from  Mississippi  and  the  Senator  from  Maryland 


THIRTY-FIRST    CONGRESS,   1849-1851.  475 

are  altogether  mistaken  in  what  I  intended  by  the  resolution.  I  have 
partly  accomplished  what  I  intended.  I  wished  information  from  the 
Senator  from  Mississippi  and  the  Senator  from  Maryland,  whom  I 
well  knew  were  more  familiar  with  the  subject  than  I  was,  and  ought 
to  be  so,  for  they  are,  1  believe,  both  Regents  of  the  Institution.  My 
object  was  to  call  out  information  on  the  subject.  On  looking  to  the 
sixth  section  of  the  act,  approved  August  10,  1846,  which  was  the  act 
establishing  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  I  was  really  at  some  loss  to 
determine  what  it  meant,  and  I  am  anxious  to  get  views  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  upon  that  point.  That  section  is  this: 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  in  proportion  as  suitable  arrangements  can 
be  made  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research,  and 
all  objects  of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens 
belonging;  or  hereafter  to  belong,  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such  per- 
sons as  may  be  authorized  by  the  Board  of  Regents  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be 
arranged  in  such  order  and  so  classed  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and  study 
of  them  in  the  building  so  as  aforesaid  to  be  erected  for  the  Institution;  and  the 
Eegents  of  said  Institution  shall  afterwards,  as  new  specimens  in  natural  history, 
geology,  or  mineralogy  may  be  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  Institution  by 
exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens  belonging  to  the  Institution  (which  they  are 
hereby  authorized  to  make),  or  by  donation,  which  they  may  receive,  or  otherwise, 
cause  such  new  specimens  to  be  also  appropriately  classed  and  arranged.  And  the 
minerals,  books,  manuscripts,  and  other  property  of  James  Smithson,  which  have 
been  received  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  are  now  placed  in  the 
Department  of  State,  shall  be  removed  to  said  Institution  and  shall  be  preserved 
separate  and  apart  from  the  other  property  of  the  Institution. 

I  was  in  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  this  section,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  almost  everybody  would  be  in  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  Con- 
gress in  its  passage.  A  portion  of  it  looks  as  though  this  was  a  gra- 
tuit}',  and  another  portion  looks  as  though  it  imposed  an  obligation 
on  the  Institution  to  provide  for  and  receive  those  articles  which  are 
mentioned. 

Then,  looking  at  the  interests  of  the  Patent  Office,  I  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  if  it  was  proper  and  right  that  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  should  take  charge  of  these  things  and  relieve  the  Patent 
Office,  they  should  certainly  do  it.  If  anyone  will  go  to  the  Patent 
Office  and  observe  the  manner  in  which  models  are  kept  he  will  be 
satisfied  that  the  exhibition  room  of  that  office  ought  to  be  clear  and 
the  models  to  be  exhibited  there.  At  present  the  exhibition  room  of 
the  Patent  Office  is  occupied  by  this  cabinet  of  curiosities.  Models 
are  crowded  into  places  never  intended  for  them,  and  look  more  like  a 
series  of  brush  heaps  than  anything  else.  A  person  can  scarcely  get 
one  that  is  not  broken;  one  can  be  scarcely  got  out  of  the  cases  where 
they  are  deposited.  This  is  an  improper  mode  of  keeping  the  models 
of  the  inventors  of  the  country.  Something  should  be  done  to  remedy 
this  evil.  I  think  the  patent  fund  should  be  appropriated  to  the  use 


476  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

of  the  Patent  Office,  and  not  to  the  relief  of  the  other  departments  of 
the  Government.  I  hope  that  the  enlargement  of  the  Patent  Office 
building,  which  has  been  paid  for  by  the  patent  fund,  will  not  be  used 
for  the  convenience  and  accommodation  of  other  departments.  What 
says  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior?  In  his  last  annual  report,  after 
enumerating  various  bureaus  of  his  Department  which  need  additional 
accommodations,  he  says: 

I  therefore  recommend  that  the  two  wings  of  the  Patent  Office  be  finished,  and 
that  they  be  appropriated  to  the  accommodation  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior 
and  the  different  offices  thereto  attached.  They  will  thus  be  brought  under  one 
roof,  the  communication  between  the  head  of  the  Department  and  the  different 
bureaus  will  by  greatly  facilitated,  and  the  records  of  the  Government  safely  lodged 
in  a  fireproof  building. 

I  had  hoped  when  I  saw  $216,468  taken  from  the  patent  fund  for  a 
beautiful  palace  that  the  models  of  the  inventions  and  the  inventors 
and  mechanics  of  the  country  would  receive  some  benefit  from  it;  but 
I  see  it  is  utterly  hopeless,  seeing  this  recommendation  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  and  the  wreck  that  is  taking  place  in  the  Patent  Office 
of  the  models  and  inventions  of  the  country. 

The  Senator  from  Mississippi  and  the  Senator  from  Maryland  have 
given  me  some  information  on  the  subject  of  the  resolution.  And  now 
I  would  say  to  those  gentlemen,  both  as  Senators  and  Regents  of  the 
Institution,  that  I  entertain  not  the  least  unkind  feelings  toward  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  On  the  contrary,  I  would  be  willing  to  do 
anything  reasonable  that  is  within  my  power  to  facilitate  its  great 
object  and  the  benefits  which  the  country  expects  to  derive  from  it; 
but  at  the  same  time  I  am  unwilling  to  bestow  benefits  on  that 
Institution  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  old  and  greater  interests  of  the 
patentees  and  the  Patent  Office.  With  these  feelings,  I  think  there 
was  no  impropriety  in  offering  the  resolution. 

If  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  not  to  take  charge  of  these  curiosi- 
ties, it  seems  to  me  that  something  should  be  done  to  relieve  the  Pat- 
ent Office-  from  its  present  embarrassing  condition  in  relation  to  the 
exhibition  of  its  models.  I  think  the  patent  fund,  the  fund  contrib- 
uted by  the  mechanics  and  inventors  of  the  country,  ought  to  be  used 
solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  Patent  Office  and  not  for  any  other  depart- 
ment of  the  Government  unconnected  with  that  fund  or  its  interests. 

According  to  my  promise  I  now  move  to  lay  the  resolution  on  the 
table,  although  I  shall  vote  against  the  motion  and  hope  it  will  not 
prevail. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi.  Will  the  Senator  withdraw 
the  motion  ? 

Mr.  I.  P.  WALKER.  Certainly. 

Mr.  DAVIS.  I  shall  consume  but  very  little  time.  Having  made  as 
much  explanation  as  I  thought  was  due  to  the  occasion  in  relation  to 


THIRTY-FIRST    CONGRESS,   1849-1851.  477 

the  supposition  by  the  Senator  from  Wisconsin  of  a  personal  or  offen- 
sive application  of  what  I  said,  I  have  nothing  more  to  say  on  that 
point. 

The  object  of  the  Senator,  as  directed  to  the  benefit  of  the  inventors 
of  the  country  b}-  providing  a  proper  room  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
models  of  their  inventions,  is  one  in  which  I  very  cordially  sympa- 
thize. The  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  have  already  that  subject 
somewhat  under  consideration.  I  know  quite  well  that  the  models  in 
the  Patent  Office  are  in  such  a  confused  condition  as  not  to  comply 
with  the  terms  of  the  law.  The  great  gallery  intended  for  the  exhibi- 
tion of  models  is  now  occupied  by  the  museum  which  has  been  referred 
to.  The  present  building,  however,  was  built  by  money  drawn  from 
the  United  States  Treasury,  and  may  be  occupied  for  that  purpose. 
The  wing  which  is  being  added  and  built  out  of  the  patent  fund  is 
clearly  a  building  which  should  be  for  the  use  of  the  Patent  Office, 
and  I  hope  it  will  not  be  transferred  to  any  other  use.  I  sj'inpathize 
with  the  object  of  the  Senator  in  giving  proper  accommodations  to  the 
models  in  the  Patent  Office,  and  reserving  for  the  use  of  that  office  the 
building  which  is  being  erected  out  of  the  patent  fund.  So  far  we  go 
together. 

1  take  it  for  granted,  from  the(  object  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
and  from  the  plan  on  which  its  operations  have  been  commenced  and 
will  be  conducted,  that  it  will  never  want  such  a  museum  as  that  in  the 
Patent  Office;  still  less  will  it  want  the  garden  of  plants  which  has  been 
collected  by  the  exploring  expedition.  I  suppose  it  would  cost  the 
Institution  not  less  than  $10,000  a  year  to  support  such  an  establish- 
ment; and  if  it  were  transferred,  Congress,  I  think,  would  be  bound 
to  endow  the  Institution  with  $10,000  a  year  additional.  I  think  it  is 
quite  appropriate  to  keep  these  natural  curiosities  in  the  Patent  Office. 
They  may  aid  inventive  genius.  Vegetable  growth  and  animal  action 
are  elements  upon  which  mechanical  invention  rests.  There  would 
therefore  seem  to  be  something  appropriate  in  lodging  them  in  the 
Patent  Office.  If  they  are  not  to  be  kept  there,  let  the  Government 
provide  a  room  elsewhere,  get  rid  of  them,  destroy  them,  or  give  them 
to  somebody  that  will  take  them.  But  let  not  the  Government  coerce 
a  fund,  of  which  it  was  the  chosen  trustee,  which  was  granted  by  a 
foreigner  for  a  special  purpose,  with  the  charge  of  keeping  this  col- 
lection. 

Mr.  GEORGE  E.  BADGER.  I  move  to  lay  the  resolution  on  the  table. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to;  and  the  resolution  was  ordered  to  lie  on 
the  table. 

REPORT   OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 
July  23,  1850— House. 

Mr.  H.  W.  HILLIARD  requested  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
[Mr.  James  Thompson]  to  waive  his  motion  for  the  regular  order  of 


478  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

business,  so  as  to  enable  him  (Mr.  Milliard)  to  present  the  annual  report 
of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  His  object 
was  simply  to  present  the  report,  that  it  might  be  laid  upon  the  table 
and  printed. 

Mr.  JAMES  THOMPSON,  of  Pennsylvania,  insisted  on  the  regular  order 
of  business. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  HOWELL  COBB)  stated  to  the  gentleman  from  Ala- 
bama [Mr.  H.  W.  Hilliard]  that  the  report  could  only  be  introduced 
by  unanimous  consent.  The  regular  order  of  business  was  insisted 
upon,  and  objections  were  made  in  several  quarters. 

The  report,  therefore,  was  not  presented. 
July  25,  1850— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  HOWELL  COBB)  laid  before  the  House  a  communi- 
cation from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  transmitting 
the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion—laid upon  the  table,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 
July  29,  1850— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  WILLIAM  R.  KING)  laid  before  the 
Senate  a  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  trans- 
mitting the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents, 

On  motion  by  Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi, 

Ordered,  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing,  with  instructions  to 
inquire  into  the  expediency  of  printing  5,000  additional  copies  without  the  Appendix. 
July  30,  1850— Senate. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
in  favor  of  printing  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  with 
5,000  additional  copies  without  the  Appendix,  500  of  which  are  for  the 
use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Agreed  to. 
January  9,  1851 — Senate. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi,  submitted  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Printing  be  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  pro- 
priety of  printing  three  thousand  extra  copies  of  the  Appendix  to  the  report  of  the 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  one  thousand  of  which  to  be  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  DAVIS.  Mr.  President,  when  I  made  the  motion  to  print  extra 
copies  of  the  report  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion I  was  not  acquainted  with  the  value  of  the  Appendix.  It  contains 
valuable  statistical  and  other  information  respecting  the  libraries  of 
the  United  States,  and  it  is  believed  that  it  would  be  valuable  and 
desirable  to  the  country  at  large. 

Agreed  to. 
March  1,  1851— Senate. 

The  President  of  the  Senate  (Mr.  HOWELL  COBB)  laid  before  the 
body  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  com- 


THIRTY-FIRST    CONGRESS,  1849-1851.  479 

municating  the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  said  Institu- 
tion— ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  that  it  be  printed,  and  that  2,000 
extra  copies  thereof  be  printed,  the  motion  was  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Printing. 
March  7,  1851— Senate. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  SOLON  BORLAND,  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  was  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  BORLAND.  I  now  move  that  3,000  extra  copies  of  that  report  be 
printed. 

Mr.  J.  W.  BRADBURY.  1  hope  we  will  let  the  matter  of  printing 
documents  lie  over  until  we  meet  for  the  transaction  of  ordinary  legis- 
lative business,  and  not  undertake  enterprises  of  this  kind  at  thistime. 

Mr.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi.  I  can  not  see  how  the  print- 
ing of  a  report  made  to  Congress  can  properly  be  termed  an  enterprise. 

Mr.  R.  B.  RHETT.  Who  is  to  print  it? 

Mr.  DAVIS.  The  public  printer. 

Mr.  RHETT.  He  says  he  can  not  do  it. 

Mr.  BORLAND.  That  is  the  old  contractor.  This  goes  to  the  new 
contractor. 

Mr.  DAVIS.  1  was  surprised  to  hear  the  few  remarks  which  were 
made  on  this  question.  Surely  Senators  forget  that  the  United  States 
have  accepted  the  bequest  made  by  a  foreigner  to  found  an  institution 
at  Washington,  and  that  Congress  have  organized  a  Board  of  Regents 
and  given  them  the  charge  of  the  fund  so  left  to  the  United  States  for 
the  benefit  of  mankind;  and  this  is  the  report  of  the  board  so  consti- 
tuted by  Congress.  If  there  be  anything  more  than  another  which  we 
should  circulate  freely  throughout  the  United  States,  it  is  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  manner  in  which  we  discharge  this  holy  trust  which  we 
have  taken  upon  ourselves.  The  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  is  made  to  Congress  by  authority  as  high  as 
the  report  of  any  committee  of  Congress.  If  it  be  said  that  you  ought 
not  to  print  extra  copies  of  this,  to  that  I  would  reply  that  a  report 
made  by  a  committee  of  Congress  is  for  the  action  of  Congress,  and  it 
would  be  questionable  whether  the  Senate  should  print  extra  copies  of 
a  report  of  one  of  its  committees;  but  it  is  clear  that  if  you  have 
authority  to  print  for  circulation  and  distribution  at  all,  it  belongs  to 
such  a  document  as  this,  relating  to  a  trust  fund  bequeathed  to  the 
United  States,  taken  charge  of  by  the  United  States,  and  which  we 
are  now  administering  through  a  Board  of  Regents.  As  to  the  value 
of  the  information  I  will  express  no  opinion. 

Mr.  RHETT.  I  would  ask  my  friend  from  Mississippi  why  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  itself  does  not  print  its  own  proceedings? 

Mr.  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi.  I  said,  I  think,  that  this  was  a  report  to 
Congress.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  does  print  its  contributions  to 


480  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

knowledge,  and  does  attend  to  their  diffusion  among  men.  This, 
however,  is  not  a  contribution  to  human  knowledge,  but  is  a  report  to 
Congress  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Board  of  Regents  executed  the 
trust  confided  to  them. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEAKCE.  I  beg  leave  simply  to  add  that  the,  law  organizing 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  compels  the  Board  of  Regents  to  make  this 
annual  report  to  Congress. 

Mr.  J.  M.  MASON.  I  move  to  amend  the  motion  so  as  to  provide 
that  1,000  copies  shall  be  printed  for  the  Institution. 

Mr.  MOSES  NORRIS.  Is  this  the  report  of  a  committee? 

Mr.  BORLAND.  It  is  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution;  the  question  of  printing  it  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Printing;  the  committee  were  in  favor  of  the  propo- 
sition, but  could  not  make  a  report.  It  has  been  ordered  to  be  printed; 
and  the  proposition  now  is  to  print  3,000  extra  copies. 

Mr.  NORRIS.  Does  it  come  from  the  Committee  on  Printing  ? 

Mr.  BORLAND.  It  does. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

INTERNATIONAL    EXCHANGES. 

September  30,  1850. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1851. 

For  carrying  into  effect  the  international  exchanges  of  books, 
authorized  by  the  act  of  June  26,  1848,  entitled  "An  act  to  regulate 
the  exchanges  of  certain  documents  and  other  publications  of  Congress," 
$2,000. 

(Stat.,  IX,  524.) 
February  27,  1851. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  and  the  Clerk  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  be,  and  they  hereby  are,  directed  to  dis- 
tribute, by  mail  or  otherwise,  the  works  now  being  published  by 
authority  of  Congress,  known  as  the  works  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 
in  the  manner  following,  to  wit:  *  *  *  to  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, one  copy;  *  *  *  to  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  for 
the  purpose  of  international  exchange,  twelve  copies. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  the  works  of  the  late  John 
Adams,  published  and  being  published,  for  which  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  have  subscribed,  be  distributed  in  the  same  manner  as  is 
herein  provided  for  the  distribution  of  the  works  of  the  late  Alexander 
Hamilton,  except  the  live  copies  to  Mrs.  Eliza  Hamilton. 

(Stat,  IX,  040.) 

March  3,  1851. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1852. 

Of  the  Annals  of  Congress  twenty-five  copies  for  inter- 

national exchanges  *  *  *  two  copies  to  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. 

(Stat,  IX,  591).) 


THIRTY-FIRST    CONGRESS,   1849-1851.  481 

INCREASE   OF   SMITHSON    FUND. 
January  23,  1851 — Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  I  have  a  memorial  from  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  which  I  ask  to  be  referred  to  the  Finance 
Committee.  Referred. 

To  the  honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled: 

GENTLEMEN:  The  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  have  directed 
me  to  transmit  to  your  honorable  body  the  resolutions  appended  to  this  letter,  and 
to  solicit  the  passing  of  a  law  in  accordance  therewith. 

It  is  known  to  your  honorable  body  that  the  original  sum  received  into  the  United 
States  Treasury  from  the  Smithsonian  bequest  was  a  little  more  than  $515,000,  and 
that  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  act  incorporating  the  Institution  $242,000  had 
accrued  in  interest,  which  sum,  or  so  much  of  it  as  might  be  deemed  necessary,  the 
Regents  were  authorized  to  appropriate  to  a  building.  It  is  also  known  to  your  hon- 
orable body  that  the  act  of  incorporation  directed  that  provision  should  be  made  for 
the  establishment  of  a  library  and  museum,  together  with  the  erection  of  a  building 
on  a  liberal  scale  to  contain  them. 

While  the  Regents  in  their  plan  of  organization  obeyed  these  instructions,  they 
also,  by  virtue  of  the  power  invested  in  them  and  in  conformity  with  the  terms  of 
the  bequest,  adopted  additional  plans  for  the  more  immediate  promotion  of  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men  by  means  of  researches,  publica- 
tions, lectures,  etc. 

In  order,  however,  to  carry  out  the  several  parts  of  this  more  extended  plan,  it 
was  found  absolutely  necessary  that  the  annual  income  of  the  Institution  should  be 
increased.  To  accomplish  this  it  was  resolved,  instead  of  expending  at  once  the 
$242,000  on  a  building,  carefully  to  husband  the  same  and  to  erect  the  building  in 
the  course  of  several  years,  in  part  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sum  before  mentioned 
and  in  part  out  of  such  portions  of  the  income  of  the  original  fund  as  could  be 
spared  from  the  ordinary  operations  of  the  Institution.  This  scheme  has  been 
effectually  carried  out,  and  the  Regents  now  ask  to  be  allowed  to  place  in  the  Treas- 
ury of  the  United  States,  alongside  of  the  original  bequest  and  upon  the  same  terms, 
never  to  be  expended,  the  sum  of  $150,000  of  accrued  interest,  and  to  be  allowed  to 
add  to  this  from  time  to  time  such  other  sums  as  may  come  into  their  possession,  by 
donation  or  otherwise,  until  it,  with  the  sums  thus  added,  shall  amount  to  $200,000, 
making  in  all  a  principal  fund  of  a  little  more  than  $715,000. 

After  this  deposit  of  $150,000  the  Regents  will  still  have  sufficient  money  on  hand 
to  finish  the  whole  exterior  of  the  building  and  such  portions  of  the  interior  in  addi- 
tion to  those  now  completed  as  may  be  wanted  for  several  years  to  come;  they  then 
propose  gradually  to  finish  the  remainder,  in  such  portions  as  may  be  wanted,  out 
of  the  annual  accruing  interest. 

The  sole  object  of  the  request  is  the  permanent  investment  and  perpetual  security 
of  the  accumulated  fund,  and  when  your  honorable  body  is  assured  that  the  organi- 
zation and  operation  of  the  Institution  have  received  the  approbation  of  the  wise 
and  good,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  in  every  part  of  the  world  where  literature 
and  science  are  cultivated,  the  undersigned  trusts  that  the  request  will  be  granted. 

And  your  petitioner  will  ever  pray,  etc., 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

H.  Doc.  732 31 


482  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Resolution  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smtilisonian  Institution,  adopted  at  their  meeting 
of  June  1,  1850,  and  appended  to  the  foregoing  petition. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  enlarge  the  permanent  fund  of  the  Institution  by 
the  investment  of  such  sums  not  exceeding  $200,000  as  may  have  been  or  shall  be 
received  for  accrued  interest  or  otherwise,  in  addition  to  the  principal  sum  of  the 
Smithsonian  bequest,  augmenting  the  principal  sum  to  that  amount,  and  that  appli- 
cation be  made  to  Congress  to  receive  such  sums  not  exceeding  $200,000  as  may  have 
been  or  shall  be  received  for  accrued  interest  or  otherwise  into  the  United  State? 
Treasury  upon  the  same  terms  on  which  the  original  bequest  has  been  received. 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  be  requested  to  communicate  a  copy  of  this  resolution 
to  Congress  and  to  request  that  provision  be  made  bylaw  in  accordance  therewith. 

January  30,  1851 — Senate. 

Mr.  THOMAS  EWING,  from  the  Committee  on  Finance,  to  which  was 
referred  the  memorial  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
reported  a  bill  supplementary  to  an  act  passed  August  10,  1846, 
entitled  "An  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men:"  which  was  read  and 
passed  to  a  second  reading: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  so  much  of  the  money  now  in  the  hands  of  the  regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  being  an  accumulation  of  interest  on  the  principal  fund 
that  accrued  prior  to  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-seven,  and  heretofore 
set  apart  for  the  erection  of  the  suitable  buildings  for  the  use  of  said  institution,  as 
may  not  be  found  necessary  for  the  completion  of  the  edifice  now  in  course  of  erec- 
tion, and  all  such  further  sums  as  may  be  received  hereafter  from  the  estate  of  James 
Smithson,  shall  be  received  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  on  the  same  terms 
as  were  provided  for  the  original  principal  fund  by  the  second  section  of  the  act 
entitled  "An  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase  and  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  among  men,"  approved  August  tenth,  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-six,  and  that  the  interest  thereon  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum  shall 
in  like  manner  be  payable  half-yearly  on  the  first  of  January  and  July  in  each  year, 
from  and  after  the  date  at  which  it  shall  be  received  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States  for  the  perpetual  maintenance  and  support  of  said  institution :  Provided,  That 
the  sums  thus  to  be  received  shall  not  exceed  the  amount  of  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS. 

By  the  Vice- President. 
March  5.  1851— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE,  the  President  of  the  Senate  (Mr. 
WILLIAM  R.  KING)  was  authorized  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  occasioned  by  the  expiration, 
on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1851,  of  the  term  of  Jefferson  Davis,  of 
Mississippi. 
March  6,  1851— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE,  the  President  of  the  Senate  (Mr. 
WILLIAM  R.  KING)  was  authorized  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of 
Regents  occasioned  by  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  service  of  James 
M.  Mason. 

The  President  (Mr.  KING)  reappointed  Jefferson  Davis  and  James 
M.  Mason  as  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 


THIRTY-FIRST    CONGRESS,   1849-1851.  483 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS. 

By  ttie  Speaker. 
January  7,  1850 — House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  HOWELL  COBB)  appointed  Henry  W.  Hilliard,  of 
Alabama,  W.  F.  Colcock,  of  South  Carolina,  and  G.  N.  Fitch,  of 
Indiana,  on  the  part  of  the  House,  as  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS. 

By  Joint  Resolution. 

December  10,  1850— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  gave  notice  of  his  intention  to  ask  leave  to  intro- 
duce a  joint  resolution  providing  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
December  11,  1850— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE,  in  pursuance  of  notice,  asked  and  obtained 
leave  to  introduce  a  joint  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Congress"  be  filled  by  the  reappoint- 
ment  of  the  late  incumbents,  viz,  Richard  Rush,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Joseph  G. 
Totten,  of  the  city  of  Washington. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  PEARCE,  the  joint  resolution  was  read  a  second 
time,  and  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole.     Reported  to  the 
Senate,  and  passed. 
December  18,  1850 — House. 

Mr.  G.  N.  FITCH  said  there  was  upon  the  Speaker's  table  a  joint 
resolution  from  the  Senate  providing  for  the  appointment  of  Regents 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  whose  term  of  service  had  expired. 
He  hoped  the  House  would  take  up  and  consider  the  resolution,  as  it 
would  occupy  but  a  few  minutes.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  it 
should  be  passed,  for  the  reason  that  the  Board  of  Regents  was  not 
full  and  no  business  could  be  transacted  by  the  Board  until  the  vacan- 
cies be  tilled.  He  hoped  the  resolution  would  be  taken  up. 

There  being  no  objection  the  joint  resolution  was  taken  up  and 
passed. 
December  24,  1850. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress," be  filled  by  the  reappointment  of  the  late  incumbents,  viz.: 
Richard  Rush,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Joseph  G.  Totten,  of  the  city  of 
Washington. 

(Stat.,  IX,  646.) 


484  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

THIRTY-SECOND  CONGRESS,  1851-1853. 

APPROPRIATIONS    FOR   GROUNDS. 
April  20,  1852— Senate. 

The  Senate  having  under  consideration  the  deficiency  bill,  and  the 
following  amendment  from  the  Committee  on  Finance  being  in  order: 

For  planting  and  finishing  the  roads  and  walks  through  that  portion  of  the  public 
Mall  surrounding  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $7,000. 

Mr.  R.  M.  T.  HUNTER  said:  This  item  is  estimated  for  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior.  It  is  proposed  to  appropriate  this  amount  in 
this  bill,  instead  of  appropriating  it  for  the  next  fiscal  year,  as  this  is 
the  planting  season. 

Agreed  to. 
August  21,  1852— Senate. 

An  amendment  to  the  civil  and  diplomatic  appropriation  bill  for  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1853,  was  proposed  by  the  Finance  Committee, 
as  follows: 

For  finishing  the  grading,  manuring,  planting,  finishing  the  roads  and  walks, 
graveling  and  laying  gutters  along  the  margin  of  the  same,  and  repairing  the  fence 
of  the  Smithsonian  square,  $13,200. 
August  26,  1852— Senate. 

Mr.  R.  M.  T.   HUNTER  moved  to  amend  the  amendment  offered 
August   21,    by   striking   out    "$13,200"   and    inserting    "$16,760." 
Amendment  as  amended  was  agreed  to. 
August  30,  1852 — Senate. 

In  conference  committee  the  Senate  receded  from  the  amendment  of 
August  26. 
March  1,  1853— Senate. 

Mr.  R.  M.  T.  HUNTER,  from  the  Finance  Committee,  offered  amend- 
ment to  the  civil  and  diplomatic  appropriation  bill — 

To  supply  a  deficiency  for  the  purchase  of  trees  and  hire  of  laborers  on  the 
improvements  of  reservation  No.  2,  on  public  Mall,  between  Seventh  and  Twelfth 
streets  west,  $5,276.52. 

Agreed  to. 
March  3,  1853— House. 

The  House  refused  to  agree  to  the  amendment  of  the  Senate  to  the 
civil  and  diplomatic  bill  appropriating  $5,276.52  for  reservation  No.  '2. 

The  amendment  having  been  sent  to  a  committee  of  conference,  the 
House  receded  from  its  disagreement,  and  the  amendment  was  agreed 
to. 

INCREASE    OF   SMITHSON   FUND. 

May  27,  1852— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE,  from  the  Committee  on  Finance,  reported  a  bill 
supplementary  to  an  act  approved  August  10,  1846,  entitled  "An  act 
to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution,"  etc.: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  so  much  of  the  money  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  being  an  accumulation  of  interest  on  the  principal  fund  that 


THIRTY-SECOND    CONGRESS,   1851-1853.  485 

accrued  prior  to  July  first,  1847,  and  heretofore  set  apart  for  the  erection  of  the 
suitable  buildings  for  the  use  of  said  Institution,  as  may  not  be  found  necessary  for 
the  completion  of  the  edifice  now  in  course  of  erection,  and  all  such  further  sums  as 
may  be  received  hereafter  from  the  estate  of  James  Smithson,  shall  be  received  into 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  on  the  same  terms  as  were  provided  for  the  original 
principal  fund  by  the  second  section  of  the  act  entitled  "An  act  to  establish  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men," 
approved  August  tenth,  1846,  and  that  the  interest  thereon,  at  the  rate  of  six  per 
centum  per  annum,  shall  in  like  manner  be  payable  half-yearly,  on  the  first  of 
January  and  July  in  each  year,  from  and  after  the  date  at  which  it  shall  be  received 
into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  for  the  perpetual  maintenance  and  support 
of  said  Institution :  Provided,  That  the  sums  thus  to  be  received  shall  not  exceed  the 
amount  of  $200,000. 

Passed  to  a  second  reading. 

FREE   POSTAGE. 
July  11,  1852— House. 

Mr.  B.  HENN,  of  Iowa,  offered  an  amendment  to  the  bill  to  reduce 
and  modify  the  rates  of  postage  in  the  United  States,  etc. : 

The  presidents  of  universities,  colleges,  academies,  and  of  all  scientific  institutions, 
and  also  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  may  send  by  mail,  free  of  postage,  the  printed 
copies  of  any  regular  paper,  pamphlet,  or  book  published  under  the  authority  of  any 
such  institution;  and  also  the  proof  sheets  of  such  copies  while  the  same  are  being 
published:  Provided,  Such  printed  copies  shall  be  distributed  gratis. 

July  12,  1862— House. 

The  amendment  was  rejected. 

REPORT   OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

August  20,  1852— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  D.  R.  ATCHISON)  laid  before  the 
Senate  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
communicating  the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  that 
Institution,  which  was  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table  and  be  printed. 

A  motion  of  Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  that  5,000  additional  copies  be  printed 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 
August  26,  1852— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  in  favor 
of  printing  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  annual  report  of  the  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  that  2,000  copies  thereof  be  for 
the  use  of  the  Institution.     Agreed  to. 
March  1,  1853— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  D.  R.  ATCHISON)  laid  before  the 
Senate  the  seventh  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 
March  3,  1853— Senate. 

The  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
was  ordered  to  be  printed. 


486  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  tJie  Vice- President. 
August  24,  1852—  Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  submitted  resolution. 

Resolved,  That  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Jefferson  Davis,  be  filled  by  the  President  of  the 
Senate. 

Agreed  to  and  Robert  M.  Charlton  was  appointed. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
January  2,  1852— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  LINN  BOYD),  in  pursuance  of  the  act  of  Congress, 
announced  the  names  of  the  following  gentlemen  as  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution:  William  F.  Colcock,  of  South  Carolina; 
Graham  N.  Fitch,  of  Indiana,  and  James  Meacham,  of  Vermont. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
December  21,  1852 — Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  There  are  two  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  it  is  very  desirable  and  necessary 
should  soon  be  filled.  I  therefore  ask  leave  to  introduce  a  joint 
resolution. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Congress,"  be  filled  by  the  appointment 
of  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  John  MacPherson  Berrien, 
of  the  State  of  Georgia. 

Considered  by  the  Senate  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole;  reported 
without  amendment;  passed. 
January  11,  1853 — House. 

Mr.  JAMES  MEACHAM.  I  ask  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  House  to 
take  up  joint  resolution  S.  6-±,  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.     It  will  take  but  a  moment,  and  it  is  very 
necessary  that  it  should  be  passed.    Resolution  passed. 
January  13,  1853. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress," be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  a 
member  of  the  National  Institute,  and  resident  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, and  John  MacPherson  Berrien,  of  the  State  of  Georgia. 

(Stat.,  X,  261.) 


THIRTY-SECOND   CONGRESS,   1851-1853.  487 

DOCUMENTS. 
August  31,  1852— Senate. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  AUGUSTUS  C.  DODGE,  of  Iowa,  it  was — 

Ordered,  That  instead  of  the  distribution  of  Owen's  report  heretofore  ordered,  there 
be  furnished  to  the  General  Land  Office  100  copies,  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
100  copies,  and  to  Dr.  Owen  200  copies. 

EXPLORING   EXPEDITION. 
August  31,  1852. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1853. 

Library  of  Congress. — For  continuing  the  preparation  and  publica- 
tion of  the  works  of  the  Exploring  Expedition,  including  the  expenses 
of  the  greenhouse,  and  for  the  settlement  of  arrears  due  on  the  erec- 
tion of  said  greenhouse,  $25,000:  Provided,  That  no  part  of  this  appro- 
priation shall  be  applied  to  the  enlarging  of  the  present  or  the  erection 
of  new  buildings. 

(Stat.,  X,  77.) 

March  3,  1853. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1854. 

Library  of  Congress. — For  the  completion  of  the  publication  of  the 
works  of  the  Exploring  Expedition,  in  pursuance  of  contracts  already 
made,  $25,000:  Provided,  That  this  appropriation  shall  finish  the 
publication. 

(Stat.,  X,  190.) 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 

August  31,  1852. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1853. 

To  defray  freight  and  other  expenses  incurred  under  the  act  to 
regulate  the  exchange  of  certain  documents  and  other  publications, 
approved  June  26,  1848,  the  sum  of  $1,000,  and  that  the  said  act  is 
hereby  repealed. 

(Stat.,  X,  77.) 

METEOROLOGY — JAMES   P.  ESPY. 
August  31,  1852. 

Act  for  naval  service  for  1853. 

For  meteorological  observations,  to  be  conducted  under  the  direc- 
tions of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  $2,000. 

For  the  payment  of  the  salary  of  Professor  James  P.  Espy,  during 
the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1848,  no  appropriation  having  been 
made  by  Congress  for  that  year,  $2,000. 

(Stat.,  X,  102.) 
March  3,  1853. 

Act  for  naval  service  for  1854. 

For  meteorological  observations,  to  be  conducted  under  the  direc- 
tions of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  $2,000. 
(Stat,  X,  221.) 


488  CONGRESSIONAL   PEOCEEDING8. 

THIRTY-THIRD  CONGRESS,  1853-1855. 

SMITHSON    FUND. 

January  3,  1854 — House. 

Mr.  Jos.  R.  CHANDLER  offered  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  a  select  committee,  consisting  of  nine  members,  be  appointed  and 
instructed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  withdrawing  from  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  investing  the  same  in  sound  stocks,  or  in 
such  other  way  as  may  be  to  the  interest  of  said  fund. 

Mr.  CHANDLER.  This  money  is  lying  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  Government  has  to  pay  for  the  use  of  it  when  it  is 
buying  up  its  own  stock  at  a  large  premium.  It  is,  therefore,  desira- 
ble to  place  the  fund  in  some  other  situation. 

Mr.  GEORGE  W.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  I  desire  to  make  one  inquiry 
of  the  gentleman,  and  it  is  whether  there  is  any  certainty  that  a  method 
can  be  devised  by  which  he  can  so  invest  this  money  in  stocks,  or  in 
any  other  way  that,  provided  it  should  be  lost,  the  Government  will 
not  have  to  refund  it  ?  We  made  one  investment  of  a  portion  of  this 
fund  and  had  to  pay  the  amount  of  the  investment. 

Mr.  CHANDLER.  Invest  it  in  Eastern  stocks,  and  not  in  Western. 

Mr.  T.  H.  BAYLY,  of  Virginia,  called  for  the  reading  of  the  resolu- 
tion, and  no  objection  being  made  it  was  accordingly  again  read. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  the  adoption  of  the  resolution;  and 
there  were,  on  a  division — ayes  84;  noes  not  counted. 

Adopted. 

March  10,  1854— House. 

Mr.  J.  R.  CHANDLER.  I  ask  leave  to  introduce  a  memorial  from  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  with  a  view  of  having  it  referred  to  the 
special  committee  appointed  early  in  January.  It  is  a  memorial  asking 
Congress  to  authorize  the  Treasury  Department  to  receive  $150,000, 
saved  from  the  accrued  interest,  on  the  same  terms  as  those  on  which 
the  original  bequest  was  received. 

To  the  honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled: 

GENTLEMEN:  The  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  have  directed 
me  to  transmit  to  your  honorable  body  the  resolution  appended  to  this  communica- 
tion, and  to  solicit  the  passage  of  a  law  in  accordance  therewith. 

It  is  known  to  your  honorable  body  that  the  original  sum  received  into  the  United 
States  Treasury  from  the  Smithsonian  bequest  was  a  little  more  than  $515,000,  and 
that  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  act  incorporating  the  Institution  $242,000  had 
accrued  in  interest,  which  sum,  or  so  much  of  it  as  might  be  deemed  necessary,  the 
Regents  were  authorized  to  appropriate  to  a  building. 

In  consideration,  however,  of  the  great  demands  upon  the  Institution  for  "the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  the  Regents,  instead  of  immedi- 
ately expending  this  sum  on  the  building,  have  carefully  husbanded  it,  and  have 
extended  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  building  over  several  years,  and  have  de- 
frayed the  expense  in  part  out  of  the  proceeds  of  this  sum,  and  in  part  out  of  such 
portions  of  the  income  of  the  original  fund  as  could  be  spared  from  the  operations 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,  1853-1855.  489 

of  the  Institution.  The  building  will  be  completed  in  a  few  months  in  fireproof 
materials,  and  in  a  very  substantial  manner,  and  besides  the  money  required  to  pay 
the  contractor  there  is  now  on  hand  $150,000  of  accrued  interest. 

This  sum  the  Regents  ask  to  be  allowed  to  place  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States  with  the  original  bequest,  and  to  add  to  it,  from  time  to  time,  such  other  sums 
as  may  come  into  their  possession  by  donation  or  otherwise  until  the  sum  thus  added 
shall  amount  to  $ . 

The  sole  object  of  this  bequest  is  the  permanent  investment  and  perpetual  security 
of  the  accumulated  fund,  and  when  your  honorable  body  is  assured  that  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Institution  have  received  the  approbation  of  the  wise  and  good  in  every 
part  of  the  world  where  literature  and  science  are  cultivated,  the  undersigned  trusts 
that  the  request  will  be  granted. 

And  your  petitioner  will  ever  pray,  etc. 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 

Secretary  of  Smithsonian  Institution. 
December  5,  1854— House. 

Mr.  Jos.  R.  CHANDLER  offered  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  special  committee  to  whom,  at  the  last  session  of  Congress,  was 
referred  the  subject  of  the  investment  of  the  funds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
be  continued  with  its  powers  and  duties. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  LINN  BOYD).  With  the  permission  of  the  House, 
the  Chair  would  remark  that  all  the  select  committees  appointed  at  the 
last  session  expired,  as  a  matter  of  course,  with  the  last  session.  If 
not  objected  to,  a  general  order  will  be  entered  to  continue  those  com- 
mittees which  did  not  report  in  full  at  the  last  session. 

Mr.  PETER  ROWE.  I  object. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  question  will  then  be  upon  the  resolution  offered 
by  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania. 

Resolution  agreed  to. 
March  3,  1855— House. 

Mr.  Jos.  R.  CHANDLER,  of  Pennsylvania,  from  the  select  com- 
mittee to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  withdrawing  from  the  Treas- 
ury of  the  United  States  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  investing  it  in 
sound  stocks,  reported  that  immediately  after  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  the  chairman  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  inquiring  into  the  history  and  present  state  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund.  To  that  letter  the  following  answer  was  received: 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  March  6,  1854. 

SIR:  I  duly  received  your  letter  of  the  4th  of  January  last,  inclosing  a  copy  of  the 
following  resolution,  adopted  by  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  3d  of  that 
month :  '  'Resolved,  That  a  select  committee,  consisting  of  nine  members,  be  appointed 
and  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  withdrawing  from  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States  the  Smithsonian  fund,  and  investing  the  same  in  sound  stocks,  or 
in  such  other  way  as  may  be  to  the  interest  of  said  fund,"  and  requesting  a  statement 
of  the  amount  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  in  possession  of  the  Department,  or  under  its 
control,  and  the  amount  of  interest  accruing  thereon,  with  any  other  information 
that  may  assist  the  committee  in  the  discharge  of  the  duty  enjoined  by  said  resolu- 
tion. In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  the 
accompanying  statements,  marked  A,  B,  C,  and  D. 


490  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  sum  received  in  London  from  the  bequest  of  Mr.  Smithson  by  the  agent  of  the 
United  States  appointed  in  pursuance  of  the  act  of  July  1,  1836,  Avaa  §515,169.  But 
the  sum  actually  received  into  the  Treasury  was  $508,318.46,  the  difference  between 
the  two  sums  having  been  absorbed  by  certain  expenses  in  collecting  and  transferring 
the  money  to  the  United  States. 

By  the  sixth  section  of  the  act  of  July  7,  1838,  it  was  provided  that  the  money  so 
received  should  be  invested  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  with  the  approbation 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  stocks  of  States,  bearing  not  less  than  5  per 
cent  interest,  and  that  the  said  stocks  should  be  held  by  the  said  Secretary  in  trust  for 
the  uses  specified  in  the  last  will  and  testament  of  James  Smithson,  until  provisions 
should  be  made  by  law  for  carrying  the  purposes  of  the  said  bequest  into  effect,  and 
the  annual  interest  accruing  on  the  stock  aforesaid  should,  in  like  manner,  be  invested 
for  the  benefit  of  the  said  Institution. 

By  the  act  of  September  11,  1841,  so  much  of  the  before-mentioned  act  as  author- 
ized investments  in  stocks  of  the  States  was  repealed,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury was  required  thereafter  to  invest  in  stocks  of  the  United  States. 

But  between  the  dates  of  these  two  acts  the  sum  of  $508,318.46,  together  with  the 
interest  accruing  on  the  first  purchase,  was  invested  in  stock  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
upon  which  the  State,  in  the  sequel,  failed  to  pay  interest,  and  upon  which,  from 
the  time  of  such  failure,  nothing  has  been  realized,  except  certain  sums  which  have 
accrued  to  the  State  from  the  sale  of  public  lands  under  what  is  commonly  called  the 
5  per  cent  fund. 

In  this  condition  of  the  fund  the  act  of  August  10,  1846,  was  passed,  entitled  "An 
act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men." 

The  act  recognized  as  a  debt  due  from  the  United  States  the  sum  so  received  and 
invested.  It  fixed  the  said  sum  at  $515, 169,  the  sum  received  by  the  agent  in  London, 
thus  assuming  the  expenses  incurred,  and  leaving  the  original  bequest  unimpaired 
for  the  use  of  the  Institution.  It  provided  for  the  payment  of  interest  on  the  said 
sum  from  the  time  of  receipt,  at  6  per  cent,  payable  on  the  1st  January  and  1st  July 
of  each  year,  appropriating  the  interest  which  had  so  far  accrued,  amounting  to 
$242,129,  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  and  the  interest  thereafter  to  accrue 
for  the  maintenance  and  support  of  the  Institution.  But  the  act  at  the  same  time 
provided  "  that  all  the  stocks  which  may  have  been  or  may  hereafter  be  received 
into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  on  account  of  the  fund  bequeathed  by  James 
Smithson  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  pledged  to  refund  to  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  the  sums  hereby  appropriated." 

With  this  brief  explanation  of  the  history  of  the  fund,  including  the  legislation 
thereon,  the  committee,  it  is  hoped,  will  find  the  statements  referred  to  sufficiently 
intelligible. 

A  is  a  statement  showing  on  the  one  hand,  first,  the  amount  originally  received 
into  the  Treasury;  second,  the  amounts  received  for  interest;  and,  third,  the  amount 
of  United  States  stock  redeemed,  this  amount  ($5,523.21)  being  part  of  the  sum  of 
$106,184.85  mentioned  in  same  statement;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  first,  the  invest- 
ments made  for  the  benefit  of  the  Institution;  second,  an  expense  incurred  in  the 
management  of  the  fund;  and,  third,  the  balance  remaining  on  hand. 

Statement  B  shows  the  amount  of  stock  now  held,  and  the  different  descriptions  of 
which  it  is  composed.  It  shows  also  the  present  market  value  of  said  stocks,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Arkansas,  which  is,  perhaps,  not  worth  more  than  40  cents  on 
the  dollar. 

C  is  a  statement  showing  on  the  one  hand  the  interest  which  has  accrued  on  these 
stocks,  and  on  the  other  hand,  first,  the  interest  which  has  been  received,  and,  second, 
the  interest  which  is  due  and  uncollected. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  491 

D  is  a  statement  of  the  interest  which  has  accrued  on  the  sum  of  $515,169  under  the 
act  of  August  10,  1846,  all  of  which  has  been  paid  up  to  the  31st  December,  1853,  first, 
for  the  erection  of  the  building,  and,  second,  for  the  support  of  the  Institution,  in  pur- 
suance of  the  terms  of  said  act. 

From  these  statements  it  appears  that  the  fund  which  is  pledged  to  reimburse  to 
the  Treasury  the  amount  appropriated  by  the  act  of  August  10,  1846,  may  be  stated 
as  follows: 

1.  Stocks  on  hand  of  the  par  value  of $720, 661. 64 

2.  Balance  of  cash  in  the  Treasury 18,  646.  83 

3.  Balance  of  interest  uncollected 369, 316. 32 


1,108,624.79 

It  is  estimated  that,  by  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  redeem  the 
stocks  of  the  United  States  held  in  trust  for  the  Institution  at  the  rates  of  premium 
offered  for  said  stocks,  and  to  sell  the  stocks  of  the  States  of  Illinois,  Ohio,  and  Michi- 
gan at  their  market  price,  the  sum  of  $199,844  may  be  realized  and  applied  toward 
the  reimbursement  of  the  said  appropriations,  and  I  respectfully  recommend  that 
authority  may  be  given  to  pursue  this  course. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

JAMES  GUTHRIE, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Hon.  Jos.  R.  CHANDLER, 

Chairman  Select  Committee  on  Smithsonian  Fund. 


492 


CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

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THIRTY -THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855 


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494 


CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 


C. — Statement  showing  the  amount  of  interest  received  and  disbursed  on  account  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  under  the  act  of  Congress  approved  August  10,  1846,  ivhich  act 
fixed  the  principal  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  at  $515,169. 


To  amount  of  interest  which  has  ac- 
crued on  the  principal  of  the  Smith- 
sonian fund  as  secured  by  the  second 
section  of  the  act  of  Aug.  10,  1846, 
from  Sept.  1,  1838,  to  Dec.  31,  1849,  as 
per  report  No  103  882 

8350  314  42 

By  amount  of  interest  paid  to  the 
proper  disbursing  agent  of  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  up  to  Dec.  31, 
1849,  per  report  No.  103,882  

$350,  314.  42 

To  amount  of  interest  which  has  ac- 

1 ,  1850,  to  Dec.  31,  1853  .  . 

123  640.56 

crued  on  said  fund  from  Jan.  1  ,  1850, 
to  Dec.  31,  1853  

123,640.56 

473,  954.  98 

473,954.98 

D. — Statement  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  as  it  regards  interest  on  stocks. 


To  amount  of  interest  received j$223, 756. 01 

To  interest  now  due,  viz: 
From  the  State  of  Ar- 
kansas   8361,686.32 

From   the    State  of 

Michigan 960.00  | 

From    the   State   of 

Ohio 6,720.00  i 

369,316.32 


593,072.33 


By  amount  of  interest  which  has  ac- 
crued on  stocks  purchased,  viz : 
On  stock  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 
On  stock  of  the  State  of  Michigan. 
On  stock  of  the  State  of  Illinois  . . 

On  stock  of  the  State  of  Ohio 

On  stock  of  the  United  States  ... 


8492, 079. 57 
7,520.00 
45,420.00 
13,500.00 
34,552.70 


593,072.33 


Shortly  after  the  receipt  of  the  above  statements  by  the  chairman 
of  the  committee,  there  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Representatives 
the  memorial  of  March  10,  1854,  from  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  statement  made  to  the  select  committee  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  shows  that  the  Government,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  set  apart 
as  the  capital  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  the  sum  of  $515,169;  regarding 
those  States  that  have  failed  to  make  payment  of  principal  or  interest 
of  the  sums  loaned  to  them  from  the  fund  received  from  England  as 
debtors  to  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  leaving  the  fund  unencum- 
bered with  accounts  against  the  borrowers  and  equal  to  the  amount 
left  by  the  testator. 

What  disposition  should  be  made  of  the  evidences  of  debts  which 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  holds  against  the  borrowers  of 
the  original  fund  did  not  form  a  part  of  the  inquiries  which  the  com- 
mittee was  authorized  to  make.  But  as  those  funds  evidently  belong 
to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  the  committee  will  feel  itself 
justified  in  suggesting  such  a  disposal  thereof  as  will  release  the  books 
of  the  Treasury  Department  of  the  continued  and  increasing  accounts. 
And  at  the  close  of  the  report  a  resolution  will  be  added  recommend- 
ing the  sale  of  all  such  assets,  and  that  the  net  proceeds  be  carried  to 
the  general  fund. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  495 

The  memorial  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  asking  for  permission 
to  invest  a  portion  of  the  fund  saved  in  the  construction  of  the  build- 
ing, for  which  purpose  it  had  been  appropriated,  suggested  to  the  joint 
committee  inquiries  as  to  the  probable  demands  which  would  be  made 
upon  the  income  of  the  Institution;  and  that  led  to  a  further  inquiry  as 
to  the  legitimate  objects  for  expenditure.  These  inquiries  could  only 
be  answered  by  a  recurrence  to  the  will  of  the  distinguished  testator;  and 
if  that  should  be  less  explicit  in  any  particular  than  would  be  desirable, 
then  a  recurrence  could  be  had  to  the  well-established  facts  of  his 
life,  and  the  special  objects  which  he  pursued  in  his  devotion  to  sci- 
ence; and  the  end  which  he  proposed  in  his  pursuits  while  alive,  and 
the  special  directions  of  his  estate  after  the  death  of  the  person  to 
whom  was  bequeathed  a  life  use  of  his  property. 

Committees  of  Congress  have  several  times  presented  statements  of 
the  objects  of  Mr.  Smithson's  bequest  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  in  trust,  and  their  opinion  of  the  mode  in  which  these  objects 
should  be  attained,  and  proceedings  have  been  had,  founded  on  the 
acts  of  Congress,  that  have  been  consequent  upon  these  reports.  And 
the  Institution  has  been  established,  and  been  made  most  beneficially 
operative  by  a  "direction,"  which  has  been  careful  to  administer  its 
affairs  in  the  spirit  of  Congressional  enactments. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution,  however,  is  unique  in  its  character, 
and  it  is  brought  into  action  at  a  time  when  science  is  advancing 
beyond  all  precedent,  and  when  the  learned  and  the  scientific  of  the 
Old  World  are  demanding  from  the  United  States  not  merely  a  sympa- 
thy in  their  labors,  but  a  contribution  to  the  amount  of  knowledge  and 
science  with  which  the  world  has  alread}T  been  enriched. 

With  the  constant  demands  upon  the  Institution,  and  the  constant 
efforts  to  respond  to  these  demands,  it  is  not  strange  that  it  should  be 
found  occasionally  necessary  to  inquire  whether  its  administration  is 
maintained  with  a  constant  e}~e  to  that  progression  which  the  advance- 
ment of  science  renders  necessary,  and  whether  every  plan  which  was 
hesitatingly  but  carefully  adopted  in  the  establishment  of  the  Institu- 
tion is  productive  of  the  exact  result  which  was  contemplated  on  its 
formation,  and  whether  any  of  its  minor  divisions  impinge  upon  the 
more  important  branches,  and  thus  diminish  the  means  of  usefulness 
on  the  whole,  and  delay  the  attainment  of  these  objects,  which  are 
properly  the  end  of  the  great  establishment. 

To  judge  correctly  of  such  matters  it  is  not  only  necessary  to  know 
what  has  been  done  by  the  Institution,  but  what  was  the  plan  of  those 
by  whom  it  was  inaugurated,  and  especially  it  is  important  to  com- 
pare the  proceedings  of  the  Institution  with  the  will  of  its  testator, 
and  to  ascertain  whether  what  he  proposed  has  been  in  any  degree 
attained,  and  whether  all  has  been  done  that  the  means  supplied  would 
allow,  and  whether  the  plans  for  future  action  are  in  direct  conformity 


496  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

with  a  fair  construction  of  the  will,  and  whether  any  of  the  income  is 
being  devoted  to  objects  not  directly  contemplated  by  the  testator, 
and  which  may  be  as  well  attained  by  existing  institutions  that  have 
neither  the  means  nor  the  mission  for  that  which  may  be  regarded  as 
the  specialty  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest. 

And  the  inquiry  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee  eminently  wor- 
thy those  who  are  acting  for  the  nation  which,  having  accepted  the 
solemn  and  important  trust  conferred  by  Mr.  Smithson,  is  bound  to 
give  to  its  administration  all  that  attention  which  is  due  to  the  liberal 
views  and  lofty  objects  of  the  testator,  and  which  is  no  less  becoming 
the  peculiar  character  and  natural  distinction  of  the  trustee.  Regard 
for  the  memory  of  the  dead  who  conferred  upon  our  citizens  the  bene- 
fit of  the  fund  and  upon  our  nation  the  honor  of  its  administration,  no 
less  than  a  mere  self-respect,  will  ever  lead  this  nation,  through  its  rep- 
resentatives, to  guard  with  peculiar  vigilance  the  sacred  trust  involved 
in  the  bequest  of  Mr.  Smithson,  and  carefully  and  diligently  to  watch 
the  progress  of  the  Institution  in  the  fulfillment  of  the  noble  wishes  of 
the  founder  and  the  just  expectation  of  mankind  in  its  regard. 

With  this  view,  evidently,  the  Government  supplied  the  deficiency 
in  the  funds  resulting  from  loans  authorized  by  act  of  Congress;  and, 
pursuing  the  same  object,  it  is  believed  that  Congress  will  suggest 
that  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  be  the  depository  of  the  fund, 
and  that  the  Institution  shall  derive  an  unfluctuating  income  from  the 
interest  which  the  Government  of  the  United  States  shall  pay  for  the 
use  of  that  deposit. 

James  Smithson  was  the  son  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland  by 
Elizabeth,  niece  of  the  Duke  of  Somerset.  The  disadvantages  of  the 
circumstances  of  his  birth  seem  to  have  been  less  than  the  benefits  of 
the  wealth  of  his  parents,  and  he  surmounted  the  former .  by  the 
assistance  which  the  latter  gave  to  the  energy  of  his  character  and 
the  ennobling  objects  of  his  pursuits,  and  having  achieved  distinction 
by  science,  an  attainment  fortunately  not  dependent  upon  hereditary 
honors,  his  wish  was  evidently  to  open  up  avenues  to  knowledge  and 
facilitate  its  attainment  for  the  multitude.  It  is  better  to  suppose 
that  the  exalted  opinions  of  mental  cultivation  and  scientific  attain- 
ment which  Smithson  manifested  in  his  life  and  writings,  and  the 
efforts  and  contribution  which  he  made  toward  insuring  to  learning  a 
superiority  to  any  distinction  founded  on  hereditary  title,  resulted 
rather  from  the  ennobling  influence  of  great  scientific  attainments 
upon  his  own  character  than  from  the  misfortunes  of  his  birth,  which 
forbade  his  enjoyment  of  the  titular  honors  that  distinguished  his 
father. 

Or,  if  made  to  feel  the  incompatibility  of  his  condition  with  the 
kind  of  distinction  which  was  enjoyed  by  his  more  fortunate  relatives, 
he  may  be  pardoned  the  ambition  which  led  him  to  adopt  a  course  to 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  497 

give  imperishable  distinction  to  his  name,  "when  the  titles  of  Percy 
and  Northumberland  are  extinct."  And  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  is  the  means  by  which  that  distinction  is  to 
be  achieved  and  perpetuated.  Such  an  end  with  such  ample  means 
demanded  appropriate  administrations  and  suitable  measures. 

It  must  be  conceded  that  the  plan  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
must  be  of  a  character  different  from  most  others  or  it  will  only  be  a 
rival  of  existing  institutions;  and  the  language  of  the  testator  is 
explicit  as  it  regards  the  character  and  objects  of  the  institute  which 
he  intended  to  found  and  endow.  The  object  was  "to  found  at  Wash- 
ington an  establishment,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men." 

The  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  accepting  the  great  trust 
conferred,  pledged  itself  to  carry  out  the  objects  of  the  founder,  to 
administer  the  funds  with  a  distinct  reference  to  the  requirements  of 
the  will,  and  to  keep  the  institute,  which  bears  the  name  of  the 
founder,  separate  in  all  its  relations  from  any  and  every  other;  to  give 
it  a  distinct  and  substantive  existence,  and  insure  independence  and 
efficiency  to  its  operations. 

The  distinction  between  the  increase  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
is  real,  and  in  the  administration  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  of 
very  great  importance. 

We  have,  all  around  us,  libraries  and  museums,  by  which  what  is 
known  of  literature  and  science  may  be  diffused,  so  far  as  the  influ- 
ence of  those  libraries  and  museums  extends;  but  it  can  not  be  denied 
that  such  an  influence  is  necessarily  quite  limited. 

But  the  "increase  of  knowledge"  is  more  dependent  upon  the 
means  of  the  promoters  than  their  location,  and  the  amount  of  valua- 
ble contribution  to  any  science  must  depend  more  upon  the  assurance 
that  the  contributor  can  be  requited  for  his  time  and  labor  than  upon 
any  advantages  of  position;  and  it  is  eminently  true  that  our  country 
abounds  with  men  whose  tastes  and  attainments  lead  them  into  a  par- 
ticular branch  of  moral  or  physical  science,  but  whose  ordinary  pur- 
suits do  not  allow  them  to  extend  their  investigations  into  specialties, 
so  that  large  stores  of  knowledge  often  lie  undeveloped  in  the  mine  of 
science  for  want  of  some  men  of  leisure  to  follow  the  drift  and  secure 
the  treasure. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  has  already  enabled  men  of  that  class 
and  encouraged  those  of  more  fortunate  condition  to  make  investiga- 
tions and  to  adduce  results  which  the  world  of  science  has  already 
confessed  go  to  increase  knowledge  among  men;  and  these  contribu- 
tions to  the  amount  of  knowledge,  it  is  admitted,  must  have  been 
reserved  at  least  for  a  future  day  had  not  the  foresight  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  suggested  and  supplied  means  for  the  "increase," 
H.  Doc.  732 32 


498  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

and  its  appropriate  and  timely  liberality  furnished  the  funds  and 
means  for  the  dissemination. 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  unique  character  of  Mr. 
Smithson's  bequest  rendered  it  difficult  of  administration  upon  any 
plan  that  should  not  be  sanctioned  by  some  experience,  and  hence  if 
there  should  be  suggested  a  slight  departure  from  the  requirements 
of  the  letter  of  the  law  of  1846,  by  which  the  Institution  was  organ- 
ized for  action,  it  must  not  be  understood  as  censuring  the  views  of 
those  who  labored  in  the  plan  and  secured  the  efficient  and  desirable 
action  of  Congress.  At  that  time  gentlemen  of  the  highest  distinction 
in  literature  and  science  differed  in  their  views  of  the  best  means  of 
carrying  out  the  wishes  of  the  founder.  Each  had  a  favorite  theory 
as  it  regards  the  efficiency  of  certain  means  or  modes,  and  that  differ- 
ence arose  greatly  from  previous  habits  and  associations  or  from  the 
influence  which  the  greater  mind  had  upon  the  less. 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  the  creation  of  an  immense  library  was  a 
favorite  and  the  dominant  idea  of  many  who  at  that  time  leaned 
entirely  upon  foreign  writers  for  information  and  resorted  to  books 
rather  than  to  experiments  and  observations  for  exact  information  on 
any  science.  Such  a  course  seems  natural  where  it  had  been  universal, 
and  the  opinions  are  likely  to  be  operative  just  in  proportion  to  the 
dependence  of  minds  upon  books;  and  hence  a  vast  collection  of  vol- 
umes in  any  city  of  the  fourth  or  fifth  class  in  point  of  size  and  as 
yet  of  no  particular  class  in  point  of  science  and  literature  seemed  to 
promise  a  fulfillment  of  the  wishes  of  Smithson. 

Yet  these  volumes  were  not  to  "increase  the  amount  of  knowledge 
among  men;"  they  only  recorded  the  existing  amount,  were  merely 
the  storehouses  of  what  had  been  gathered  and  kept  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  as  yet  only  the  political  center  of  the  nation,  and  it  is 
dificult  to  see  how  they  would  serve  greatly  to  "diffuse  that  knowl- 
edge among  men." 

Another  part  of  the  plan  is  the  establishment  of  a  museum,  and,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  committee,  this,  if  kept  within  just  bounds,  is  a 
valuable  part  of  the  general  plan.  The  danger  is  that  a  museum, 
instead  of  being  what  its  name  implies,  will  become  a  receptacle  for 
all  the  freaks  of  nature  which  a  morbid  curiosity  may  discover  and 
the  resort  of  those  who  would  rather  be  amused  with  a  Imus  naturae 
of  any  kind  than  with  a  well-arranged  and  instructive  display  of  prod- 
ucts in  their  scientific  order. 

A  museum  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  should  be  of  a  kind  to 
assist  the  student  and  the  master  in  natural  studies  and  enable  them 
to  pursue  their  inquiries  to  the  full  extent  of  attained  results,  that 
they  may  increase  the  amount  of  that  kind  of  knowledge — may  add  to 
what  is  already  known;  and  when  they  shall  have  completed  that  com- 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  499 

mission  and  their  reports  shall  have  satisfied  the  Institution  that  some- 
thing is  contributed  to  the  previous  amount  of  knowledge  in  their  par- 
ticular branches,  then  the  Institution  shall  cause  those  contributions 
to  be  printed  in  an  appropriate  manner  and  copies  to  be  distributed 
to  the  various  libraries  of  the  country  and  the  scientific  associations 
throughout  the  world,  thus  diffusing  knowledge  among  men. 

One  result  of  this  transmission  of  the  publications  of  the  Institution 
is  eminently  worthy  of  regard  in  considering  the  means  of  adminis- 
tering the  will  of  the  testator.  These  books  thus  sent  out  are  regarded 
as  "exchanges,"  and  thus  they  insure  to  the  Institution  returns  from 
every  corresponding  society  in  the  world  that  publishes  its  proceedings, 
and  a  single  publication  of  a  thousand  copies  of  any  memoir  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  is  likely  to  insure  to  the  shelves  of  its  library 
numerous  copies  of  different  scientific  works  from  sister  associations 
abroad,  so  that  the  very  expenditure  in  that  branch  of  the  Institution 
is  the  means  of  supplying  the  books  for  a  library  instead  of  its  becom- 
ing the  occasion  of  diminishing  the  means  of  supplying  that  branch. 
And  it  should  be  added  that  the  works  received  in  exchange  are  those 
which  go  to  supply  to  the  Institution  a  portion  of  the  very  kind  of 
information  most  suited  to  its  character  and  objects  and  insuring  to  its 
officers  and  frequenters  detailed  reports  upon  branches  of  science  that 
might  otherwise  have  remained  undeveloped. 

The  city  of  Washington  may  rejoice  in  the  multiplication  of  general 
libraries,  and  the  young  may  frequent  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
duplicates  of  amusing  volumes  which  they  have  seen  in  the  Congres- 
sional Library,  and  the  latest  novel  or  the  last  essay  may  find  its  place 
on  its  shelves,  to  the  augmentation  of  its  catalogue  and  the  diminu- 
tion of  its  funds;  but  it  will  scarcely  be  claimed  in  behalf  of  such  a 
collection  that  it  is  a  selection  suited  to  the  views  of  Smithson  or  in 
accordance  with  his  will. 

The  committee,  unable  at  present  to  pursue  further  their  inquiries 
into  a  subject  of  so  much  importance  to  the  hopes  of  the  scientific, 
beg  leave  to  present  the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  having  accepted  the  trust  conferred  by  the  last  will  and  testament 
of  James  Smithson,  and  having  experienced  inconvenience  from  a  former  investment 
of  a  part  of  the  funds  of  that  trust,  the  United  States  will  best  promote  the  object  of 
the  testator  and  secure  the  prosperous  and  profitable  action  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  by  retaining  the  funds  of  that  Institution  in  the  public  Treasury  and 
allowing  the  same  interest  now  paid  for  the  use  of  those  funds. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  enlarge  the  permanent  fund  of  the  Institution  by 
the  investment  of  such  sums,  not  exceeding  $125,000,  as  may  have  been  or  shall  be 
received  for  accrued  interest  or  otherwise,  in  addition  to  the  principal  sum  of  the 
Smithsonian  bequest,  and  that  the  said  additional  sum  of  $125,000  be  received  into  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  upon  the  same  terms  as  those  upon  which  the  original 
fund  is  now  held. 


500  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

FREE    POSTAGE. 
January  24,  1854 — House. 

Mr.  CHARLES  W.  UPHAM,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Post-Office 
and  Post- Roads,  reported  the  following  bill: 

A  bill  granting  the  franking  privilege  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey 
and  the  assistant  in  charge  of  the  office  of  said  Coast  Survev. 

Mr.  DANIEL  MACE.  I  move  that  the  bill  be  so  amended  as  to  provide 
for  the  grant  of  the  franking  privilege  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  in  addition  to  the  officers  already  named. 

Mr.  E.  B.  OLDS.  The  proposition  contemplates  the  giving  of  the 
franking  privilege  to  the  Coast  Survey.  The  Committee  on  the  Post- 
Office  and  Post- Roads  have  permitted  it  to  be  reported  to  the  House 
from  the  fact  that  we  had  seen  no  good  reason  why  the  head  of  that 
Bureau — for  it  is,  in  fact,  a  bureau — should  not  have  the  franking  priv- 
ilege as  well  as  the  heads  of  the  other  bureaus.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  that  I  give  my  assent  to  the  report  of  this  resolution,  I  wish 
to  say  that  my  own  opinion,  and  I  believe  that  such  will  be  the  opinion 
of  the  committee,  is  against  the  franking  privilege  altogether;  and 
perhaps  before  the  session  is  closed  we  shall  propose  a  bill  abolishing  it. 

Mr.  MACE.  I  think,  sir,  that  I  would  myself  be  in  favor  of  the  abo- 
lition of  the  franking  privilege;  but  if  it  is  to  exist  and  appertain  to 
sundry  officers  of  the  Government  and  to  members  of  Congress  I  see 
no  case  more  meritorious  than  that  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  to  which  that  privilege  could  be  extended.  That  is  an 
institution  for  the  diffusion  of  general  knowledge  throughout  the 
whole  country.  By  various  acts  of  Congress  we  vote  to  it  numerous 
public  documents,  which  can  not  be  distributed  unless  some  member 
of  Congress  will  volunteer  to  go  there  and  frank  them.  Such  is  the 
practice,  and  I  have  myself,  at  the  instance  of  Professor  Henry,  spent 
days  there  in  franking  public  documents  for  that  Institution. 

The  design  has  been  to  forward  to  our  constituents  throughout  the 
land  documents  for  their  information.  The  Secretary  of  that  Institu- 
tion ought  to  have  the  privilege  of  franking  them,  and  not  be,  as  now, 
subjected  to  the  inconvenience  of  calling  upon  the  members  of  Con- 
gress to  do  that  job. 

A  MEMBER.  Who  is  the  Secretary  ? 

Mr.  MACE.  I  am  told  that  Professor  Henry  is  the  Secretary.  I  do 
not  propose  to  elaborate  this  question  at  all.  It  is  a  simple  one.  If 
we  are  to  extend  this  privilege  at  all,  we  can  not  extend  it  to  a  more 
meritorious  case  than  the  one  I  have  suggested. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  I  move  to  refer  the  bill  and  amend- 
ment to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  that 
they  be  printed.  And  I  will  say  that  whatever  may  be  the  propriety 
of  the  bill  as  reported  from  the  committee,  I  can  see  no  justice  and 


THIRTY-THIRD   CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  501 

no  propriety  in  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  gentleman  from 
Indiana  [Mr.  Mace]. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  is  not  part  nor  parcel  of  this  Govern- 
ment. It  is  a  separate  and  distinct  institution,  quartered,  it  is  true, 
on  the  Treasury  at  the  rate  of  thousands  of  dollars  per  annum;  and 
it  should  be  kept,  I  think,  as  distinct  as  possible.  There  is  no  reason 
for  giving  this  Institution  the  peculiar  privilege  of  franking  its  docu- 
ments over  the  country  in  preference  to  other  institutions  of  learning 
in  any  part  of  the  United  States.  And  if  you  commence  with  this, 
where  are  you  to  stop?  This  is  to  be  the  entering  wedge  here  at  the 
seat  of  government.  This  is  first  to  be  made  the  favorite  institution 
for  establishing  the  precedent  to  confer  the  franking  privilege  on  all 
the  institutions,  perhaps,  of  the  country.  And  I  will  say  to  the  gen- 
tleman from  Indiana  [Mr.  Mace]  that,  according  to  my  understanding 
and  construction  of  the  Post-Office  laws,  the  member  of  Congress  who 
franks  a  document  weighing  over  2  ounces,  published  by  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  violates  the  privilege  conferred  upon  him  under 
the  laws  of  Congress. 

Mr.  MACE.  Will  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  allow  me  to  explain  ? 

Mr.  JONES  yielded  the  floor. 

Mr.  MACE.  I  will  state  to  the  gentleman  that  the  documents  franked 
by  me  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  were  printed  by  order  of  Con- 
gress, and  I  had  the  same  right  to  frank  them  as  I  had  the  other  public 
Documents  printed  by  order  of  Congress. 

Mr.  JONES.  If  they  were  ordered  by  Congress,  or  by  either  House 
of  Congress,  then  they  were  public  documents  and  came  within  the 
law.  And  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  [Mr.  Mace]  and  every  other 
member  had  a  right  to  frank  them.  .  But  the  documents  printed  by 
order  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  are  not  included  among  these 
privileged  matters  which  members  of  Congress  are  authorized  to 
frank;  and,  in  my  opinion,  they  should  not  be  included.  I  now, 
Mr.  Speaker,  move  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  E.  A.  WARREN.  I  move  to  lay  the  bill  and  amendment  upon  the 
table. 

Mr.  MACE.  The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  who  reported  the  bill 
has  urgently  appealed  to  me  to  withdraw  the  amendment  which  I  have 
proposed.  I  do  now  withdraw  it. 

There  was  no  objection,  and  it  was  withdrawn. 

March  3,  1855. 

Post-Office  act  for  1856. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  books,  maps,  charts,  or 
other  publications,  entered  for  copyright,  and  which,  under  the  act  of 
August  10,  1846,  are  required  to  be  deposited  in  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress, and  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  may  be  sent  through  the 


502  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

mails  free  of  postage,  under  such  regulations  as  the  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral ma}'  prescribe. 
(Stat,  X,  685.) 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  th#  Vice- President. 
February  21,  1854— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  offered  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  cf  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
occasioned  by  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  the  Hon.  R.  M.  Charlton,  be  filled  by 
the  President  of  the  Senate. 

Agreed  to. 

The  President  (Mr.  JESSE  D.  BRIGHT)  appointed  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
to  fill  the  vacancy. 

APPOINTMENT    OF    REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
December  14,  1853— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  LINN  BOYD)  appointed  James  Meacham,  of  Ver- 
mont, William  H.  English,  of  Indiana,  and  David  Stuart,  of  Michi- 
gan, Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
December  7,  1854 — Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE,  according  to  previous  notice,  asked  and  obtained 
leave  to  introduce  a  joint  resolution  to  fill  the  vacancies  in  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Congress,  by  the  reap- 
pointment  of  the  late  incumbents,  Rufus  Choate,  of  Massachusetts,  and 
Gideon  Hawley,  of  New  York. 

The  joint  resolution  passed  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
December  22,  1854— House. 

Mr.  JAMES  MEACHAM.  I  wish  to  state  that  there  is  a  bill  upon  the 
Speaker's  table  providing  for  the  reappointment  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  I  will  state  that  it  is  necessary  to  transact 
some  business  which  can  not  be  done  without  the  reappointment  of 
these  Regents.  I  ask  that  the  bill  may  be  taken  up  and  passed.  It  will 
take  but  a  minute,  and  I  hope  there  will  be  no  objection. 

Mr.  W.  R,  W.  COBB.  I  object. 

After  the  intervention  of  some  other  business — 

Mr.  MEACHAM.  I  now  ask  the  House  to  take  up  the  bill  for  the 
reappointment  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  pass 
it.  It  will  occupy  but  a  moment. 

Mr.  T.  B.  FLORENCE.  Oh,  no;  there  is  no  quorum  here. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  503 

December  26,  1854 — House. 

Mr.  AV.  H.  ENGLISH.  I  ask  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  House  to 
take  from  the  Speaker's  table  a  Senate  joint  resolution  proposing  to 
appoint  Rufus  Choate,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Gideon  Hawley,  of  New 
York,  Regents  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  if  the  House  will 
allow  me,  I  propose  to  ask  that  the  resolution  may  be  put  upon  its 
passage. 

I  will  state,  as  a  reason  why  the  resolution  should  be  put  upon  its 
passage  at  an  early  day,  that  there  is  to  be  a  regular  meeting  of  the 
Regents  of  that  Institution  the  next  week,  and  it  is  desirable  that  there 
should  be  a  full  board  upon  that  occasion.  These  gentlemen  have  been 
Regents  heretofore,  and  I  presume  there  will  be  no  objection  to  their 
reappointment.  I  ask  that  the  resolution  may  be  taken  up  and  put 
upon  its  passage. 

The  resolution  was  read. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Congress,  be  filled  by  the  reappoint- 
ment of  the  late  incumbents,  viz,  Rufus  Choate,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Gideon 
Hawley,  of  New  York. 

Mr.  S.  G.  HAVEN.  I  presume  there  is  no  objection  to  the  passage  of 
the  resolution. 

The  resolution  was  passed. 
December  27,  1854. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress," be  filled  by  the  reappointment  of  the  late  incumbents,  viz. : 
Rufus  Choate,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Gideon  Hawley,  of  New  York. 

(StaL,  X,  T22.) 

DOCUMENTS. 
July  20,  1854. 

Joint  resolution.     One  copy  of  the  works  of  Thomas  Jefferson  to 
the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
(Stat.,  X,  594.) 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
July  20,  1854. 

*  *  *  works  Of  Thomas  Jefferson,  *  *  *  to  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee on  the  Library,  for  the  purpose  of  international  exchange, 
twelve  copies. 

(Stat.,  X,  594.) 

CARE    OF   GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 
July  22,  1854— Senate. 

The  Senate  having  under  consideration  the  civil  and  diplomatic  bill, 
the  following  amendments  reported  by  the  committee  were  read: 
For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  expedition : 
For  compensation  of  keepers,  watchmen,  and  laborers,  $2,980. 
For  contingent  expenses,  $100. 


504  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  T.  G.  PRATT.  If  I  understand  that  amendment,  the  expenditure 
proposed  by  it  is  an  annual  one  for  the  preservation  of  the  collec- 
tions of  the  exploring  expedition. 

Mr.  R.  M.  T.  HUNTER.  The  Senator  from  Maryland,  over  the  way 
[Mr.  Pearce],  can  explain  this  matter. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  These  collections  have  been,  from  the  time  they 
were  received  in  this  country  down  to  the  present  period,  under  the 
charge  of  the  Library  Committee,  who  are  very  anxious  to  get  rid  of 
that  responsibility.  But  there  are  other  reasons  why  they  should  be 
transferred  to  the  Commissioner  of  Patents.  They  are  in  the  Patent 
Office  building;  they  are  under  his  eye.  He  is  the  proper  officer  to 
take  care  of  them.  He  takes  care  of  other  things  which  are  con- 
nected with  them. 

The  sum  appropriated,  I  will  remark,  is  rather  more,  perhaps,  than 
has  been  heretofore  expended  by  the  Library  Committee  for  that 
purpose,  for  the  reason  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  erect  additional 
buildings,  and  necessary  to  have  an  additional  watchman,  as  there  is 
now  nothing  to  prevent  burglars  from  getting  into  so  much  of  the 
building  as  is  now  going  on.  I  believe  that  all  the  allowances  are 
economical;  and  I  am  very  sure  they  are  below  those  made  in  other 
departments  of  the  Government.  If  we  do  not  appropriate  this 
money  here,  we  shall  have  to  appropriate  the  same  sum  of  money  to 
be  expended  under  the  care  of  the  Library  Committee.  That  is  the 
only  difference.  That  committee  is  not  the  proper  body  to  take 
charge  of  the  matter.  They  are  not  an  executive  body  properly. 

Mr.  PRATT.  I  called  attention  to  the  matter  because  it  struck  me  as 
being  rather  singular  that  there  should  be  an  annual  appropriation  of 
about  $3,000  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  curiosities  collected 
by  the  exploring  expedition.  I  do  not  know  whether  they  are  worth 
to  the  Government  this  annual  expense.  I  only  desired  the  explana- 
tion, as  it  struck  my  mind  as  curious. 

Mr.  PEARCE.  As  long  as  we  keep  them  we  must  take  care  of  them, 
and  we  can  not  take  care  of  them  with  less  expenditure.  These  are 
very  interesting  objects.  There  are  120,000  people  who  visit  that 
building  annually,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  this  is  a  very  small  expendi- 
ture to  afford  so  much  gratification  to  our  people. 

Adopted. 

July  31,  1854— House. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  The  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means  recommend  a  nonconcurrence  in  the  amendment  of  the  Senate 
[July  22]  relative  to  Government  collections. 

The  amendment  was  nonconcurred  in. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,  1853-1855.  505 

August  1,  1854— House. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  The  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means  recommend  a  nonconcurrence  in  the  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
fifth  amendment: 

SEC.  22.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  collections  of  the  exploring  expe- 
dition, now  in  the  Patent  Office,  be  placed  under  the  care  and  management  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Patents,  who  is  hereby  authorized  to  employ  one  principal  keeper 
of  paid  collections  at  an  annual  salary  of  $900,  one  assistant  keeper  at  an  annual  salary 
of  $750,  one  night  watchman  at  an  annual  salary  of  $600,  and  two  laborers  at  annual 
salary  each  of  $365. 

The  amendment  was  nonconcurred  in. 
Augusts,  1854 — House. 

The  Senate  having  reinserted  the  section  that  the  House  noncon- 
curred in  on  August  1,  Mr.  G.  S.  HOUSTON  said: 

Upon  examination  of  that  amendment,  Mr.  J.  A.  Pearce,  of  the 
Senate  committee,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the 
Library,  assured  us  that  these  officers  are  now  kept  up  and  paid  to 
have  charge  of  this  collection.  The  object  of  the  amendment  is  only 
to  relieve  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  from  their  responsi- 
bility concerning  the  matter.  There  is,  I  believe,  an  increase  of  one 
messenger,  besides  which  it  will  cost  no  more  money  than  under  the 
present  arrangement.  The  committee,  therefore,  report  in  favor  of 
the  House  receding  from  its  disagreement. 

August  4,  1854. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1855. 

For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  expedition: 
For  compensation  of  keepers,  watchmen,  and  laborers,  $2,980. 
For  contingent  expenses,  $100. 

(Stat.,  X,  532.) 

REPORT   OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 
July  25,  1854— Senate. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.'  JESSE  D.  BRIGHT)  laid  before  the 
Senate  a  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
transmitting  the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  which,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE,  was  ordered  to  be  printed;  and  a  motion 
by  Mr.  T.  J.  RUSK  to  print  10,000  additional  copies  was  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Printing. 
July  28,  1854— Senate. 

Mr.  R.  W.  JOHNSON,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  to  whom 
was  referred  a  motion  to  print  additional  copies  of  the  eighth  annual 
report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  re- 
ported resolution: 

Resolved,  That  there  be  printed,  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  10,000  extra  copies  of  the 
eighth  annual  report  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  500  of  such  copies 
to  be  given  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  its  use. 

Agreed  to. 


500  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

August  1,  1854— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  LINN  BOYD)  laid  before  the  House  a  communi- 
cation from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  transmitting 
the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  annual  report  does  not  accompany  the  letter  of 
the  Secretary.  The  Chair  understands  that  there  is  but  one  copy. 
It  is  very  voluminous,  and  is  now  in  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol. 

Mr.  W.  II.  ENGLISH.  I  move  that  the  communication  and  report  be 
laid  on  the  table,  and  ordered  to  be  printed;  and  I  move  that  20,000 
extra  copies  be  printed,  and  that  that  motion  be  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Printing.     So  ordered. 
August  2,  1854 — House. 

Mr.  R.  H.  STANTON,  of  Kentucky.  I  rise  to  a  privileged  question. 
1  have  a  report  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  which  I  desire  to 
make.  I  believe  that  committee  have  the  right  to  report  at  any  time. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  is  in  order. 

Mr.  STANTON.  I  am  instructed  by  the  Committee  on  Printing  to 
offer  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  there  be  printed  10,000  extra  copies  of  the  annual  report  of  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  including  the  minority  report  upon 
the  distribution  of  the  fund— 7,000  copies  for  distribution  by  the  members  of  this 
House  and  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  Institution. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  I  move  to  lay  that  resolution  upon 
the  table. 

The  motion  not  agreed  to. 

The  resolution  adopted. 
March  1,  1855— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  DAVID  R.  ATCHISON)  laid  before 
the  Senate  a  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
communicating  the  ninth  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
that  Institution ;  which  was  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table  and  be  printed. 

A  motion  by  Mr.  RICHARD  BRODHEAD  to  print  10,000  additional 
copies  of  the  report  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 
March  2,  1855— Senate. 

Mr.  R.  W.  JOHNSON,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  the 
following: 

Ordered,  That  10,000  additional  copies  of  the  ninth  annual  report  of  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be  printed. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  I  move  to  amend  that  order  by  adding  "  twent}T- 
five  hundred  of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Secretary  of  the  said 
Institution." 

Mr.  JOHNSON.  I  am  willing  to  accept  that. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to;  and  the  order,  as  amended,  was 
adopted. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  507 

March  3,  1855— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  H.  ENGLISH.  Mr.  Speaker,  what  disposition  was  made 
of  the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution? Was  there  an  order  to  print? 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  LINN  Bo  YD).  The  report  was  laid  upon  the  table 
and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  ENGLISH.  Has  there  been  a  motion  made  to  print  the  usual 
number  of  extra  copies? 

The  SPEAKER.  There  has  not;  but  that  motion  is  now  in  order,  and 
will  go  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 

Mr.  ENGLISH.  I  submit  that  motion. 

The  proposition  for  the  printing  of  extra  copies  of  the  report  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 

Mr.  SAMUEL  RUSSELL.  I  am  instructed  by  the  Committee  on  Print- 
ing to  offer  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  there  be  printed  six  thousand  extra  copies  of  the  annual  report  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution — four  thousand  for  the  use  of  members,  and  two  thousand 
for  the  Institution. 

Adopted. 

METEOROLOGY — JAMES   P.  ESPY. 
July  25,  1854— House. 

The  House  having  under  consideration  as  in  Committee  of  the 
Whole  the  navy  appropriation  bill — 

Mr.  S.  G.  HAVEN  said:  I  offer  the  following  amendment,  not  by  di- 
rection of  the  committee,  for  I  take  it  that  the  committee  is  against  me: 

To  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  pay  the  salary  of  Professor  James  P.  Espy 
for  the  current  fiscal  year,  ending  thirtieth  June,  1855,  $2,000;  payment  to  be  made 
in  the  same  manner  and  under  like  control  as  former  appropriations  for  meteorolog- 
ical observations. 

Mr.  J.  S.  PHELPS.  I  rise  to  a  question  of  order  on  the  amendment. 

Mr.  HAVEN.  Let  me  state  just  why  I  think  the  amendment  is  in 
order.  Similar  appropriations  are  to  be  found  in  the  navy  appropri- 
ation bills  for  the  last  three  or  four  years.  You  will  find  it  referred 
to  in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  President's  message 
and  accompanying  documents,  page  302.  On  page  393  the  committee 
will  find  a  letter  from  Professor  Espj',  from  which  I  will  read  a  short 
extract.  After  detailing  the  duties  which  he  has  performed  in  refer- 
ence to  collecting  and  collating  meteorological  observations  that  have 
been  made  at  the  military  posts  in  the  country,  he  uses  the  following 
language  in  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy: 

I  have  already  finished  collating  the  years  1849,  1850,  and  1851,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  third  quarter  of  1849  and  the  third  quarter  of  1851.  These  quarters  1 
shall  finish  by  the  end  of  the  present  year,  and  if  you  so  direct,  the  report  for  these 
three  years  can  be  handed  in  to  Congress.  But  I  respectfully  suggest  that  a  report 
on  this  subject  would  be  greatly  increased  in  value  by  even  a  small  increase  of  time 


508  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

contained  in  it;  and  I  should  be  pleased  if  you  would  allow  the  report  to  be  with- 
held from  Congress  till  its  second  session,  at  which  time  the  year  1852  would  be 
embodied  in  it. 

This  man  has  been  regularly  and  continuously  employed;  and  you 
will  find,  in  the  cases  referred  to,  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  has 
made  the  recommendations  of  which  I  have  spoken.  You  will  find  by 
referring  to  page  112  that  this  appropriation  of  $2,000  a  year  was 
not  only  made  for  that  year,  but  for  the  year  previous.  In  the  act  of 
the  last  session,  at  page  221,  you  will  find  that  the  same  appropriation 
was  made,  and  in  the  precise  way  in  which  it  has  been  made  in  every 
particular  case.  I  now  offer  this  amendment,  because  my  friend  from 
Georgia  [Mr.  Stephens],  who  is  my  colleague  upon  the  Committee  of 
Ways  and  Means,  told  me  that  he  had  always  attended  to  it,  and  he 
intrusted  it  to  my  hands  now.  I  wish  to  perform  that  trust  faithfully, 
as  it  is  an  appropriation  which  I  think  ought  to  be  made.  It  is  cer- 
tainly one  which  has  been  adopted  as  an  amendment  to  this  bill  for  the 
last  half  dozen  years. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  Chair  would  inquire  whether  the  office  was 
established  by  law? 

Mr.  HAVEN.  Certainly;  and  this  .nan  is  in  the  employment  of  the 
Government.  He  is  now  engaged  in  making  a  report. 

Mr.  PHELPS.  I  differ  with  the  gentleman  as  to  the  fact  whether  the 
office  was  established  by  law.  I  admit  that  in  two  or  three  naval 
appropriation  bills  an  amendment  was  passed  making  provision  for 
the  prosecution  of  meteorological  surveys,  but  those  appropriations 
were  only  made  from  year  to  year.  There  is  no  such  officer  provided 
for  by  law.  His  term  of  office  expired  the  1st  of  July,  and  there  is 
no  law  providing  for  the  continuation  or  further  prosecution  of  these 
meteorological  surveys.  It  is  for  these  reasons  that  I  raise  the  ques- 
tion of  order. 

Mr.  HAVEN.  I  will  not  say  whether  I  am  right  or  wrong  in  refer- 
ence to  this  matter;  but  I  do  say  that  for  a  series  of  years  appropria- 
tions have  been  made  from  year  to  year  for  this  purpose,  contained 
precisely  in  the  same  words  as  my  amendment.  This  man  is  in  the 
public  employment — 

Mr.  WM.  SMITH,  of  Virginia.  Will  the  gentleman  say  whether  the 
office  of  Mr.  Espy,  who  used  to  be  called  the  "Storm  King,"  is  an 
office  created  by  law? 

Mr.  HAVEN.  The  question  which  my  friend  from  Virginia  puts  me 
has  reference  to  the  designation  of  the  man  that  fills  the  office — "  Storm 
King,"  as  he  says — rather  than  to  the  employment  in  which  he  is 
engaged.  I  can  not  say  whether  there  is  such  an  officer  as  the  head  of 
a  bureau  of  meteorological  surveys,  but  I  do  understand  that  the  law 
has  made  provision  for  this  office.  I  have  pointed  to  the  place  where 
provision  is  made  for  the  office,  and  for  pajdng  the  man  who  has  been 
employed  under  the  law  to  fill  it. 


THIRTY-THIRD   CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  509 

The  CHAIRMAN.  If  the  Chair  understands  the  facts  of  the  case,  this 
was  a  special  service  for  which  the  appropriation  was  made;  and  the 
service  and  office  expire  with  the  exhaustion  of  the  appropriation. 
The  amendment  would  not,  therefore,  be  in  order  under  the  rule 
established. 

Mr.  HAVEN.  Allow  me  to  say  one  thing  further.  When  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  called  the  attention  of  the  House  to  this  matter 

[Loud  cries  of  "Order!"  "Order!"] 

The  CHAIRMAN.  Does  the  gentleman  appeal  from  the  decision  of 
the  Chair? 

Mr.  HAVEN.  I  do;  and  I  desire  simply  to  say  that  ever  since  1  have 
been  in  this  House — 

Mr.  PHELPS.  I  rise  to  a  question  of  order.  There  is  an  appeal  pend- 
ing, and  no  debate  is  in  order. 

Mr.  R.  PI.  STANTON.  I  desire  to  make  a  suggestion.  This  is  in  con- 
tinuation of  works  which  have  already  been  commenced.  These  obser- 
vations have  been  carried  on  for  a  series  of  years. 

[Cries  of  " Question! "  "Question! "] 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  question  is,  "Shall  the  decision  of  the  Chair 
stand  as  the  judgment  of  the  committee?" 

The  question  was  taken,  and  the  decision  of  the  Chair  was  not  sus- 
tained; there  being,  on  a  count,  only  thirty -one  in  the  affirmative. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  question  is  on  the  amendment  submitted  by  the 
gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Haven]. 

Mr.  D.  STUART,  of  Michigan.  I  move  to  amend  the  amendment  of 
the  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Haven]  by  increasing  the  appro- 
priation $1. 

I  have  moved  the  amendment  merely  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
me  to  ask  one  or  two  questions,  to  which  I  ask  the  attention  of  the 
gentleman  from  New  York.  There  is  now  an  officer  employed  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  whose  duty  it  is  to  receive  and  to  make  all 
these  meteorological  calculations,  and  to  report  upon  them.  Reports 
are  sent  from  all  the  different  military  stations  in  the  country  to  him. 
He  is  employed  at  present  in  getting  out  a  work  upon  this  subject  at 
the  expense  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  What  I  want  to  know 
is,  whether  these  are  the  same  services  upon  which  Professor  Espy  is 
employed. 

Mr.  HAVEN.  I  can  only  answer  the  gentleman  by  reference  to  the 
documents.  I  know  nothing  of  the  computations  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution;  but  I  doubt  not  the  gentleman  is  correct  in  what  he 
states. 

Here  is  Professor  Espy's  letter: 

IRVING  HOTEL,  Washington,  September  8,  1858. 

SIK:  In  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  requesting  me  to  "furnish  you  a 
report  of  my  labors,  and  their  results,  connected  with  the  meteorological  observations 


510  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

conducted  by  me,  under  the  direction  of  the  Navy  Department  during  the  past  year," 
I  have  to  report  progress  as  follows: 

During  the  year,  as  in  several  former  years,  I  have  had  access  to  all  the  meteoro- 
logical journals  kept  at  the  various  military  posts  by  order  of  the  Surgeon-General, 
and  to  all  the  journals  procured  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  are  very 
numerous,  and  embrace  a  very  wide  extent  of  territory,  which,  united  to  the  journals 
of  my  own  correspondents,  furnish  the  means,  such  as  the  world  never  possessed 
before,  of  generalizing  the  phenomena  of  storms,  and  educing  laws  which  apply  to 
their  origin,  the  direction  and  velocity  of  their  motion,  in  the  United  States;  the 
direction  and  violence  of  the  wind  in  different  parts  of  the  storm  at  the  same  time; 
the  state  of  the  barometer  in  the  storm  and  around  its  borders;  the  causes  which  pro- 
duce these  phenomena,  and  the  means  of  predicting,  in  all  great  storms  of  dangerous 
violence,  their  approach  in  time  to  prepare  for  them.  How  much  of  all  this  I  have 
already  done,  and  how  much  remains  to  be  done,  and  with  what  prospect  of  success, 
you  will  judge  by  examining  my  previous  reports  to  the  Department. 

The  plan  which  I  adopted  in  these  reports,  in  collating  the  meteorological  journals, 
was  to  exhibit  to  the  eye,  on  skeleton  maps  of  the  United  States,  the  various  phe- 
nomena of  the  winds  and  rains  and  barometric  fluctuations  by  appropriate  symbols, 
so  that,  by  a  glance,  it  might  be  seen  where  a  storm  was  raging,  how  far  it  extended, 
in  what  direction,  and  with  what  violence  the  wind  blew  in  its  borders,  and  beyond; 
how  the  barometer  stood  within  and  beyond  its  borders,  and  how  far,  and  in  what 
direction,  the  center  of  the  storm  had  moved  by  the  next  day  at  the  same  hour.  This 
plan  I  have  not  seen  proper  to  change  in  the  report  now  in  progress  for  the  Depart- 
ment. 

I  have  already  finished  collating  the  years  1849,  1850,  and  1851,  with  the  exception 
of  the  third  quarter  of  1849  and  the  third  quarter  of  1851.  These  quarters  I  shall 
finish  by  the  end  of  the  present  year;  and,  if  you  so  direct,  the  report  for  these  three 
years  can  be  handed  in  to  Congress.  But  I  respectfully  suggest  that  a  report  on  this 
subject  would  be  greatly  increased  in  value  by  even  a  small  increase  of  time  contained 
in  it;  and  I  should  be  pleased  if  you  would  allow  the  report  to  be  withheld  from 
Congress  till  its  second  session,  at  which  time  the  year  1851  would  be  embodied  in  it. 

Whatever  you  direct  me  to  do  on  this  shall  be  done  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  P.  ESPY. 

Hon.  J.  C.  DOBBIN. 

These  calculations  are  of  very  great  service  to  science.  They  are 
the  handmaid  to  the  great  business  in  which  Lieutenant  Maury  is 
engaged.  It  seems  that  Professor  Espy  has  access  to  the  journals  kept 
at  the  various  military  stations  in  the  country,  to  all  the  journals 
received  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  besides  that,  has  a  very 
large  correspondence  of  his  own  from  which  he  deduces  his  facts,  and 
reports  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Mr.  STUART,  by  unanimous  consent,  withdrew  his  amendment  to  the 
amendment. 

Mr.  S.  G.  Haven's  amendment  was  then  agreed  to. 

August  5,  1854. 

Act  for  naval  service  for  1855. 

To  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  pay  the  salaiy  of  Professor 
James  P.  Espy,  for  the  current  fiscal  year,  ending  June  30, 1855,  $2,000: 
the  payment  to  be  made  in  the  same  manner  and  under  the  like  control 
as  former  appropriations  for  meteorological  observations. 

(Stat,  X,  584.) 


THIRTY-THIRD   CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  511 

March  3,  1855. 

Act  for  naval  service  for  1856. 

To  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  pay  the  salary  of  Professor 
James  P.  Espy,  for  the  current  fiscal  year,  ending  June  30, 1856,  $2,000; 
the  payment  to  be  made  in  the  same  manner  and  under  the  like  control 
as  former  appropriations  for  meteorological  observations. 

(Stat.,  X,  677.) 

EXPLORING   EXPEDITION. 
August  4,  1854. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1855. 

Department  of  the  Interior. — That  the  collections  of  the  exploring 
expedition,  now  in  the  Patent-Office,  be  placed  under  the  care  and 
management  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  who  is  hereby  author- 
ized to  employ  one  principal  keeper  of  said  collections  at  an  annual 
salary  of  $900,  one  assistant  keeper  at  an  annual  salary  of  $750,  one 
night  watchman  at  an  annual  salary  of  $600,  and  two  laborers  at  an 
annual  salary  each  of  $365— $2,980. 

(Stat.  X,  572.) 

To  enable  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  of  Congress  to 
replace  the  seven  volumes  and  atlas  of  the  exploring  expedition 
destroyed  by  the  burning  of  the  Library,  and  the  plates  and  other 
property  destroyed  by  the  fire  in  Philadelphia,  including  binding, 
$9,010.75.  ' 

(Stat.  X,  547.) 

March  3,  1855. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1856. 

For  completing  the  publications  of  the  works  of  the  exploring  expe- 
dition, $29,320. 
(Stat.  X,  668.) 

RESIGNATION    OF   MR.    RUFUS    CHOATE — POLICY   OF   THE    INSTITUTION — 

INVESTIGATION. 
January  17,  1855 — Senate. 

The  President  (Mr.  JESSE  D.  BRIGHT).  I  lay  before  the  Senate  a 
communication  from  Hon.  Rufus  Choate,  one  of  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution: 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 

I  take  leave  to  communicate  to  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  my  resignation  of  the 
office  of  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  .  " 

It  is  due  to  the  body  which  has  been  pleased  to  honor  me  with  their  trust  for  some 
years,  and  has  recently  conferred  it  for  a  new  term,  to  say  that  this  step  is  taken 
not  from  any  loss  of  interest  in  the  welfare  of  that  important  establishment,  but  in 
part  from  the  inconvenience  experienced  in  attending  the  meetings,  and  in  part 
also,  and  more  immediately,  from  my  inability  to  concur  or  acquiesce  in  an  interpre- 
tation of  the  act  of  Congress  constituting  the  actual  Institution  and  the  Board  of 


512  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Regents,  which  has  been  adopted,  and  is  now  al>out  to  be  practically  carried  into 
administration  by  a  majority  of  the  board.  That  act,  it  has  seemed  to  me,  per- 
emptorily "directs  a  manner"  and  prescribes  a  plan  according  to  which  it  intends 
that  the  Institution  shall  accomplish  the  will  of  the  donor. 

By  the  earlier  law  accepting  the  gift  Congress  engaged  to  direct  such  a  manner 
and  to  devise  such  a  plan  and  pledged  the  faith  of  the  United  States  that  the  funds 
should  be  applied  according  to  such  plan  and  such  manner.  In  fulfillment  of  that 
pledge,  and  in  the  performance  of  its  inalienable  and  incommunicable  duty  as  trustee 
of  the  charity,  that  body,  after  many  years  of  deliberation— from  which  it  never 
sought  to  relieve  itself  by  devolving  the  work  upon  the  discretion  of  others — 
matured  its  plan  and  established  the  actual  Institution  to  carry  it  out.  Of  this 
plan  the  general  features  are  sketched  with  great  clearness  and  great  completeness 
in  the  law.  Without  resorting  for  aid  in  its  interpretation  to  its  parliamentary  his- 
tory, the  journals  and  debates,  the  substantial  meaning  seems  to  be  palpable  and 
unequivocal  in  its  terms.  By  such  aid  it  is  rendered  quite  certain.  A  Board  of  Regents 
is  created  to  administer  it.  Some  discretionary  powers,  of  course,  are  given  to  the 
board  in  regard  of  details  and  in  regard  of  possible  surpluses  of  income  which  may 
remain  at  any  given  time,  while  the  plan  of  Congress  is  being  zealously  and  judi- 
ciously carried  into  effect;  but  these  discretionary  powers  are  given,  I  think,  in  trust 
for  the  plan  of  Congress  and  as  auxiliary  to,  cooperate  with,  and  executory  of,  it. 
They  were  given  for  the  sake  of  the  plan,  simply  to  enable  the  Regents  the  more 
effectually  and  truly  to  administer  that  very  one,  not  to  enable  them  to  devise  and 
administer  another  of  their  own,  unauthorized  in  the  terms  of  the  law,  incom- 
patible with  its  announced  objects  and  its  full  development,  not  alluded  to  in  it  any- 
where, and  which,  as  the  journals  and  the  debates  inform  us,  when  presented  to  the 
House  under  specific  propositions,  was  rejected. 

Of  this  act  an  interpretation  has  now  been  adopted  by  which,  it  has  seemed  to  me, 
these  discretionary  means  of  carrying  the  will  of  Congress  into  effect  are  transformed 
into  means  of  practically  disappointing  that  will  and  of  building  up  an  institution 
substantially  unlike  that  which  it  intended,  which  supersedes  and  displaces  it,  and 
in  effect  repeals  the  law.  Differences  of  opinion  had  existed  in  the  board  from  its 
first  meeting  in  regard  of  the  administration  of  the  act;  but  they  were  composed  by 
a  resolution  of  compromise,  according  to  which  a  full  half  of  the  annual  income  was 
to  be  eventually  applied  in  permanence  to  what  I  deem  the  essential  parts  of  the 
plan  of  Congress.  That  resolution  of  compromise  is  now  formally  rescinded,  and 
henceforward  the  discretion  of  the  Regents,  and  not  the  act  of  Congress,  is  to  be  the 
rule  of  appropriation,  and  that  discretion  has  already  declared  itself  for  another 
plan  than  what  I  deem  the  plan  of  Congress.  It  may  be  added  that,  under  the  same 
interpretation,  the  office  and  powers  of  secretary  are  fundamentally  changed  from 
those  of  the  secretary  of  the  law,  as  I  read  it,  and  are  greatly  enlarged. 

In  this  interpretation  I  can  not  acquiesce;  and  with  entire  respect  for  the  majority 
of  the  board,  and  with  much  kindness  and  regard  to  all  its  members,  I  am  sure  that 
my  duty  requires  a  respectful  tender  of  resignation.  I  make  it  accordingly,  and  am 
your  obedient  servant, 

RUFUS  CIIOATE. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  13,  1855. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  Mr.  President,  1  desire  to  make  a  suggestion  in 
regard  to  the  "disposition  which  shall  be  made  of  this  paper.  Before 
I  do  so,  however,  I  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  Senate  while  1  submit  a 
very  few  remarks. 

The  paper,  sir,  is  one  of  unusual  character.  It  purports  to  be  a 
resignation  by  a  gentleman  holding  a  public  trust  under  the  appoint- 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  513 

ment  of  Congress,  and  assigns  reasons  for  the  resignation.  The  first 
is  the  inability  of  the  party  resigning  to  perform  the  duties  of  his 
trust;  that  is  to  say,  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  institution,  without 
which  attendance  he  can  not  perform  the  duties  of  his  trust;  quite  a 
sufficient  reason,  and  one  which,  perhaps,  has  been  of  equal  weight 
for  the  last  seven  years  as  now.  The  second  reason  is  his  inability  to 
concur  with  the  majority  of  the  Board  of  Regents  in  the  interpreta- 
tion which  they  have  given  to  the  statute  establishing  the  Institution. 
If  the  letter  of  resignation  had  terminated  there  I  should  not  have 
had  a  word  to  say;  but  it  goes  much  farther.  It  is,  in  effect,  nothing 
more  than  we  have  seen  in  the  public  prints  for  the  last  year,  though 
of  course  in  very  different  language,  and  instigated  by  purposes  very 
different  from  those  which  I  hope  and  believe  actuate  the  retiring 
Regent. 

It  sets  forth,  sir,  that  Congress  has  established  a  plan  for  the  con- 
duct of  this  Institution,  has  prescribed  a  manner  in  which  the  Regents 
shall  manage  its  affairs;  that  the  act  sketches  with  clearness  and  com- 
pleteness the  principal  features  of  this  plan;  that  they  are  quite  appar- 
ent without  reference  to  the  parliamentary  history  of  the  act;  that 
with  that  they  are  unmistakably  clear.  Then  he  charges  that  the 
majority  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  who  have  the  misfortune  to  differ 
from  the  retiring  Regent,  have  subverted  that  plan  established  by  Con- 
gress, have  departed  from  the  manner  in  which  Congress  prescribed 
that  the  affairs  of  the  Institution  should  be  conducted,  and  diverted 
the  application  of  the  funds  from  the  objects  prescribed  in  the  law, 
have  appropriated  them  to  objects  not  mentioned  in  the  law,  incompat- 
ible with  the  prescribed  objects,  and  not  warranted,  either  by  the  let- 
ter or  spirit  of  any  of  its  provisions;  that  thus  the  Board  of  Regents 
have  substituted  their  will  for  the  will  of  the  National  Legislature,  and 
have,  in  effect,  repealed  the  act  of  Congress. 

Sir,  these  are  very  grave  charges.  I  happen  to  be  one  of  those  who 
have  been  thus  contumacious,  who  have  thus  endeavored  to  subvert  the 
will  of  the  National  Legislature,  and  to  repeal  the  act  of  Congress  for 
the  faithful  execution  of  which  I  had  pledged  everything  which  a  man 
of  honor  could  pledge  by  the  acceptance  of  the  trust.  Sir,  I  can  not 
but  feel  sensibly  the  reproach  conveyed  in  this  letter,  and  I  feel  it  not 
only  sensibly,  but  with  something  of  indignation.  I  have  one  conso- 
lation, however.  I  do  not  stand  alone  in  the  interpretation  which  I 
have  given  to  this  act.  I  am  consoled  for  differing  from  the  brilliant 
parliamentary  and  forensic  orator  who  is  the  author  of  this  letter  by 
reflecting  that  I  am  sustained  in  my  opinion  by  men  of  such  weight  of 
character  as  can  not  well  be  exceeded  in  this  country.  Let  me  mention 
a  few  of  them.  In  the  first  place,  I  will  mention  him  who  holds  the 
first  rank  as  a  jurist  in  the  United  States;  first,  unquestionably,  in 
position,  and,  as  I  believe,  not  surpassed  either  in  the  variety  and 
H.  Doc.  732 33 


514  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

extent  of  his  legal  learning,  the  vigor  and  acuteness  of  hi.s  logical  facul- 
ties, or  the  purity  of  his  professional  and  private  life,  by  any  man  in 
this  country  or  elsewhere.  I  mean  Chief  Justice  Taney,  with  whom  I 
consider  it  to  be  exceedingly  fortunate  that  I  concur  in  opinion  on  this 
question. 

Next,  sir,  I  may  be  allowed  to  mention  a  gentleman  from  Georgia, 
a  member  of  General  Jackson's  Cabinet,  his  first  Attorney-General,  for 
many  years  a  distinguished  ornament  of  this  body,  and  now,  in  spite 
of  years  somewhat  advancing,  retaining  all  the  vigor  of  those  physical 
and  intellectual  faculties  which  made  Mr.  Wirt  characterize  him  thirty 
years  ago  as  a  man  of  splendid  ability,  and  who  at  this  time  maintains, 
as  he  has  done  for  thirty  years,  a  proud  position  in  the  front  ranks  of 
his  noble  profession.  I  mean  Mr.  Berrien,  of  Georgia. 

Then,  sir,  I  may  mention  a  gentleman  who  was  also  once  an  Attorney- 
General  of  the  United  States,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  minister 
to  England  and  to  France,  himself  more  intimately  connected  with 
this  Institution  than  any  other  person  whom  I  know,  having  been  the 
agent  appointed  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  proceed 
to  London  and  prosecute  the  suit  in  chancery  upon  which  the  deter- 
mination of  this  fund  depended;  a  gentleman  of  ample  ability,  of  high 
cultivation,  and  mature  experience.  I  mean  Mr.  Richard  Rush,  of 
Pennsylvania. 

I  shall  not,  in  his  presence,  bestow  any  eulogium  upon  my  friend, 
the  honorable  Senator  from  Virginia  [Mr.  Mason],  who  is  one  of  those 
who  have  concurred  with  me.  But  even  in  his  presence  I  ma}T  say 
this  much:  That  for  many  years — more,  perhaps,  than  he  would  be  glad 
to  acknowledge — he  has  been  engaged  in  a  large  and  successful  prac- 
tice, and  in  the  higher  walks  of  his  profession;  and  that  this  furnishes 
some  small  reason  to  infer  that  he  is  quite  competent  to  construe  an 
act  of  Congress. 

Of  the  other  members  of  the  Board  of  Regents  who  concur  with  me 
I  need  not  make  mention  further  than  to  say  that,  though  not  legal 
men,  they  are  all  men  of  great  eminence  in  this  country,  and  their 
eminence  has  been  recognized  in  the  high  public  positions  which  they 
have  occupied  and  still  occupy  and  adorn. 

As  I  have  said  before,  sir,  this  is  some  small  consolation  to  me  for 
venturing  to  differ  from  Mr.  Choate,  who  so  unqualifiedly  condemns 
all  those  who  oppose  him.  There  is  something  rather  peremptory,  I 
think,  in  the  manner  in  which  he  announces  his  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  construction  and  violation  of  this  law.  I  do  not  find  it  qualified 
by  the  expression  of  the  possibility  of  any  misconstruction  on  his 
part;  by  the  admission  that  intelligent  and  honorable  men  might  well 
differ  in  regard  to  that  construction.  Far  be  it  from  me,  sir,  to 
impute  to  those  who  differ  from  me  an}'  want  of  intelligence  and  sin- 
cerity. The  Senator  who  sits  beside  me  [Mr.  Douglas]  is  one  who 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  515 

differed  from  me  in  the  Board;  but  nothing  has  ever  occurred  because 
of  that  difference  to  diminish  the  respect  which  I  entertain  for  himself, 
his  talents,  and  abilities. 

Well,  now,  let  us  see  for  a  moment  what  are  those  requirements  of 
the  law  which,  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Choate,  the  Regents  have  neg- 
lected or  violated.  The  act  organizing  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
has  prescribed  certain  definite  objects,  due  attention  to  which  the 
Regents  undoubtedly  are  bound  in  good  faith  to  pay.  It  has  required 
us  to  erect  a  building  such  as  was  described  in  the  act — a  building  upon 
a  large  and  liberal  scale,  sufficient  for  the  reception  and  arrangement 
upon  that  scale  of  collections  of  natural  history,  including  a  geolog- 
ical and  mineralogical  cabinet,  a  museum,  library,  chemical  laboratory, 
a  gallery  of  art,  and  lecture  rooms.  These  are  all  the  objects  specified 
in  the  act. 

There  is  another  clause  in  the  law  which  authorizes  the  Board  of 
Regents  to  apply  such  funds  of  the  Institution  as  are  not  specifically 
appropriated  by  the  act,  or  required  for  the  purposes  mentioned  in  it, 
to  such  other  purposes  as  they  may  deem  best  suited  to  carry  out  the 
purposes  indicated  in  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson,  the  founder  of  the 
Institution.  That  is  the  clause  to  which,  I  presume,  Mr.  Choate 
refers  when  he  says  there  are  some  discretionary  powers,  which  he 
seems  to  think  very  insignificant,  and  which  are  given  to  the  Regents, 
in  his  opinion,  only  to  enable  them  to  carry  out  the  details  of  the  plan 
prescribed  by  the  act  of  Congress  or  as  merely  subsidiary  to  the  gen- 
eral authority  which  Congress  had  bestowed  upon  the  Regents  in 
regard  to  the  library,  museum,  and  gallery  of  art. 

But,  sir,  while  Congress  has  thus  prescribed  general^  the  features 
which  they  chose  to  give  to  this  Institution,  I  apprehend  it  will  be 
found  on  an  examination  of  the  instrument  that  the  discretionary 
powers  conferred  upon  the  Regents  are  far  larger  than  those  ascribed 
by  the  retiring  Regent.  The  Board  of  Regents  have  recognized  fully 
and  constantly  the  obligation  upon  them  of  every  requisition  contained 
in  that  law,  and  I  think  they  have  faithfully  fulfilled  those  requisi- 
tions. They  have  erected  the  building  required  by  law;  they  have 
designed  and  completed  it  upon  a  large  and  liberal  scale.  They  have 
made  provision  for  the  collection  and  arrangement  of  objects  of  natural 
history.  They  have  made  appropriations  for  a  library,  and  have  made 
a  beginning  with  a  gallery  of  art.  They  have  established  a  chemical 
laboratory,  which  is  one  of  the  objects  enjoined  in  the  act;  and  they 
have  provided  lecture  rooms  specified  in  the  law.  They  have  not 
appropriated  a  very  large  portion  of  the  funds  of  the  Institution  for 
the  library,  though,  in  this  respect,  the  amount  applied  has  been  far 
greater  than  is  generally  supposed;  and  that  is,  after  all,  the  real  gist 
of  the  controversy. 

It  is  singular  that  in  the  act  of  Congress  there  is  a  limitation  upon 


516  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  appropriations  for  a  library  and  no  limit  to  the  appropriations 
which  may  be  made  for  any  other  of  the  designated  objects.  The  lim- 
itation in  the  library  expenditure  was  rather  inappropriately  added  to 
one  of  the  sections  of  the  bill  to  which  it  was  not  germane.  It  for- 
bids the  application  of  more  than  $25,000  per  annum  to  that  purpose; 
but  the  act  does  not  anywhere  require  the  Regents  to  expend  annually 
that  amount.  It  establishes  no  minimum  below  which  they  shall  not 
fall  in  their  appropriations,  but  it  simply  establishes  a  maximum 
beyond  which  they  shall  not  go.  That  has  been  done  by  Congress  in 
regard  to  the  library,  but  in  regard  to  no  other  object  of  expenditure. 
Well,  sir,  the  Regents,  in  their  discretion,  have  not  thought  it  neces- 
sary or  expedient  to  expend  the  whole  amount  of  the  sum  to  which 
they  were  limited  by  that  provision  of  the  act,  and  hence,  I  think,  all 
the  difficulties  in  regard  to  this  matter.  They  could  not  understand 
the  words  "not  exceeding  $25,000"  to  mean  not  less  than  $25,000,  or 
to  mean  nearly  $25,000,  or  to  signify  anything  else  than  that  such  was 
the  utmost  limit  of  expenditure  authorized  by  the  act  for  this  purpose. 
The  words  necessarily  imply  that  the  Regents  might  expend  less  than 
that  sum,  and  the  question  how  much  less  was  one  purely  for  their 
discretion. 

The  Regents  supposed  that  when  the  act  of  Congress  made  it  their 
imperative  duty  to  provide  a  suitable  building,  with  proper  and  neces- 
sary lecture  rooms,  Congress  did  not  mean  those  lecture  rooms  to  be 
empty  and  voiceless.  They  supposed  that  the  lecture  rooms  could  only 
be  used  by  employing  lecturers  and  causing  lectures  to  be  delivered. 
They  thought  that  a  necessary  and  irresistible  inference.  They  did 
not  suppose  that  this  was  any  strained  construction,  any  forced  impli- 
cation, but  that  it  followed  as  necessarily  as  light  follows  the  rising  of 
the  sun.  As  the  provision  for  lecture  rooms  was  mandatory,  there 
was  not  even  a  discretion  as  to  lectures.  They  were  a  matter  of 
course,  and  the  Regents  would  have  been  justly  censurable  if  they  had 
failed  to  adopt  this  necessary  means  of  giving  utility  to  the  lecture 
rooms. 

Congress  further  made  it  the  imperative  duty  of  the  Regents  to 
establish  a  chemical  laboratory.  For  what  purpose?  Whjr,  I  pre- 
sume, for  physical  researches.  If  not  for  that,  then  for  no  purpose. 
It  was  idle  and  nugatory  in  Congress  to  require  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  to  establish  a  chemical  laboratory  if  they  were 
to  make  no  researches.  For  the  purpose  of  illustration  of  lectures  a 
little  apparatus  would  have  been  all-sufficient.  The  Regents  have  felt 
themselves  bound  to  encourage  researches,  and  have  considered  that 
they  were  authorized  not  only  to  direct  researches  in  physical  science 
but  to  publish  them,  for  this  Institution,  we  must  remember,  is  "for 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  and  if  we  are 
bound  to  have  a  chemical  laboratory,  and  if  we  are  as  necessarily  bound 


THIBTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  517 

to  cause  researches  to  be  made,  I  would  ask.  Of  what  use  are  the 
researches;  how  shall  we  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  of  them 
among  men  if  we  seal  them  up  and  do  not  publish  them  to  the  world? 
As  the  collections  of  natural  histoiy  would  be  nothing  more  than  a 
show  if  we  were  satisfied  with  merety  placing  and  arranging  them  in 
a  museum,  we  think  that  they  should  be  described.  They  can  best  be 
made  available  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  by  causing 
them  to  be  described  by  scientific  men  in  memoirs,  such  as  are  pub- 
lished by  the  Institution.  We  have  thought,  then,  that  publication 
was  as  necessary  a  result,  from  the  express  powers  of  the  grant,  as 
any  other  duty  which  the  Regents  had  to  perform. 

We  did  not  think  that  the  sole  limit  of  our  power.  We  did  suppose 
that,  under  the  large  discretion  given  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  act, 
it  was  the  Regents  who  were  to  consider  how  much  of  the  funds  of 
the  Institution  were  properly  to  be  applied  to  the  objects  specified  b}T 
the  act.  Since  Congress  itself  has  not  told  us  how  to  apportion  the 
funds  of  the  Institution  among  those  objects,  it  followed,  therefore, 
that  the  Regents  must  have  a  discretion  in  that  regard,  and  if  they 
have  a  discretion,  where  is  the  limit?  Nowhere,  except  that  we  may 
not  expend  more  than  $25,000  on  the  library  in  any  one  year.  Then 
we  supposed  the  general  provisions  of  that  ninth  section,  which  gave 
us  the  right  to  apply  the  funds  not  wanted  for  the  other  objects  in  such 
manner  as  we  might  think  most  conducive  to  the  purposes  of  Smith- 
son's  will,  were  ample  enough  to  justify  us  in  instituting  researches  and 
making  publication  of  the  results. 

Here  is  the  section  in  question: 

SEC.  9.  And  be  itfurtJter  enacted,  That  of  any  other  moneys  which  have  accrued,  or 
shall  hereafter  accrue,  as  interest  upon  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein  appro- 
priated, or  not  required  for  the  purposes  herein  provided,  the  said  managers  are 
hereby  authorized  to  make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for  the  pro- 
motion of  the  purpose  of  the  testator,  anything  herein  contained  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

It  does  not  confine  the  discretion  of  the  Regents  to  the  details  neces- 
sary in  carrying  out  the  specified  objects,  but  extends  it  to  other 
objects,  being  such  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for  the  promotion 
of  the  purpose  of  the  testator;  that  is,  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men.  So  that  it  is  not,  as  Mr.  Choate  supposes, 
merely  a  trust  for  the  designated  objects,  but  for  such  other  purposes 
as  correspond  with  the  intention  of  the  will,  anything  else  contained 
in  the  act  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Under  the  authority  of 
this  section,  we  have  thought  proper  to  stimulate  researches  not  prose- 
cuted within  the  walls  of  the  building  nor  confined  to  specimens  of 
natural  history  deposited  in  its  collections.  They  are  described  in  the 
plan  of  organization,  and  include  historical,  ethnological,  and  statistical 
inquiries,  meteorological  observations  for  solving  the  problem  of 


518  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

American  storms,  and  experimental  problems  in  electricity,  light,  etc. 
To  this  may  be  added  the  publication  of  reports  on  the  new  discoveries 
of  science  of  a  character  highly  useful  and  practical. 

It  has  been  supposed,  sir,  that  the  true  interpretation  of  this  act 
could  be  found  by  going  outside  of  the  law.  Mr.  Choate  has  inti- 
mated in  his  letter  that  if  we  look  at  its  parliamentary  history  we  shall 
see  what  is  its  true  interpretation.  I  understand  to  what  he  refers. 
The  original  bill  was  introduced  into  the  House  of  Representatives;  a 
substitute  was  offered  for  the  bill  reported  by  the  committee;  that 
substitute  was  amended  by  striking  out  some  of  its  provisions  and 
inserting  one  or  two  others,  which  do  not  affect  this  question.  The 
intimation  is  that  if  we  look  to  the  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives (not  of  the  Senate,  because  in  the  Senate  there  was  no  dis- 
cussion of  the  bill,  and  the  amendments  offered  and  rejected  do  not 
furnish  evidence  of  the  construction  given  to  it  by  that  body)  we  shall 
find  that  such  amendments  were  made  as  are  inconsistent  with  the  con- 
struction which  the  Regents  now  give  to  the  act.  Principally  they 
were  two.  There  was  a  specific  provision  requiring  professors  and 
lecturers  to  be  employed.  That  was  stricken  out.  Very  true;  but 
then  there  was  left  in  the  bill  the  provision  for  lecture  rooms,  which 
I  think  I  have  shown  imperatively  required  that  there  should  be  lec- 
tures and  of  course  authorized  the  employment  of  persons  to  lecture. 

Then  there  was  a  provision  in  regard  to  researches  and  publica- 
tions— that  was  stricken  out  too,  but  1  think  I  have  shown  that  the 
duty  of  the  Regents  was  to  institute  researches  and  make  publications 
under  the  law  as  it  stands.  And  when  we  look  at  the  circumstances 
attending  the  striking  out  of  those  provisions  we  find  this  to  be  the 
fact.  The  provision  in  regard  to  researches  and  publications  author- 
ized Congress  to  call  upon  the  Regents  at  any  time  to  cause  those 
publications  to  be  printed  and  supplied  to  members  of  Congress  to  be 
distributed  as  public  documents.  Now  it  may  very  well  have  been 
that  those  who  voted  to  strike  out  this  provision  were  induced  to  do 
so  by  the  single  item  of  it  which  I  have  just  mentioned,  or  they  may 
have  thought  these  provisions  superfluous,  being  well  supplied  by  the 
large  discretionary  powers  given  in  the  ninth  section,  which  I  have 
quoted.  It  is,  however,  neither  according  to  legal  rules  nor  right 
reason  to  look  to  the  speeches  and  proceedings  of  the  legislature  for 
the  construction  of  a  statute  which  is  itself  the  embodiment  of  the 
legislative  will,  and  furnishes  copious  sources  of  construction  by  the 
examination  and  comparison  of  its  various  provisions  and  the  admitted 
purpose  of  its  enactment.  Certain  it  is  that  the  striking  out  of  those 
specific  provisions  can  not  invalidate  the  general  grants  of  power,  and 
the  necessary  implications  from  those  grants,  which  I  have  mentioned. 

Now,  we  have  a  library  of  15,000  volumes,  for  the  most  part  com- 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,    1853-1855.  519 

posed  of  the  most  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  branches  of  human 
knowledge,  besides  10,000  parts  of  volumes,  and  pamphlets.  Their 
literary  and  scientific  value  is  to  be  weighed,  not  counted.  The  money 
value  of  our  library  is  estimated  by  the  officers  of  the  Institution  at 
$40,000.  We  have  a  museum,  the  money  value  of  which  is  estimated 
at  $30,000.  We  have  apparatus  valued  at  $10,000. 

This  is  what  the  Regents  have  done  in  direct  pursuance  of  the 
objects  prescribed  by  Congress;  and  the  other  things  which  they  have 
done — the  publications  they  have  made — they  suppose  not  to  be 
incompatible  with  the  expressed  objects  of  an  institution  "for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  not  to  be  violative 
of  the  letter  or  spirit  of  the  law,  but  to  be  wholly  consistent  and  in 
harmony  with  it  and  auxiliary  to  the  objects  which  are  provided  for 
in  the  law.  The  publications  not  only  diffuse  knowledge  among  men, 
but  they  bring  back  to  us  in  liberal  abundance  the  transactions  and 
publications  of  learned  societies  in  other  countries,  and  thus  furnish 
us  with  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  branches  of  knowledge,  many 
of  which  are  not  to  be  purchased  with  money,  and  enable  us  to  carry 
out  one  requirement  of  the  law — the  gradual  formation  of  a  library. 

In  regard  to  the  resolutions  of  compromise,  to  which  Mr.  Choate 
has  referred,  the  repeal  of  which  is  the  great  ground  of  complaint, 
here  allow  me  to  say — for  I  will  not  consent  to  detain  the  Senate  much 
longer — those  resolutions  were  passed  at  the  organization  of  the  Insti- 
tution. They  proposed  an  equal,  or  nearly  equal,  division  of  the 
funds  of  the  Institution  between  the  objects  specified  in  the  law  and 
the  auxiliary  objects  which  we  are  justified  by  the  letter  and  the  spirit 
of  the  law,  as  I  think  I  have  shown,  in  pursuing.  Well,  sir,  it 
occurred  to  the  Regents  recently — for  some  time  past  it  has  been  a 
matter  of  consultation  among  them — that  it  would  be  well  to  repeal 
those  resolutions  of  compromise;  that  there  was  no  propriety  in  the 
Board  of  Regents,  at  the  commencement  of  the  organization  of  the 
Institution,  tying  their  own  hands  and  those  of  their  successors,  so  as 
to  compel  a  particular  scale  of  appropriation  throughout  all  time.  It 
has  been  supposed  to  be  right  to  leave  them  unfettered,  so  that  they 
may  annually  make  appropriations  such  as  are  in  their  judgment 
according  to  the  intrinsic  importance  of  the  objects  appropriated  for 
and  in  fulfillment  in  good  faith  of  the  purposes  of  the  law,  for  that 
we  have  never  lost  sight  of.  Now  let  me  read  to  the  Senate  one  of 
the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  board,  which  are  the  cause  of  Mr. 
Choate's  resignation.  One  repeals  the  compromise  resolutions  which 
1  have  mentioned;  the  other  is  in  these  words: 

Resolved,  That  hereafter  the  annual  appropriations  shall  be  apportioned  specifically 
among  the  different  objects  and  operations  of  the  Institution  in  such  manner  as  may, 
in  the  judgment  of  the  Regents,  be  necessary  and  proper  for  each,  according  to  its 
intrinsic  importance  and  a  compliance  in  good  faith  with  the  law. 


520  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

That  is  the  resolution  which  is  considered  as  subverting  the  plan 
established  by  Congress;  as  repealing,  in  effect,  the  act  of  Congress, 
and  setting  up  the  will  of  the  Regents  in  place  of  the  will  of  the 
National  Legislature! 

Something  is  said  in  the  letter  about  the  greatly  augmented  powers 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Institution.  I  know  of  no  augmentation  of 
the  power  of  the  Secretary.  A  question  has  arisen  as  to  his  right  to 
discharge  one  of  his  assistants.  The  board  had  determined  that  he 
has  a  right  to  discharge  any  of  his  assistants  without  a  reference  to 
the  board.  They,  however,  have  a  controlling  authority  over  the 
whole  subject;  and  if  the  Secretary  should  abuse  his  power  in  that 
respect  they  would  remove  him,  as  they  can  at  any  time  remove  all  or 
any  of  his  assistants  or  the  Secretary  himself.  I  may  add,  sir,  that 
the  Secretary  of  the  Institution  is  a  gentleman,  as  well  as  widely 
known  to  the  world  of  science;  a  profound  philosophic  scholar,  and  a 
man  of  pure  and  stainless  life. 

Mr.  President,  considering  the  form  in  which  this  matter  has  been 
brought  before  us — as  a  solemn  appeal  from  a  retiring  member  of  the 
Board  of  Regents  to  the  Senate,  and  to  the  public — it  has  seemed  to 
me  that  it  would  be  proper  that  the  Senate  should  investigate  the  sub- 
ject. It  has  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be  proper  to  appoint  a  spe- 
cial committee  for  that  purpose.  I  make  the  suggestion,  but  I  do  not 
submit  any  motion.  If  I  were  to  submit  such  a  motion,  according  to 
parliamentary  usage  I  should  be  put  on  the  committee  as  chairman — 
a  position  which  I  could  by  no  means  think  of  accepting.  It  would,  I 
think,  be  neither  delicate  nor  in  any  respect  proper  that  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Regents  should  sit  in  judgment  on  his  own  cause  and 
over  his  fellows  from  whom  he  has  differed.  I  throw  out  the  sugges- 
tion, however,  with  the  hope  that  some  Senator  will  submit  the  proper 
resolution. 

Mr.  J.  M.  MASON.  Mr.  President,  I  regret  that  the  learned  and  dis- 
tinguished gentleman  who  has  declined  further  service  in  this  public 
trust  should  have  accompanied  his  resignation  by  a  communication  of 
the  character  which  has  been  commented  on  by  the  honorable  Senator 
from  Maryland.  I  regret  it,  because  it  is  impossible  that  such  a  com- 
munication should  be  allowed  to  pass  in  silence  when  addressed  to  the 
Senate,  where  are  found  some  of  those  who  have  been  associated  in 
that  trust  with  the  writer  of  the  letter.  I  regret  it,  because  it  is 
unpleasant  and  ungrateful  to  speak  of  the  opinions  or  conduct  of  those 
who  are  absent;  but  I  feel  at  liberty  to  do  so  on  the  present  occasion, 
because  the  gentleman  who  has  written  this  letter  has  chosen  to  chal- 
lenge opinion  here. 

Now,  sir,  what  has  been  done?  A  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, who  has  been  connected  with  it,  I  believe,  from  the  foundation 
of  the  Institution,  occasionally  as  a  member  of  this  body,  chosen  a 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,  1853-1855.  521 

Regent  by  the  vote  of  the  Senate,  and  occasionally  as  a  citizen  at  large, 
clothed  with  the  high  honor  (for  it  is  a  very  high  honor)  of  an  admin- 
istrator of  this  trust,  has  declined  further  service;  and  has  assigned 
as  one  of  the  reasons,  and  as  this  paper  alleges  the  dominant  reason 
for  declining  it,  that  he  does  not  agree  with  his  associates  in  their 
mode  of  administration.  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  say  that  such  a 
course  of  conduct  would  not  be  expected  of  one  so  honored,  because 
the  gentleman  who  wrote  the  letter  is  absent,  but  I  should  say  that, 
according  to  my  ideas  of  what  is  due  to  the  trust,  if  he  believed  there 
was  maladministration,  it  was  the  very  last  occasion  when  he  should 
have  resigned;  he  should  have  remained  there  in  order  that  the  inquiry 
which  he  has  provoked  might  be  conducted  in  his  presence  and,  to  some 
extent,  under  his  guidance. 

But,  sir,  he  has  resigned  the  trust,  and  in  doing  so  he  has  shot  a 
Parthian  arrow  at  those  who  were  associated  with  him.  What  is  the 
character  of  his  letter?  None  can  read  without  being  struck  with  its 
tone,  which  was  so  justly  animadverted  upon  by  nry  co-regent,  the 
honorable  Senator  who  has  just  addressed  you.  I  have  been  accus- 
tomed, Mr.  President,  to  find  in  that  profession  to  which  I  belong, 
and  of  which  I  am  a  very  humble  member,  that,  whether  at  the  bar 
or  on  the  bench,  the  surest,  the  soundest,  and  the  ablest  intellect  gives 
its  judgment  with  diffidence,  courtesy,  and  respect  for  the  opinions  of 
others.  I  have  generally  found,  too,  in  my  experience  of  the  world 
that  the  soundest  judgment  is  the  judgment  which  is  accompanied  by 
such  diffidence.  Now.  what  is  the  tone  of  this  communication  ?  The 
confident  tone  of  Sir  Oracle — of  one  whose  judgment  can  not  be 
impugned,  and  should  not  be  questioned.  "I  can  not  be  wrong," 
says  the  writer  of  this  paper,  in  substance,  "let  others  vindicate  their 
judgment  if  they  can."  This  is  what  he  says,  and  he  has  assigned  as 
the  startling  reason  for  resigning  this  trust  that  he  differed  from  his 
associates  in  the  construction  of  an  act  of  Congress;  there  is  no  impro- 
priety even  hinted  in  the  conduct  of  his  associate  Regents;  but  he  rests 
it  exclusively  on  the  ground  that  they  have  misinterpreted  the  law 
which  created  the  trust,  and  there  is  no  appeal  from  the  decision 
of  the  learned  gentleman  who  pronounces  the  judgment.  That  is 
infallible. 

Sir,  I  have  known  instances — others,  more  experienced  than  I  am, 
have  known  of  more — where  the  judgment  is  found  darkened  in  the 
flashes  of  a  brilliant  mind;  a  mere  rhetorician  should  never  aspire  to 
the  judgment  seat.  I  would  appeal  to  the  experience  of  the  world  to 
say  whether  there  is  not  an  infirmity  attendant  upon  such  minds,  which 
never  admit  that  they  may  be  wrong.  The  calm,  sedate,  deliberate, 
slow,  and  cautious  mind  brings  you  to  a  correct  conclusion;  and,  when 
attained,  submits  it  with  deference  and  respect  to  those  who  are  to 
pass  upon  it.  Confidence — that  confidence  which  precludes  doubt — 
does  not  belong  to  those  who  are  capable  of  pronouncing  judgment. 


522  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  President.  I  shall  not  go  over  the  ground  so  lucidly  occupied  by 
the  very  able  gentleman  who  preceded  me,  with  whom  I  have  been 
associated  in  this  trust.  It  is  a  pure,  a  high,  and  honorable  trust,  one 
conceived  by  a  noble  mind — the  late  James  Smithson.  He  pursued 
science  as  the  great  mistress  of  his  affections;  he  pursued  it  to  his 
grave;  and  he  left  behind  him  this  legacy.  To  whom  (  He  had  the 
world  to  choose  from.  He  was  an  Englishman.  He  had  never  been 
upon  this  continent.  He  possessed  a  large  fortune.  The  high  benev- 
olence of  his  nature  determined  him,  when  he  left  the  world,  to  devote 
that  fortune,  in  the  hands  of  others,  to  the  pursuit  of  science,  when 
the  world  closed  upon  him.  As  I  have  said,  he  had  the  world  to  choose 
from,  and  he  signalized  this  country  and  its  institutions  by  his  choice. 
He  left  his  fortune  to  the  United  States,  in  trust  for  the  establishment 
of  an  institution  at  Washington,  "for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge."  Where?  In  Washington?  In  the  United  States ?  Upon 
this  continent,  broad  as  it  is?  No;  "amongst  men"  is  the  language  of 
the  trust. 

If  I  am  capable  of  reading  the  signs  of  the  times,  there  are  those,  of 
whom  we  have  plenty,  heaven  knows,  around  us  everywhere,  who 
look  upon  a  public  fund,  no  matter  to  what  object  it  has  been  devoted 
or  how  small  the  trust,  as  a  thing  to  be  scrambled  for  and  appropri- 
ated by  the  first  needy  or  lucky  adventurer.  For  the  last  twelve 
months  the  newspapers  have  been  full  of  intimations,  coming  gener- 
ally from  the  northern  and  eastern  sections  of  the  country,  throwing 
suspicion  and  doubt  upon  the  management  of  this  trust,  intimating 
that  it  has  been  perverted  from  its  original  purpose;  in  substance,  that 
it  was  in  improper  hands,  and  should  be  taken  from  them;  invoking, 
in  some  insidious  manner,  the  action  of  Congress  upon  the  subject; 
and  all  for  what?  To  get  hold  of  the  fund.  What  use  was  to  be  made 
of  it  after  it  was  thus  obtained  those  best  know  who  join  in  the  pur- 
suit. Let  me  be  understood.  I  ascribe  no  such  motive  to  the  very 
learned  and  distinguished  writer  of  the  letter  before  us.  I  have  the 
honor  only  of  a  very  formal  acquaintance  with  him;  but  I  know  his 
history  and  his  character,  and  that  assures  me  he  can  never  lend  him- 
self to  any  un worth}7  purpose;  but  yet  I  have  strong  reason  to  believe 
that,  if  the  objects  which  he  seems  to  have  in  view  could  be  obtained, 
this  pure  and  simple  trust,  which  has  been  accepted  by  the  American 
people,  would  be  debased  into  a  mere  pecuniary  job. 

Sir,  the  letter  of  Mr.  Choate  unfortunately  brings  back  into  the 
halls  of  Congress  the  great  controversy  which  attended  this  fund  when 
it  was  first  brought  into  the  country.  There  was  a  great  struggle  for 
it  among  the  men  of  science,  in  the  mechanic  arts,  and  in  other  of  the 
useful  and  honorable  pursuits  of  life.  The  parliamentary  history  to 
which  the  writer  has  referred  in  the  letter  shows  it.  There  were  those 
who  believed  that  this  fund  should  be  devoted  exclusively  to  a  library, 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  523 

to  a  great  collection  of  books — books  in  every  department  of  science, 
of  art,  and  belles-lettres.  The  writer  of  this  letter  shows  that  he  was 
one  of  those  who  desired  so  to  devote  it;  to  a  library — a  library,  to 
the  exclusion  of  everything  else — a  collection  of  books.  I  am  free  to 
believe  and  declare  that  I  entertain  no  doubt  this  learned  and  distin- 
guished gentleman  believed  that  the  best  mode  of  increasing  knowl- 
edge, as  well  as  diffusing  it  amongst  men,  was  to  establish  a  library. 
But  suppose  it  were  done.  There  is  an  annual  revenue  derived  from 
the  Smithsonian  fund  of  some  $30,000  or  $40,000.  So  much  is  to  be 
devoted,  in  perpetua,  I  suppose,  to  the  purchase  of  books,  which  are 
to  be  stored  here  on  shelves  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  who  is  to 
read  them  ?  Why,  sir,  the  members  of  Congress  have  little  time  to 
read  the  books  which  accumulate  here  in  the  public  library.  The 
citizens  of  Washington  form  a  very  small  portion  of  the  people  of 
these  United  States;  and  thus  this  great  trust,  which  was  intended  for 
mankind,  would  be  limited  to  the  walls  of  Washington. 

There  is  another  great  objection  to  it.  Books  are  derived  from 
booksellers.  Booksellers  are  connected  with  bookmakers,  and  book- 
makers and  booksellers  with  that  hungry  legion  who  all  live,  and  of 
whom  some  grow  rich,  on  the  spoils  of  genius  and  industry.  Then 
there  are  the  paper  makers,  and  the  book  printers,  and  publishers,  and 
the  stereotypists,  all,  all,  would  be  hovering  around  this  fund,  to  say 
nothing  of  factorage,  commission,  foreign  travel  to  pick  up  rare 
works,  and  the  ten  thousand  jobs  that  follow  in  such  a  train  where 
money  is  to  be  spent  by  law  in  large,  annual,  stated  sums  to  buy 
books;  and  at  last  what  would  you  have  done?  Why,  you  would  have 
taken  this  great,  noble,  beneficent  donation  to  mankind  and  converted 
it  into  a  fruitful  job  for  every  race  of  need}7  and  artful  adventurers. 

Sir,  if  a  library  is  to  be  established  at  Washington  for  public  use, 
vote  the  money  from  the  Treasury.  Smithson  did  not  intrust  this 
fund  to  you  for  such  a  purpose,  or  he  would  have  said  so  in  his  will, 
and  he  has  not  said  it. 

I  have  said  that  it  is  unfortunate  that  this  matter  should  again  be 
brought  before  the  Senate.  The  battle  was  fought  here  for  years. 
That  parliamentary  history  to  which  the  writer  of  the  letter  has  had 
reference  shows  it.  He  claims  that  under  the  true  interpretation  of 
the  act  of  Congress  the  library  scheme  prevailed.  A  majority  of 
those  who  have  been  associated  with  him  in  the  Board  of  Regents  have 
decided  otherwise.  They  understand  the  law  to  mean  that  discretion 
is  vested  in  the  Board  of  Regents  to  build  up  a  library  in  this  great 
Institution  in  such  manner  and  at  such  time  as  they  shall  find  most  con- 
ducive to  the  great  objects  of  the  trust.  That  is  all.  Sir,  this  battle 
should  not  be  fought  over  again.  I  trust  we  shall  not  present  to  the 
European  world,  whence  this  fund  is  derived,  the  spectacle  that  at  this 
early  day,  when  the  streams  of  light  and  knowledge  which  1  hope 


524  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

are  to  flow  from  this  Institution  have  hardly  yet  made  their  appear- 
ance, that  we  are  scrambling-  indecently  over  the  cradle  of  the  trust. 

I  have  said,  Mr.  President,  that  this  is  a  pure  trust.  There  is  for- 
tunately no  emolument  of  any  kind  attendant  upon  its  administration. 
I  have  been  for  some  years  honored  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
as  one  of  the  managers  of  that  trust.  I  conceive  it  to  be  a  very  high 
honor.  It  is  because  of  the  duty  which  I  owe  to  the  trust  thus  com- 
mitted to  me  that  I  detain  the  Senate  for  a  few  moments. 

I  perceive  that  the  subject  has  been  taken  up  in  the  other  House  at 
the  instance  of  one  of  the  Regents  [Mr.  Meacham],  an  honorable  mem- 
ber there,  who,  as  the  journals  have  been  published,  it  is  now  fair  to 
say  voted  with  the  writer  of  this  letter.  On  his  motion  a  committe;1 
has  been  raised,  which  is,  perhaps,  proper  enough,  but  I  must  say, 
with  very  great  respect  for  that  body,  that  the  committee  has  been 
vested  with  very  extraordinary  power  for  such  an  inquiry — the  power 
"to  send  for  persons  and  papers."  This  would  seem  to  convey  an 
imputation  that  the  body  of  gentlemen  who  are.  charged  with  the 
administration  may  require  a  police  officer  or  a  messenger  from  this 
Capitol  to  get  from  them  papers  or  other  evidence.  I  regret  it,  sir: 
but  straws  show  how  the  wind  blows,  and  this  strange  and  exigent 
demand  of  power  for  the  committee  has  its  own  meaning,  which  time 
may  disclose. 

I  am  indisposed,  sir,  to  commit  myself  as  to  any  present  disposition 
of  this  paper,  and  I  submit,  therefore,  to  the  honorable  Senator  from 
Maryland  that  for  the  present  it  would  be  better  to  allow  it  to  lie  on 
the  table  until  it  can  be  considered  by  the  Senate  what  disposition 
should  be  made  of  it. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEABCE.  I  beg  leave  to  say,  in  regard  to  the  suggestion 
of  the  honorable  Senator  from  Virginia,  that  I  remain  of  opinion 
that  this  paper  should  be  referred  to  a  select  committee  of  this  body. 
I  do  not  think  that  the  fact  that  it  is  the  subject  of  investigation  by  a 
committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  should  operate  to  prevent 
us  from  committing  it  to  a  committee  of  our  own  body.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  House  took  such  action  as  seemed  to  them  to  be  proper, 
but  I  submit,  with  due  respect  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  that, 
no  matter  what  may  be  the  action  of  that  House,  it  is  for  the  Senate 
to  act  independently.  However,  I  make  no  motion  for  reference  to  a 
select  committee,  because  I  am  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents, 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  sit  in  judgment  on  my  own  cause  or  over  my 
fellow  Regents. 

Mr.  STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS.  1  regret,  Mr.  President,  that  there 
should  have  been  a  necessity,  in  the  estimation  of  any  gentleman, 
to  bring  the  affairs  and  management  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
before  Congress  for  its  action.  As  has  been  stated  by  the  honorable 
Senator  from  Maryland,  in  terms  kind  and  respectful,  T  am  one  of 


THIRTY-THIRD   CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  525 

those  who  had  the  misfortune  to  differ  from  a  majority  on  the  deci- 
sion of  the  various  questions  referred  to  in  this  paper.  I  do  not  read 
the  letter  of  Mr.  Choate  in  the  same  sense  with  my  colleagues  who 
represent  the  Senate  in  that  Institution  [Mr.  Pearce  and  Mr.  Mason] 
in  regard  to  its  spirit.  I  am  unable  to  perceive  that  there  is  anything 
disrespectful  or  unkind,  either  in  the  terms  of  the  letter  or  in  the 
mode  in  which  he  has  expressed  his  ideas.  I  have  listened  to  that 
gentleman  in  the  discussion  before  the  Board  of  Regents  with  admi- 
ration for  his  ability  and  his  eloquence,  and  with  equal  admiration  for 
that  high  courtesy  which  characterized  everything  that  he  said  and 
did.  Although  there  is  a  firmness  and  a  directness  in  which  he  has 
expressed  his  opinions  in  the  letter  of  resignation,  I  am  unable  to  per- 
ceive that  there  is  either  an  arrogance  or  anything  else  which  ought  to 
be  considered  disrespectful.  After  expressing  his  opinions  and  stating 
the  construction  of  a  majority  of  the  board  he  says: 

In  this  interpretation  1  can  not  acquiesce;  and  with  entire  respect  for  the  majority 
of  the  board,  and  with  much  kindness  and  regard  to  all  its  members,  I  am  sure  that 
my  duty  requires  a  respectful  tender  of  my  resignation. 

In  other  places  in  expressing  his  opinion  he  says:  "The  law,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  so  and  so."  I  think  there  is  a  respect  and  kindness 
running  through  the  whole  letter  which  should  characterize  one  gen- 
tleman of  high  attainments  and  bearing  toward  another  who  is  his 
equal,  accompanied,  however,  with  the  firm  conviction  on  his  part  that 
the  law  has  not  been  interpreted  in  that  sense  in  which  it  should  have 
been  according  to  its  terms. 

I  confess,  sir,  that  I  concur  fully  in  that  firm  conviction  of  his,  and 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  express  it  boldly  and  plainly;  and  yet  I  am  inca- 
pable of  entering  an  unkind  feeling,  or  giving  expression  to  an  unkind 
innuendo,  or  of  entertaining  for  a  moment  a  doubt  but  that  each  and 
every  Regent  has  acted  conscientiously  according  to  his  sense  of  duty. 
It  is  a  case  where  there  is  a  diversity  of  opinion;  where  each  gentle- 
man intrusted  with  the  exercise  of  discretion,  where  discretion  was 
necessary,  and  interpretation  where  interpretation  was  necessary,  has 
performed  his  duty  conscientiously  as  he  read  it  in  the  law.  Still,  I 
must  say  that  my  interpretation  of  that  law  is  different  from  that  of 
the  honorable  Senator  from  Virginia  and  the  honorable  Senator  from 
Maryland  and  of  a  majority  of  the  Regents.  It  is  also  true  that  the 
gentleman  whose  great  name  and  many  public  services  and  private 
and  public  virtues  have  been  so  well  portrayed  by  the  Senator  from 
Maryland  concurred  with  the  majority,  and  to  that  extent  the  weight 
of  authority  is  cast  in  the  scale  against  the  side  which  1  embraced. 
I  do  not  wish  to  detract  one  iota  from  the  high  eulogium  which  the 
Senator  has  pronounced  on  those  gentlemen.  With  all  respect  for 
them  and  for  their  opinions,  I  must  take  the  law  itself  as  my  rule  of 
guidance  while  performing  a  trust  imposed  on  me. 


526  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

It  may  be  that  my  mind  is  somewhat  biased  by  the  proceedings,  dis- 
cussion, and  action  in  the  House  of  Representatives  when  this  Insti- 
tution was  established.  I  at  that  time  participated  to  some  extent, 
although  in  a  small  degree,  in  the  proceedings  which  took  place  in 
regard  to  the  creation  of  the  Institution.  I  at  no  time  allowed  my 
feelings  to  become  enlisted,  much  less  excited,  on  the  subject.  But 
when  all  the  various  plans  were  presented  there  for  the  organization 
of  the  Institution,  and  especially  the  library  plan  as  a  principal  feature, 
not  an  exclusive  one,  in  antagonism  to  a  plan  that  the  library  should 
be  a  subordinate  feature,  or  that  there  should  be  no  library  at  all,  it 
is  my  firm  conviction  that  Congress  by  its  action  did  sanction  the  pol- 
icy of  a  library  as  a  principal,  but  not  an  exclusive,  feature  in  the 
Institution.  In  other  words,  the  plan  proposed  by  Mr.  Marsh,  of 
Vermont,  in  opposition  to  that  of  Mr.  Hough,  of  New  York,  did  pre- 
vail, and  the  main  features  of  Mr.  Marsh's  plan  tended  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  library.  The  library  plan,  as  it  was  called,  having  pre- 
vailed, there  was  a  limitation  on  the  amount  of  funds  to  be  devoted  to 
that  plan  inserted  in  the  law,  which  was  that  out  of  the  $30,000  of 
income  of  the  Institution  not  exceeding  $25,000  should  be  appropri- 
ated to  the  library. 

I  do  not  hold  that  the  Regents  are  compelled  to  appropriate  to  a 
library  the  sum  of  $25,000  each  year,  but  I  do  hold  that  the  law  in  its 
terms,  when  carefully  examined,  contemplates  the  library  as  a  promi- 
nent object  in  the  Institution,  and  that  at  least  a  majority  of  the  funds 
should  be  expended  in  the  building  up  of  the  library.  That  is  my 
interpretation.  1  am  aware  that  when  the  Institution  was  first  organ- 
ized these  same  diversities  of  opinion  arose,  and  a  compromise  was 
effected  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  the  funds  should  be  equally 
divided.  When  I  came  into  the  Institution,  a  few  months  ago,  as  one 
of  its  Regents,  I  was  willing  to  abide  by  that  compromise.  I  could 
not  have  agreed  to  it  originally,  because  1  think  the  fair  interpreta- 
tion of  the  law  contemplated  that  the  larger  portion  of  the  fund 
should  be  applied  to  the  establishment  of  a  library;  but  as  they  made 
an  equal  division,  I  was  willing  to  acquiesce  in  it,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  appeal  which  is  now  made  to  Congress  and  to  the  country,  and 
thus  perhaps  endanger  to  some  extent  the  reputation  of  the  Institu- 
tion. 

I  expressed  these  opinions  to  my  brother  Regents  freely,  but,  I 
trust,  with  proper  respect.  I  differed  from  their  opinion.  Such  was, 
such  is,  my  conviction.  I  did  not  deem  it  my  duty  to  resign  because 
I  was  overruled.  I  was  willing  to  acquiesce  in  the  decision,  because  I 
had  not  the  power,  according  to  the  law,  to  override  it,  and  because 
every  other  Regent  had  the  same  right  which  I  had  to  express  and 
entertain  his  opinion.  Yet,  sir,  when  the  question  arises,  no  matter 
how  often  it  may  arise,  whether  that  interpretation  of  the  law  which 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  527 

has  been  given  by  the  board  be  a  correct  one,  until  I  change  my  opin- 
ion, or  until  Congress  shall  modify  the  law,  I  must  adhere  to  my 
original  convictions. 

I  regret,  sir,  that  there  should  be  the  slightest  feeling  displayed  in 
this  discussion.  Really,  a  charitable  fund  for  such  high  and  noble 
purposes  ought  to  be  administered  in  a  spirit  of  kindness  and  charity. 
I  can  not  accede,  therefore,  to  any  intimation  that  those  who  act  with 
me.  or  those  do  not  concur  in  the  interpretation  which  has  been  given 
to  the  law,  are  actuated  by  any  but  the  highest  and  purest  motives. 

Mr.  J.  M.  MASON.  Does  the  Senator  understand  that  anything  fell 
from  me  to  question  the  motives  of  the  gentlemen  who  differed  from 
us  in  that  matter? 

Mr.  S.  A.  DOUGLAS.  I  do  understand  that  the  Senator  from  Virginia 
supposed  it  to  be  prompted  by  improper  motives,  to  get  possession  of 
the  fund,  on  the  part  of  some  persons. 

Mr.  MASON.  I  thought  I  was  understood.  I  said  that  unless  I  mis- 
construed the  signs  of  the  times,  this  great  and  eager  anxiety  out  of 
doors,  manifested  by  popular  and  inflammatory  addresses  through  the 
public  press,  showed  that  there  was  an  earnest  demand  outside  to  get 
hold  of  the  fund.  I  never  expressed,  for  I  certainly  never  entertained, 
a  doubt  that  honorable  gentlemen  who  differed  with  me  in  our  judg- 
ment as  to  the  construction  of  the  statute  were  actuated  by  as  stem  a 
sense  of  duty  as  I  was.  I  have  always  so  expressed  it. 

Mr.  DOUGLAS.  Mr.  President,  then  I  understand  the  Senator  as  not 
impugning  the  action  or  motives  of  any  of  the  Regents  with  whom  he 
has  been  associated;  but  I  must  say  that  I  have  not  seen  anything 
to  leave  an  impression  on  my  mind  that  whatever  action  was  prompted 
out  of  doors  meant  to  get  possession  of  this  fund,  or  to  squander  it, 
or  to  apply  it  to  any  improper  purposes.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe 
it  arises  from  that  same  feeling  which  has  been  evinced  in  the  differ- 
ences of  opinion  which  have  existed  from  the  time  the  Institution  was 
first  proposed  to  be  organized  up  to  this  day  as  to  what  was  the  true 
application  of  the  fund.  Those  who  supposed  that  their  opinions  had 
received  the  sanction  of  Congress  in  the  organic  law  of  the  Institution 
now  think  that  that  object  has  been  defeated  by  a  wrong  construction 
given  to  that  organic  law.  It  is  a  firm  conviction,  as  I  believe,  on 
their  part,  that  the  law  has  riot  been  carried  out  according  to  its  terms. 
It  certainly  has  not  been  according  to  their  understanding  of  its  terms. 
I  believe  that  there  is  no  portion  of  our  community,  certainly  there  are 
no  persons  entitled  to  notice,  who  would  wish  to  pervert  this  fund  to 
any  other  object  than  that  to  which  it  was  dedicated  by  Smithson's 
will.  I  believe  the  persons  to  whom  the  Senator  referred  are  stimu- 
lated by  the  purest  motives  to  carry  out  that  object,  under  the  con- 
viction that  the  mode  in  which  the  trust  is  now  being  administered  is 
neither  in  accordance  with  the  will  nor  of  the  law.  It  is  a  difference 


528  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  opinion— a  difference  of  opinion  sincerely  entertained — and  one 
which  we  should,  therefore,  meet  with  the  spirit  of  firmness,  of  candor, 
and  of  kindness. 

I  regret  that  the  discussion  has  arisen  rendering  it  necessary  to  go 
into  an  argument  to  show  which  is  right  and  which  wrong  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  act.  In  fact,  sir,  I  believe  I  will  not  allow  myself  to 
be  drawn  into  an  argument  on  that  question.  If  this  matter  is  to  be 
referred  to  a  committee,  certainly  any  discussion  of  that  question 
would  be  more  appropriate  after  a  report  of  the  committee.  I  shall 
therefore  content  myself  with  saying  that  my  firm  conviction  is  that 
the  only  difference  which  has  arisen  in  the  management  of  the  Insti- 
tution is  a  difference  on  two  points:  First,  as  to  what  direction  this 
fund  ought  to  take;  secondly,  the  belief  that  a  direction  has  been  given 
to  it  which  is  not  authorized  by  the  law  creating  the  Institution.  I 
am  under  the  impression  that  some  Regents  have  voted  in  the  minority 
on  this  question,  not  because  they  believe  the  original  plan  adopted 
by  Congress  was  the  best,  but  because  they  felt  themselves  compelled, 
under  the  law  as  it  stood,  to  vote  as  they  did. 

Mr.  G.  E.  BADGER.  Mr.  President,  I  do  not  exactly  agree  in  the  sug- 
gestion thrown  out  by  my  friend  from  Maryland  that  it  is  necessary 
that  the  letter  which  is  before  the  Senate  should  become  the  subject 
of  investigation  by  a  committee  of  this  body;  but  1  shall,  notwith- 
standing, readily  yield  my  own  notions  upon  that  subject  to  the  wish 
he  has  expressed.  Allow  me,  however,  to  present  very  briefly  the 
views  which  have  struck  me  on  this  occasion. 

The  very  eminent  and  distinguished  gentleman  who  has  sent  in  this 
letter  of  resignation  has  assigned  two  reasons  why  he  retires  from 
assisting  in  the  management  of  this  trust  fund.  One  is  that  he  can  not 
give  the  time  necessary  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Regents. 
As  has  been  said  by  my  friend  from  Maryland,  this  is  a  full,  ample, 
and  perfect  reason  not  only  why  he  is  excusable  for  retiring,  but  why 
it  is  his  bounden  duty  to  retire,  for  while  he  holds  a  place  there  the 
public  has  a  right  to  expect  him  to  give  the  necessary  time  to  dis- 
charge its  duties.  So  soon  as  he  ascertains  that  he  can  not,  consistent!}7 
with  his  other  engagements,  give  that  time,  he  is  bound  to  retire  and  to 
give  way  to  some  other  gentleman  who  may  have  both  the  inclination 
and  the  power  to  render  the  service  which  the  country  expects  from  a 
member  of  that  board. 

I  wish  very  sincerely,  Mr.  President,  that  the  letter  of  resignation 
had  there  closed,  because  I,  for  one,  am  unable  to  give  any  appropriate 
character  to  the  residue  of  the  letter.  It  must  be  viewed  in  one  of 
three  aspects — either  as  an  appeal  to  Congress  from  the  judicial  decision 
which  has  been  pronounced  by  the  Board  of  Regents  upon  the  inter- 
pretation of  that  act,  or  as  an  appeal  to  Congress  against  the  malver- 
sation of  a  certain  class  of  public  officers,  to  the  extent  that  their 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  529 

misconduct  may  be  exposed  and  that  some  steps  may  be  taken  either 
for  their  punishment  or  removal,  or  else  as  an  intimation  that  the  dis- 
tinguished gentleman  who  writes  this  letter  thinks  that  there  should 
be  some  amendment  of  the  law  by  the  intervention  of  the  legislative 
power  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress. 

In  regard  to  the  first  view  I  can  not  myself  understand  how  this? 
body  or  the  other  House  of  Congress  is  to  exercise  a  judicial  super 
vision  upon  the  question  of  the  interpretation  of  this  law.  It  is  our 
business  to  make  laws;  it  is  the  business  of  other  officers  and  classes 
of  persons  to  expound  and  execute  those  laws.  In  a  strict  judicial 
sense  we  can  not  exercise  any  jurisdiction  or  supervision  over  the 
judgment  which  may  be  so  pronounced;  and  therefore,  considering 
the  letter  in  that  respect,  it  seems  to  me  totally  inappropriate  to  any 
functions  which  either  this  or  the  other  House  of  Congress  can  legiti- 
mately exercise. 

If  it  be  considered  as  a  letter  intended  to  communicate  to  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress  malversation  in  the  conduct  of  these  public  officers, 
however  proper  that  application  may  be  to  the  other  House  it  is 
plainly  out  of  place  here.  The  other  House,  from  what  we  learn  of 
their  published  proceedings,  seem  to  have  taken  the  subject  up  in  that 
idea — that  this  is  an  imputation  by  the  writer  of  the  letter  that  a  gross 
abuse  has  been  practiced  by  the  majority  of  the  Board  of  Regents  in 
the  administration  of  this  fund;  and  they  have  according!}'  raised  a 
committee,  referred  the  letter  to  the  committee,  and  vested  them  with 
the  power  of  sending  for  persons  and  papers — a  power  appropriate  to 
the  investigation,  if  the  object  be  what  I  have  just  said,  but  utterly 
inappropriate  and  absurd  supposing  it  to  be  a  mere  question  of  legis- 
lative inquiry  with  a  view  to  found  legislative  action  thereupon.  If 
it  is  a  question  of  the  interpretation  of  a  law,  do  you  want  to  send  for 
persons  and  papers  to  enable  you  to  interpret  a  law?  What  papers 
will  you  send  for  to  enable  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives to  ascertain  what  is  the  meaning  of  this  law?  Do  you  want  the 
statute?  Surely  the  committee  can  get  that  without  having  power 
to  send  for  papers.  Do  you  want  the  proceedings  which  took  place 
at  the  time  when  this  law  was  enacted,  the  parliamentary  history  of  it? 
Surely  that  can  be  obtained  without  a  power  in  the  committee  to  send 
for  papers  or  for  persons.  But  if  you  suppose  the  investigation  is 
pursued  for  the  purpose  of  ferreting  out  a  delinquency,  an  abuse,  a 
malversation,  then  that  part  of  the  resolution  becomes  all  appropriate, 
and  the  object  is  to  drag  up  witnesses  and  compel  them  to  testify  to 
the  conduct  of  the  perpetrators  in  this  stupendous  fraud,  not  only  on 
the  law  of  the  country,  but  on  the  noble  charity  which  they  are 
appointed  to  administer.  If  that  be  the  aspect  in  which  this  subject 
is  taken  up,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  it;  we  should  not  commit  our- 
selves in  advance  upon  it;  for,  suppose  the  proceedings  of  the  House 
H.  Doc.  732 34 


530  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  Representatives  should  result  in  preferring  articles  of  impeachment, 
for  example,  against  the  Chief  Justice,  it  would  be  very  indelicate  and 
improper  for  us  in  advance  to  form  and  deliver  a  solemn  opinion  upon 
the  question  whether  there  was  just  cause  for  the  impeachment. 

Then  there  is  only  one  other  respect  in  which  this  residue  of  the 
paper  can  be  supposed,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to  be  intended  to  have  any 
influence  upon  Congress,  and  that  is  that  the  honorable  and  dis 
tinguished  gentleman  who  writes  this  letter,  knowing  that  we  have  no 
judicial  power  over  the  interpretation  of  the  law,  and  therefore  can 
not  by  any  judgment  of  ours  ascertain  that  what  has  been  heretofore 
done  in  its  interpretation  has  been  done  wrongfully,  in  a  judicial 
sense,  and  knowing  that  it  is  not  a  proper  subject  for  an  investigation 
with  a  view  to  a  criminal  prosecution  by  impeachment,  sends  it  to  the 
two  Houses  of  Congress  as  a  recommendation  that  they  shall  institute 
an  inquiry  with  a  view  to  an  amendment  of  the  law.  In  this  latter 
view  it  strikes  me  as  exceedingly  inappropriate  for  any  gentleman  not 
a  member  of  these  bodies,  or  one  of  them,  and  not  coming  here  in  the 
character  of  a  petitioner  asserting  a  claim  against  the  Government,  to 
undertake  to  advise  us  of  the  propriety  of  further  legislation. 

I  say,  therefore,  Mr.  President,  that  I  regret  very  much  that  this 
truly  distinguished  gentleman,  of  whom  the  American  people  have 
reason  to  be  proud  as  one  of  their  sons,  gifted  as  he  is  and  distin- 
guished as  he  has  been  in  his  past  course,  did  not  content  himself  with 
resigning  his  position  for  the  very  ample  and  sufficient  reason  which 
he  first  gives — that  he  is  unable  to  discharge  the  duties  required  of  him. 
I  regret  it  also  because,  if  I  collected  the  scope  of  that  letter  accu- 
rately from  its  reading — for  1  had  not  seen  it  before — it  seems  in  any 
view  to  present  this  state  of  the  case:  The  writer  meets  with  his 
brother  Regents;  a  certain  question  arises,  What  shall  be  done  in  the 
management  of  the  institution  ?  That  inquiry  involves  a  question  as 
to  the  just  interpretation  of  the  law;  the  best  and  the  legal  means  of 
carrying  out  the  great  purpose  of  the  donor.  That  matter  is  the  sub- 
ject of  discussion  and  debate  among  them.  The  majority  of  the 
Regents  decide  against  him,  and  immediately  he  retires  from  the  Insti- 
tution and  interposes  an  appeal  to  Congress  against  the  majority  of  the 
body  of  which  he  is  a  member. 

Again,  sir,  it  seems  to  imply  this:  Distinguished  and  elevated  as  that 
gentleman  is,  and  high  and  important  as  are  the  services  which  he  has 
rendered  to  his  country,  and  which  he  is  now  able  to  render  in  this 
or  any  other  station  to  which  the  voice  of  his  countrymen  or  the  pub- 
lic authorities  may  call  him,  I  think  the  whole  tone  of  that  part  of 
the  letter  slightly  exaggerates  the  importance  to  the  public  of  the 
event  which  it  communicates,  namely,  his  retiring  from  the  Board  of 
Regents. 

Besides,  considering  also — for  I  think  my  friend  from  Illinois  did 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-J855.  531 

not  succeed  exactly  in  vindicating-  that  part  of  the  letter — the  sugges 
tion  which  my  friend  from  Maryland  made,  that  there  is  a  tone  of 
confidence,  of  unmistakable  and  unmistaken  certainty,  with  which  the 
distinguished  writer  announces  his  opinions  upon  the  interpretation 
of  this  law,  which  I  think  my  friend  from  Illinois  will  pardon  me  for 
saying  at  least  borders  a  little,  very  little,  upon  the  confines  of  arro- 
gance, for  I  beg  my  friend  to  consider  against  what  an  array  of 
judgments  the  opinion  of  that  distinguished  writer  is  given. 

Mr.  S.  A.  DOUGLAS.  Consider  the  names  on  the  other  side. 

Mr.  G.  E.  BADGER.  The  names  on  the  other  side  have  not  been  yet 
given;  but  I  am  very  certain  that  my  friend  before  me  [Mr.  Douglas], 
whose  name  is  one  of  them — and  it  is  a  name  of  weight  and  authority 
in  this  country  and  elsewhere,  where  it  is  known— is  one  of  the  last 
persons  who  would  announce  his  opinion  without  the  expression  of 
some  deferential  conception  that,  after  all,  perhaps  he  might  be  mis- 
taken. Now,  I  must  say — I  think  it  is  due  to  truth  and  the  occasion 
to  say,  and  I  believe  the  whole  Senate  will  agree  with  me — that, 
whether  the  distinguished  writer  be  correct  or  not  in  his  opinions, 
that  part  of  the  letter  is  in  very  bad  taste. 

Believing,  Mr.  President,  that  there  is  nothing  for  us  to  do  but 
accept  the  resignation  of  this  gentleman,  and  to  accept  it  with  regret 
because  of  his  eminent  talents  and  high  position  and  undoubted 
patriotism,  and  therefore  his  capacity  and  willingness  to  be  useful,  1 
should  think  that  the  subject  might  be  allowed  to  drop;  but,  never- 
theless, I  yield  to  the  suggestion  of  my  friend  from  Maryland.  He 
has  intimated  that  he  desires  that  this  should  be  the  subject  of  inves- 
tigation, and  I  am  willing  to  move  that  it  shall  go  to  a  committee,  but 
I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  it  is  proper  on  this  occasion  to  select  a 
special  committee.  This  is  a  question  of  judicial  interpretation — of 
legislation  to  be  founded  upon  a  judicial  interpretation — if  the  com- 
mittee in  the  Senate  shall  be  of  opinion  that  the  Regents  have  mis- 
taken the  true  construction  of  this  law.  We  have  a  committee,  a 
standing  committee  of  this  body,  composed  of  eminent  lawyers,  abun- 
dantly able  to  reexamine  this  subject  so  far  as  it  needs  reexamination, 
and  so  far  as  this  House  has  any  jurisdiction  over  it.  I  am  not,  there- 
fore, for  passing  over  that  committee  upon  a  judicial  question  to  raise 
any  select  committee.  It  is  a  question  of  law — the  interpretation  of  a 
statute.  If  we  are  not  satisfied  with  the  judgment  given  in  the  Board 
of  Regents;  if  such  a  board  of  men,  aided  in  their  opinions  by  the 
illustrious  Taney,  do  not  conve}r  to  us  a  conviction  that  a  statute  has 
been  rightly  interpreted,  let  it  go  to  that  committee  of  this  body.  It 
is  a  proper  organ  to  examine  and  investigate  and  report  upon  strictly 
legal  inquiries.  I  therefore  move  the  reference  of  this  paper  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Judiciary. 

Mr.  "W.  H.  SEWARD.  Mr.  President.  I  should  not  speak  at  all  on 


532  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

this  question  if  it  were  not  that  I  think  the  Senate  has  a  duty  to  dis- 
charge to  itself  and  to  its  dignity.  I  need  not  say  that  I  entertain  as 
profound  a  respect  and  admiration  for  the  distinguished  gentleman 
who  sent  this  communication  here  as  any  other  person  in  the  House  or 
in  the  country.  I  take  the  occasion  thus  early  to  say  that  I  have 
formed  no  opinion  upon  the  merits  of  the  question  which  has  been 
raised  by  that  communication.  I  deem  it  my  duty,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  hold  my  mind  free  and  open  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  opinion 
hereafter. 

Sir,  I  can  not  consent  for  one  member  of  this  body  to  send  this 
communication  to  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  or  to  a  select  com- 
mittee, because,  although  I  believe  it  to  have  been  intended  with  the 
best  motives  and  to  have  been  entirely  unexceptionable  in  the  view  of 
the  writer,  yet  I  think  it  is  derogatory  from  the  dignity  of  the  Senate. 
What  is  it,  sir?  It  is  a  resignation  of  an  officer.  Every  citizen  of 
the  United  States  has  a  right  to  hold  an  office  if  he  can  get  it,  and 
certainly  every  citizen  of  the  United  States  holding  an  office  has  a 
right  to  resign  it,  and  it  is  not  necessary  for  him,  in  order  to  be 
relieved  from  the  burden  of  the  office,  to  assign  any  reason  or  excuse 
whatever.  Whatever  may  be  said  by  way  of  apology,  or  excuse,  or 
reason,  or  justification  does  not  alter  the  character  of  the  act  itself. 
It  is  an  absolute  resignation.  It  is  complete.  It  is  final.  The  Senate 
has  nothing  to  do  but  to  file  it.  It  is  done.  The  Senate  can  not  com- 
pel the  individual  to  retain  his  office.  They  can  not  ask  him  to  take 
it  back  again,  however  high  he  may  be.  They  can  reappoint  him,  but 
they  must  receive  his  resignation  as  a  complete  act. 

According  to  my  humble  judgment,  what  this  retiring  Regent 
ought  to  have  done  was  to  send  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  Senate, 
saying,  in  so  many  words,  "Sir,  I  resign  the  office  of  Regent  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution."  It  is  true  that  a  Regent,  like  every  other 
public  officer,  has  a  right  to  inform  the  public  and  to  inform  Congress, 
if  he  pleases  to  do  so,  of  the  grounds  why  he  declines  a  further  con- 
tinuance in  the  discharge  of  a  public  trust,  but  that  should  be,  not  by 
a  letter  explaining  his  reasons  for  his  resignation;  but  it  should  be  done 
through  the  public  press  or  otherwise,  so  as  not  to  make  the  table  of 
the  Senate  bear  the  burden  of  all  personal,  and  political,  and  other 
explanations  of  persons  retiring  from  public  office. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  honorable  and  distinguished  gentleman  has 
not  considered  the  legal  nature  and  the  official  character  of  the  act  he 
was  performing.  I  say,  then,  this  resignation  was  complete  and  abso- 
lute when  the  words  "I  resign  this  office"  were  written;  but  that  is  not 
the  whole  of  the  communication.  We  are,  besides,  favored  with  an 
explanation  of  the  reasons  wiry  he  resigns.  This  is  either  for  the 
information  of  the  public  (and  if  so,  it  ought  not  to  have  been  made 
to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States),  or  else  it  is  for  the  purpose  of 


THIETY-THIKD    CONGKESS,   1853-1855.  533 

instructing  the  Senate  in  regard  to  the  question  which  is  discussed  in 
the  paper.  If  that  honorable  and  distinguished  gentleman  wished 
to  instruct  the  Senate  upon  the  merits  of  the  question  out  of  which 
his  resignation  has  arisen,  he  had  the  right  to  come  before  this  body  in 
a  respectful  manner,  by  petition,  by  memorial,  or  by  official  commu- 
nication, as  a  Regent  of  the  Institution;  but  he  disclaims  the  privilege 
and  the  right  of  addressing  us  as  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, because,  in  the  very  act  of  representing  his  views  to  the  Senate, 
he  resigns  that  office,  and  shows  that  he  leaves  the  Senate  and  the 
country  to  take  care  of  the  question  as  they  best  may. 

I  think,  then,  that  what  is  due  to  this  occasion  is  to  lay  this  letter 
on  the  table.  Then,  I  agree  with  the  honorable  Senator  from  Mary- 
land and  the  honorable  Senator  from  Virginia,  and  others,  that  there 
is,  in  the  occasion  itself,  in  the  subject-matter  which  has  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Senate,  that  which  may  very  properly  require  an 
inquiry.  I  think  that  inquiry  ought  to  be  made  by  the  Senate  out  of 
regard  to  the  public  interests,  the  public  welfare,  and  the  honor  and 
dignity  of  the  country,  and  not  upon  a  communication  which  is  of  so 
unusual  and  extraordinaiy  a  character  as  this. 

Mr.  A.  P.  BUTLER.  Mr.  President,  I  do  not  know  that  I  concur 
entirely  in  the  conclusion  of  the  honorable  Senator  from  New  York, 
but  I  must  say  that  I  agree,  in  the  main,  with  the  purport  of  his 
remarks.  I  hope  that  my  friend  from  North  Carolina  will  therefore 
withdraw  his  motion  to  refer  this  paper  to  the  Committee  on  the 
Judiciary.  What  is  the  paper?  It  is  the  resignation  of  an  office?  If 
so,  there  it  should  terminate.  Is  it  an  accusation  against  those  with 
whom  this  gentleman  has  been  associated?  If  so,  as  my  friend  from 
North  Carolina  has  remarked,  I  can  not  approve  its  taste.  Is  it  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  this  subject  into  debate  in  the  Senate?  If  so, 
I  think  its  purpose  mischievous.  Is  it  for  the  purpose  of  making  an 
issue  in  relation  to  this  fund,  which  is  calculated  to  involve  perhaps, 
as  has  been  intimated,  different  views  in  different  parts  of  the  country  ? 
If  so,  it  is  a  purpose  which  is  criminal. 

In  every  point  of  view,  whether  I  regard  the  taste  of  the  paper  as 
an  accusation  of  those  with  whom  this  gentleman  has  been  associated, 
or  whether  I  regard  it  as  designed  to  bring  this  subject  into  popular 
discussion,  I  can  not  approve  its  tone.  I  am  bound  to  say  that  much; 
but  if  it-  be  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  subject  before  the  Senate, 
it  can  not  be  so  effectually  done  as  it  would  be  by  making  the  report 
of  a  committee  the  vehicle  of  his  views.  I  hope,  therefore,  my  friend 
from  North  Carolina  will  withdraw  his  motion  to  refer  this  paper  to 
the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary. 

Mr.  G.  E.  BADGER.  I  am  satisfied,  sir,  after  the  remarks  made  by 
the  honorable  Senator  from  New  York,  that  my  first  inclination  on 
this  subject  was  correct,  and  that  is  that  we  have  nothing  to  do  but 


534  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

accept  the  resignation.  I  yielded,  however,  because  my  friend  from 
Maryland,  who  occupies  a  peculiar  and  delicate  relation  to  this  subject, 
intimated  his  desire  for  a  committee  to  investigate  it. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  Will  my  friend  from  North  Carolina  allow  me 
to  interpose  ? 

Mr.  BADGER.  Certainly. 

Mr.  PEARCE.  I  am  anxious  that  the  question  should  be  referred  to 
a  committee.  I  am  quite  content  that  the  paper  should  be  received 
and  laid  upon  the  table;  but  I  do  desire,  as  the  Senator  from  New  York 
has  said,  that  the  subject-matters  which  are  referred  to  in  the  letter 
should  be  submitted  to  a  committee  of  this  body  for  consideration.  I 
hope,  therefore,  that  the  proposition  of  the  Senator  from  New  York 
will  be  adopted  and  the  paper  laid  on  the  table;  and  that  some  gentle- 
man will  move  a  resolution  directing  a  committee  (and  I  now  prefer 
that  it  should  be  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary)  to  inquire  what,  if 
any,  action  is  proper  to  be  taken  by  the  Senate  in  regard  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  That  committee  was  organized  at  the  beginning 
of  the  session  without  reference  to  this  question.  I  am  willing  and 
desire  that  the  matter  should  take  the  regular  course  and  be  referred 
to  that  committee,  whose  appropriate  duty  it  is  to  construe  the  acts 
of  Congress,  which  are  drawn  into  question. 

Mr.  BADGER.  I  now  withdraw  my  motion  for  reference,  and  move 
that  the  paper  lie  on  the  table. 

Mr.  J.  B.  WELLER.  I  am  exceedingly  anxious  to  terminate  the 
debate  and  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  some  practical  business. 
This  question,  however,  ought  to  be  decided.  Here  are  three  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  who  have  brought  to  the  consideration 
of  the  Senate  the  important  fact  that  they  differ  as  to  the  construction 
given  to  a  law  of  Congress,  or  as  to  the  proper  mode  of  using  the 
fund  which  they  have  been  appointed  to  administer.  Now,  I  think  it 
very  important  that  Congress  should  determine  that  question,  because 
we  have  been  notified  by  the  debate  to-day^  that  that  difference  of 
opinion  does  exist;  and  after  this  paper  shall  have  been  disposed  of,  if 
no  other  Senator  makes  the  motion,  I  shall  submit  one  to  instruct 
the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  to  consider  and  report  on  this  subject. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on  the  motion  of  the  Senator  from 
North  Carolina  that  the  paper  lie  on  the  table. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  J.  M.  CLAYTON  subsequently  said:  Mr.  President,  as  the  Sen- 
ator from  California  [Mr.  Weller]  did  not  follow  up  his  proposition.  I 
desire  to  offer  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  inquire  whether  any,  and  if  any, 
what,  action  of  the  Senate  is  necessary  and  proper  in  regard  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

I  believe  that  this  resolution  is  in  accordance  with  the  general  senti- 
ment of  the  body.  I  do  not  purpose  to  debate  it;  but  1  will  say  now 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  535 

that  I  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  to  sus- 
tain the  Regents  of  this  Institution,  whenever  the  Senate  thinks  they 
are  right.  When  an  imputation  is  cast  on  those  gentlemen  it  ought 
not  to  be  left  to  be  a  matter  of  conjecture  or  doubt  in  the  country 
whether  the  Senate  thinks  they  ought  to  be  sustained  or  not.  For  my 
own  part,  I  do  thoroughly  concur  in  the  opinion  which  has  been  given 
by  a  majority  of  the  Regency.  I  have  been  of  their  opinion  since  the 
Institution  was  first  established. 

I  had  the  honor,  as  a  member  of  a  committee  of  this  body,  some 
eighteen  years  ago,  to  report  the  bill,  which  was  afterwards  enacted 
into  a  law,  accepting  the  bequest  of  Smithson;  and  I  well  remember 
that  upon  that  occasion  there  was  a  diversity  of  sentiment  in  this  body 
in  regard  to  the  propriety  of  accepting  the  bequest,  for  it  was  said  con- 
fidently by  some  gentlemen  that  it  would  turn  out  that  this  Govern- 
ment was  incapable  of  administering  the  fund  as  the  testator  intended. 
I  was  then  of  a  different  opinion,  and  I  am  now.  I  have  observed  with 
some  interest  the  progress  of  this  Institution,  and  the  course  adopted 
by  the  Regents,  from  the  origin  of  the  Institution,  and  their  course 
has,  on  all  occasions,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  understand  it,  met 
with  my  unqualified  approbation. 

The  question  which  divided  the  Regency  was  one  which  arose  in  the 
very  origin  of  the  Institution.  There  were  many  gentlemen  who 
thought  the  funds  should  be  devoted  to  the  purpose  of  a  library.  I 
never  thought  so.  I  undertake  to  say  that  was  not  the  sentiment  of 
the  Senate  which  accepted  the  bequest.  An  institution  whose  object 
is  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  among  men,  to  be  confined,  or  the 
greater  part  of  its  action  to  be  confined,  to  the  mere  purchase  of  books — 
books  to  be  placed  here  in  this  District,  where  they  could  be  visited  by 
gentlemen  of  wealth  from  abroad,  to  be  sure,  and  where  they  could  be 
searched  and  examined  by  persons  who  are  on  the  spot!  That,  how- 
ever, would  be  one  of  the  most  futile  and,  in  my  humble  judgment, 
most  ineffectual  methods  which  could  be  devised  to  diffuse  knowledge 
among  men.  The  plan  adopted  by  the  Regency  is  one  calculated  to 
diffuse  it  among  men  in  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world. 

But,  sir,  I  will  not  take  up  the  time  of  the  Senate  in  discussing  this 
question.  The  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  are  fully  capable  of  exam- 
ining and  deciding  on  judicial  questions.  I  think  they  ought  to  make 
an  inquiry,  in  order  that  if  the  Regents  are  right  in  the  interpretation 
they  have  given  to  the  law  they  should  be  sustained  by  the  judgment 
of  the  committee  and  by  the  judgment  of  the  Senate.  I  move  the 
adoption  of  the  resolution  which  I  have  submitted. 

The  resolution  was  considered  by  unanimous  consent  and  agreed  to. 
January  17,  1855 — House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  LINN  BOYD)  laid  before  the  House  a  communi- 
cation received  from  Rufus  Choate,  resigning  his  office  as  Regent  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution. 


536  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  letter  was  read.     (See  Senate  Proceedings,  January  IT,  1855.) 
Mr.  JAMES  MEACHAM.   I  ask  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  House  to 

introduce  a  resolution  of  inquiry,  founded  upon  that  letter;  and  upon 

the  resolution  I  demand  the  previous  question. 
The  resolution  was  reported: 

Resolved,  That  the  letter  of  Hon.  Rufus  Choate,  resigning  his  place  as  Regent  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  be  referred  to  a  select  committee  of  live  and  printed; 
and  that  said  committee  be  directed  to  inquire  and  report  to  the  House  whether  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  has  been  managed  and  its  funds  expended  in  accordance 
with  the  law  establishing  the  Institution;  and  whether  any  additional  legislation  be 
necessary  to  carry  out  the  designs  of  its  founders;  and  that  said  committee  have  power 
to  send  for  persons  and  papers. 

Mr.  W.  H.  ENGLISH.  If  I  have  the  right  to  object  to  the  reception 
of  the  resolution  just  proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  Vermont  [Mr. 
Meacham]  I  do  so;  and  I  move  that  the  communication  submitted  by 
Mr.  Choate  be  laid  on  the  table,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  resolution  of  the  gentleman  from  Vermont,  to 
refer  to  a  select  committee  the  letter  which  has  just  been  read,  is  in 
order,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Chair.  Upon  the  adoption  of  the  resolu- 
tion the  gentleman  from  Vermont  demands  the  previous  question.  It 
is  in  order  to  make  a  motion  to  lay  the  matter  on  the  table. 

Mr.  ENGLISH.  Then  I  make  that  motion. 

Mr.  MEACHAM.  Will  that  motion  carry  the  resolution  with  it? 

The  SPEAKER.  It  will. 

Mr.  MEACHAM.  Am  I  not  still  entitled  to  the  floor. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  Vermont  can  not  retain  the  floor 
after  moving  the  previous  question.  It  is  in  order  for  the  gentleman 
from  Indiana  to  make  the  motion  he  does,  as  it  is  a  privileged  question. 

Mr.  MEACHAM.  The  resolution  I  offer  is  simply  one  of  inquiry,  made 
in  respectful  terms,  and  it  appears  to  me  that  there  can  be  no  objec- 
tion to  it.  If  the  motion  of  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  is  pressed  I 
shall  demand  the  yeas  and  nays. 

Mr.  THOMAS  H.  BAYLY,  of  Virginia.  I  ask  my  friend  from  Indiana  to 
withdraw  the  motion  to  lay  upon  the  table.  The  resolution  ought  to 
go  to  the  Judiciary  Committee,  and  the  clause  providing  for  sending  for 
persons  and  papers  ought  to  be  stricken  out. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  ordered. 

Mr.  J.  R.  CHANDLER.  I  would  ask  whether  the  motion  to  lay  upon 
the  table  includes  the  motion  to  print? 

The  SPEAKER.  It  does  include  that  motion. 

Mr.  T.  H.  CLINGMAN.  The  motion  to  lay  upon  the  table  and  print 
would  be  a  debatable  motion. 

The  SPEAKER.  It  would  scarcely  be  debatable  pending  the  demand 
for  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  CLINGMAN.  The  demand  for  the  previous  question  has  not  been 
seconded. 


THIRTY-THIBD   CONGRESS,  1853-1855.  537 

The  SPEAKER.  It  could  not  be  until  there  was  a  test  vote. 

Mr.  CLIXGMAN.  If  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  couples  the  motion 
to  lay  upon  the  table  with  the  motion  to  print,  I  should  think  it  would 
be  debatable. 

The  SPEAKER.  It  can  not  be  a  debatable  motion,  for  the  reason  that 
the  previous  question  is  demanded  upon  the  adoption  of  the  resolu 
tion.     The  demand  for  the  previous  question  must  be  first  disposed  of 
before  discussion  can  be  had. 

Mr.  G.  \V.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  I  would  remark  that  no  person 
has  called  for  a  division  of  the  question  to  lay  upon  the  table  and 
print. 

Mr.  ENGLISH.  If  I  have  the  right  to  do  so,  1  propose  to  modify  my 
motion  so  as  to  lay  the  communication  and  resolution  upon  the  table, 
and  withdraw  the  motion  to  print. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  has  a  right  to  modify  his  motion  and 
withdraw  the  motion  to  print. 

Mr.  ENGLISH.  I  then  so  modify  my  motion. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  yeas  and  nays  have  not  been  ordered  upon  the 
modification  proposition. 

Mr.  BAYLY,  of  Virginia.  The  proposition  being  modified,  how  does 
the  previous  question  apply? 

The  SPEAKER.  The  demand  for  the  previous  question  will  come  up, 
should  the  House  refuse  to  lay  the  resolution  upon  the  table;  and  it 
cuts  off  debate  until  the  House  determine  whether  or  not  it  will  sus- 
tain the  demand. 

Mr.  MEACHAM.  I  ask  for  the  yeas  and  nays  upon  the  modified 
motion. 

The  yeas  and  na\*s  were  ordered. 

The  question  was  then  taken,  and  there  were — yeas  81,  nays  84;  as 
follows: 

YEAS — Messrs.  Aiken,  James  C.  Allen,  Willis  Allen,  Thomas  H.  Bayly,  Barksdale, 
Bell,  Boyce,  Breckinridge,  Bridges,  Caruthers,  Caskie,  Chandler,  Chastain,  Chrisman, 
Cobb,  Colquitt,  Craige,  John  G.  Davis,  Dawson,  Disney,  Drum,  Dunbar,  Eddy,  Edger- 
ton,  Edmundson,  John  M.  Elliott,  English,  Everhart,  Faulkner,  Franklin,  Goode, 
Green,  Greenwood,  Hamilton,  Sampson  W.  Harris,  Hendricks,  Hillyer,  Houston, 
George  "VV.  Jones,  J.  Glancy  Jones,  Roland  Jones,  Keitt,  Kerr,  Kurtz,  Lamb,  Latham, 
Macdonald,  Matteson,  Maxwell,  Millson,  Morgan,  Nichols,  Orr,  Packer,  Pennington, 
Bishop  Perkins,  John  Perkins,  Phelps,  Pringle,  Reese,  Thomas  Ritchey,  Robbins, 
Rogers,  Ruffin,  Shannon,  Shaw,  Shower,  Skelton,  George  W.  Smyth,  Sellers,  Frederick 
P.  Stanton,  Andrew  Stuart,  John  J.  Taylor,  John  L.  Taylor,  Nathaniel  G.  Taylor,  Tel- 
ler, Trout,  Vansant,  Walbridge,  Walker,  and  Warren — 81 

XA  YS— Messrs.  Appleton,  David  J.  Bailey,  Ball,  Bennett,  Benson,  Bliss,  Campbell, 
Carpenter,  Chamberlain,  Chase,  Clark,  Clingman,  Cook,  Corwin,  Cox,  Crocker,  Cul- 
lom,  Cutting,  Thomas  Davis,  Dickinson,  Ellison,  Farley,  Fenton,  Flagler,  Fuller,  Good- 
rich, Goodwin,  Grey,  Grow,  Aaron  Harlan,  Wiley  P.  Harris,  Harrison,  Haven,  Hibbard, 
Hiester,  Hill,  Hughes,  Hunt,  Johnson,  Kittredge,  Knox,  Leteher,  Lilly,  Lindley,  Lind- 
sley,  McDougall,  Mace,  Macy,  Maurice,  Mayall,  Meacham,  Middleswarth,  Murray,  Nor- 


538  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

ton,  Andrew  Oliver,  Mordecai  Oliver,  Parker  Peck,  Pratt,  Puryear,  Ready,  Rowe, 
Russell,  Sabin,  Sapp,  Seward,  Simmons,  Samuel  A.  Smith,  William  R.  Smith,  Richard 
H.  Stanton,  Hestor  L.  Stevens,  Stratton,  Thurston,  Upham,  Wade,  Ellihu  B.  Wash- 
burne,  Israel  Washburn,  Wells,  Tappan  Wentworth,  Westbrook,  Wheeler,  Yates, 
and  Zollicoffer— 84. 

House  refused  to  lay  the  resolution  upon  the  table. 

Pending  the  call — 

Mr.  JOHN  KERR  said:  Is  it  in  order  to  make  an  inquiry  of  the 
Chair  at  this  time? 

The  SPEAKER.  Only  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  House. 

Mr.  KERR.  There  seems  to  be  some  misapprehension  in  regard  to 
this  matter.  I  suppose  by  laying  the  resolution  upon  the  table  that 
we  do  not  accept  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Choate. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  understands  the  resignation  to  have  been 
already  received.  The  House  received  the  letter,  and  it  was  read. 

Mr.  KERR.  There  seems  to  be  some  diversity  of  opinion  in  relation 
to  the  matter.  My  only  desire  is,  that  it  shall  be  understood. 

The  question  then  recurred  upon  the  demand  for  the  previous 
question. 

Mr.  J.  R.  FRANKLIN.  I  would  like  to  inquire  of  the  Chair,  if  it  is  in 
order  to  move  to  refer  this  matter  to  the  select  committe  already  in  exist- 
ence upon  the  subject  of  the  Smithsonian  fund? 

The  SPEAKER.  The  demand  for  the  previous  question  cuts  off  any 
motion,  until  the  House  determine  whether  they  will  second  the 
demand. 

Mr.  FRANKLIN.  I  give  notice  that  I  shall  make  the  motion  to  refer 
these  papers  to  the  select  committee  already  existing  upon  the  subject 
of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  which  has  this  matter  in  charge,  and  is 
expecting  to  make  a  report  upon  it  in  a  few  days. 

Mr.  ISRAEL  WASHBURN,  sr.,  of  Maine,  demanded  tellers  on  the 
second  to  the  demand  for  the  previous  question;  which  were  ordered; 
and  Mr.  Grey  and  Mr.  Walker  were  appointed. 

The  House  was  then  divided;  and  the  tellers  reported — ayes  74, 
noes  72. 

There  was  a  second;  and  the  main  question  was  then  ordered  to  be 
put. 

The  question  now  being  on  the  adoption  of  the  resolution. 

Mr.  B.  PRINGLE  demanded  the  yeas  and  nays;  which  were  ordered. 

The  question  was  then  put;  and  it  was  decided  in  the  affirmative- 
yeas  93,  nays  91;  as  follows: 

YEAS — Messrs.  Abercrombie,  Appleton,  David  J.  Bailey,  Ball,  Banks,  Bennett, 
Benson,  Bristow,  Bugg,  Campbell,  Carpenter,  Chamberlain,  Chase,  Clark,  Cook, 
Corwin,  Crocker,  Cullom,  Curtis,  Cutting,  Thomas  Davis,  Dawson,  De  Witt,  Dickin- 
son, Eastman,  Edgerton,  Edmands,  Ellison,  Etheridge,  Farley,  Fenton,  Flagler,  Fuller, 
Goodrich,  Goodwin,  Grow,  Aaron  Harlan,  Wiley  P.  Harris,  Haven,  Henn,  Hiester, 
Hill,  Hughes,  Hunt,  Johnson,  Kittredge,  Knox,  Latham,  Letcher,  Lilly,  Lindley, 
Lindsley,  McDougall,  Mace,  Macy,  Matteson,  Maurice,  Mayall,  Meacham,  Middles- 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  539 

warth,  Murray,  Norton,  Andrew  Oliver,  Parker,  Peck,  John  Perkins,  Pratt,  Preston, 
Puryear,  Ready,  David  Ritchie,  Rowe,  Russell,  Sabin,  Sapp,  Simmons,  Singleton, 
William  R.  Smith,  Richard  H.  Stanton,  Hestor  L.  Stevens,  Stratton,  Thurston,  Up- 
ham,  Wade,  Walsh,  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  Israel  Washburn,  Wells,  Tappan  Went- 
worth,  Westbrook,  Wheeler,  Yates,  and  Zollicoffer— 93. 

NAYS— Messrs.  Aiken,  James  C.  Allen,  Willis  Allen,  Belcher,  Bocock,  Boyce,  Breck- 
inridge,  Bridges,  Caruthers,  Caskie,  Chandler,  Chastain,  Chrisman,  Clingman,  Cobb, 
Colquitt,  Cox,  Craige,  John  G.  Davis,  Dunbar,  Eddy,  Edmundson,  English,  Ever- 
hart,  Faulkner,  Florence,  Franklin,  Goode,  Greenwood,  Grey,  Hamilton,  Harrison, 
Hendncks,  Hillyer,  Houston,  Ingersoll,  George  W.  Jones,  J.  Glancy  Jones,  Roland 
Jones,  Keitt,  Kerr,  Kurtz,  Lamb,  Macdonald,  McMullin,  McQueen,  Maxwell,  Smith 
Miller,  Millson,  Morgan,  Nichols,  Olds,  Mordecai  Oliver,  Orr,  Packer,  Pennington, 
Bishop  Perkins,  Phelps,  Powell,  Pringle,  Reese,  Richardson,  Thomas  Ritchey,  Rob- 
bins,  Rogers,  Ruffin,  Sage,  Seward,  Shannon,  Shaw,  Shower,  Skelton,  Samuel  A. 
Smith,  George  W.  Smyth,  Sellers,  Frederick  P.  Stanton,  Straub,  Andrew  Stuart, 
John  J.  Taylor,  John  L.  Taylor,  Nathaniel  G.  Taylor,  Teller,  Trout,  Vansant,  and 
Walker— 91. 

Resolution  adopted. 

Mr.  JAMES  MEACHAM.  I  move  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which  the 
resolution  was  adopted,  and  to  lay  the  motion  to  reconsider  upon  the 
table. 

Mr.  T.  B.  FLORENCE.  I  call  for  the  yeas  and  nays  upon  the  motion 
to  lay  upon  the  table. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  ordered. 

The  question  was  then  put;  and  it  was  decided  in  the  affirmative — 
yeas  94,  nays  82;  as  follows: 

YEAS — Messrs.  Abercrombie,  James  C.  Allen,  Appleton,  David  J.  Bailey,  Ball, 
Banks,  Barksdale,  Barry,  Bennett,  Benson,  Bristow,  Bugg,  Campbell,  Carpenter, 
Chamberlain,  Chase,  Clark,  Cook,  Corwin,  Crocker,  Thomas  Davis,  Dawson,  De  Witt, 
Dickinson,  Eastman,  Edgerton,  Edmands,  Ellison,  Etheridge,  Farley,  Fenton,  Flag- 
ler,  Fuller,  Goodrich,  Goodwin,  Grow,  Aaron  Harlan,  Sampson  W.  Harris,  Wiley  P. 
Harris,  Hastings,  Haven,  Henn,  Hiester,  Hill,  Hughes,  Hunt,  Johnson,  Kittredge, 
Knox,  Latham,  Letcher,  Lilly,  Lindsley,  McDougall,  Mace,  Macy,  Matteson,  Mau- 
rice, Mayall,  Meacham,  Middleswarth,  Murray,  Noble,  Norton,  Andrew  Oliver, 
Mordecai  Oliver,  Parker,  Peck,  Bishop  Perkins,  John  Perkins,  Pratt,  Puryear,  Ready, 
David  Ritchie,  Rowe,  Sabin,  Sapp,  Seward,  Simmons,  Singleton,  William  R.  Smith, 
Richard  H.  Stanton,  Hestor  L.  Stevens,  Stratton,  Thurston,  Upham,  Wade,  Elihu  B. 
Washburne,  Israel  Washburn,  Wells,  Tappan  Wentworth,  Westbrook,  Wheeler,  and 
Yates— 94. 

NAYS— Messrs.  Willis  Allen,  Thomas  H.  Bayly,  Belcher,  Bell,  Bocock,  Boyce, 
Breckinridge,  Bridges,  Caskie,  Chandler,  Chastain,  Chrisman,  Cobb,  Colquitt,  Craige, 
John  G.  Davis,  Drum,  Dunbar,  Eddy,  Edmundson,  John  M.  Elliott,  English,  Ever- 
hart,  Faulkner,  Florence,  Franklin,  Goode,  Greenwood,  Grey,  Hamilton,  Harrison, 
Hendricks,  Hillyer,  Ingersoll,  George  W.  Jones,  J.  Glancy  Jones,  Roland  Jones, 
Keitt,  Kerr,  Kurtz,  Lamb,  Lewis,  Macdonald,  McMullin,  McQueen,  Maxwell,  Smith 
Miller,  Millson,  Morgan,  Nichols,  Olds,  Orr,  Packer,  Pennington,  Phelps,  Pringle, 
Reese,  Thomas  Ritchey,  Robbins,  Rogers,  Ruffin,  Sage,  Shannon,  Shaw,  Shower, 
Skelton,  Samuel  A.  Smith,  William  Smith,  George  W.  Smyth,  Frederick  P.  Stanton, 
Straub,  Andrew  Stuart,  John  J.  Taylor,  John  L.  Taylor,  Nathaniel  G.  Taylor,  Teller, 
Trout,  Vansant,  Walker,  Walsh,  Warren,  and  Witte— 82. 

Motion  to  reconsider  laid  upon  the  table. 


540  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

January  18,  1855 — House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  LINN  BOYD)  announced  the  following  as  the  mem- 
bers of  the  select  committee  raised  for  the  purpose  of  investigating 
the  management  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution : 

Mr.  C.  W.  Upham,  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  W.  H.  Witte,  of  Penn 
sylvania,  Mr.  N.  G.  Taylor,  of  Tennessee,  Mr.  Daniel  Wells,  of  Wis- 
consin, and  Mr.  R.  C.  Puryear,  of  North  Carolina. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  would  state  that  the  gentleman  from  Ver- 
mont [Mr.  Meacham],  at  whose  instance  the  committee  was  raised, 
was  not  placed  on  it  at  his  own  request.  He  is  one  of  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  thought  that  under  the  circumstances 
he  ought  not  to  serve  on  the  committee.  Had  he  not  requested  to  be 
excused  from  service  he  would  have  been  put,  according  to  custom, 
at  the  head  of  the  committee. 
February  6,  1855— Senate. 

Mr.  ANDREW  P.  BUTLER,  of  South  Carolina,  from  the  Committee 
on  the  Judiciary.1  to  whom  was  referred  the  resolution  of  the  Senate 
directing  said  committee  to  inquire  whether  any,  and  if  any,  what, 
action  of  the  Senate  is  necessary  and  proper  in  regard  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  made  report,  which  was  ordered  to  be  printed. 

It  seems  to  be  the  object  of  the  resolution  to  require  the  committee 
to  say  whether,  in  its  opinion,  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution have  given  a  fair  and  proper  construction,  within  the  range  of 
discretion  allowed  to  them,  to  the  acts  of  Congress  putting  into  opera- 
tion the  trust  which  Mr.  Smithson  had  devolved  on  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. As  the  trust  has  not  been  committed  to  a  legal  corporation 
subject  to  judicial  jurisdiction  and  control,  it  must  be  regarded  as  the 
creature  of  Congressional  legislation.  It  is  a  naked  and  honorable 
trust,  without  any  profitable  interest  in  the  Government  that  has 
undertaken  to  carry  out  the  objects  of  the  benevolent  testator.  The 
obligations  of  good  faith  require  that  the  bequest  should  be  main- 
tained in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  made.  The  acts  of  Congress  on 
this  subject  were  intended  to  effect  this  end,  and  the  question  pre- 
sented is  this:  Have  the  Regents  done  their  duty  according  to  the 
requirements  of  the  acts  of  Congress  on  this  subject? 

In  order  to  determine  whether  any,  and  if  any,  what,  action  of  the 
Senate  is  necessary  and  proper  in  regard  to  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  examine  what  provisions  Congress  have  already 
made  on  the  subject  and  whether  they  have  been  faithfully  carried 
into  execution. 

The  money  with  which  this  Institution  has  been  founded  was 
bequeathed  to  the  United  States  by  James  Smithson,  of  London,  to 

1  Mr.  A.  P.  Butler,  Mr.  Iwvac  Toucey,  Mr.  James  A.  Bayard,  Mr.  H.  S.  Geyer,  Mr. 
John  Pettit,  and  Mr.  Robert  Toombs. 


THIETY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  541 

found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion," an  establishment  "for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men."  It  is  not  bequeathed  to  the  United  States  to  be  used 
for  their  own  benefit  and  advantage  only,  but  in  trust  to  apply  to 
"the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge"  among  mankind  generally, 
so  that  other  men  and  other  nations  might  share  in  its  advantage  as 
well  as  ourselves. 

Congress  accepted  the  trust,  and  by  the  act  of  August  10,  1846,  estab- 
lished an  institution  to  cany  into  effect  the  intention  of  the  testator. 
The  language  of  the  will  left  a  very  wide  discretion  in  the  manner  of 
executing  the  trust,  and  different  opinions  might  venr  naturally  be 
entertained  on  the  subject.  And  it  is  very  evident  by  the  law  above 
referred  to  that  Congress  did  not  deem  it  advisable  to  prescribe  any 
definite  and  fixed  plan,  and  deemed  it  more  proper  to  confide  that  duty 
to  a  board  of  regents,  carefully  selected,  indicating  only  in  general 
terms  the  objects  to  which  their  attention  was  to  be  directed  in 
executing  the  testator's  intention. 

Thus,  by  the  fifth  section,  the  Regents  were  required  to  cause  a 
building  to  be  erected  of  sufficient  size,  and  with  suitable  rooms  or 
halls,  for  the  reception  and  arrangement,  upon  a  liberal  scale,  of 
objects  of  natural  history,  including  a  geological  and  mineralogical 
cabinet;  also  a  chemical  laboratory,  a  library,  a  gallery  of  art,  and  the 
necessary  lecture  rooms.  It  is  evident  that  Congress  intended  by 
these  provisions  that  the  funds  of  the  Institution  should  be  applied  to 
increase  knowledge  in  all  the  branches  of  science  mentioned  in  this 
section — in  objects  of  natural  history,  in  geology,  in  mineralogy,  in 
chemistry,  in  the  arts — and  that  lectures  were  to  be  delivered  upon 
such  topics  as  the  Regents  might  deem  useful  in  the  execution  of  the 
trust.  And  publications  by  the  Institution  were  undoubtedly  neces- 
sary to  diffuse  generally  the  knowledge  that  might  be  obtained:  for 
any  increase  of  knowledge  that  might  thus  be  acquired  was  not  to  be 
locked  up  in  the  Institution  or  preserved  only  for  the  use  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Washington,  or  persons  who  might  visit  the  Institution.  It 
was  by  the  express  terms  of  the  trust,  which  the  United  States  was 
pledged  to  execute,  to  be  diffused  among  men.  This  could  be  done  in 
no  other  way  than  by  publications  at  the  expense  of  the  Institution. 
Nor  has  Congress  prescribed  the  sums  which  shall  be  appropriated  to 
these  different  objects.  It  is  left  to  the  discretion  and  judgment  of 
the  Regents. 

The  fifth  section  also  requires  a  library  to  be  formed,  and  the  eighth 
section  provides  that  the  Regents  shall  make  from  the  interest  an 
appropriation,  not  exceeding  an  average  of  $25,000  annually,  for 
the  gradual  formation  of  a  library  composed  of  valuable  works  per- 
taining to  all  departments  of  human  knowledge. 

But  this  .section  can  not.  by  any  fair  construction  of  its  language, 


542  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

be  deemed  to  imply  that  any  appropriation  to  that  amount,  or  nearly 
so,  was  intended  to  be  required.  It  is  not  a  direction  to  the  Regents 
to  apply  that  sum,  but  a  prohibition  to  apply  more;  and  it  leaves  it  to 
the  Regents  to  decide  what  amount  within  the  sum  limited  can  be 
advantageously  applied  to  the  library,  having  a  due  regard  to  the 
other  objects  enumerated  in  the  law. 

Indeed,  the  eighth  section  would  seem  to  be  intended  to  prevent  the 
absorption  of  the  funds  of  the  Institution  in  the  purchase  of  books. 
And  there  would  seem  to  be  sound  reason  for  giving  it  that  construc- 
tion; for  such  an  application  of  the  funds  could  hardly  be  regarded  as 
a  faithful  execution  of  the  trust;  for  the  collection  of  an  immense 
library  at  Washington  would  certainly  not  tend  "to  increase  or  diffuse 
knowledge"  in  any  other  country,  not  even  among  the  countrymen  of 
the  testator;  very  few  even  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  would 
receive  any  benefit  from  it.  And  if  the  money  was  to  be  so  appro- 
priated it  would  have  been  far  better  to  buy  the  books  and  place  them 
at  once  in  the  Congress  Library.  They  would  be  more  acceptable  to 
the  public  there,  and  it  would  have  saved  the  expense  of  a  costly 
building  and  the  salaries  of  the  officers;  yet  nobod}'  would  have  listened 
to  such  a  proposition  or  consented  that  the  United  States  should  take 
to  itself  and  for  its  own  use  the  money  which  they  accepted  as  a  trust 
for  "the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.'' 

This  is  the  construction  which  the  Regents  have  given  to  the  acts 
of  Congress,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee  it  is  the  true  one, 
and  acting  under  it  they  have  erected  a  commodious  building,  given 
their  attention  to  all  the  branches  of  science  mentioned  in  the  law 
to  the  full  extent  of  the  means  afforded  by  the  fund  of  the  Institu- 
tion, and  have  been  forming  a  library  of  choice  and  valuable  books, 
amounting  already  to  more  than  15,000  volumes.  The  books  are  for 
the  most  part  precisely  of  the  character  calculated  to  carry  out  the 
intentions  of  the  donor  of  the  fund  and  of  the  act  of  Congress.  They 
are  chiefly  composed  of  works  published  by  or  under  the  auspices  of 
the  numerous  institutions  of  Kurope  which  are  engaged  in  scientific 
pursuits,  giving  an  account  of  their  respective  researches  and  of  new 
discoveries  whenever  they  are  made.  These  works  are  sent  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  return  for  the  publications  of  this  Insti- 
tution, which  are  transmitted  to  the  learned  societies  and  establish- 
ments abroad.  The  library  thus  formed  and  the  means  by  which  it  is 
accomplished  are  peculiarly  calculated  to  attain  the  objects  for  which 
the  munificent  legacy  was  given  in  trust  to  the  United  States.  The 
publication  of  the  results  of  scientific  researches  made  by  the  Institu- 
tion is  calculated  to  stimulate  American  genius,  and  at  the  same  time 
enable  it  to  bring  before  the  public  the  fruits  of  its  labors.  And  the 
transmission  of  these  publications  to  the  learned  societies  in  Europe 
and  receiving  in  return  the  fruits  of  similar  researches  made  by  them. 


.  THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  543 

gives  to  each  the  benefit  of  the  "increase  of  knowledge''  which  either 
may  obtain,  and  at  the  same  time  diffuses  it  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  The  library  thus  formed  will  contain  books  .suitable  to  the 
present  state  of  scientific  knowledge,  and  will  keep  pace  with  its 
advance;  and  it  is  certainly  far  superior  to  a  vast  collection  of  expen- 
sive works,  most  of  which  may  be  found  in  any  public  library,  and 
man}'  of  which  are  mere  objects  of  curiosity  or  amusement,  and  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  opened  by  any  one  engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  science. 

These  operations  appear  to  have  been  carried  out  by  the  Regents, 
under  the  immediate  superintendence  of  Professor  Henry,  with  zeal, 
energy,  and  discretion,  and  with  the  strictest  regard  to  economy  in  the 
expenditure  of  the  funds.  Nor  does  there  seem  to  be  any  other  mode 
which  Congress  could  prescribe  or  the  Regents  adopt  which  would  bet- 
ter fulfill  the  high  trust  which  the  United  States  have  undertaken  to 
perform.  No  fixed  and  immutable  plan  prescribed  by  law  or  adopted 
by  the  Regents  would  attain  the  objects  of  the  trust.  It  was  evidently 
the  intention  of  the  donor  that  it  should  be  carried  into  execution  by 
an  institution  or  establishment,  as  it  is  termed  in  his  will.  Congress 
has  created  one,  and  given  it  ample  powers,  but  directing  its  attention 
particularly  to  the  objects  enumerated  in  the  law;  and  it  is  the  duty  of 
that  Institution  to  avail  itself  of  the  light  of  experience,  and  to  change 
its  plan  of  operations  when  they  are  convinced  that  a  different  one  will 
better  accomplish  the  objects  of  the  trust.  The  Regents  have  done  so, 
and  wisely,  for  the  reasons  above  stated.  The  committee  see  nothing, 
therefore,  in  their  conduct  which  calls  for  any  new  legislation  or  any 
change  in  the  powers  now  exercised  by  the  Regents. 

For  many  of  the  views  and  statements  in  the  foregoing  report,  the 
committee  are  indebted  to  the  full  and  luminous  reports  of  the  Board 
of  Regents.  From  the  views  entertained  by  the  committee,  after  an 
impartial  examination  of  the  proceedings  referred  to,  the  committee 
have  adopted  the  language  of  the  resolution,  "that  no  action  of  the 
Senate  is  necessary  and  proper  in  regard  to  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion;" and  this  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  committee. 
February  20,  1855— House. 

Mr.  C.  W.  UPHAM.  I  wish,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  House, 
to  ask  for  the  appointment  of  a  clerk  to  the  Committee  on  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  We  have  been  at  work  nearly  one  month,  most 
laboriously,  and  have  been  compelled  to  employ  a  clerk,  and  sometimes 
more  than  one.  I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  bring  my  motion  for 
the  appointment  of  a  clerk  before  the  House,  because  every  morning 
gentlemen  insisted  on  the  regular  order  of  business;  and  I  now  ask  the 
the  House  to  allow  that  committee  to  employ  a  clerk. 

[General  cries  of  "Oh,  yes;  let  them  have  a  clerk."] 

Mr.  CHARLES  HUGHES.  If  the  House  give  unanimous  consent  to 
the  gentleman's  proposition,  I  will  withdraw  the  motion  to  adjourn. 


544  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  BISHOP  PERKINS,  of  New  York,  and  others.  I  object. 

Mr.  UPHAM.  Then  I  move  that  the  rules' be  suspended,  to  enable  me 
to  submit  my  proposition. 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore.  That  can  not  be  done,  as  there  is  a 
motion  to  suspend  the  rules  pending. 

Mr.  HUGHES.  1  now  renew  my  motion  to  adjourn. 

The  question  was  taken;  and  the  motion  was  agreed  to. 
February  27,  1855— House. 

The  House  being  in  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  0*1  the  state  of  the 
Union,  Mr.  WILLIAM  H.  ENGLISH,  of  Indiana,  said: 

I  propose  occupying  the  attention  of  the  committee  for  a  short  time 
in  submitting  some  practical  remarks  in  reference  to  the  present  con- 
dition and  management  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  It  is  not  a 
subject,  sir,  the  introduction  of  which  into  Congress  has  received  any 
favor  from  me.  I  regretted  to  see  it  brought  here;  and  when  the 
gentleman  from  Vermont  [Mr.  Meacham],  upon  a  late  occasion,  intro- 
duced a  resolution  to  raise  a  special  committee  of  inquiry,  I  felt  it  my 
duty  to  oppose  its  adoption.  I  knew  that  such  an  examination  would 
be  attended  with  expense  and  a  consumption  of  time  which  at  that  late 
period  of  the  session  could  not  well  be  spared  from  other  and  more 
important  public  business;  that  it  would  tend  to  irritate  the  feelings 
of  gentlemen  heretofore  or  now  connected  with  the  Institution,  and,  in 
a  word,  might  do  evil,  but  could  not  result  in  practical  good.  My 
knowledge  of  the  subject  satisfied  me  that  nothing  had  occurred  to 
demand  the  raising  of  a  special  committee,  clothed  with  power  to  send 
for  persons  and  papers,  thus  giving  to  the  disappointed  and  dissatis- 
fied an  opportunity  of  assailing  the  Institution  or  its  officers  at  the 
public  expense. 

Sir,  I  felt  conscious  then,  as  I  do  now,  that  the  management  has 
been  such  in  all  material  respects  as  ought  to  elicit  commendation. 
This  I  may  say  with  the  greater  propriety  and  freedom  for  the  reason 
that  the  causes  which  led  to  this  investigation  originated  and  were 
fully  developed  before  my  connection  with  the  Institution  as  a  Regent; 
a  position,  I  may  add,  supposed  to  be  of  some  honor,  but  certainly  one 
of  considerable  labor,  much  responsibility,  and  no  pecuniary  benefit 
whatever. 

That  the  management  of  an  institution  having  so  large  an  endow- 
ment and  a  design  so  comprehensive  should  occasion  difference  of 
opinion  and  difficulty  is  not  surprising  in  the  least.  It  would  be  more 
surprising  were  it  otherwise.  Whilst  all  concur  in  desiring  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  great  object  Smithson  had  in  view — "The  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men" — the  wisest  and  best  may 
well  differ  as  to  the  proper  means  to  be  used  to  attain  that  end. 

Although  not  entirely  approving  all  that  has  been  done,  I  must  say, 
in  view  of  the  vastness  of  the  subject  and  that  Congress  was  ten  years 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,    1853-1855.  545 

in  adopting  even  the  outlines  of  a  plan,  that  the  present  condition  of 
the  Institution  is  not  only  encouraging  but  a  subject  of  congratulation, 
rather  than  of  censure,  to  those  charged  with  the  management  of  its 
affairs.  Sir,  I  ask  where  there  has  been  any  material  departure  from 
the  act  of  Congress  or  the  will  of  Smithson  ?  Have  the  funds  been 
squandered  or  improperly  applied?  Is  the  Institution  in  debt  or  its 
income  exhausted?  Have  the  officers  neglected  their  duty?  Is  there 
corruption  or  improper  conduct  in  any  quarter?  Sir,  it  is  an  easy 
matter  to  criticise,  to  find  fault,  to  indulge  in  loose  statements  and 
undefined  insinuations,  but  I  have  yet  to  hear  alleged  any  just  and 
definite  cause  of  complaint.  Look  at  the  financial  department,  where 
corruption  would  most  likely  exist  if  it  existed  at  all,  and  you  will  find 
the  gratifying  fact  that  it  has  been  so  judiciously  managed  that,  after 
paying  all  the  current  expenses,  the  funds  and  property  are  this  day 
actually  worth  double  the  amount  of  the  original  bequest.  Where, 
sir,  in  this  age  of  extravagant  expenditure  of  public  money  and 
deficiency  bills,  will  you  find  a  parallel  to  this? 

The  Regents  are  authorized  to  expend  all  the  accruing  interest;  but 
so  far  from  doing  this  they  have,  by  husbanding  the  resources  and  by 
constant  watchfulness  over  the  disbursements,  actually  saved  the  sum 
of  $130,000,  which  they  have  now  on  hand  to  apply  as  a  permanent 
addition  to  the  principal.  What,  then,  is  the  result?  A  magnificent 
building  of  ample  dimensions  has  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  $300,000. 
Books,  apparatus,  and  other  articles  have  been  provided  for  the  library, 
museum,  laboratory,  and  gallery  of  art,  worth  $85,000.  Lecturers 
have  been  employed,  original  researches  made,  many  valuable  scientific- 
works  published  and  distributed,  the  current  expenses  entirely  paid, 
and  yet  the  principal  is  increased  $130,000.  And  of  the  interest 
expended  I  have  yet  to  hear  where  one  dollar  was  devoted  to  an 
improper  purpose.  Does  this  look  as  if  the  Institution  was  badly 
managed  ? 

If  I  am  asked,  Mr.  Chairman,  what  the  Institution  has  done  to  carry 
out  the  object  for  which  it  was  designed,  I  reply  that  it  has  not  had 
time  to  do  much.  It  is  in  its  infancy.  The  building  is  but  just  com- 
pleted, and  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a  great  establishment  which  is 
to  exist  as  long  as  this  Government  itself,  is  to  be  built  up  in  a  day. 
The  foundation  is  being  laid  deep  and  wide,  and  the  noble  work 
will  gradually  but  surely  advance. 

But,  sir,  I  think  it  can  be  shown  that  something  has  already  been 
accomplished;  that  a  good  beginning,  at  least,  has  been  made,  espe- 
cially in  view  of  the  limited  annual  income  which,  from  the  original 
fund,  is  less  than  $31,000.  Why,  a  single  report  of  the  Patent  Office 
costs  three  times  as  much  as  the  entire  income  of  the  Smithsonian 
fund  for  a  year. 

H.  Doc,  732 35 


546  CONGRESSIONAL  •  PROCEEDINGS. 

Sir,  the  official  report  to  be  made  at  the  present  session  of  Congress 
will  show  that — 

Liberal  provision  haw  l»een  made  for  a  library,  museum,  and  gallery  of  art  in  the 
construction  of  a  building  which  has  cost  $300,000.  A  library  has  been  commenced 
and  means  devised  for  its  extension,  which  at  present  is  valued  at  $40,000. 

A  museum,  the  most  complete  to  l>e  found  in  the  United  States  in  the  natural  his- 
tory of  the  North  American  continent,  has  been  collected,  which  i.s  valued  at  not  less 
than  $30,000. 

A  cabinet  of  apparatus,  consisting  of  instruments  of  illustration  and  research  which 
is  worth  more  than  $15,000,  has  been  obtained. 

A  beginning  has  been  made  of  a  gallery  of  art,  consisting  of  a  choice  collection  of 
a  series  of  specimens  of  engravings  of  the  old  masters. 

A  correspondence  has  been  opened  and  friendly  relations  established 
with  most  of  the  leading  colleges  and  literary  institutions,  not  only  in 
this  country  but  throughout  the  world,  thus  securing  scientific  coop- 
eration, and  often  an  exchange  of  valuable  researches  and  publica- 
tions. Such  relations  exist  with  no  less  than  342  foreign  institutions, 
scattered  over  Sweden,  Norway,  Iceland,  Denmark,  Russia,  Holland, 
Germany,  Switzerland,  Belgium,  France,  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  Great 
Britain,  Ireland,  South  America,  Mexico,  and  even  Greece,  Turkey, 
Africa,  Asia,  and  Van  Diemen's  Land.  Lectures  upon  popular  and 
scientific  subjects  have  been  regularly  delivered  at  the  Institution  dur- 
ing the  sessions  of  Congress,  and  have  been  open  to  "all  men,"  free 
of  charge.  Original  researches  have  been  stimulated,  and  man}-  val- 
uable memoirs  upon  scientific  subjects  published  and  distributed  to  all 
the  principal  libraries  and  learned  societies  in  the  world.  To  show 
conclusively  what  has  already  been  done  in  this  direction,  I  will  give 
a  list  of  some  of  the  publications,  premising,  in  the  language  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Board,  that  "the  Institution  up  to  this  time  has  scarcely 
published  a  single  paper  the  production  of  which  has  not  been  stimu- 
lated and  assisted,  or  whose  character  has  not  been  improved  by  the 
agency  of  the  Institution;  and,  as  a  whole,  they  are  such  as  could 
not  have  been  given  to  the  world  without  the  aid  of  the  Smithsonian 
bequest.'"  They  are  the  products  of  American  genius,  and  have 
reflected  the  highest  honor  on  American  science. 

WORKS  PUBLISHED  BY  THE  SMITHSOXIAX  INSTITUTION. 
QUARTO  VOLUMES. 

Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge.  1848.  Vol.  1, 4°,  pp.  346,  with  48  plates 
and  207  woodcuts. 

Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge.  1851.  Vol.  II,  4°,  pp.  4(34,  and  24 
plates. 

Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge.  1852.  Vol.  Ill,  4°,  pp.  504,  and  '35 
plates. 

Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge.     1852.     Vol.  IV,  4°,  pp.  426. 

Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge.  1853.  Vol.  V,  4°,  pp.  538,  and  45 
plates. 

Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge.  1854.  Vol.  VI,  4°,  pp.  476,  and  53 
plates. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  547 


MATHEMATICS    AND    PHYSICS. 

The  Law  of  Deposit  of  the  Flood  Tide:  Its  Dynamical  Action  and  Office.  By 
Charles  Henry  Davis,  lieutenant,  United  States  Navy. 

Observations  on  Terrestrial  Magnetism.     By  John  Locke,  M.  D.,  M.  A.  P.  S. 
Researches  on  Electrical  Rheometry.     By  A.  Secchi. 

ASTRONOMY. 

Six  memoirs  upon  the  Occultations  visible  in  the  United  States  during  the  years 
from  1848  to  1853,  inclusive.  Computed  under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution.  By  John  Downes.  1848.  4°,  pp.  12. 

Researches  Relative  to  the  Planet  Neptune.     By  Sears  C   Walker,  esq. 

Ephemeris  of  Neptune  for  the  Opposition  of  1848.     By  Sears  C.  Walker,  esq. 

Ephemeris  of  the  Planet  Neptune  from  the  Date  of  the  Lalande  Observations  of 
May  8  and  10,  1795,  and  for  the  Oppositions  of  1846,  1847,  1848,  and  1849.  By  Sears 
C.  Walker,  esq. 

Three  Memoirs  upon  the  Ephemeris  of  the  Planet  Neptune  for  the  years  1850, 
1851,  and  1852. 

On  the  History  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Planet  Neptune.  By  B.  A.  Gould,  jr. 
1850. 

METEOROLOGY. 

On  the  Winds  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere.  By  Prof.  J.  H.  Coffin.  November, 
1853.  4°,  pp.  200,  and  13  plates. 

Directions  for  Meteorological  Observations,  Intended  for  the  First  Class  of  Observ- 
ers. By  Arnold  Guyot. 

A  Collection  of  Meteorological  Tables,  with  other  tables  useful  in  Practical  Meteor, 
ology.  Prepared  by  order  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  Arnold  Guyot, 

CHEMISTRY    AND   TECHNOLOGY. 

Memoir  on  the  Explosiveness  of  Nitre,  with  a  view  to  elucidate  its  agency  in  the 
tremendous  explosion  of  July,  1845,  in  New  York.  By  Robert  Hare,  M.  D. 

On  Recent  Improvements  in  the  Chemical  Arts.  By  Prof.  James  C.  Booth  and 
Campbell  Morfit. 

GEOGRAPHY,   ETHNOLOGY,   AND    PHILOLOGY. 

Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley ;  comprising  the  results  of  extensive 
original  surveys  and  explorations.  By  E.  G.  Squier,  A.  M.,  and  E.  H.  Davis,  M.  D. 
Pp.  346,  48  plates,  and  207  woodcuts. 

Aboriginal  Monuments  of  the  State  of  New  York;  comprising  the  results  of  origi- 
nal surveys  and  explorations;  with  an  illustrative  appendix.  By  E.  G.  Squier,  A.  M. 
1850.  Pp.  188,  14  plates,  and  72  woodcuts. 

Description  of  Ancient  Works  in  Ohio.     By  Charles  Whittlesey.     1851. 

Catalogue  of  Portraits  of  North  American  Indians,  with  sketches  of  scenery,  etc. 

Contributions  to  the  Physical  Geography  of  the  United  States.  Part  I — On  the 
Physical  Geography  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  with  suggestions  for  the  improvement 
of  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio  and  other  rivers.  By  Charles  Ellet,  jr.,  Civil  Engineer. 

On  the  Vocal  Sounds  of  Laura  Bridgman,  the  Blind  Deaf-Mute  at  Boston;  com- 
pared with  the  Elements  of  Phonetic  Language.  By  Dr.  Francis  Lieber. 

A  Grammar  and  Dictionary  of  the  Dakota  Language.  Collected  by  the  members 
of  the  Dakota  Mission;  edited  by  Rev.  S.  R.  Riggs,  A.  M.,  Missionary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 

Vocabulary  of  the  Jargon  of  Trade  Language  of  Oregon.  By  Dr.  B.  Rush  Mitchell, 
U.  S.  N. ;  with  additions  by  Prof.  W.  W.  Turner. 


548  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

MICROSCOPICAL    SCIENCE. 

Microscopical  Examination  of  Soundings  made  by  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  off  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States.  By  ProL  J.  W.  Bailey. 

Microscopical  Observations  made  in  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida.  By 
Prof.  J.  W.  Bailey. 

Notes  on  New  Species  and  Localities  of  Microscopical  Organisms.  By  Prof.  J.  W. 
Bailey. 

A  Flora  and  Fauna  within  Living  Animals.     By  Joseph  l^eidy,  M.  I).     April,  1853. 

/OOLOGY    AND    PHYSIOLOGY. 

The  Classification  of  Insects  from  Embryological  Data.  By  Prof.  Louis  Agassiz. 
1850. 

Catalogue  of  the  Described  Coleoptera  of  the  United  States.  By  Frederick  Ernst 
Melsheimer,  M.  D. ;  revised  by  S.  S.  Haldeman  and  J.  L.  Le  Conte. 

Synopsis  of  the  | Marine  Invertebrata  of  Grand  Manan,  or  the  Region  about  the 
mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  New  Brunswick.  By  W.  Stimpson. 

Contributions  to  the  Natural  History  of  the  Fresh  Water  Fishes  of  North  Amer- 
ica. By  Charles  Girard. 

Anatomy  of  the  Nervous  System  of  liana  pipiens,  L.     By  Jeffries  Wyman,  M.  D. 

Catalogue  of  North  American  Reptiles,  in  the  Museum  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. Part  I — Serpents.  By  S.  F.  Baird  and  C.  Girard. 


Planfce  Wrightiamo  Texano-Neo  Mexicanse.  By  Asa  Gray,  M.  D.  Part  I.  Pp. 
146,  and  10  plates. 

PlanUe  AVrightianse  Texano-Neo  Mexicanse.  Part  II — An  account  of  a  collection 
of  plants,  made  by  Charles  Wright,  in  western  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  Sonora,  in 
the  years  1851  and  1852.  By  Asa  Gray,  M.  D.  Pp.  120,  and  4  plates. 

Nereis  Boreali-Americana,  or  Contributions  to  a  History  of  the  Marine  Algae 
of  North  America.  Part  I — Melanospermese.  By  William  Henry  Harvey,  M.  D., 
M.  R.  I.  A.  Pp.  152,  and  12  colored  plates. 

Nereis  Boreali-America,  or  Contributions  to  a  History  of  the  Marine  Algae  of 
North  America.  Part  II— Rhodospermfe.  By  William  H.  Harvey,  M.  D. ,  M.  R.  I.  A. 
Pp.  262,  and  24  plates,  colored. 

Plants  Fremontianse;  or  description  of  plants  collected  by  Colonel  J.  C.  Fremont 
in  California.  By  John  Torrey,  F.  L.  S.  1853.  Pp.  24,  and  10  plates. 

Observations  on  the  Batis  Maritima  of  Linnseus.     By  John  Torrey,  F.  L.  S. 

On  the  Darlingtonia  Californica;  a  new  pitcher  plant  from  northern  California. 
By  John  Torrey,  F.  L.  S. 

PALAEONTOLOGY. 

A  memoir  on  Mosasaurus,  and  the  three  allied  new  genera,  Holcodus,  Conosaurus, 
and  Amphorosteus.  By  Robert  W.  Gibbes,  M.  D. 

Memoir  upon  the  Extinct  Species  of  Fossil  Ox.     By  Joseph  Leidy,  M.  D. 

The  Ancient  Fauna  of  Nebraska;  or  a  description  of  remains  of  extinct  Mamma- 
lia and  Chelonia  from  the  Mauvaises  Terres  of  Nebraska.  By  Joseph  Leidy,  M.  D. 
Pp.  124,  and  25  plates. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Bibliography  of  American  Natural  History  for  the  year  1851.     By  Charles  Girard. 
Notices  of  Public  Libraries  in  the  United  States.     By  Prof.  C.  C.  Jewett. 
Directions  for  Collecting,  Preserving,  and  Transporting  Specimens  of  Natural  His- 
tory.    Prepared  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     Two  editions. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  549 

These  works  are  distributed  gratuitously  to  most  of  the  incorpo- 
rated colleges  and  libraries  in  the  United  States,  and  to  the  leading  lit- 
erary institutions  of  other  countries.  They  are  not  copyrighted,  and 
are  sold  by  the  trade  at  a  low  rate. 

It  may  be  contended  that  researches  and  publications  of  a  character 
so  purely  scientific  are  not  calculated  directly  to  diffuse  knowledge 
among  the  great  mass  of  mankind. 

This  is,  no  doubt,  to  a  certain  extent  true,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  see 
the  operations  of  the  Institution  made  as  plain  and  practical  as  the 
nature  of  the  subjects  will  admit;  but  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  grand  object  of  the  Institution  is  to  add  to  the  sum  total  of  the 
knowledge  now  existing  in  the  world,  and  to  diffuse  it  "among  men," 
rather  than  to  scatter  that  more  widely  which  is  already  accessible,  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  to  all. 

"Scientific  researches,"  says  a  committee  of  the  Board  of  Regents, 
"are  often  supposed  by  the  uninformed  to  be  of  little  or  no  real 
importance;  and,  indeed,  are  frequently  ridiculed  as  barren  of  all 
practical  utility;  but  nothing  is  more  mistaken  than  this.  The  most 
valuable  and  productive  of  the  arts  of  life,  the  most  important  and 
wonder-working  inventions  of  modern  times,  owe  their  being  and 
value  to  scientific  investigations.  By  these  have  been  discovered 
physical  truths  and  laws,  the  intelligent  application  of  which  to  prac- 
tical inventions  has  given  immense  benefits  to  the  world.  The  germs 
of  these  valuable  improvements  and  inventions  have  been  found  and 
developed  by  scientific  research,  the  original  forms  of  which  have 
often  seemed  to  the  many  to  be  as  idle  and  useless  as  they  were 
curious.  A  proposition  relating  to  the  pendulum,  which  for  many 
years  remained  only  a  curious  theoretical  relation,  ultimately  fur- 
nished a  unit  for  the  standard  measures  of  states  and  nations.  The 
discovery  that  a  magnetic  needle  could  be  moved  by  a  galvanic  current 
seemed  for  a  long  time  more  curious  than  useful,  and  yet  it  contained 
the  germ  of  all  that  was  afterwards  developed  in  the  telegraph.  It 
has  been  well  remarked  that  numerous  applications  and  inventions 
always  result  from  the  discovery  of  a  scientific  principle,  so  that 
there  are  many  Fultons  for  every  Franklin." 

Besides  this,  it  must  be  recollected  that  Smithson  restricted  his 
bequest  to  no  particular  branch  of  knowledge.  He  considered  all 
intimately  connected  with  the  improvement  and  happiness  of  the 
human  family,  and  as  an  answer  to  whatever  may  be  said  against  tho 
character  of  the  publications  of  the  institution,  it  may  be  stated  that 
they  relate  to  precisely  the  same  subjects  as  those  which  occupied  the 
life  of  Smithson  himself. 

Now,  sir,  I  will  proceed  to  state  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  true 
origin  of  all  the  difficulties  that  have  existed  in  the  Institution.  They 
have  grown  out  of  the  question  whether  the  income  should  be  used  to 


550  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

build  up  a  library,  as  the  paramount  object,  or  whether  they  should 
be  applied  not  only  for  a  library,  but  for  such  other  purposes  "to 
increase  and  diffuse  knowledge"  as  would,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Regents,  best  accord  with  the  will  of  Smithson  and  the  law  of  Congress 
organizing  the  Institution. 

This  is  the  starting  point  of  the  whole  controversy.  -It  is  not  pre- 
tended by  an}7one  that  the  funds  have  not  been  expended  in  an  honest 
effort  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge,  but  that  they  have  not  been 
chiefly  devoted  to  a  library  as  the  proper  instrument  to  effect  the 
desired  end. 

Now,  as  this  Government  is  only  the  trustee  to  carry  out  the  will  of 
the  gentleman  whose  mone}^  supports  the  Institution,  it  becomes 
important  to  examine  into  the  nature  of  that  instrument,  for  the  law 
declares  its  true  intent  to  be  to  carry  out  "  the  will  of  the  liberal  and 
enlightened  donor."  Sir,  what  is  that  will?  I  ask  gentlemen  to  read 
it  and  answer  whether  there  is  anything  indicating  that  a  library  was 
regarded  as  the  paramount  object,  which,  like  the  rod  of  Aaron,  was 
to  swallow  up  everything  else?  The  bequest,  in  the  language  of  the 
testator,  is  "to  found  at  Washington  an  establishment,  under  the  name 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men."  I  submit  that  to  devote  the  money  of  Smithson  to 
the  building  up  of  a  library  as  a  paramount  object  would  neither  carry 
out  the  letter  nor  the  spirit  of  his  will.  The  benefit  to  be  derived 
from  such  an  expenditure  would  necessarily  be  local  in  its  character, 
and,  instead  of  being  useful  to  "men "in  the  comprehensive  sense 
used  by  Smithson,  would  enure  to  the  benefit  of  citizens  of  Washing- 
ton and  the  privileged  and  fortunate  few  who  might  from  time  to 
time  visit  the  capital.  Such  an  expenditure,  in  my  judgment,  neither 
accords  with  the  evident  intent  of  the  will  or  the  character  and  senti- 
ments of  the  man  who  made  it.  He  did  not  bequeath  his  fortune  to 
found  a  library  alone,  or  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  among  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  much  less  among  the  residents  and 
visitors  of  Washington,  but  "among  men" — men  of  all  classes  and 
everywhere— and  to  increase  and  diffuse  every  species  of  human 
knowledge. 

James  Smithson,  Mr.  Chairman,  was  a  foreigner — the  natural  son 
of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland  and  of  Elizabeth,  the  niece  of  the 
Duke  of  Somerset — but  he  was  not  possessed  of  that  intolerant  spirit, 
that  species  of  religious  fanaticism  and  sectional  prejudice  which,  I 
regret  to  see,  is  entertained  by  many  of  our  own  nation.  A  truly  wise 
and  enlightened  people  should  not  arrogate  to  themselves  a  superiority 
in  all  things  over  ever}'  other  part  of  the  world,  and  wrap  themselves  in 
a  rigid  exclusiveness  like  the  Japanese,  but  should  rather  pursue  that 
policy  which  would  gather  from  other  nations  their  best  and  most 
valuable  citizens,  arts,  and  inventions.  A  Chinese  map  of  the  world 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,    1803-1855.  551 

consists  of  China,  other  countries,  if  indicated  at  all,  occupying  no 
larger  space  than  that  usually  allotted  to  the  smaller  class  of  islands. 
The  wild  Indians  and  the  roving  Tartars  consider  the  customs  of  their 
respective  tribes  or  clans  the  perfection  of  human  life,  and  regard 
with  savage  suspicion  all  who  do  not  judge  of  perfection  by  their 
standard;  and,  in  fact,  every  savage,  and  most  all  half -civilized  people, 
think  that  within  the  boundaries  of  their  own  country  are  to  be  found 
all  virtue,  intelligence,  heroism,  and  happiness.  They  are  ever  jeal- 
ous of  strangers  (foreigners),  deny  them  all  political  rights,  and  some- 
times persecute  them  to  the  death. 

Sir,  1  have  some  place  read  an  account  of  a  visit  paid  b}r  the  officers 
of  a  French  vessel  to  an  African  chief  in  the  wilds  of  his  native  coun- 
try. His  sable  majesty,  plentifully  besmeared  with  grease,  seated  on 
a  log  for  a  throne,  and  wonderfully  impressed  with  the  vast  superiority 
of  everything  and  everybody  within  his  own  dominions,  eagerly 
inquired  of  the  officers  whether  he  was  much  talked  about  in  France. 
I  have  met  some  men  in  this  country — even  the  sons  of  foreigners — 
equally  puffed  up  in  self-importance  with  the  idea  that  America  is  the 
world,  and  they  the  chief  instruments  in  "governing  America."  No 
man  can  have  a  more  exalted  opinion  of  this  Republic  than  I,  for  it  is 
my  native  land;  but  I  shall  not,  therefore,  be  blinded  to  the  merit  of 
those  whose  destiny  it  happened  to  be  to  come  into  the  world  else- 
where, and  especially  those  who  from  choice  have  selected  this  as  their 
permanent  home;  neither  shall  I  forget  how  much  our  own  career  of 
greatness  and  glory  has  been  facilitated  by  emigration.  Most  sincerely 
do  I  trust  that  narrow  bigotry,  sectional  prejudice,  and  barbarian 
exclusiveness  will  never  control  the  destinies  of  the  United  States! 

Mr.  Chairman,  James  Smithson  was  elevated  far  above  all  selfish, 
narrow-contracted,  sectional  views.  He  is  believed  never  to  have  set  his 
foot  on  our  soil,  and  yet  he  passes  the  splendid  monarchies  of  the  Old 
World  and  intrusts,  with  confidence  unqualified,  to  the  honor  of  repub- 
lican America  the  dispensation  of  his  bequest  for  the  good  of  all  men. 
Of  noble  descent  himself,  and  of  ample  fortune,  his  sympathies  were 
not  alone  with  those  of  his  own  class,  or  his  own  country,  but  with 
"men,"  without  limit  or  restriction.  He  declares  in  exalted  language, 
which  deserves  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold,  that  "the  man  of  science 
is  of  no  country;  the  world  is  his  country,  and  all  men  his  countiy- 
men."  Though  he  could  boast  that  the  best  blood  of  England  flowed 
in  his  veins,  yet  he  said  that  availed  him  not,  for  his  name  would  live 
in  the  memory  of  men  when  the  titles  of  the  Northumberlands  and 
Percies  were  extinct  or  forgotten. 

Sir,  the  language  used  in  the  bequest  corresponds  with  what  might 
naturally  be  expected  from  one  possessing  the  enlarged  views  of 
Smithson. 

The  great  ideas  of  the  will  are  those  of  increase  and  univeisal 


552  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

benefit.  The  benefit  is  not  for  one  nation,  but  for  "men,"  who  make 
up  all  nations.  It  is  for  mankind,  for  humanity.  The  truths  of  science 
admit  of  universal  application.  A  truth  that  tends  to  enlarge  and  to 
elevate  the  mind;  a  discovery  that  furnishes  a  new  power,  or  makes  a 
new  application  of  an  old  one,  to  administer  in  a  greater  degree  to 
the  wants  of  men;  a  fact  that  opens  to  the  analytic  mind  a  new  source 
of  evidence  to  determine  what  before  was  doubtful,  are  blessings  for 
a  world. 

Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  contended  by  some  that  the  act  of  Congress 
organizing  the  Institution  contemplated  a  library  as  the  leading  and 
paramount  object- of  the  plan.  Sir,  I  do  not  so  understand  the  law. 
I  am  unable  to  find  anything  in  it  which  conflicts  with  the  will  of 
Smithson.  The  object  of  the  law  is  declared  to  be  to  carry  out  his 
wishes  as  expressed  in  the  will.  It  provides  a  general  outline  for  the 
execution  of  the  trust,  but  necessarily  leaves  much  to  the  judgment  of 
the  Regents,  who  are  intrusted  with  the  general  management  of  the 
Institution.  It  mentions  a  library,  museum,  etc.,  as  objects  to  be 
regarded,  but  does  not  require  that  all  the  income  shall  be  applied  to 
the  objects  specially  mentioned  or  a  particular  amount  to  any  one  of 
them;  and  the  ninth  section  expressly  authorizes  the  Regents  to  make 
such  disposition  of  the  income  not  required  to  carry  out  the  provi- 
sions specified  elsewhere  in  the  act  "as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for 
the  promotion  of  the  purpose  of  the  testator,"  which  purpose  is 
declared  in  the  title  of  the  act  to  be  "to  establish  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  (not  library)  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men." 

The  law  does  not  specify  the  sum  that  shall  be  expended  upon  the 
museum  or  any  of  the  objects  mentioned.  No  amount  is  required  to 
be  annually  applied  to  a  library,  but  there  is  a  limitation  that  it  shall 
not  exceed  a  certain  sum.  It  may  be  less,  much  less,  but  in  no  event 
more.  Pains  seem  to  have  been  taken  to  secure  for  all  time  the  serv- 
ices of  gentlemen  of  talent  and  standing  upon  the  Board  of  Regents, 
and  they  are  wisely  and  necessarily  intrusted  with  some  discretion  in 
the  expenditure  of  the  income  and  the  general  management  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Institution.  Take,  as  an  example,  the  item  of  books. 
They  are  an  article  of  trade,  and  their  prices  fluctuate  in  the  market 
as  other  articles  of  merchandise;  one  year  it  might  be  expedient  to 
make  large  purchases  and  another  less.  Who  is  to  determine?  Surely 
the  Board  of  Regents  would  best  know  what  to  buy,  when,  and  in 
what  quantities,  and  the  law  very  properly  confers  upon  them  such 
discretion.  It  does  not  require  the  rapid  accumulation  of  a  library, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  expressly  provides,  in  the  eighth  section,  "for 
the  gradual  formation  of  a  library  composed  of  valuable  works;"  and 
that,  sir,  is  exactly  what  I  understand  to  be  the  wish  and  design  of  a 
majority  of  the  present  board.  Why,  sir,  the  Institution  has  alread}T, 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  553 

by  purchase  and  through  the  medium  of  exchanges,  collected  14,000 
volumes  and  11,000  parts  of  volumes,  estimated  to  be  worth  $40,000; 
and  if  any  Regent  or  officer  contemplates  the  abandonment  of  the 
gradual  formation  of  a  library  of  valuable  works,  as  prescribed  in  the 
act  of  Congress,  I  am  ignorant  of  the  fact,  and  believe  no  such  dispo- 
sition is  entertained. 

While  I  am  opposed  to  making  the  library  the  principal  and  controll- 
ing feature  of  the  Institution,  I  regard  it  as  one  of  the  important 
instruments  to  be  used  in  accomplishing  the  desired  end,  and  hold  that 
it  ought  neither  to  be  abandoned  nor  neglected.  This  was  my  opinion 
in  the  beginning.  It  is  my  decided  opinion  now. 

But,  sir,  I  do  not  understand  that  even  the  distinguished  Secretary 
of  the  Institution,  Professor  Henry,  who  is  generally  supposed  to  be 
hostile  to  what  is  commonly  called  the  library  plan — especially  favored 
by  Mr.  Choate  and  Professor  Jewett — to  differ  essentially,  or  even 
materially,  from  my  position  upon  this  subject. 

Professor  Henry,  in  a  late  communication,  solemnly  assures  the 
board  that  so  long  as  the  present  law  of  Congress  remains  unchanged, 
and  until  other  means  can  be  afforded  for  their  support,  he  has  no  idea 
of  proposing  to  dispense  with  a  libraiy,  museum,  or  gallery  of  art. 
He  expressly  says,  "A  library  such  as  the  Institution  may  collect  by 
its  exchanges  and  judicious  purchases,  and  a  museum  of  special  objects 
of  research,  though  not  absolutely  necessary  to  carry  on  the  active 
operations,  would  form  one  harmonious  system,  and  could  be  properly 
supported  by  the  present  income." 

I  repeat,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  there  is  no  disposition  to  destroy  the 
plan  of  a  library  such  as  the  law  contemplates,  but  there  is  a  disposi- 
tion to  prevent  a  library  from  overtopping  and  destroying  other  meas- 
ures of  equal  or  greater  importance  to  the  success  of  the  Institution, 
and  this  is  the  whole  issue.  Sir,  I  am  sure  it  is  the  sincere  wish  of 
those  charged  with  the  management  of  this  Institution  to  conduct  its 
affairs  in  such  manner  as  will  further  the  interests  of  science  and  be 
productive  of  the  greatest  amount  of  good.  It  is  their  chief  desire  to 
carry  out  in  good  faith  the  design  of  the  noble  and  generous  Smith- 
son  and  the  act  of  Congress  made  in  furtherance  of  his  will.  Where 
that  law  is  clear  it  is  implicitly  followed;  where  doubts  exist,  that 
mode  of  action  is  adopted  best  calculated,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Regents,  "to  carry  out  the  design  of  the  liberal  and  enlightened 
donor,"  which  design,  in  the  clearest  language,  is  declared  to  be  "the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  Is  it  at  all  likely 
that  such  a  high  trust  would  be  abused  by  a  Board  of  Regents  presided 
over  by  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  and  composed  of  such 
men  as  Mr.  Rush,  Mr.  Berrien,  Mr.  Hawley,  Mr.  Pearce,  Mr.  Doug- 
las, Mr.  Mason,  Professor  Bache,  General  Totten,  and  others  of  much 
less  name  but  of  equally  good  intentions  ? 


554  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

It  may  be  that  the  operations  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  have 
not  attracted  the  public  eye,  or  made  a  favorable  impression  upon  the 
minds  of  the  popular  masses,  but  I  have  confidence  in  their  judgment 
and  believe  the  reverse  to  be  true.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  certain 
that  wherever  science  and  literature  are  cultivated  the  Institution  is 
becoming  favorably  known,  and  it  is  receiving  the  warmest  com- 
mendations of  gentlemen  of  the  highest  standing  and  most  exalted 
scholastic  attainments. 

I  might  adduce  much  evidence  to  sustain  this  assertion,  but  believe 
the  following  will  be  considered  ample  and  conclusive.  The  first 
extract  I  shall  read  is  from  a  memorial  recently  presented  to  this 
House  from  the  American  Philosophical  Society.  "It  appears  to 
them,"  say  the  memorialists,  "that  the  Institution  has  been,  since  its 
establishment,  ever  honestly  and  wisely  administered,  and  the  funds 
expended  to  the  best  advantage  in  the  fulfillment  of  the  purposes  of 
the  trust.  Your  memorialists  believe  that  by  diverting  the  funds  of 
the  said  Institution  to  the  formation  of  a  public  library  its  power  of 
diffusing  knowledge  among  men  will  be  materially  diminished  and 
that  of  increasing  knowledge  entirely  destroyed.  Our  country  abounds 
in  men  with  intellects  adequate  to  the  disco  very  of  new  truths,  and 
with  tastes  and  education  which  fit  them  for  the  development  and 
beneficial  application  of  all  discoveries;  but  is,  on  the  other  hand, 
deficient  in  the  means  of  encouraging  such  men  to  devote  their  time 
and  energies  to  pursuits  and  of  publishing  their  results  to  the  world, 
and  on  this  account  much  useful  knowledge,  for  which  we  ought  to 
have  the  credit,  is  published  in  foreign  countries  and  inures  to  the 
honor  and  advantage  of  other  nations.  Your  memorialists,  therefore, 
sincerely  believing  that  many  disinterested  men  throughout  our  coun- 
try, who  are  by  education  and  position  qualified  to  form  an  opinion 
as  to  what  is  most  useful  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men,  concur  in  the  opinions  herein  expressed,  respectfully  ask 
your  honorable  body  to  leave  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  its  pres- 
ent efficient  constitution  and  administration,  and  to  refuse  any  legisla- 
tion tending  to  impair  its  usefulness,  by  converting  it  into  a  library, 
or  otherwise." 

The  following  interesting  letter  from  Mr.  Felton,  the  distinguished 
professor  of  languages  at  Harvard  University,  will  show  the  estima- 
tion in  which  the  Institution  is  held  in  Europe: 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  June  SO,  1854. 

MY  DEAR  PROFESSOR:  I  have  but  recently  returned  from  Europe,  and  I  now  desire 
to  acknowledge  the  service  you  did  me  by  your  circular  letter  of  introduction  to  the 
libraries  of  the  European  establishments  which  are  in  correspondence  with  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  Wherever  I  presented  it  I  was  received  with  great  kind 
ness  and  attention,  and  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  whatever  was  curious,  inter- 
esting, and  valuable  in  the  libraries  and  collections. 

It  gave  me  pleasure  to  notice  the  high  estimation  in  which  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,    1853-1855.  555 

tution  under  its  present  management  is  held  everywhere  in  Europe.  The  volumes 
published  under  its  auspices  have  done  the  highest  honor  to  American  science,  and 
are  considered  most  valuable  contributions  to  the  stock  of  knowledge  among  men. 
They  are  shown  to  visitors  as  among  the  most  creditable  publications  of  the  age,  and 
as  highly  interesting  illustrations  of  the  progress  of  science  and  arts  in  the  United 
States;  and  the  eagerness  to  possess  them  is  very  great  among  the  savants  of  the  Old 
World.  They  were  shown  to  me  wherever  I  went,  and  the  commendations  bestowed 
on  the  civilization  of  America,  as  evinced  by  the  excellence  of  these  works,  both  in 
matter  and  form,  was  deeply  gratifying  to  me.  The  last  time  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  them  was  in  the  University  Library,  at  Athens.  The  librarian  pointed 
them  out  to  me  and  expressed  the  greatest  anxiety  to  complete  the  set,  one  or  two 
volumes  of  which  were  wanting.  I  have  a  memorandum  somewhere  which  I  will 
forward  to  you. 

I  promised  a  gentleman,  with  whom  1  became  acquainted  on  my  voyage  from  Eng- 
land, that  I  would  write  to  inquire  whether  it  is  possible  to  purchase  an  entire  set. 
He  was  desirous  of  adding  them  to  his  library.  Will  you  oblige  me  by  answering 
this  question  at  your  convenience? 

C.  C.  FELTOX. 

Professor  Agassiz,  well  known  to  the  literary  and  scientific  world, 
has  recently  written  a  letter  upon  this  subject,  in  which  he  says: 

Every  scientific  man  in  the  country  has  been  watching,  with  intense  interest,  the 
proceedings  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  ever  since  its  foundation,  satisfied,  as  all 
must  be,  that  upon  its  prosperity  the  progress  of  science  in  America  depends  in  a 
very  great  measure. 

The  controversies  which  have  lately  been  carried  on  respecting  the  management 
of  the  Institution  have  increased  the  solicitude  of  its  friends  with  regard  to  its  future 
prospects  in  a  degree  which  can  hardly  be  realized  by  those  who  are  not  immediately 
connected  with  the  great  cause  of  science. 

#*#**** 

The  votaries  of  science  may  differ  in  their  views  about  the  best  means  of  advanc- 
ing science,  according  to  the  progress  they  have  themselves  made  in  its  prosecution; 
but  there  is  one  standard  of  appreciation  which  can  not  fail  to  guide  rightly  those 
who  would  form  a  candid  opinion  about  it — I  mean  the  life  of  those  who  have  most 
extensively  contributed  in  enlarging  the  boundaries  of  knowledge.  There  are  two 
individuals  who  may,  without  qualification,  be  considered  as  the  most  prominent 
scientific  men  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Cuvier  and  Humboldt.  By  what  means 
have  they  given  such  a  powerful  impulse  to  science?  How  have  they  succeeded,  not 
only  in  increasing  the  amount  of  knowledge  of  their  age,  but  also  in  founding  new 
branches  of  science?  It  is  by  their  own  publications  and  by  aiding  in  the  publica- 
tions of  others;  by  making  large  collections  of  specimens  and  other  scientific  appara- 
tus, and  not  by  the  accumulation  of  large  libraries.  Humboldt  never  owned  a  book, 
not  even  a  copy  of  his  own  works,  as  I  know  from  his  own  lips.  "He  was  too  poor," 
he  once  said  to  me,  "to  secure  a  copy  of  them,"  and  all  the  works  he  receives  con- 
stantly from  his  scientific  friends  and  admirers  are  distributed  by  him  to  needy  stu- 
dents. Again,  there  is  hardly  a  scientific  man  living  on  the  Continent  of  Europe  who 
is  not  indebted  to  him  for  some  recommendation  in  the  proper  quarters  for  assistance 
in  the  publication  of  their  works.  I  mention  more  particularly  these  details  about 
Humboldt,  because  he  is  happily  still  among  the  living,  and  his  testimony  may  be 
asked  in  a  matter  of  such  deep  importance  to  the  real  progress  of  science.  But  the 
same  is  equally  true  of  the  part  Cuvier  took  in  his  day  in  promoting  science.  All 
his  efforts  were  constantly  turned  toward  increasing  the  collections  of  the  Jardin  des 
Plantes  and  supporting  the  publication  of  original  researches,  giving  himself  the 
example  of  the  most  untiring  activity  in  publishing  his  own.  In  this  connection  1 


556  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

ought  not  to  omit  mentioning  a  circumstance  to  which  the  United  States  owe  the 
legacy  of  Smithson,  which  I  happen  accidentally  to  know,  and  which  is  much  to  the 
point  in  reference  to  the  controversy  concerning  the  management  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution.  Smithson  had  already  made  his  will,  and  had  left  his  fortune  to  the 
Royal  Society  of  London,  when  certain  scientific  papers  were  offered  to  that  learned 
body  for  publication.  Notwithstanding  his  efforts  to  have  them  published  in  their 
Transactions  they  were  refused,  upon  which  he  changed  his  will  and  made  hi.s 
bequest  to  the  United  States.  It  would  be  easy  to  collect  in  London  more  minute 
information  upon  this  occurrence,  and  should  it  appear  desirable  I  think  I  can  put 
the  committee  in  the  way  of  learning  all  the  circumstances.  Nothing  seems  to  indi- 
cate more  plainly  what  were  the  testator's  views  respecting  the  best  means  of  pro- 
moting science  than  this  fact. 

I  will  not  deny  the  great  importance  of  libraries;  and  no  one  has  felt  more  keenly 
the  want  of  an  extensive  scientific  library  than  I  have  since  I  have  been  in  the  United 
States;  but,  after  all,  libraries  are  only  tools  of  a  secondary  value  to  those  who  are 
really  endowed  by  nature  with  the  power  of  making  original  researches  and  thus 
increasing  knowledge  among  men.  And  though  the  absence  or  deficiencies  of  libra- 
ries is  nowhere  so  deeply  felt  as  in  America,  the  application  of  the  funds  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  to  the  formation  of  a  library  beyond  the  requirements  of  the  daily 
progress  of  science  would  only  be,  in  my  humble  opinion,  a  perversion  of  the  real 
object  of  the  trust,  inasmuch  as  it  would  tend  to  secure  facilities  only  to  the  compara- 
tively small  number  of  American  students  who  may  have  the  time  and  the  means  to 
visit  Washington  whenever  they  need  to  consult  a  library.  Such  an  application  of 
the  funds  would,  indeed,  lessen  the  ability  of  the  Institution  to  accomplish  its  great 
object,  which  is  declared  by  its  founder  to  be  to  increase  and  diffuse  knowledge  among 
men,  to  the  full  extent  to  which  they  may  be  spent  unduly  to  increase  the  library. 
Moreover,  American  students  have  a  just  claim  upon  their  own  country  for  such  local 
facilities  as  the  accumulation  of  books  affords. 

If  I  am  allowed  to  state,  in  conclusion,  my  personal  impression  respecting  the 
management  of  the  Institution  thus  far,  I  would  only  express  my  concurrence  with 
the  plan  of  active  operations  adopted  by  the  Regents,  which  has  led  to  the  publica- 
tion of  a  series  of  volumes  equal  in  scientific  value  to  any  productions  of  the  same 
kind  issued  by  learned  societies  anywhere.  The  distribution  of  the  Smithsonian 
contributions  to  knowledge  has  already  carried  the  name  of  the  Institution  to  all  parts 
of  the  civilized  world,  and  conveyed  with  them  such  evidence  of  the  intellectual 
activity  of  America  as  challenges  everywhere  admiration;  a  result  which  could  hardly 
be  obtained  by  applying  a  large  part  of  the  resources  of  the  Institution  to  other 
purposes. 

Mr.  Chairman,  with  the  following  letter  from  Prof.  Benjamin  Peirce 
1  shall  yield  the  floor,  satisfied  to  submit  the  question  whether  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  is  being  properly  managed  to  the  judgment 
of  Congress  and  the  scientific  world: 

Of  all  men  none  can  be  more  sensible  of  the  value  of  the  great  storehouses  of  the 
wisdom  of  past  ages  than  they  who  are  obliged  to  resort  to  them  in  the  development 
of  their  own  researches.  The  knowledge  which  has  already  been  given  to  the  world, 
and  which  is  accumulated  in  the  library,  stimulates  and  invigorates  the  mind  for 
original  thought  and  supplies  important  materials  for  investigation.  It  is  to  the 
author  what  the  collection  of  models  in  the  Patent  Office  is  to  the  inventor;  but, 
nevertheless,  the  increase  of  knowledge  depends  chiefly  upon  the  native  vigor  of 
intellect,  and  its  diffusion  is  performed  by  the  press.  To  the  strong  mind  the  col- 
lections of  the  Vatican  are  a  golden  opportunity,  richer  than  the  mineral  harvest 
of  California;  but  not  richer  than  the  hills  and  streams,  which  abound  within  every 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  557 

man's  eight;  not  richer  than  the  stone  beneath  our  feet,  on  which  is  written  the  history 
of  the  world;  than  the  leaf  of  the  forest,  on  which  is  inscribed  the  thought  of  its 
Creator;  or  than  the  cloud,  in  the  lightnings  of  which  the  laws  and  the  glory  of  God 
are  as  distinctly  revealed  to  the  faithful  of  the  present  generation  as  they  were  upon 
Mount  Sinai. 

The  valuable  contributions  to  knowledge  which  have  already  been  made  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  are  a  living  proof  that  vast  libraries  are'not  necessary  to  the 
development  of  new  thoughts.  If  you  will  compare  these  memoirs  writh  the  scientific 
productions  of  the  same  period  in  Europe  you  may  find  them,  perchance,  inferior  in 
erudition,  but  not  in  profoundness  and  originality  of  thought.  Do  you  believe  that 
Smithson,  who  was  himself  engaged  in  chemical  investigations,  could  have  intended 
a  library  by  his  words  "an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men? ' '  If  you  will  examine  his  nine  memoirs  to  the  Royal  Society,  of  wrhich 
he  was  an  active  member,  and  his  eighteen  other  contributions  to  science,  you  will 
not  find  one  of  them  which  required  a  library  for  its  production.  Each  was  the 
natural  growth  of  a  deeply  thinking  mind.  Smithson  was  emphatically  a  maker,  and 
not  a  collector  of  books;  and  in  the  scientific  circle  to  which  he  belonged  the  ordinary 
use  of  language  would  have  totally  precluded  the  interpretation  which  some  men  of 
quite  a  different  cast  of  mind  have  presumed  to  impose  upon  his  words.  Expand  his 
largeness  of  expression  to  its  utmost  extent,  include  in  it  all  that  a  generous  mind 
like  his  own  would  desire  it  to  embrace;  but  let  it  not  be  cramped  and  twisted  out  of 
shape,  and  so  forced  from  its  original  design  that  it  shall  wholly  fail  to  accomplish 
the  object  of  the  munificent  testator. 

Most  earnestly,  then,  in  the  name  of  science,  and  especially  of  American  science, 
do  I  protest  against  such  a  gross  perversion  of  this  important  trust.  I  assure  you,  sir, 
that  the  great  body  of  scientific  men  throughout  the  country  warmly  approve  Professor 
Henry's  plan  of  conducting  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  regard  it  as  a  faithful 
exponent  of  the  almost  undivided  opinion  of  scientific  and  learned  men  as  to  the 
proper  execution  of  Smithson' s  will  and  of  the  law  of  Congress. 

March  3,  1855— House. 

Mr.  C.  W.  UPHAM.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  would  ask  the  unanimous  con- 
sent of  the  House  for  leave,  in  this  connection,  to  submit  a  report 
and  accompanying  papers  from  the  select  committee  raised  to  investi- 
gate the  management  and  condition  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.1 
There  was  no  objection,  and  the  report  was  received. 
Mr.  UPHAM.    A  minority  report  will   be  submitted;   and  I  move 
that  both  reports  be  laid  upon  the  table  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 
Agreed  to. 

Report  made  by  Mr.  Charles  W.  Upham,  of  Massachusetts. 
The  select  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  to  whom  were 
referred  the  letter  of  the  Hon.  Rufus  Choate  resigning  his  place  as 
a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  with  instructions  to  inquire 
und  report  to  the  House  whether  the  Smithsonian  Institution  has 
been  managed  and  its  funds  expended  in  accordance  with  the  law 
establishing  the  Institution  and  whether  any  additional  legislation 
be  necessary  to  carry  out  the  designs  of  the  founder;  the  memorial 

1  Mr.  C.  W.  Upham  only  signed  this  report.  Mr.  W.  H.  Witte  and  Mr.  N.  G. 
Taylor  submitted  another  report,  and  Mr.  K.  C.  Puryear  and  Mr.  Daniel  Wells 
declined  to  sign  either. 


558  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  1/orin  Blodget  for  a  remedy  against  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  labor  and  researches  in  physical  science,  made  for  the  benefit  of 
said  Institution,  and  the  petition  of  John  Grable  and  sundry  others, 
citizens  of  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  praying  for  the  publication  of  a 
monthly  periodical  exhibiting  the  progress  of  knowledge  and  of 
society,  and  to  be  distributed  by  said  Institution  among  the  people, 
beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  report: 

The  short  time  allowed  for  investigating  the  matters  referred  to  the 
committee,  and  the  pressure  of  other  duties  during  the  few  crowded  last 
weeks  of  the  session,  render  anything  like  a  full  and  thoroughly  satis- 
factory report  impossible.  The  transactions  to  which  their  attention 
has  been  called  are  so  complicated  in  their  nature  and  extensive  in 
their  details  that  it  was  soon  found  entirely  out  of  the  question  to 
attempt  to  examine  them  with  sufficient  fulness  and  minuteness  to  be 
qualified  or  justified  in  pronouncing  or  even  forming  a  decisive  judg- 
ment on  the  merits  of  the  questions  involved.  The  evidence  taken 
and  submitted  will  guide  the  members  of  the  House  to  so  much  of  a 
conclusion  on  the  several  points  and  issues  as  the  committee  have 
been  able  to  reach. 

So  far  as  the  case  of  Mr.  Lorin  Blodget  is  concerned,  the  committee 
would  observe  that  he  does  not  claim  to  have  made  any  explicit  con- 
tract, in  writing  or  in  conversation,  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Regents;  that  the  compensation  he  received  appears  to  have  been  all 
that  was  ever  expressly  or  distinctly  agreed  upon;  and  that  as  it 
respects  the  value  of  his  labors  above  the  compensation  he  received, 
or  the  degree  to  which  he  acquired  any  separate,  private,  scientific  or 
literaiy  property  in  any  papers  or  documents  prepared  by  him  while 
in  the  Institution,  they  have  been  wholly  unable  to  derive  any  definite 
ideas  from  his  statements.  In  reference  to  his  assertion  that  certain 
equitable  or  legal  rights  are  withheld  from  him,  the  committee  can 
only  say  that,  although  the  hearing  afforded  him  occupied  a  large 
portion  of  their  time,  he  failed  to  make  his  own  view  of  the  point 
clearly  intelligible,  and  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  them  at  this 
period  of  the  session  to  enter  into  such  an  examination  of  the  vast 
amount  of  documents,  resulting  more  or  less  from  his  labors,  as  would 
be  necessary  in  order  to  begin  to  form  an  opinion.  An  impartial 
arbitration  by  scientific  persons  would,  if  the  committee  may  be 
allowed  to  offer  a  suggestion  to  the  Board  of  Regents,  probably  be 
the  best  way  to  determine  whether  there  is  any  foundation  for  the  com- 
plaints he  makes,  or  for  the  claim  of  rights  which  he  imagines  himself 
to  possess.  The  committee  feel  it  due  to  candor  to  say  that  they  have 
not  been  able  to  appreciate  any  clear  ground  for  his  claims,  but  due 
also  to  justice  to  say  that  he  is  unfortunate  in  not  having  a  facility  in 
rendering  easily  intelligible  the  ideas  which  he  very  earnestly,  and  no 
doubt  very  honestly,  entertains  on  the  subject.  Indeed,  a  personal, 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  559 

laborious,  and  patient  examination.  b\*  direct  inspection,  of  the  records, 
tables,  maps,  and  other  papers  or  documents,  in  which  he  avers  that  he 
has  rights  that  are  withheld,  and  claims  for  compensation  beyond  what 
he  acknowledges  to  have  received,  will  be  found  absolutely  indispensable 
to  enable  anyone  to  understand  precisely  what  he  means,  or  to  deter- 
mine whether  there  is  any  foundation  for  his  claims,  either  of  author- 
ship or  for  compensation.  The  committee  would  have  been  willing  to 
encounter  the  task;  but  the  want  of  time  absolutely  forbids  the  attempt, 
and,  after  all,  it  would,  perhaps,  have  been  useful  scarcely  for  any 
other  purpose  than  to  satisfy  their  own  minds.  They  could  not 
advise,  in  an}'  event,  the  action  of  Congress  upon  the  subject,  as  the 
whole  transaction,  according  to  Mr.  Blodget's  own  account,  was,  from 
first  to  last,  placed  and  kept  by  him  in  the  discretion  and  decision  of 
the  Board  of  Regents. 

In  discharging  the  main  part  of  their  duty,  relating  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Institution,  whether  it  has  been  in  accordance  with  the 
law,  and  to  the  question  whether  any  further  legislation  is  necessary, 
the  committee  will,  in  the  first  place,  present  such  a  history  of  the 
whole  matter  as  will,  in  conjunction  with  the  evidence  presented  in 
the  appendix  to  this  report,  enable  every  member  of  the  House  to  form 
a  judgment  on  the  subject. 

[The  committee  then  reproduce  the  will  of  James  Smithson  and  the 
act  to  authorize  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  accept  the 
bequest,  and  pledging  the  faith  of  the  United  States  to  use  the  funds 
as  directed  in  the  will  of  the  testator,  and  proceed:] 

It  will  be  perceived  that  in  the  foregoing  act  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  pledged  itself  that  "any  and  all  sums  of  money  and 
other  funds  which  shall  be  received  for  or  on  account  of  the  said  legacy 
shall  be  applied  in  such  manner  as  Congress  may  hereafter  direct,"  etc. 
It  is  presumed  that  it  is  our  duty  to  consider,  not  whether  the  funds 
have  been  applied  to  such  objects  and  in  such  way  as  Congress  ought 
to  have  directed,  in  the  opinion  of  any  individuals,  but  to  such  objects 
and  in  such  a  way  as  Congress,  in  fulfillment  of  the  foregoing  pledge, 
has  directed.  The  next  step,  therefore,  is  to  ascertain  what  was  the 
determination  of  Congress  on  the  subject. 

Great  caution  and  deliberation  were  exercised  in  determining  the 
matter.  The  country  felt  that  it  was  a  solemn  and  momentous  trust. 
The  gratitude,  pride,  honor,  and  wisdom  of  the  nation  were  involved; 
not  only  the  then  present  generation,  but  future  ages  were  interested. 
The  field  to  be  surveyed  was  the  whole  country,  and  the  whole  world 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  country.  It  was  obvious  that  the  nature  of 
our  institutions  presented  some  peculiar  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
executing  the  trust.  If  the  testator  had  understood,  as  indeed  but  few 
foreigners  ever  have  done,  those  difficulties,  he  might,  perhaps,  have 
made  some  arrangement  to  avoid  them.  It  i*  clearly  not  within  the 


560  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

sphere  allotted  to  this  Federal  Government  to  enter  the  fields  of  science 
and  literature.  In  point  of  fact,  the  action  of  Congress  in  accepting 
the  bequest,  and  agreeing  to  carry  it  into  execution,  was  justified  at 
the  time  on  the  ground  of  its  peculiar  and  complete  jurisdiction  over 
the  District  of  Columbia.  More  than  ten  }rears  were  consumed  in 
discussions,  debates,  and  conflicting  views  and  schemes,  in  and  out  of 
Congress. 

A  few  of  the  prominent  facts  illustrating  this  stage  of  the  case  will 
be  cited.  On  the  19th  of  July,  1838,  the  Secretary  of  State,  by  direc- 
tion of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  addressed  letters  to  a  num- 
ber of  the  distinguished  men  of  the  country  thought  to  be  best  quali 
fied  to  advise  on  the  subject.  Answers  were  received  from  John 
Quinc}r  Adams;  Francis  Wayland,  D.  D.,  president  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity; Dr.  Thomas  Cooper,  of  Columbia,  S.  C.;  Hon.  Richard  Rush, 
and  President  Chapin.  The  diversity  of  views  which  must  ever  be 
expected  in  reference  to  such  a  subject  was  revealed  in  all  its  extent, 
at  the  very  outset.  Mr.  Adams  recommended  an  observatory;  Presi- 
dent Wayland  a  higher  university;  Dr.  Cooper  a  university,  and  to 
escape  constitutional  objections,  to  transfer  the  fund  to  the  corpora- 
tion of  Georgetown;  Mr.  Rush  recommended  a  more  complicated  s}'s- 
tem,  for  the  collection  from  all  countries,  through  ministers,  consuls, 
and  naval  and  military  officers,  of  seeds  and  plants,  objects  of  natural 
history  and  antiquities;  a  standing  board  of  the  chief  officers  of  the 
Government;  the  institution  to  have  a  printing  press;  the  board  to 
determine  what  should  be  printed;  the  democratic  principle,  as  devel- 
oped in  our  institutions,  to  be  particularly  discussed;  lecturers  to  be 
appointed  by  the  President  and  Senate,  with  salaries  large  enough  to 
command  the  highest  talent;  a  certain  number  of  young  men  from 
each  State  to  attend  the  lectures,  their  expenses  being  paid  by  the 
Institution,  etc.  President  Chapin  was  in  favor  of  professorships 
being  established  on  a  liberal  scale;  a  library,  apparatus,  and  an  astro- 
nomical observatory. 

On  the  14th  of  December,  1838,  a  memorial  was  presented  to  Con- 
gress recommending  an  agricultural  institution  with  a  large  farm, 
beet-sugar  inanufactoiT,  mill,  workshops,  etc.  As  propositions  mul- 
tiplied, the  difficulties  in  the  way  became,  at  each  step,  and  in  view  of 
every  scheme,  more  and  more  apparent. 

In  January,  1839,  Congress  began  to  grapple  with  the  subject.  The 
university  plan  was  defeated  in  the  Senate  on  the  25th  of  February, 
1839.  Congress  provided  for  an  observatory  out  of  its  own  funds,  and 
that  matter  was  disposed  of  and  taken  out  of  the  question.  An  Insti- 
tution like  the  Garden  of  Plants  at  Paris  was  strongly  urged  in  the 
Senate,  but  the  proposition  did  not  prevail.  In  1845,  Mr.  Choate  pro 
posed  in  the  Senate  the  library  plan,  and  it  passed  that  body  on  the  23d 
of  January.  In  the  House,  several  members  offered  different  propo 


THIRTY-THIKD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  561 

sitions.  One  proposing  a  normal  school  was  rejected — yeas  72,  nays 
42;  one  proposing  lectures  and  professors  was  rejected — 77  to  42. 
The  plan  of  lectures,  as  a  leading  feature,  was  rejected  by  similar  strong 
votes  on  several  occasions. 

Various  bills  were  reported,  substitutes  offered  in  both  Houses,  anjl 
sundry  amendments  made,  until  in  August,  1846,  a  bill  as  passed  by 
the  House  was  passed  by  the  Senate  without  amendment,  and  became 
the  law  on  which  the  Institution  has  existed  to  the  present  date.  [The 
committee  then  quote  the  act  approved  August  10, 1846,  and  proceed:] 

The  foregoing  act  of  Congress  is  "the  law  establishing  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution."  It  is  the  directory  which  the  Regents  are  bound 
to  follow  in  administering  its  affairs  and  applying  its  funds.  An  idea 
seems  to  have  crept  into  the  discussions  that  are  prevalent  on  this 
subject  that  the  will  requires  one  thing  and  the  law  another.  There 
can  be  no  ground  for  this  distinction,  as  a  few  words  will  show. 

The  will  declares  a  certain  object,  namely,  "for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  In  accepting  the  bequest  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  pledged  its  faith  that  the  funds 
should  be  "applied  as  Congress  may  hereafter  direct,  to  the  purpose 
of  founding  and  endowing  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men." 

The  act  establishing  the  Institution  also  inserts  into  its  title  and  into 
its  body  the  words  of  the  will,  so  that  whatever  the  will  requires  the 
act  ordains,  and  there  can  be  no  conflict  between  them.  No  one  can 
question  the  obligation  of  those  who  administer  the  Institution,  under 
the  act,  to  assume  that  its  requirements  are  in  accordance  with  the 
will  and  to  carry  them  out  in  good  faith  and  good  earnest.  So  far  as 
the  act  leaves  the  officers  who  exist  by  its  authority  to  their  discretion, 
that  discretion  is  to  be  guided  by  their  sense  of  the  import  and  design 
of  the  language  of  the  will.  All  in  the  will  that  relates  to  the  subject 
is  incorporated  into  the  act.  We  have  occasion,  therefore,  to  look 
only  at  the  act  in  ascertaining  the  duty  of  those  who  administer  the 
affairs  of  the  Institution,  and  there  can  be  no  ground  for  a  controversy 
in  reference  to  the  meaning  of  the  will  as  against  the  act,  or  vice  versa. 

The  will  and  the  two  acts  of  Congress  that  have  been  spread  out  on 
the  foregoing  pages  in  full  interpret  themselves  to  the  common  sense 
and  adequate  apprehension  of  every  reader.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
regard  the  words  as  used  in  their  ordinary  sense,  to  avoid  a  mental 
interpolation  of  language  not  in  the  text,  and  to  allow  its  natural  mean 
ing  to  flow  out  from  all  the  language  used  in  the  instrument.  In  this 
spirit  of  fair  and  unstrained  interpretation  we  propose  to  consider  for 
a  moment  the  language  of  the  act  establishing  the  Smithsonian  Insti 
tution,  of  which  different  and  conflicting  interpretations  are  advocated. 

The  word  "increase"  is  held  by  some  of  the  zealous  combatants  in 
H.  Doc,  732 36 


562  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  Smithsonian  controversy  to  be  identical  with  "discovery."  The 
idea  seems  to  be  that  knowledge  can  only  be  increased  by  the  discovery 
of  new  truth.  This  is  an  arbitrary  and  untenable  position.  A  mind 
experiences  an  increase  of  knowledge  if  it  knows  more  than  it  did 
Before,  although  all  the  ideas  it  has  received  ma}'  be  in  the  commonest 
text-books.  There  has  been  an  increase  of  knowledge  in  the  school, 
in  the  congregation,  in  the  lecture  room,  if  ideas  not  before  known  to 
them  have  been  received  into  the  minds  of  the  hearers;  even,  indeed, 
it  matters  not  if  those  ideas  have  been  recorded  for  thousands  of  years 
in  languages,  classical  or  sacred,  that  have  been  dead  long  ago.  Knowl- 
edge has  been  increased  if  one  mind  has  received  more,  whether  it  be 
new  or  old  truth.  The  language  of  Smithson  is  perfectly  simple,  and 
in  its  natural  sense  covers  the  whole  ground — it  includes,  but  does  not 
require,  new  truth.  Truth  discovered  a  thousand  years  ago  is  as  good 
as  truth  discovered  yesterday.  Knowledge  embraces  it  all  alike,  and 
Smithson's  object  was  to  carry  knowledge  where  it  was  not  before, 
and  to  increase  it  where  it  was;  to  spread  it  over  a  wider  area  and  to 
a  greater  depth. 

In  like  manner  a  particular  meaning  has  been  crowded  upon  the 
word  "  knowledge " — not  its  ordinary  meaning  in  common  usage,  but 
a  narrow,  technical,  and  special  meaning.  This  has  been  done  by  con- 
founding it  with  "science."  It  is  true  that,  in  their  primitive  origin, 
or  roots,  in  the  languages  from  which  they  are  derived,  these  words 
may  be  identical  in  their  meaning,  but  not  so  as  actually  used  in  com- 
mon conversation  and  familiar  and  general  literature.  "Knowledge"' 
is  all-comprehensive — embracing  science,  art,  literature,  politics,  busi- 
ness, the  whole  world  of  nature  and  culture,  the  entire  realm  of  facts 
and  reality,  all  ages  and  all  that  they  have  contained.  "Science"  is 
almost  universally  employed  to  denote  those  branches  of  knowledge 
which  are  systematized  into  a  distinct  organization  or  arrangement, 
based  upon  definite  principles,  and  reduced  to  particular  rules.  In 
the  progress  of  knowledge  new  sciences  are  added  to  the  list,  and  in 
the  establishment  of  new  classifications  the  boundary  lines  are  altered. 
There  is  a  vast  amount  of  knowledge  not  included  in  any  science.  Fur- 
ther, the  word  science  is  sometimes  used  to  embrace  only  a  part  of 
what,  in  a  broader  sense,  is  included  in  the  sciences.  It  is  getting  to 
become  quite  generally  used  to  denote  what  are  called  the  physical 
sciences,  excluding  political,  moral,  and  intellectual  science — excluding 
history,  the  arts,  and  all  general  literature.  Surely,  it  can  not  be 
maintained  that  "knowledge"  was  used  by  Smithson  as  merely  iden- 
tical with  "science"  in  this  last-mentioned  and  most  limited  sense. 

The  words  "among  men"  were  used  merely  to  corroborate  the  idea 
expressed  by  the  word  "diffusion."  They  do  not  necessarily  imply 
that  the  Institution  should  confine  itself  to  world-wide  operations. 
The  word  is  not,  as  some  seem  to  suppose,  "mankind,"  but  "men;" 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  563 

and  he  diffuses  knowledge  "among  men  "  as  truly  and  in  as  full  a 
sense  when  he  enlightens  the  minds  of  his  neighbors  as  of  persons  at 
the  farthest  pole.  He  best  fulfills  the  idea  of  Smithson  who  increases 
human  intelligence  whenever  and  wherever  he  has  an  opportunity,  in 
every  circle  of  influence,  however  near  or  however  remote. 

The  seventh  section  of  the  act  establishing  the  Institution  has  given 
occasion  to  a  difference  of  interpretation  that  has  been  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  committee.  The  section  relates  to  the  duties  and  powers 
of  the  Secretary,  and  goes  on  to  say  that  "the  said  Secretary  shall  also 
discharge  the  duties  of  librarian  and  keeper  of  the  museum,  and  may, 
with  the  consent  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  employ  assistants;  and  the 
said  officers  shall  receive  for  their  services  such  sums  as  may  be  allowed 
by  the  Board  of  Regents,  to  be  paid  semiannually,  on  the  first  days  of 
January  and  July;  and  the  said  officers  shall  be  removable  by  the 
Board  of  Regents  whenever,  in  their  judgment,  the  interests  of  the 
Institution  require  any  of  the  said  officers  to  be  changed." 

The  committee  can  not  but  think  it  strange  that,  in  the  face  of  this 
express  language,  it  has  been  made  a  question  where  the  power  of 
removal  is  lodged.  "Said  officers  shall  be  removable  by  the  Board  of 
Regents."  Can  anything  be  plainer?  In  defense  of  the  idea  that  the 
Secretary  can  remove  his  assistants,  a  practice  is  cited  in  certain  depart- 
ments of  the  Government  where  the  power  of  removal  is  exercised  by 
intermediate  officials.  But  there  is  no  analogy,  inasmuch  as  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  is  silent  in  reference  to  the  removal  of 
such  officers.  But  the  constitution  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is 
not  silent,  but  expressly  defines  in  whom  the  power  to  remove  the 
assistants  of  the  Secretary  resides — namely,  in  the  Board  of  Regents. 
They  have  no  more  right  to  delegate  or  pass  over  to  another  that 
power  than  they  have  to  transfer  any  of  their  other  functions. 

The  concluding  sentence  of  the  eighth  section  of  the  act  is  as 
follows: 

And  the  said  Regents  shall  make,  from  the  interest  of  said  fund,  an  appropriation 
not  exceeding  an  average  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  annually  for  the  gradual 
formation  of  a  library  composed  of  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  departments  of 
human  knowledge. 

The  expression  "  not  exceeding"  is  in  constant  use  in  the  legisla- 
tion of  Congress  and  in  all  legislation  everywhere  in  which  appro- 
priations are  made,  and  it  will  not  be  disputed  that  in  all  instances  the 
expectation  and  general  understanding  of  the  legislature  is  that  about 
the  amount  thus  specified  will  be  expended.  The  word  "average"  can 
only  be  considered  as  indicating  the  expectation  of  the  legislature  that 
the  sum  expended  in  some  years  might  exceed  $25,000.  The  word  was 
used  in  order  to  give  the  managers  authority,  in  case  a  sum  less  than 
$25,000  wrere  expended  one  year,  to  expend  just  so  much  more  the 
next,  and  vice  versa.  No  doubt,  we  think,  can  be  entertained  that 


564  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  framers  and  enactors  of  the  law  expected  that  about  $200,000 
would  be  expended  "  for  the  gradual  formation  of  a  library  composed 
of  valuable  works  pertaining  to  all  departments  of  human  knowledge" 
in  eight  years.  If  the  law  does  not  contemplate  that  the  annual 
expenditure  for  the  formation  of  a  library  shall  be  something  like 
$25,000,  any  other  figures  might  as  well  have  been  used.  If  the 
administrators  of  the  law  are  at  liberty  to  -spend  as  little  as  they  please 
for  a  library,  in  the  face  of  the  sum  thus  indicated  in  the  law,  they 
would  have  been  equally  at  liberty  whatever  sum  might  have  been 
named,  whether  $30,000  or  $40,000.  In  other  words,  if  the  clause  of 
the  act  under  consideration  can  be  construed  as  justifying  an  annual 
average  expenditure  for  the  gradual  formation  of  a  library  of  less  than 
$2,000,  any  intermediate  sum  between  that  and  the  entire  income  of  the 
fund  would  have  been  of  equal  authority  and  significance  as  indicating 
the  intention  of  the  legislature,  whichever  of  the  said  intermediate 
sums  might  have  been  inserted  in  the  act;  that  is  to  say,  those  who  main- 
tain that  the  language  and  design  of  the  act  are  carried  out  by  expend- 
ing less  than  $2,000  annually  for  books  assume  and  assert  that  it 
would  not  have  altered  the  sense  of  the  act  had  $2,000  or  $10,000  or 
$40,000  been  the  sum  actually  named  in  it,  instead  of  $25,000. 
The  ninth  section  of  the  act  is  as  follows: 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  of  any  other  moneys  which  have  accrued,  or  shall 
hereafter  accrue,  as  interest  upon  the  said  Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein  appropri- 
ated, or  not  required  for  the  purposes  herein  provided,  the  said  managers  are  hereby 
authorized  to  make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for  the  promotion 
of  the  purpose  of  the  testator,  anything  herein  contained  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. 

The  discretion  allowed  to  the  managers  in  the  latter  part  of  this 
section  must  be  considered  as  limited  in  some  sense  by  the  word 
"other,"  applied  to  "moneys,"  and  more  definitely  and  more  abso- 
lutely by  the  clauses  "not  herein  appropriated"  and  "not  required 
for  the  purposes  herein  provided." 

The  meaning  of  the  ninth  section  seems  to  us  to  be  simply  this — that 
if,  after  all  has  been  done  required  by  the  foregoing  provisions  of  the 
act— that  is,  for  the  maintenance  and  preservation  of  a  geological  and 
mineralogical  cabinet,  a  laboratory,  library,  gallery  of  art,  lecture 
room,  lectures,  the  purchase  of  books  on  the  scale  indicated  in  the 
eighth  section,  and  the  discharge  of  all  current  obligations — an  unex- 
pended balance  of  the  annual  income  remains,  the  managers  may  do 
with  it  just  what  they  please;  may  expend  it  upon  books  if  they  like, 
even  although  the  expenditures  for  that  object  may  have  already 
reached  the  assigned  limit,  or  upon  any  objects  not  named  or  alluded 
to  in  the  act,  if,  in  their  judgment,  "suited  for  the  promotion  of  the 
purpose  of  the  testator." 

The  committee  arc  wholly  unwilling  to  enter  at  all  into  the  discus- 
sion of  the  private  grievances  or  personal  controversies  or  official 


TH1RTY-THIED    CONGKESS,   1853-1855.  565 

misunderstandings  which  were  brought  before  them  in  the  course  of 
the  investigation.  They  regard  the  evidence  that  was  educed  on 
these  matters  as  important  only  because  it  illustrates  the  difficulties 
encountered  in  administering  an  institution  of  this  sort  upon  the  plan 
that  has  been  attempted.  They  are  particularly  desirous  to  have  it 
understood  that  they  attach  no  blame  to  any  person  in  any  quarter; 
tho  evils  are  the  result  of  the  system.  At  the  same  time  they  do  not 
cast  blame  or  censure  of  any  sort  upon  those  who  suggested,  and  have 
labored  to  carry  out,  that  system.  The  design  was  in  itself  com- 
mendable and  elevated.  It  has  unquestionably  been  pursued  with 
zeal,  sincerity,  integrity,  and  high  motives  and  aims,  but  it  is,  we 
think,  necessarily  surrounded  with  very  great  difficulties. 

There  is  nothing  in  our  constitutional  system  that  authorizes  this 
Government  to  enter  the  sphere  of  literature  and  science.  Education 
is  left  to  the  States.  This  Government  can  not,  without  violating  the 
principles  on  which  it  rests,  become,  directly  or  indirectly,  through  its 
official  agents  or  in  the  expenditure  of  funds,  a  censor  of  any  depart- 
ment of  the  press,  an  arbiter  of  science,  or  a  publisher  of  works  of 
mere  literature  or  philosophy  any  more  than  of  morals  or  theology. 

No  amount  of  money  that  could  possibly  be  raised  would  enable 
this  Government  to  perform  these  functions  with  a  just,  equal,  and 
liberal  hand  for  the  benefit  of  all  departments  of  knowledge.  Of 
course  it  has  no  right  to  make  discriminations;  not  only  natural  his- 
tory and  physical  science,  but  every  branch  of  learning  and  inquiry 
has  a  right  to  demand  patronage,  if  it  is  extended  to  any.  Whatever 
project  in  this  line  may  be  attempted  will  be  found  surrounded  with 
insuperable  embarrassments.  If,  for  instance,  the  funds  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  should  be  appropriated  in  the  manner  proposed  in 
the  petition  from  citizens  of  Missouri,  referred  to  this  committee,  for 
the  preparation  and  distribution  of  a  monthly  report  of  the  general 
progress  of  knowledge,  who  shall  write  those  reports?  To  what 
school  of  philosophy  or  medicine  or  politics  shall  he  belong?  Shall 
he  confine  himself,  as  the  Smithsonian  Institution  has  for  the  most 
part  very  wisely  done,  to  particular  provinces  of  natural  science,  to 
reptiles,  defunct  species  of  animals,  mathematical  and  astronomical 
computations  and  researches,  to  aboriginal  antiquities  and  the  glos- 
saries of  vanishing  tribes  of  Indians,  or  shall  he  rise  above  dead  and 
brute  nature  and  treat  the  subject  of  man,  of  civil  society,  of  govern- 
ment, of  politics,  and  religion  ?  If  he  confines  himself  to  the  former, 
not  one  in  ten  thousand  of  the  people  will  be  interested  or  satisfied;  if 
he  attempts  the  latter  he  is  on  forbidden  ground  and  can  not  escape 
being  torn  to  pieces  by  parties,  sects,  and  sections. 

Moving  in  the  most  cautious  manner,  acting  within  the  most  limited 
sphere,  grudges  are  multiplied,  jealousies  engendered,  resentments 
kindled,  and  complaints  encountered  in  all  directions.  Authors  whose 
pieces  are  rejected  will  be  likely,  in  the  course  of  time,  to  outnumber 


566  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

those  who  are  admitted  to  the  favored  circle;  one  man  has  the  grati- 
fication of  seeing  his  works  printed  at  the  public-  charge  in  a  splendid 
style  and  circulated,  without  trouble  or  expense  on  his  part,  to  all  the 
learned  societies  and  persons  of  Christendom,  and  of  feeling  that  a 
world-wide  reputation  is  secured  to  him;  but  others,  whose  treatises 
have  been  condemned  by  a  secret  tribunal  and  returned  with  the 
stigma  of  rejection,  are  brooding  in  sullen,  or  breaking  out  in  vehe- 
ment, resentment  and  indignation. 

Men  of  genius  are  sensitive — scientific  authors  and  discoverers  par- 
ticularly so.  To  attain  to  great  excellence  in  any  department  it  must  be 
studied  and  prosecuted  with  exclusive  and  all-absorbing  zeal.  There 
is  a  divinity  in  truth,  and  whoever  attains  any  portion  of  it  is  prone  to 
worship  it  with  a  concentrated  devotion,  and  to  cherish  it  as  more 
precious  than  all  things  else.  However  minute  the  objects,  or  narrow 
the  provinces,  or  apparently  useless  the  results  of  the  researches  of  the 
man  of  science,  he  is  wholly  wrapt  up  in  them,  and  feels,  to  his  very 
heart's  core,  that  nothing  transcends  them  in  importance.  This  makes 
him  sensitive  to  reputation,  tenacious  of  rights,  and  morbidly  alive  to 
any  encroachment  upon  his  labors  or  attainments.  No  office  is  more 
thankless  than  to  attempt  to  arbitrate  the  differences  of  men  of  sci- 
ence— no  offense  more  keenly  resented  than  to  discredit  their  claims  or 
slight  their  productions.  It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  and  most 
instructive  in  this  connection,  strikingly  illustrating  the  fact  we  are 
presenting,  that  James  Smithson,  who  was  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Soci- 
ety, had  made  a  will,  leaving  his  whole  fortune  to  that  institution, 
which  had  honored  many  of  his  productions  by  publishing  them  in  its 
Transactions.  At  length,  certain  papers  offered  to  them  for  publica- 
tion were  refused.  Under  the  sting  of  resentment  and  wounded  pride, 
he  changed  his  will,  and  left  his  fortune  to  the  United  States  of  America. 
In  this  way  a  harvest  of  dissatisfaction  and  animosities  is  constantly 
maturing.  Patronage  in  politics  is  the  fatal  bane  of  parties.  In  litera- 
ature  and  science  it  works  disastrously,  in  all  directions — upon  him 
who  dispenses,  upon  those  who  receive,  and  upon  all  from  whom  it  is 
withheld. 

The  organization  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  as  follows: 
The  "Establishment,"  by  the  name  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institution." 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE,  President  of  the  United  States. 

,  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

WILLIAM  L.  MARCY,  Secretary  of  State. 

JAMES  GUTHRIE,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  Secretary  of  War. 

JAMES  C.  DOBBIN,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

JAMES  CAMPBELL,  Postmaster-General. 

CALEB  CCSHING,  Attorney-General. 

ROGER  B.  TANEY,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 

CHARLES  MASON,  Commissioner  of  Patents. 

JOHN  T.  TOWERS,  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  567 

HONORARY  MEMBERS. 

ROBERT  HARE,  WASHINGTON  IRVING,  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  PARKER  CLEAVELAND. 
BOARD  OF  REGENTS. 


-,  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 


ROGER  B.  TANEY,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 
JOHN  T.  TOWERS,  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington. 
JAMES  A.  PEARCE,  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
JAMES  M.  MASON,  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS,  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
WILLIAM  H.  ENGLISH,  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
DAVID  STUART,  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
JAMES  MEACHAM,  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

,  citizen  of  Massachusetts. 

GIDEON  HAWLEY,  citizen  of  New  York. 

J.  MACPHERSON  BERRIEN,  citizen  of  Georgia. 

RICHARD  RUSH,  citizen  of  Pennsylvania. 

ALEXANDER  D.  BACHE,  member  of  the  National  Institute,  Washington. 

JOSEPH  G.  TOTTEN,  member  of  the  National  Institute,  Washington. 

The  active  government  of  the  Institution  is  in  the  hands  of  the  fol- 
lowing officers  and  committees: 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE,  ex-officio  Presiding  Officer  of  the  Institution. 
ROGER  B.  TANEY,  Chancellor  of  the  Institution. 
JOSEPH  HENRY,  Secretary  of  the  Institution. 

— ,  Assistant  Secretary,  in  charge  of  Library. 
SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Assistant  Secretary,  in  charge  of  the  Museum. 


ALEXANDER  D.  BACHE,  i 

T  . *         T»~  .  , 


JAMES  A.  PEARCE,  >  Executive  Committee. 

JOSEPH  G.  TOTTEN, 
RICHARD  RUSH, 


WM.  H.  ENGLISH,     Buildin^  Committee. 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 

W.  W.  SEATON,  Treasurer. 

The  committee  feel  it  their  duty  to  submit  a  few  remarks  in  relation 
to  this  organization. 

It  appears  by  the  evidence  that  so  much  of  it  as  is  called  the  "Estab- 
lishment" has  never  performed  any  part  whatever  in  the  administration 
of  the  Institution.  It  is  obvious  that  those  Regents  who  reside  at  a 
great  distance  from  Washington  can  have  but  little  to  do  with  its  man- 
agement. Those  of  them  who  are  members  of  the  Senate  or  House  of 
Representatives,  unless  their  residence,  during  the  recess  of  Congress, 
is  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington,  can  not  be  expected,  for  the  most  part, 
to  have  that  influence  over  its  operations  which  those  who  reside  per- 
manently at  the  seat  of  government,  or  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  will 
more  naturally  exercise.  The  Executive  Committee  is  the  body  in 
which  the  government  substantially  exists. 


568  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

It  may  well  be  questioned  whether  it  is  expedient  to  surround  such 
an  institution  with  an  array  of  high  official  dignitaries.  Their  great 
offices  and  characters  are  committed  to  all  the  proceedings  of  the  Insti- 
tution, while  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  give  much  time  and  atten- 
tion to  their  examination.  Wher  the  venerable  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  after  hearing  both  parties  and  a  thorough  scrutiny  of 
the  merits  of  all  questions  involved,  and  in  the  exercise  of  the  high 
function  to  which  his  life  is  consecrated  and  set  apart,  pronounces  a 
solemn  judgment  from* the  bench,  we  bow  to  his  learning  and  wisdom; 
but  it  may,  perhaps,  be  doubted  whether  it  is  expedient  to  attempt  to 
make  him  responsible  for  all  the  doings  of  an  institution  entirely  out 
of  the  sphere  of  his  duties  and  pursuits,  and  with  whose  officers  he 
can  not  have  much  communication.  As  it  has  been  ascertained  that 
the  Institution  is  not  a  corporation,  and  its  anomalous  character  in  that 
respect  may  give  rise  to  perplexing  and  unforeseen  difficulties  that 
mil  reach  the  legal  tribunals,  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  that 
august  judicial  personage  ought  to  be  mixed  up  at  all  with  its  business 
details. 

If  the  Institution  could  be  organized  in  a  simpler  form,  and  its  Sec- 
retary made  the  head  of  a  bureau  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior, 
and  subject,  like  other  heads  of  bureaus,  to  the  Secretaiy  of  the  Inte- 
rior, he  might  pursue  substantially  the  same  course  as  at  present,  if 
that  should  continue  to  be  thought  advisable,  with  a  clearly  ascertained 
line  of  duty  and  responsibility,  and  a  full  adjustment  of  all  his  rela- 
tions above  to  the  head  of  the  Department,  around  to  his  associates, 
and  to  all  subordinates  of  every  grade.  This,  however,  we  desire  to 
have  considered  as  a  mere  suggestion  made  in  passing.  If  all  other 
plans  are  found  defective  and  beset  with  inconveniences,  this  may,  at 
some  future  day,  be  tried  in  the  last  resort. 

Whatever  arrangements  may  be  made  for  the  administration  of  the 
Institution,  it  is  of  extreme  importance  that  the  relations  among  the 
several  officers  attached  to  it  be  denned  and  settled  by  law,  or,  at  any 
rate,  by  by-laws.  In  every  organization  to  which  several  officers  are 
attached  such  a  provision  is  highly  desirable,  but  preeminently  so 
where  the  said  officers  are  gentlemen  of  scientific  and  literary  attain- 
ment and  reputation.  The  spirit  of  self-respect  and  a  sensitiveness  to 
personal  rights  prevail  nowhere  with  greater  keenness  and  intensity 
than  in  the  republic  of  letters. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  stands  on  a  different  footing  from  any 
in  this  country,  and  in  some  particulars,  especially  in  regard  to  the 
peculiar  character  of  our  Government,  in  any  other  country.  In  some 
leading  features  it  perhaps  bears  a  closer  resemblance  to  the  British 
Museum  than  to  any  other.  The  recent  history  of  that  institution  may, 
perhaps,  be  found  instructive  to  us. 

The  British  Museum  was  founded  about  a  hundred  years  ago,  upon 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  569 

the  conditional  bequest  by  an  individual  of  property  less  m  amount 
than  the  bequest  of  Smithson.  It  has  since  received  some  two  millions 
of  pounds  sterling  of  the  public  funds. 

Within  the  last  twenty  years  there  have  been  two  select  committees 
of  the  House  of  Commons  and  one  royal  commission  appointed  to 
inquire  into  the  condition,  management,  and  affairs  of  this  institution. 

Its  government  is  vested  in  a  board  of  trustees,  in  number  48,  one 
of  whom  (His  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Cambridge)  is  directly 
named  by  the  Crown,  23  are  regents  ex  officio,  9  are  named  by  the 
representatives  or  executors  of  parties  who  have  teen  donors  to  the 
institution,  and  15  are  elected. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  trustees: 

Ex  officio. — The  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  lord  chancellor,  the  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  principal  trustees;  the  president  of  the  council,  the  first  lord 
of  the  treasury,  the  lord  privy  seal,  the  first  lord  of  the  Admiralty,  the  lord  steward, 
the  lord  chamberlain,  the  colonial  secretary  of  state,  the  foreign  secretary  of  state, 
the  home  secretary  of  state,  the  bishop  of  London,  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer, 
the  lord  chief  justice  of  the  Queen's  bench,  the  lord  chief  justice  of  the  common 
plean,  the  master  of  the  rolls,  the  attorney-general,  the  solicitor-general,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Royal  Society,  the  president  of  the  College  of  Physicians,  the  president 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  the  president  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

Family  trustees. — The  Earl  of  Cadogan,  Lord  Stanley,  Sloane  family;  George  Booth 
Tyndale,  esq.,  Rev.  Francis  Annesley,  Cotton  family;  Lord  H.  W.  Bentinck,  the 
Earl  of  Cawdor,  Harlein  family;  Charles  Townley,  esq.,  Townley  family;  the  Earl 
of  Elgin,  Elgin  family;  John  Knight,  esq.,  Knight  family. 

Elected  tnistees.—The  Earl  of  Aberdeen;  the  Earl  of  Derby;  the  Duke  of  Rutland; 
the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne;  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Bart.;  the  Duke  of  Hamilton;  Sir 
Robert  H.  Inglis,  Bart.;  Henry  Hallam,  esq.;  William  R.  Hamilton,  esq.;  the  Duke 
of  Sutherland;  the  Right  Hon.  T.  B.  Macaulay;  William  Buckland,  D.  D.,  dean  of 
Westminster;  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  David  Dundas;  the  Right  Hon.  H.  Goulburn;  the 
Marquis  of  Northampton. 

Complaints  against  the  management  of  the  institution  became  so 
prevalent  that,  notwithstanding  the  mighty  array  of  elevated  function- 
aries and  illustrious  literary  and  scientific  persons  behind  which  it  was 
intrenched,  it  became  necessary  for  the  House  of  Commons  to  turn  its 
attention  to  it. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  1835,  it  was  ordered  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons uthat  a  select  committee  be  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  con- 
dition, management,  and  affairs  of  the  British  Museum,"  with  power 
to  send  for  persons  and  papers.  The  committee  consisted  of  thirty- 
three,  including  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  House. 

The  committee  held  nineteen  meetings,  and  on  the  6th  of  August, 
1835,  reported  a  mass  of  testimony  making  a  folio  volume  of  623  pages. 

On  the  llth  of  February,  1836,  the  subject  was  again  taken  up,  and 
became  the  occasion  of  a  debate.  Among  other  complaints  made  by 
members,  it  was  affirmed  that  the  statement  made  by  Sir  Humphry 
Davy  was  correct  "that  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  lord  chan- 


570  CONGRESSIONAL    'PROCEEDINGS. 

cellor,  and  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  were  considered  as 
the  real  acting1  governors  of  the  institution."  A  new  committee  of 
15  was  appointed,  composed  of  distinguished  persons,  and  author- 
ized to  send  for  persons,  papers,  and  records.  It  held  28  meetings, 
and  reported  to  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  14th  day  of  July, 
1836.  Certain  improvements  were  made  in  the  condition  of  the  insti- 
tution as  the  result  of  these  Parliamentary  proceedings. 

The  public  mind  seems  to  have  become  again  excited  on  the  subject, 
by  complaints  arising  from  the  community  and  from  officers  of  the 
Institution,  and  in  1847  a  royal  commission  was  formed,  consisting  of 
four  noblemen  and  eight  commoners,  all  eminent  persons.  They  prose- 
cuted their  researches  with  great  diligence,  and  the  result  of  their 
labors,  in  1850,  was  a  folio  volume  of  more  than  1,000  pages.  The 
whole  number  of  questions  and  answers  is  10,933.  The  chairman  of 
the  commission  was  the  Earl  of  Ellesmere.  He  presented  an  elaborate, 
full,  and  independent  report.  One  or  two  extracts  may  be  read  with 
advantage  by  those  who  have  the  management  of  literary  and  scientific; 
institutions: 

Such  a  board  of  trustees,  to  anyone  who  considers  the  individuals  who  compose  it 
with  reference  to  their  rank,  intelligence,  and  ability,  would  give  assurance  rather 
than  promise  of  the  most  unexceptionable  and,  indeed,  wisest  administration  in 
every  department.  High  attainments  in  literature  and  in  science,  great  knowledge 
and  experience  of  the  world  and  its  affairs,  and  practiced  habits  of  business  dis- 
tinguish many  of  them  in  an  eminent  degree;  and  it  would  be  unjust  either  to 
deny  the  interest  which  all  of  them  feel  in  the  prosperity  of  the  institution  or  refrain 
from  acknowledging  the  devoted  services  which  some  of  them  have  rendered  iu  its 
administration.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  absorbing  public  cares,  professional  avo- 
cations, and  the  pursuits  of  private  life  must,  in  many  instances,  prevent  those  indi- 
viduals whose  assistance  might  have  been  best  relied  on  from  giving  anything  like 
continued  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  institution. 

While  the  report  alludes  in  the  above  language  to  the  inability  of 
such  official  persons  in  general  to  attend  with  sufficient  particularity 
to  any  extra  business  incidental  to  affairs  out  of  the  sphere  of  their 
more  appropriate  duties,  it  makes  an  exception  in  favor  of  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  who,  in  the  words  of  the  report,  "gave  to  its 
affairs  more  time  and  attention  than  we  could  have  supposed  it  possi- 
ble for  a  person  the  most  active  to  have  spared  from  his  momentous 
and  sacred  duties. " 

The  commissioners  dwell  at  length  upon  the  fact  that  the  trustees 
were  not  in  the  habit  of  communicating  directly  with  any  other  officers 
of  the  institution  but  the  secretary,  as  in  the  following  passage: 

The  secretary  attends  all  the  meetings,  and  the  officers  of  the  establishment  gen- 
erally are  perfectly  aware  of  the  extent  of  his  influence  and  control  over  the  busi- 
ness, while  he  has  no  direct  responsibility  for  the  conduct  or  actual  state  of  any 
department. 

There  may  be  many  cases,  certainly,  in  which  it  is  not  expedient  only  but  neces- 
sary that  the  board  should  deliberate  in  the  absence  even  of  the  principal  librarian 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  571 

or  of  the  heads  of  departments;  but  there  must  be  exceptional  cases,  and,  considering 
the  persons  who  are  heads  of  departments  and  the  knowledge  and  ability  by  which 
they  are  and  ought  to  be  distinguished,  it  seems  impossible  to  suppose  that  the  trus- 
tees would  not  derive  the  greatest  assistance  from  immediate,  full,  and  unreserved 
communication  with  them  on  questions  arising  in  the  administration  of  their  respec- 
tive departments.  We  lind,  however,  there  is  scarcely  one  of  the  highest  officers  of 
the  Institution  who  has  not  complained  of  systematic  exclusion  from  the  board  when 
the  affairs  of  his  department  are  under  consideration,  as  equally  disparaging  to  him- 
self and  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the  department,  giving  no  opportunity  of  explain- 
ing their  reports  or  meeting  the  objections  and  criticisms  to  which  they  may  have 
been  subject;  and  their  own  absence,  joined  to  that  of  the  principal  librarian,  leaves 
them  under  the  painful  but  natural  impression,  where  their  suggestions  are  dis- 
allowed, that  the  interests  with  which  they  are  charged  have  not  been  fully  repre- 
sented. We  can  not  but  ascribe  to  this  cause  the  unfortunate  and  unseemly  jeal- 
ousies which  the  evidence  shows  to  have  long  existed  among  the  principal  officers 
of  the  Museum— their  distrust  in  the  security  of  the  means  by  which  they  commu- 
nicate with  the  board,  their  misgivings  as  to  the  fullness  and  fairness  of  the  consider- 
ation which  their  suggestions  receive,  and  their  feelings  of  injustice  done  to  their  own 
department,  arising,  it  may  be,  from  an  overzeal  for  its  interests  or  overestimate  of 
its  importance. 

Finally,  they  use  this  language  in  reference  to  what  they  judge  to 
be  the  too  overshadowing  power  allowed  to  the  secretary  by  the  trus- 
tees: 

From  his  control  of  the  business,  constant  intercourse  with  the  trustees,  and  attend- 
ance at  all  their  meetings,  he  has  arisen  to  be  the  most  important  officer  in  the  estab- 
lishment, though  without  that  responsibility  which  attached  to  the  principal  librarian 
and  the  heads  of  departments.  The  influence  possessed  by  this  officer  in  the  affairs 
of  the  museum  has  followed  the  usual  course  where  the  secretary  is  permanent  and 
where  the  administrative  board  is  fluctuating,  and  must  depend  mainly  upon  the 
secretary  for  the  information  required  in  the  dispatch  of  ordinary  business.  (Report 
of  Commission.) 

The  case  of  the  British  Museum  confirms  the  conviction  that  what- 
ever power  is  lodged  in  the  secretary — and  we  do  not  advise  to 
encroach  upon  or  to  diminish  his  authority — it  is  all  important  to  have 
it  defined  and  guided  and  guarded  by  express  regulation.  Gentlemen 
of  education  and  refined  sensibilities  will  be  willing  to  conform  to 
rules  in  the  shape  of  law,  but  will  always  reluct  against  and  resent 
the  exercise  of  absolute  and  unrestrained  power.  Every  American 
heart  instinctively  resists  arbitrary  authority;  no  reasonable  mind 
objects  to  conformity  to  established  regulations  and  obedience  to 
defined,  permanent,  and  uniform  rules.  Beyond  those  rules  the  rights 
of  a  subordinate  officer  are  as  perfect  as  those  of  any  other  man. 
Within  them  he  feels  that  it  is  no  degradation  to  obey.  It  is  not  at 
all  improbable  that  many  of  the  difficulties  that  have  been  encountered 
In  the  British  Museum  and  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  have  arisen 
not  so  much  from  lodging  too  much  power  in  the  secretary  as  from 
the  absence  of  by-laws  fully  defining  the  powers,  duties,  and  relations 
of  all  the  officers  employed  in  them.  The  committee  is  particularly 


572  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

desirous  to  have  it  understood  that  they  feel  justified  in  expressing  a 
very  decided  opinion  that  the  difficulties  that  have  arisen,  and  which 
the  evidence  sufficiently  discloses,  in  the  bosom  of  the  Institution,  and 
the  dissatisfaction  that  may  exist  in  some  portions  of  the  community 
ma}r  safely  be  attributed  to  the  causes  just  mentioned  and  not  in  the 
least  to  any  want  of  fidelity  or  zeal  on  the  part  of  its  managers. 

As  it  respects  the  general  polic}'  advocated  by  the  friends  of  a 
library  to  make  it  a  prominent  feature  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
the  committee  arc  of  opinion  that  the  funds  of  the  Institution  are 
sufficient  to  accomplish  that  object  at  a  more  rapid  rate  of  gradual 
accumulation  than  heretofore  without  essentially  impairing  the  use- 
fulness and  efficacy  of  the  policj'  pursued  at  present  by  the  managers. 
Active  operations,  original  researches,  and  the  publication  of  scientific 
treatises,  if  the  whole  income  were  consumed  in  them,  would  have  to 
be  confined  far  within  the  limits  of  what  would  be  desirable.  A  limi- 
tation must  be  suffered  at  some  point  within  the  income,  and  the  satis- 
faction of  the  country  is  of  greater  importance  than  a  few  thousand 
dollars,  more  or  less,  expended  in  either  direction. 

But  a  few  words  arc  needed  to  do  justice  to  the  value  of  a  great 
universal  libraiy  at  the  metropolis  of  the  Union.  Every  person  who 
undertakes  to  prepare  and  publish  a  book  on  any  subject  will  be  found 
to  bear  testimony  to  the  need  of  such  a  library.  The  great  historians 
and  classical  writers  of 'the  country  have  to  send  abroad,  often  to  go 
abroad  in  person,  in  order  to  obtain  materials  for  their  works.  All 
literary  men  are  eager  to  inspect  catalogues  and  explore  alcoves  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  favorite  departments,  and  there  is  no  direction  in 
which  they  are  more  tempted  to  drain  their  generally  quite  moderate 
resources  than  in  the  purchase  of  books.  Such  a  library  as  would  be 
accumulated  by  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  annually  for  twenty  years, 
judiciously  expended,  would  be  frequented  by  scholars  and  authors  in 
much  larger  numbers  than  persons  not  acquainted  with  their  wants 
will  be  likely  to  suppose.  In  half  a  century  it  would  give  to  America 
a  library  unequaled  in  value,  and  probably  in  size,  in  the  world. 

There  is  a  special  reason  why  such  a  library  should  be  provided  at 
this  seat  of  the  Federal  Government.  The  annals  of  all  other  coun- 
tries, running  back  into  the  past,  are  soon  shrouded  in  fable  or  lost  in 
total  darkness;  but  ours,  during  their  whole  duration,  are  within  the 
range  of  unclouded  history.  The  great  social,  moral,  and  political 
experiment  here  going  on  to  test  the  last  hope  of  humanity  is  capable 
of  being  described  in  clear  and  certain  records.  The  history  of  each 
State  and  Territory  can  be  written  on  the  solid  basis  of  ascertained 
facts.  In  each  State  and  Territory  there  are,  and  from  the  first  have 
been,  many  persons  who  are  preparing  and  have  published  works 
illustrative  of  the  entire  progress  of  those  respective  communities. 
In  local  histories,  commemorative  addresses,  and  the  vast  varietv  of 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  573 

productions  of  this  sort  our  literature  is  rich  and  ample  beyond  that 
of  any  other  people.  There  is  no  way  in  which  the  patriotism  and 
virtue  of  a  people  can  be  so  effectually  fostered  and  strengthened  as 
by  cherishing  in  their  breasts  an  interest  in  their  ancestry,  in  the 
incidents  that  have  marked  the  fortunes  of  their  States,  their  towns, 
and  the  scenes  of  their  residence — the  transmitted  reminiscences  of 
their  homes  and  firesides.  It  would  be  a  great  and  good  thing  could 
there  be  collected  in  a  national  library,  in  distinct  alcoves,  all  valuable 
publications  illustrating  the  history  of  the  several  States  of  this  Union. 
Different  processes  of  legislation  and  various  social  and  political 
influences  have  operated  upon  them  severally,  and  the  records  of  the 
results  ought  to  be  here  for  the  inspection  and  instruction  of  the 
representatives  of  the  people  themselves  and  of  the  whole  world. 

But  if  every  other  description  of  books  is  avoided  or  crowded  out 
there  is  one  which  surely  ought  not  to  be.  If  the  resources  of  the 
Institution  are  to  be  exclusively  or  mainly  devoted  to  science  rather 
than  to  general  literature  and  knowledge,  it  ought,  at  any  rate,  to  have 
within  its  walls  a  perfect  acd  universal  library  of  science  and  art — 
not  merely  modern  science  and  recent  researches,  but  all  the  publica- 
tions, of  all  ages  and  all  countries,  that  illustrate  the  progress  of  sci- 
ence, as  such.  If  we  can  not  have  a  universal  library,  give  us,  at  least, 
a  scientific  library  such  as  no  other  nation  can  boast. 

One  advantage  of  a  liberal  expenditure  for  a  library,  not  to  be 
thought  lightly  of  in  a  government  resting  entirely  on  popular  opin- 
ion, is  that  it  results  in  something  that  shows  for  itself;  the  people 
can  see  in  it  what  has  become  of  the  money.  It  would  forever  grow 
before  their  eyes,  and  in  all  coming  generations,  from  its  unap- 
proached  and  ever-expanding  magnitude,  would  be  an  object  of  per- 
petually increasing  national  pride.  Under  the  present  policy  the 
funds  disappear,  as  they  are  expended,  however  salutary  their  appli- 
cation may  have  been,  and  the  only  monuments  are  a  few  volumes, 
admirable,  no  doubt,  in  their  form  and  substance,  highly  appreciated 
by  scientific  societies  at  home  and  abroad,  but  never  seen  by  the 
people. 

The  short  time  allowed  them,  the  necessary  consequent  inadequate- 
ness  of  their  investigations  and  deliberations,  and  the  impossibility  of 
any  legislative  action  by  this  Congress  restrain  the  committee  from 
reporting  any  bill  to  the  House;  but  in  view  of  all  circumstances,  as 
a  measure  of  peace,  as  a  mutual  concession,  which  in  such  a  matter  is 
the  only  way  of  settling  a  difficulty,  they  would  express  their  convic- 
tion that  the  compromise  adopted  at  an  early  day  by  the  Board  of 
Regents  ought  to  be  restored,  and  that  all  desirable  ends  may  be  ulti- 
mately secured  by  dividing  the  income  equally  between  the  library 
and  museum  on  one  part  and  ac-tive  operations  on  the  other. 

The  only  other  suggestion  the  committee  have  to  make  is  the  expe- 


574  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

diency,  in  order  to  avoid  all  embarrassment  in  future,  to  have  each 
division  of  the  Institution  placed  under  its  proper  and  distinctive 
head.  Let  the  Secretary  have  charge  of  the  active  operations,  preside 
over  the  scientific  researches,  and  direct  the  publications.  Let  the 
librarian  have  charge  of  the  library  and  museum.  If  the  two  depart- 
ments are  thus  separated  and  placed  under  the  control  of  well-devised 
and  clearly  defined  regulations,  never  interfering  with  each  other,  but 
working  freely  and  harmoniously  in  their  respective  spheres,  each 
principal  responsible  only  for  his  own  province,  and  subject  alike  to  a 
common  head,  whether  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  or  a  Board  of 
Regents,  the  Institution  would,  we  think,  be  found  to  work  most  aus- 
piciously and  produce  the  best  and  greatest  results. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  H.  WITTE,  of  Pennsylvania,  from  the  select  com- 
mittee, made  a  report: 

The  select  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  letter  of  the  Hon. 
Rufus  Choate,  resigning  the  office  of  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  also  the  resolution  thereon  to  inquire  whether  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  has  been  managed  and  its  funds  expended 
in  accordance  with  the  law  establishing  it,  and  whether  any  addi- 
tional legislation  be  necessary  to  carry  out  the  design  of  its  founders, 
report: 

[Mr.  Nath.  G.  Taylor,  of  Tennessee,  concurring;  and  Mr.  Richard 
C.  Puryear,  of  North  Carolina,  and  Mr.  Daniel  Wells,  of  Wisconsin, 
although  not  dissenting  from  all  the  views,  preferred  not  to  sign 
either  this  report  or  the  report  made  by  Mr.  Upham  alone.] 

That  the}r  have  made  a  patient  examination  of  the  Institution,  and 
hate  concluded  that  there  is  no  just  cause  of  complaint  against  the 
Regents  or  the  Secretary  in  regard  to  the  construction  of  the  act  of 
Congress  establishing  the  Institution,  and  the  plan  of  organization 
adopted  by  the  Regents,  or  the  manner  in  which  its  affairs  have  been 
administered.  The  subjects  included  in  the  resolution  may  be  appro- 
priately arranged  under  the  following  heads: 

1.  The  proper  construction  of  the  act  of  Congress  establishing  the 
Institution. 

2.  The  plan  of  organizing  and  administering  the  affairs  of  the  Insti- 
tution adopted  by  the  Regents  in  pursuance  of  the  law. 

3.  The  question  whether  any  new  legislation  is  necessary. 

4.  The  administration  of  this  plan  by  the  Regents  and  Secretary. 
Of  these  the  committee  will  treat  in  the  order  in  which  they  are 

stated : 

1.  The  proper  construction  of  the  act  of  Congress. 

The  question  whether  the  bequest  of  Mr.  Smithson  should  be 
applied  chiefly  to  the  formation  of  a  great  national  library,  or  to 
researches  for  the  increase  of  knowledge  and  the  publication  and  cir- 
culation of  their  results  for  its  diffusion  among  men,  divided  the 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  575 

opinion  of  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Regents  at  their  first  meeting. 
These  differences  of  opinion  were  compromised  at  the  organization  of 
the  Institution  by  a  resolution,  which  the  Regents  have  lately  repealed. 

That  resolution  provided,  prospectively  and  on  a  contingency 
which  maybe  said  to  have  just  occurred — the  completion  of  the  Smith- 
sonian building,  for  an  equal  division  of  the  fund  committed  to  the 
care  of  the  Board  of  Regents  between  the  two  objects  above  stated — a 
national  library,  museum,  and  gallery  of  art  on  the  one  hand,  and 
researches,  publications,  and  lectures  on  the  other. 

This  compromise  resolution  has  been  repealed  by  the  Board  of 
Regents  during  their  present  session,  and  instead  of  it  they  have 
adopted  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  hereafter  the  annual  appropriations  shall  be  apportioned  specifically 
among  the  different  objects  and  operations  of  the  Institution  in  such  manner  as  may, 
in  the  judgment  of  the  Regents,  be  necessary  and  proper  for  each,  according  to  its 
intrinsic  importance,  and  a  compliance  in  good  faith  with  the  law. 

The  adoption  of  this  resolution  was  followed  by  the  resignation  of 
Mr.  Choate,  one  of  the  Regents,  and  in  his  letter  of  resignation, 
addressed  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  he  assumes  that  the  act  of 
Congress  presented  a  rule  of  appropriation  which  is  set  aside  by  the 
resolution.  Whether  the  Board  of  Regents  or  Mr.  Choate  are  right 
in  this  respect  must  be  determined  by  a  reference  to  the  act  of  Congress. 

When  it  had  created  the  Institution,  given  it  a  corporate  name, 
invested  it  with  certain  powers,  subjected  it  to  specific  restrictions, 
provided  for  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building,  and  directed  an  annual 
appropriation  not  exceeding  $25,000  for  the  gradual  formation  of  a 
library,  it  proceeded  to  declare  that  of  any  other  moneys  accrued  or 
to  accrue  as  interest  on  the  fund,  not  otherwise  appropriated  nor 
required  for  the  purposes  therein  provided,  the  managers  were  thereby 
"authorized  to  make  such  disposal  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for 
the  promotion  of  the  purposes  of  the  testator,  anything  therein  con- 
tained to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 

Beyond  any  reasonable  controversy,  here  is  a  discretionary  and 
controlling  power  given  to  the  Board  of  Regents  over  the  whole  income 
of  the  fund,  except  only  such  portion  of  it  as  had  been  appropriated 
or  should  be  required  for  purposes  provided  by  the  act.  To  deter- 
mine the  extent  of  this  discretionary  power  it  becomes  necessary,  then, 
to  ascertain  what  appropriation  has  been  made  and  what  purposes 
were  provided  by  the  act. 

It  directs  the  selection  of  a  lot  and  the  erection  of  a  suitable  build- 
ing, but  does  not  limit  the  amount  of  expenditure,  nor  make  any 
appropriation  for  it.  It  provides  "that  in  proportion  as  suitable 
arrangement  can  be  made  for  their  reception"  the  several  objects 
specified  in  the  sixth  section  shall  be  delivered  to  the  order  of  the 
Board  of  Regents,  and  requires  the  arrangements  and  classification 
of  them. 


576  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

It  directs  the  Regents  to  appropriate  "  from  the  interest  of  said  fund 
a  sum  not  exceeding  an  average  of  $25,000  annually  for  the  gradual 
formation  of  a  library,"  and  then  places  the  whole  residue  of  the 
increase  of  the  fund  at  their  disposal.  Can  this  be  doubted?  For  the 
various  purposes  provided  by  the  act  no  appropriations  are  made. 
The  library  forms  the  only  exception,  and  the  sole  limit  of  the  dis- 
cretionary power  of  the  Regents  over  appropriations  for  a  library  is 
that  they  shall  not  exceed  an  annual  average  of  $25,000,  Within  that 
limit  their  discretion  is  full  and  entire.  Suppose  any  appropriation 
made  in  any  given  year  for  the  gradual  formation  of  a  library;  can  any- 
one doubt  that  the  Regents  have  the  power  to  make  such  an  appropria- 
tion or  so  to  limit  it?  And  is  there  any  reason  why  they  might  not 
limit  the  appropriation  to  a  still  smaller  sum?  They  might,  indeed, 
be  liable  to  the  charge  of  evading  the  law  if  those  appropriations  were 
for  mere  nominal  sums,  so  that  in  the  course  of  a  series  of  years  no 
sensible  progress  could  be  made  in  the  gradual  formation  of  a  library. 
But  this  is  an  extreme  case,  from  which  no  argument  can  be  drawn 
against  their  discretion  to  limit  the  appropriation  for  a  library  while 
intending  in  good  faith  to  provide  for  its  gradual  formation. 

Then  suppose  them  to  apply  an  amount  sufficient  to  meet  all  the 
expenses  necessarily  resulting  from  the  provisions  of  the  act.  Still  there 
would  remain  a  considerable  sum  not  applied  to  any  purpose.  If  the 
Board  of  Regents  believe  that  its  application  to  scientific  researches 
and  their  publication  be  "best  suited  for  the  promotion  of  the  pur- 
poses of  the  testator,"  can  it  be  doubted  that  they  would  have  the 
right  so  to  apply  it? 

The  ninth  section  of  the  act  gives  this  power  in  full.  When  the}T 
have  met  the  current  expenses  of  the  Institution,  from  time  to  time 
made  the  necessary  appropriations  for  the  buildings  in  process 
of  erection,  and,  exercising  their  discretion  within  the  limit  pre- 
scribed to  them,  have  made  an  annual  appropriation  for  a  library, 
what  remains  is  placed  at  their  "disposal,"  to  promote  the  purposes 
of  the  testator  by  the  use  of  such  means  as  "they  (the  Board  of 
Regents)  shall  deem  best  suited "  to  accomplish  this  object.  In  con- 
struing the  act  of  Congress  the  committee  confine  themselves  to  the 
act  itself — to  the  plain  import  of  the  terms  in  which  it  is  expressed, 
and  to  the  necessary  results  of  the  provisions  which  it  contains. 
The}r  do  not  resort  to  what  is  called  its  parliamentary  history.  The 
reported  speeches  of  members  upon  the  bill  while  pending  in  Con- 
gress, and  even  votes  upon  amendments  made  or  rejected,  do  not 
answer  this  purpose.  The  first  only  disclose  the  individual  opinions 
of  the  speakers;  the  second  frequently  do  not  exhibit  the  object  of 
those  who  voted  for  or  against  the  particular  amendment.  A  speech 
made  by  one  member  is  often  at  variance  with  the  views  of  those  who 
unite  with  him  in  voting  for  a  particular  provision.  They  frequently 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,  1853-1855.  577 

sustain  it  on  other  and  different  grounds.  So,  too,  the  majority  or 
intermediate  vote  is  frequently  composed  of  the  friends  and  opponents 
of  the  bill,  the  latter  advocating  a  particular  amendment  with  the 
hope  and  in  the  belief  that  it  will  prove  an  incumbrance  to  the  meas- 
ure in  the  view  of  some  of  its  advocates,  and  thus  contribute  to  its 
defeat;  or  they  may  think  that  a  particular  proviso  proposed  to  be 
stricken  out  is  unnecessary  as  being  comprehended  in  some  other  part 
of  the  act. 

A  careful  scrutiny  of  the  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives while  this  law  was  pending  before  them,  would  show  how 
unsafe  a  guide  the  resort  to  the  parliamentary  history  of  a  bill  would 
be  in  the  ascertainment  of  its  true  construction.  This  may  reconcile 
us  to  an  adherence  to  those  rules  which  the  wisdom  of  ages  has 
devised  for  the  interpretation  of  statutes.  We  are  endeavoring  to 
ascertain  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  and  to  do 
this  we  seek  to  discover  the  true  interpretation  of  the  act  of  Congress 
and  the  will  of  Mr.  Smithson,  which,  taken  together,  confer  their  pow- 
ers and  prescribe  their  duties.  These  two  sources  of  power  and  duty 
are  spoken  of  as  necessarily  connected;  for,  although  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  was  created  by  act  of  Congress,  and  will  cease  to  exist 
whenever  Congress  shall  think  proper  to  repeal  that  act,  yet  both 
Congress  and  the  Institution,  so  long  as  it  continues  to  exist,  are 
bound  to  carry  the  intention  of  the  testator  into  effect. 

The  trust  has  been  accepted  by  Congress  in  behalf  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  faith  of  the  United  States  has  been  pledged  for  its 
faithful  execution  "according  to  the  will  of  the  enlightened  and  lib- 
eral donor. "  While,  therefore,  Congress,  acting  as  agents  of  the  United 
States,  have  the  power  to  divert  the  fund  to  purposes  other  than  those 
which  may  be  according  to  "the  will  of  the  liberal  and  enlightened 
donor,1' their  right  to  do  so  can  never  be  affirmed;  and  though  the 
Board  of  Regents  can  not  and  do  not  claim  a  right  to  place  themselves 
in  an  antagonistical  position  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
whose  subagents  they  are,  yet  in  construing  the  act  of  Congress,  if 
it  will  admit  of  two  constructions,  one  of  which  seems  to  be  most 
conformable  to  the  purposes  of  the  will  of  Smithson,  the  Regents 
would  not  hesitate  to  accept  such  construction  in  preference  to  the 
other,  which  does  not  conform  to  the  will  of  the  testator.  This  is 
merely  the  application  of  a  principle  universally  recognized  in  the 
interpretation  of  statutes. 

In  the  present  case  two  constructions  are  given  to  the  act  of  Con- 
gress. If  the  Board  of  Regents  consider  one  of  them  to  be  more 
consonant  to  the  purposes  of  Mr.  Smithson's  will,  which  was  the 
source  of  the  authority  of  Congress  to  legislate  on  the  subject  for 
any  purpose,  it  ought  to  be  adopted,  since  the  act  was  passed  evidently 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  execution  "the  will  of  the  donor," 
H.  Doc.  732 37 


578  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

and  especially  when  this  interpretation  affects  two  provisions  of  the 
act  which  otherwise  would  be  without  object  or  operation. 

The  committee  will  now  proceed  to  inquire  whether  the  scientific 
researches  and  the  publication  of  their  results  are,  in  the  language  of 
the  acts  of  Congress,  "best  suited  to  promote  the  purpose  of  the  tes- 
tator." The  question  is  between  such  researches  made  and  published 
at  Washington,  or  examined  under  the  authority  of  the  Institution 
and  circulated  throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  a  great  national 
library  to  be  established  in  this  cit3r.  Mr.  Smithson  was  a  scholar,  a 
man  of  science,  an  author  of  scientific  memoirs,  a  contributor  to  the 
Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London,  familiar  with  the  lan- 
guage in  which  his  will  is  written,  and  perfectly  competent  to  decide 
upon  the  aptitude  of  words  to  convey  the  ideas  they  were  intended  to 
express. 

It  might  well  be  expected  that  the  language  of  such  a  man  would  be 
characterized  by  simplicity,  by  the  absence  of  circumlocution  and 
periphrasis,  which  is  well  described  as  the  use  of  many  words  to 
express  the  meaning  of  one.  If  he  had  intended  to  furnish  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  especially  to  the  citizens  of  Wash- 
ington, a  great  library,  comprehending  all  that  was  then  known  in 
every  department  of  human  knowledge  and  culture,  he  would  have 
said  so  in  terms  not  to  be  misunderstood.  The  committee  can  not 
doubt  that  if  he  had  merely  designed  to  provide  for  the  purchase  of 
books  to  become,  through  the  agenc}7  of  the  United  States,  the  founder 
of  a  library,  he  would  have  used  the  simple  language  appropriate  to 
such  an  intention.  He  would  have  said:  "I  bequeath  the  whole  of 
my  property,  subject,  etc.,  to  the  United  States  of  America  to  found, 
at  Washington,  a  library,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Library." 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  any  man  having  such  an  object  in  view 
would  have  abandoned  the  plain,  simple,  intelligible  language,  in 
which  no  difference  of  construction  could  by  any  possibility  have 
arisen,  and  have  substituted  for  it  the  sentence  which  is  found  in  his 
will,  namely:  "To  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men. " 

Again,  Mr.  Smithson  was,  as  the  committee  have  before  said,  a  man 
of  science,  the  author  of  scientific  memoirs,  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Society,  and  a  contributor  to  its  Transactions.  What  is  more  natural 
than  that  such  a  man  should,  when  about  to  pass  away  from  the  scene 
of  action,  dedicate  his  property  to  the  continued  prosecution  of  those 
researches  to  which  his  life  had  been  principally  devoted.  The  words 
of  the  bequest  are  strongly  corroborative  of  this  view.  It  is  for  the 
"increase  of  knowledge,"  not  merely  for  the  acquirement  of  that 
w^hich  now  exists.  A  library  would  subserve  the  latter  purpose,  but 
could  only  indirectly  aid  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  former  by  ena- 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  579 

bling  those  who  had  mastered  its  contents  to  do  what  the  board  is 
now  doing,  namely,  to  prosecute  researches  for  the  increase  of  knowl- 
edge. But  the  terms  of  the  bequest  require  not  merely  that  it  should 
be  applied  to  the  increase  of  knowledge,  but  also  to  its  diffusion,  and 
to  its  diffusion  among  men. 

The  benevolent  purposes  of  Mr.  Smithson  were  not  limited  to  the 
citizens  of  Washington,  nor  yet  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
They  had  a  far  wider  scope.  A  man  of  science  belongs  exclusively  to 
no  particular  country.  He  is  in  one  sense  a  cosmopolite,  at  home  in 
all  places  where  the  votaries  of  science  dwell,  and  under  every  clime 
they  are  the  objects  of  his  benevolence.  They  are  men  among  whom 
he  desires  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge. 

And  he  has  provided  for  this  in  his  will.  How  could  a  vast  library 
established  here  accomplish  this  object?  At  most  it  would  be  access- 
ible to  the  people  of  Washington,  to  casual  visitors,  and  for  those  who 
came  here  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  its  volumes.  How  infinitely 
short  would  this  fall  of  the  purpose  of  the  testator,  which  was  first 
the  increase  and  then  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men  of  what- 
ever country  or  whatever  clime. 

If  a  national  library  be  a  national  want,  who  should  supply  it?  Can 
not  Congress,  which  represents  a  population  of  25,000,000,  with 
resources  almost  incalculable,  and  with  a  treasury  not  exhausted  or 
impoverished,  but  overflowing  with  revenue?  Can  it  not  spare  out  of 
this  abundance  whatever  may  be  necessary?  Is  it  not  now  supplying 
that  want  in  the  great  library  of  Congress,  to  which  in  the  last  three 
years  the}"  have  appropriated  more  than  $90,000?  It  is  accessible  now 
to  every  scholar  who  may  be  at  Washington,  and  will  in  a  few  years  be 
so  increased  under  the  policy  of  its  present  administration  as  to  supply 
many  of  the  wants  of  the  student  and  the  scientific  investigator.  Shall 
a  nation  such  as  ours  depend  for  this  national  want  upon  the  bounty 
of  a  stranger?  The  generous  impulse  of  the  American  heart  will 
quickly  prompt  the  answer — no. 

The  resolutions  of  compromise,  as  they  were  called,  to  which  the 
committee  have  before  alluded,  were  repealed  by  the  Board  of 
Regents  before  the  period  when  by  their  terms  they  were  to  go  into 
operation.  What  has  been  already  said  will  show  that  the  committee 
think  that  they  were  properly  repealed.  Their  effect  was  to  tie  up 
the  hands  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  to  deny  to  the  successors  of  those 
who  passed  them  the  exercise  of  that  discretion  with  which  the  law 
invested  the  board,  and  thus  to  defeat  the  act  of  Congress  by  taking 
away  that  discretion  in  regard  to  the  disposal  of  the  fund  which  the 
law  made  it  not  only  the  right  but  the  duty  of  the  Regents  to  exercise. 
Nor  can  there  be  any  breach  of  faith  in  this  repeal.  The  faith  which 
the  Regents  owe  is  to  the  law  and  to  the  purpose  of  the  will  of  Smith- 
son,  and  any  arrangement  of  their  own  which  should  restrain  them 


580  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

from  promoting  this  purpose  by  the  means  which  they  deem  best 
suited  to  it  would  itself,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  approach 
more  nearly  to  a  breach  of  faith. 

The  Regents  by  pledging  their  faith  to  one  another  can  not  escape 
from  the  obligation  to  apply  the  funds  at  their  control  to  the  objects 
which  they  deem  best  suited  to  promote  the  purpose  of  the  testator. 
The  act  of  Congress,  according  to  the  plain  import  of  its  terms,  author- 
izes the  Board  of  Regents  to  employ  all  moneys  arising  from  the  income 
of  the  endowment  not  therein  appropriated  nor  required  for  the  pur- 
pose therein  provided,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited 
for  the  "  purpose  of  the  testator,"  namely,  "the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men,"  and  this  authority  is  rendered  incontestable, 
in  the  judgment  of  the  committee,  by  the  concluding  clause  of  the  sec- 
tion which  empowers  the  Board  of  Regents  to  exercise  their  discretion 
in  the  disposal  of  the  surplus  income,  "anything  herein  (the  act  of 
Congress)  contained  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 

This  grant  of  the  power  imposes  the  obligation  to  exercise  the  dis- 
cretion which  it  confers.  Judicial  tribunals  would  never  reverse  the 
construction  of  a  statute,  the  terms  of  which  were  so  plain  and  unmis- 
takable, by  what  is  at  all  times  dangerous,  a  resort  to  speeches  made 
by  a  few  of  the  lawgivers  who  framed  it,  or  the  votes  of  members  actu- 
ated by  motives  be}7ond  the  scrutiny  of  the  expounder.  Looking, 
therefore,  to  the  act  of  Congress  itself,  which,  as  was  said  by  a  Senator 
in  a  recent  discussion,  is  best  construed  by  "  the  examination  and  com- 
parison of  its  various  provisions  and  the  admitted  purpose  of  its  enact- 
ment," the  committee  found  no  difficulty  in  coming  to  these  conclusions 
on  this  point.  They  find  in  the  law  directions  to  the  Board  of  Regents  to 
erect,  on  a  liberal  scale,  a  building  in  which  can  be  arranged  collections 
of  natural  history,  a  geological  and  mineralogical  cabinet,  a  museum, 
a  library,  chemical  laboratory,  gallery  of  art,  a  lecture  room,  and,  of 
course,  to  use  these  various  means  of  increasing  knowledge  in  the 
manner  and  for  the  purpose  to  which  they  are  adapted,  and  for  which 
they  are  required.  In  effect  the  law  says:  "All  other  portions  of  the 
income  dispose  of  as  you  may  think  best  calculated  to  promote  the 
purpose  of  the  testator."  A  larger  discretion  can  hardly  be  conceived. 
It  is  absolutely  unlimited  in  relation  to  every  one  of  its  objects  except 
a  library,  and  to  this  the  appropriations,  which  the  Regents  are  author- 
ized to  make,  are  limited  to  a  maximum  amount  which  they  are  not  at 
liberty  to  exceed.  It  would  seem  to  be  most  singular  if  this  had  been 
the  primary  and  cherished  object  of  Congress  that  it  should  be  the  only 
one  subjected  to  such  a  limitation. 

It  might  be  thought,  if  this  had  been  their  primary  purpose,  that 
the  restrictions  would  have  been  imposed  upon  the  appropriations  for 
other  objects,  leaving  that  for  the  library  unfettered.  If  we  turn 
from  the  act  of  Congress  to  the  will  of  Smithson  to  determine  the 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  581 

manner  in  which  the  trust  should  be  executed,  if  we  look  to  his  ante- 
cedents and  find  that  he  was  himself  a  searcher  into  the  mysteries  of 
nature  which  science  is  laboring  to  develop — not  so  much  employed 
in  studying  the  pages  of  those  who  have  written  as  striving  to  read 
the  unwritten  pages  of  nature's  book — if  we  consider  the  plain  and 
obvious  import  of  the  simple  language  in  which  his  wishes  are  expressed 
and  contemplate  the  benefits  to  result  from  one  or  the  other  scheme  of 
appropriation  which  have  been  in  controversy;  if  we  consider  these 
things  we  can  not  doubt  that  it  is  both  the  right  and  the  duty  of  the 
Regents,  resulting  from  the  will  of  Smithson  and  enjoined  by  the  act  of 
Congress,  to  appropriate  such  portion  of  his  funds  as  they  can  advan- 
tageously employ  in  scientific  researches  and  the  publication  and  circu- 
lation of  the  results  u  among  men,"  wherever  men  exist  capable  of 
appreciating  them,  while  at  the  same  time  they  apply  another  portion 
of  the  fund,  according  to  a  sound  and  honest  discretion,  to  the  partic- 
ular purposes  specified  in  the  act. 

Thus  they  will  not  depart  from  any  plan  devised  by  Congress  and 
prescribed  in  the  act,  as  Mr.  Choate  seems  to  have  erroneously  sup- 
posed, but  will  fill  up  and  develop  that  very  plan,  of  which  only  some 
of  the  outlines  were  sketched  in  the  law. 

It  would  be  impracticable  within  the  limits  proper  to  this  report 
to  go  into  the  examination  of  the  minute  outline  of  organization 
of  the  Institution  submitted  to  the  Board  of  Regents  by  the  secretary, 
and  approved  by  them.  It  will  be  found  printed  in  detail  in  the 
appendix  to  the  eighth  annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
published  by  Congress  in  1854. 

A  brief  notice  of  the  plan  and  of  its  results  is  all  that  we  can  here 
present. 

The  object  of  the  plan  is,  first:  To  increase  knowledge  by  stimu- 
lating original  research  by  the  rapid  and  full  publication  of  results; 
by  aid  in  procuring  the  materials  and  appliances  for  investigation; 
and,  if  necessary,  by  direct  rewards. 

Experience  has  shown  that  no  other  means  are  so  effective  in  stimu- 
lating research  as  the  rapid  publication  of  results;  not  in  a  stinted 
form  of  abstract,  and  without  illustrations  (too  often  the  necessary 
condition  of  the  publication  of  scientific  labors)  but  in  full,  with  illus- 
trations drawn,  engraved,  and  printed  in  the  best  style  of  art.  How 
many  investigations  are  stopped  for  the  want  of  instruments,  of  speci- 
mens, and  general  appliances  for  research  ?  How  many  are  laid  aside, 
because,  first  of  all,  men  must  live?  What  more  noble  or  useful  object 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  than  to  remove  these  difficulties  from 
the  path  of  genius?  What  more  consonant  to  the  intention  of  the 
founder:  An  expedition  is  setting  out  and  instruments  are  required  to 
investigate  the  magnetism  of  the  earth,  the  temperature  of  the  ocean, 
the  climate,  soil,  and  productions  of  places  explored,  their  latitudes 


582  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

and  longitudes,  heights,  etc.  These  instruments  are  lent  or  furnished 
by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the  results  obtained  with  them 
become  public  property.  Means  are  furnished  to  explorers  to  make 
collections  of  minerals  and  ores;  of  plants  and  animals;  of  fishes,  rep- 
tiles, and  insects;  and  to  provide  for  their  transportation  from  the 
field.  These  collections  are  submitted  to  the  most  successful  culti- 
vators of  the  branches  of  science  to  which  they  belong;  to  men  who 
have  made  these  objects  their  especial  study,  and  their  investigations 
are  made  public.  The  specimens  are  returned  to  the  Smithsonian 
collections  to  be  taken  care  of,  and  perhaps  to  be  reexamined  at  some 
more  advanced  period.  By  these  and  similar  modes  research  is  stim- 
ulated. The  provision  of  meteorological  instruments  and  of  instruc- 
tions for  their  use,  the  collections  of  the  observations  made  and  their 
comparisons,  have  already  furnished  most  important  information  in 
regard  to  the  climate  and  storms  of  the  United  States,  and  the  full 
publication  of  the  results  will  enable  men  of  science  of  this  and  other 
countries  to  draw  from  these  materials  most  valuable  inferences  and 
laws. 

2.  To  diffuse  knowledge,  by  the  publication  of  the  contributions, 
from  researches  and  explorations,  of  reports  on  treatises  on  different 
subjects  or  branches  of  science  and  its  application,  of  reports  showing 
the  history  and  progress  of  these  subjects  or  branches  is  the  second 
object  of  the  "active  operations."  These  publications  diffuse  among 
men  the  knowledge  obtained  by  the  agency  of  the  Institution  or  from 
without.  The  subjects  which  have  been  already  embraced  in  the 
Smithsonian  Contributions  and  in  the  different  volumes  of  reports, 
etc.,  have  been  numerous  and  well  distributed  among  the  various 
branches  of  knowledge — the  abstract  and  the  practical.  The  publi- 
cations are  widely  scattered  among  the  institutions  of  this  and  of 
other  countries,  given  to  them  or  exchanged  for  their  proceedings, 
transactions,  or  other  publications,  and  accessible  at  moderate  rates 
to  individuals.  Of  the  impression  made  abroad  by  the  Smithsonian 
Contributions  to  Knowledge  the  learned  professor  of  Greek  of  Har- 
vard University  [C.  C.  Felton]  thus  speaks: 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASSACHUSETTS,  June  30,  1854- 

I  have  but  recently  returned  from  Europe,  and  I  now  desire  to  acknowledge  the 
service  you  did  me  by  your  circular  letter  of  introduction  to  the  librarians  of  the 
European  establishments  which  are  in  correspondence  with  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. Wherever  I  presented  it  I  was  received  with  great  kindness  and  attention, 
and  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  whatever  was  curious,  interesting,  and  valuable 
in  the  libraries  and  collections. 

It  gave  me  pleasure  to  notice  the  high  estimation  in  which  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, under  its  present  management,  is  held  everywhere  in  Europe.  The  volumes 
published  under  its  auspices  have  done  the  highest  honor  to  American  science,  and 
are  considered  most  valuable  contributions  to  the  stock  of  knowledge  among  men. 
They  are  shown  to  visitors  as  among  the  most  creditable  publications  of  the  age,  and 
as  highly  interesting  illustrations  of  the  progress  of  science  and  the  arts  in  the 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  583 

United  States",  and  the  eagerness  to  possess  them  is  very  great  among  the  savants  of 
the  Old  World.  They  were  shown  to  me  wherever  I  went,  and  the  commendations 
bestowed  on  the  civilization  of  America,  as  evinced  by  the  excellence  of  these  works, 
both  in  matter  and  form,  was  deeply  gratifying  to  me.  The  last  time  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  them  was  in  the  university  library  at  Athens.  The  librarian 
pointed  them  out  to  me  and  expressed  the  greatest  anxiety  to  complete  the  set,  one 
or  two  volumes  of  which  were  wanting. 

The  publications  thus  approved  bring  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
a  return  of  works  published  by  the  learned  societies  of  the  world  and 
by  governments  such  as  could  not  be  procured  in  any  other  way, 
supplying  the  library  with  rich  productions  of  both  literature  and 
science.  The  gradual  formation  of  a  valuable  library  would  result 
from  this  system  of  international  exchanges  even  without  direct 
purchase. 

The  programme  of  organization  of  the  Institution  and  its  execution 
have  met  with  the  unqualified  support  of  a  very  large  majoritj^  of  the 
scientific  and  literary  men  of  our  country,  expressed  individually  or 
in  the  associations  of  which  they  are  members.  This  is  general 
throughout  the  Union,  and  from  no  quarter  have  more  decidedly 
favorable  opinions  been  expressed  than  from  that  to  which  the  Regent 
at  whose  instance  this  investigation  has  been  made  (Mr.  Choate) 
belongs.  The  committee  must  necessarily  be  brief  in  its  selections 
from  the  numerous  letters  and  other  communications  before  it.  In 
speaking  of  the  general  considerations  proposed  by  Professor  Henry 
as  guides  in  adopting  a  plan  of  organization,  a  committee  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  of  Boston,  say  that  "  they 
command  the  entire  assent  of  the  committee,"  and  proceed  to  discuss 
favorably  the  various  provisions  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  furnished  by  the  programme.  This  committee  consisted 
of  such  scholars  as  Everett,  Sparks,  and  Longfellow,  and  such  men  of 
science  as  Peirce  and  Gray. 

Since  the  appointment  of  this  committee  Professor  Peirce,  of  Har- 
vard University,  has  renewed  his  testimony  to  the  wisdom  of  the  plan 
of  organization  and  has  spoken  further  in  relation  to  the  efficiency  of 
its  execution.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  chairman  of  this  committee 
he  says: 

Of  all  men  none  can  be  more  sensible  of  the  value  of  the  great  storehouses  of  the 
wisdom  of  past  ages  than  they  who  are  obliged  to  resort  to  them  in  the  development 
of  their  own  researches.  The  knowledge  which  has  already  been  given  to  the  world, 
and  which  is  accumulated  in  the  library,  stimulates  and  invigorates  the  mind  for 
original  thoughts  and  supplies  important  materials  for  investigation;  it  is  to  the 
author  what  the  collection  of  models  in  the  Patent  Office  is  to  the  inventor;  but, 
nevertheless,  the  increase  of  knowledge  depends  chiefly  upon  the  native  vigor  of 
intellect,  and  its  diffusion  is  performed  by  the  press.  To  the  strong  mind  the  collec- 
tions of  the  Vatican  are  a  golden  opportunity,  richer  than  the  mineral  harvest  of 
California,  but  not  richer  than  the  hills  and  streams  which  abound  within  every 
man's  sight;  not  richer  than  the  stone  beneath  our  feet,  on  which  is  written  the 


584  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

history  of  the  world;  than  the  leaf  of  the  forest,  on  which  is  inscribed  the  thought 
of  its  Creator;  or  than  the  cloud,  in  the  lightnings  of  which  the  laws  and  the  glory 
of  God  are  as  distinctly  revealed  to  the  faithful  of  the  present  generation  as  they 
were  upon  Mount  Sinai. 

The  valuable  contributions  to  knowledge  which  have  already  been  made  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  are  a  living  proof  that  vast  libraries  are  not  necessary  to 
the  development  of  new  thoughts.  If  you  will  compare  these  memoirs  with  the 
scientific  productions  of  the  same  period  in  Europe,  you  may  find  them  perchance 
inferior  in  erudition,  but  not  in  profoundness  and  originality  of  thought.  Do  you 
believe  that  Smithson,  who  was  himself  engaged  in  chemical  investigation,  could 
have  intended  a  library  by  his  words  "an  institution  for  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men?"  If  you  will  examine  his  9  memoirs  to  the  Royal 
Society,  of  which  he  was  an  active  member,  and  his  18  other  contributions  to 
science,  you  will  not  find  one  of  them  that  required  a  library  for  its  production. 
Each  was  the  natural  growth  of  a  deeply  thinking  mind.  Smithson  was  emphat- 
ically a  maker  and  not  a  collector  of  books;  and  in  the  scientific  circle  to  which  he 
belonged  the  ordinary  use  of  language  would  have  totally  precluded  the  interpreta- 
tion which  some  men  of  quite  a  different  cast  of  mind  have  presumed  to  impose 
upon  his  words.  Expand  his  largeness  of  expression  to  its  utmost  extent;  include 
in  it  all  that  a  generous  mind  like  his  own  would  desire  it  to  embrace;  but  let  it  not 
be  cramped  and  twisted  out  of  shape  and  so  forced  from  its  original  design  that  it 
shall  wholly  fail  to  accomplish  the  object  of  the  munificent  testator. 

Most  earnestly,  then,  in  the  name  of  science,  and  especially  of  American  science, 
do  I  protest  against  such  a  gross  perversion  of  this  important  trust.  I  assure  you, 
sir,  that  the  great  body  of  scientific  men  throughout  the  country  warmly  approve 
Professor  Henry's  plan  of  conducting  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  regard  it  as  a 
faithful  exponent  of  the  almost  undivided  opinion  of  scientific  and  learned  men  as 
to  the  proper  execution  of  Smithson' s  will  and  the  law  of  Congress. 

Professor  Agassiz,  also  of  Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  whose 
fame  as  a  naturalist  is  second  to  that  of  no  man  living,  has  given,  in  a 
letter  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  the  strongest  expression  of 
his  favorable  opinion  of  the  working  of  the  Institution.  The  com- 
mittee has  space  here  only  for  an  extract  from  the  letter  referred  to: 

Smithson  had  already  made  his  will  and  left  his  fortune  to  the  Royal  Society  of 
London  when  certain  scientific  papers  were  offered  to  that  learned  body  for  publi- 
cation. Notwithstanding  his  efforts  to  have  them  published  in  their  Transactions, 
they  were  refused;  upon  which  he  changed  his  will  and  made  his  bequest  to  the 
United  States.  It  would  be  easy  to  collect  in  London  more  minute  information  upon 
this  occurrence,  and  should  it  appear  desirable,  I  think  I  could  put  the  committee  in 
the  way  of  learning  all  the  circumstances.  Nothing  seems  to  me  to  indicate  more 
plainly  what  were  the  testator's  views  respecting  the  best  means  of  promoting  science 
than  this  fact.  I  will  not  deny  the  great  importance  of  libraries,  and  no  one  has  felt 
more  keenly  the  want  of  an  extensive  scientific  library  than  I  have  since  I  have  been 
in  the  United  States;  but,  after  all,  libraries  are  only  tools  of  a  secondary  value  to 
those  who  are  really  endowed  by  nature  with  the  power  of  making  original  researches 
and  thus  increasing  knowledge  among  men.  And  though  the  absence  or  deficiency 
of  libraries  is  nowhere  so  deeply  felt  as  in  America,  the  application  of  the  funds  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  formation  of  a  library  beyond  the  requirements 
of  the  daily  progress  of  science  would  only  be,  in  my  humble  opinion,  a  perversion 
of  the  real  object  of  the  trust,  inasmuch  as  it  would  tend  to  secure  facilities  only  to 
the  comparatively  small  number  "of  American  students  who  may  have  the  time  and 
means  to  visit  Washington  when  they  wish  to  consult  a  library.  Such  an  application 


THIETY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  585 

of  the  funds  would  indeed  lessen  the  ability  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  accom- 
plish its  great  object,  which  is  declared  by  its  founder  to  be  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men,  to  the  full  extent  to  which  they  may  be  spent  to  increase 
unduly  the  library. 

Moreover,  American  students  have  a  just  claim  upon  their  own  country  for  such 
local  facilities  as  the  accumulation  of  books  affords. 

If  I  am  allowed,  in  conclusion,  to  state  my  personal  impression  respecting  the 
management  of  the  Institution  thus  far,  I  would  only  express  my  concurrence  with 
the  plan  of  active  operations  adopted  by  the  Regents,  which  has  led  to  the  publication 
of  a  series  of  volumes  equal  in  scientific  value  to  any  productions  of  the  same  kind 
issued  by  learned  societies  anywhere. 

The  distribution  of  the  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge  has  already  car- 
ried the  name  of  the  Institution  to  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world  and  conveyed  with 
them  such  evidence  of  the  intellectual  activity  of  America  as  challenges  everywhere 
admiration;  a  result  which  could  hardly  be  obtained  by  applying  the  resources  of 
the  Institution  to  other  purposes. 

3.  Additional  legislation. 

From  what  has  been  already  said  it  may  well  be  inferred  that  the 
committee  have  been  unable  to  see  anything,  either  in  the  provisions  of 
the  law  or  the  administration  of  the  Institution,  which  requires  reform 
by  additional  legislation.  Indeed,  they  could  not  imagine  on  what 
ground  additional  legislation  could  be  demanded  if  they  had  not  been 
informed  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Meacham,  who  presented  the  resolution 
under  which  the  committee  was  appointed.  That  gentleman  was  invited 
to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  committee,  was  authorized  to  present 
charges  and  specifications  upon  any  branch  of  the  subject  referred  to 
them,  as  also  to  direct  summons  for  witnesses,  and  to  conduct  the 
examination  whenever  he  desired  to  do  so.  He  pointed  out  only  two 
particulars  as  requiring  additional  legislation. 

The  first  was  "that  additional  legislation  was  needed  to  secure  im- 
partiality toward  authors  who  apply  for  the  publication  of  their 
researches."  No  instance  of  partiality  or  injustice  in  this  respect  has 
been  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  committee  by  proof  or  by  allegation. 
The  idea  seems  to  have  been  advanced  for  the  first  time  by  one  of  the 
assistants  of  the  Secretary,  Mr.  Jewett,  in  a  communication  addressed 
to  a  special  committee  of  the  Regents  in  the  year  1854. 

The  argument  there  made  by  Mr.  Jewett  has  been  abbreviated  by 
Mr.  Meacham,  and  may  be  stated  as  objecting  that  the  power  of  accept- 
ing or  rejecting  a  memoir  presented  for  publication  is  virtually  in  the 
hands  of  one  man. 

The  practice  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London  is  stated  as  being  far 
preferable.  On  this  point  the  committee  would  remark  that  the 
same  plan  can  not  be  adopted  by  the  Institution  because,  as  the  com- 
mittee has  been  informed,  it  has  no  fellows  from  whom  an  examining 
council  of  twenty-one  members  may  be  selected;  and  if  the  plan 
could  be  adopted,  the  committee  do  not  think  it  is  as  good  as  the  one 
which  the  Regents  have  chosen.  In  the  present  state  of  knowledge 


586  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

the  several  branches  can  scarcely  be  represented  by  twenty-one  indi- 
viduals, and  it  may  occur  in  case  of  a  particular  paper  that  not  a 
single  member  of  the  council  is  fully  competent  to  decide  upon  its 
merits.  The  Institution  is  not  thus  restricted;  it  has  at  its  command 
the  learning  of  the  whole  country,  and  is  not  even  confined  in  its 
choice  of  examiners  to  men  of  science  at  home,  but  can  select  them 
from  distinguished  individuals  abroad. 

The  rules  adopted  by  the  Regents  are  in  this  respect  few  and  sim- 
ple and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  sufficient.  They  have  pro- 
vided in  their  programme  of  organization  as  follows: 

First.  No  memoir  on  subjects  of  physical  science  to  be  accepted  for 
publication  which  does  not  furnish  a  positive  addition  to  human 
knowledge,  resting  on  original  research;  and  all  unverified  specula- 
tions to  be  rejected. 

Second.  Each  memoir  presented  to  the  Institution  to  be  submitted 
for  examination  to  a  commission  of  persons  of  reputation  for  learning 
in  the  branch  to  which  the  memoir  pertains;  and  to  be  accepted  for 
publication  only  in  case  the  report  of  this  commission  is  favorable. 

Third.  The  commission  to  be  chosen  by  the  officers  of  the  Institu- 
tion, and  the  name  of  the  author,  as  far  as  practicable,  concealed 
unless  a  favorable  decision  be  made. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  there  is  nothing  like  a  "star  chamber  of 
science"  in  this  part  of  the  plan  of  the  Institution.  The  opinion  of  the 
commission  is  formed  upon  the  merits  of  the  work  or  paper,  and  can 
not  be  affected  by  partiality  for  or  prejudice  against  the  author,  whose 
name  is  unknown  to  them. 

If  any  author  should  feel  himself  aggrieved  by  the  appointment  of 
an  incompetent  or  prejudiced  commission,  he  will  have  no  difficulty  in 
presenting  a  complaint  to  the  Board  of  Regents,  by  whom  another 
commission  may  be  named.  In  fact,  no  well-founded  complaint  on 
this  score  has  yet  been  made,  so  far  as  has  been  shown  to  this  commit- 
tee, and  the  danger  complained  of  seems  to  them  only  speculative  and 
fanciful.  The  Board  of  Regents  have  full  power  to  remedy  whatever 
may  be  wrong  in  the  practical  working  of  this  part  of  the  plan,  and  it 
will  be  time  enough  to  ask  the  interference  of  Congress  when  the  evils 
which  are  now  only  conjectural  shall  be  realized. 

Mr.  Meacham  suggests  "that  the  Institution  should  be  placed  in 
such  a  position  that  legal  redress  may  be  gained  by  those  who  are 
improperly  deprived  of  their  rights." 

It  is  true  that  the  Institution  is  not  a  corporation  capable  of  suing  or 
being  sued.  But  no  practical  evils  have  as  yet  resulted  from  the 
refusal  of  Congress  to  make  the  establishment  an  incorporation.  It  is 
a  peculiar  establishment.  Its  operations  are  simple  and  few.  Its  con- 
tracts are  such  as  can  seldom  form  the  subject  of  controversy.  If  the 
Institution  should  find  necessity  for  legal  redress,  there  is  nothing  to 


.  THIBTY-THIKD    CONGRESS,  1853-1855.  587 

prevent  the  President,  who  is  a  member  of  the  establishment,  from 
directing  a  suit  in  the  name  of  the  United  States.  If  it  denies  legal 
rights  to  any  officer  or  other  person,  the  same  remedy  exists  as  in  any 
other  case  of  claim  against  the  United  States.  No  instance  of  a  denial 
of  legal  right  has  been  shown  to  the  committee.  An  attempt  to  do  so 
was  indeed  made  on  the  part  of  an  employee  of  the  Institution,  who 
claimed  to  be  entitled  to  larger  compensation  than  had  been  paid  to 
him.  But  the  attempt  was  a  signal  failure.  His  own  receipts  con- 
tradicted his  claims  and  satisfied  the  committee  that  he  had  been  paid 
all  he  could  legally  demand;  and  the  assertion  of  extraordinary  merit 
in  his  labors,  alleged  as  an  equitable  ground  of  claim,  failed  when  a 
resort  was  had  to  testimony  other  than  his  own. 

The  committee  therefore  conclude  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  addi- 
tional legislation. 

4.  Maladministration. 

The  first  of  Mr.  Meacham's  complaints  under  this  head  is  "that  the 
Regents  have  made  the  Secretary  the  organ  of  communication  between 
them  and  the  other  officers  of  the  Institution,  cutting  off  other  officers 
from  direct  official  intercourse  with  the  board,  neglecting  or  refusing 
to  procure  or  make  by-laws  defining  the  position  and  power  of  persons 
employed  in  the  Institution,  and  expressing  the  opinion  that  all  the 
assistants  are  removable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Secretary." 

This  complaint  seems  to  be  founded  on  an  entire  misapprehension  of 
the  act  of  Congress  creating  the  Institution,  and  the  proper  relations 
of  the  Secretary  and  his  subordinates.  By  the  act  of  Congress  the 
Secretary  is  the  sole  administrative  officer  of  the  Institution.  The 
other  officers  are  not  only  his  subordinates,  but  are  nothing  more  than 
his  assistants,  who  are  employed  to  assist  him  in  his  duties,  because  it 
is  physically  impossible  for  him  to  perform  all  of  these  duties  himself. 
The  law  charges  the  Secretary  alone  with  the  duties  enumerated,  and 
therefore  devolves  upon  him  the  sole  responsibility,  unless  when  it  is 
shared  with  the  executive  committee  of  the  Regents,  whose  functions 
are  not  precisely  defined  in  the  law,  but  who  act  as  a  board  of  control 
or  council  to  the  Secretary.  We  adopt  on  this  subject  the  reasoning 
of  the  special  committee  of  the  Board  of  Regents  in  their  report  of 
the  20th  of  May  last,  as  follows: 

The  law  is  declaratory  and  positive  in  charging  the  Secretary  with  the  enumerated 
duties,  and  therefore  invests  him  and  him  alone  with  the  corresponding  powers. 
But  as  it  must  have  been  manifest  that  no  secretary  could  be  able  of  himself  to  per- 
form personally  everything  required  for  the  discharge  of  his  enumerated  duties,  pro- 
vision is  made  for  aid  to  him  in  the  clause  which  says  that  he  "may,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  board,  employ  assistants,"  etc. 

The  positions  of  the  persons  so  employed  are  determined  by  the  word  which  desig- 
nates them  in  the  clause  authorizing  their  employment.  They  are  called  "assistants." 
To  whom?  Not  to  the  Eegents,  but  to  the  Secretary.  Their  position  is  necessarily 
subordinate;  and,  as  their  duties  are  those  of  assistants  to  their  principal,  they  can 


588  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

no  more  be  independent  of  him  than  they  can  be  superior  to  him.  This  construc- 
tion is  so  manifestly  proper  that  it  would  seem  to  require  no  argument  to  justify  it. 
But  if  anything  further  were  wanted  it  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Secretary 
is  to  employ  them  in  and  about  that  very  business  with  which  he  is  charged  and 
for  which  he  alone  is  responsible.  The  character  of  this  part  of  the  section  is  per- 
missive. He  is  not  required  to  employ  anyone,  but  is  permitted  to  employ  persons 
to  assist  him,  provided  he  satisfy  the  board  that  their  services  are  necessary  as  aids 
to  him. 

In  another  part  of  the  same  section  provision  is  made  for  the  payment  and,  if  need 
be,  the  removal  of  the  Secretary  and  his  assistants,  and  in  this  connection  they  are 
spoken  of  as  officers,  but  by  no  ingenuity  of  construction  can  that  word,  in  this  con- 
nection, be  held  to  assign  them  special  duties  or  confer  any  separate  authority. 

Thus  careful  has  Congress  been  to  provide  au  efficient  system  of  operations,  which 
can  only  come  from  harmony  of  purpose  and  unity  of  action. 

This  view  of  the  intention  of  Congress,  so  clearly  expressed  in  the  law,  would  be 
directly  contradicted  by  the  plan  wrhich  has  been  suggested  of  organizing  the  Insti- 
tution definitely  into  several  departments,  placing  at  the  head  of  these  departments 
different  assistants,  establishing  their  relative  positions,  prescribing  distinct  duties 
for  them,  assigning  certain  shares  of  the  income  to  be  disbursed  by  them,  and  stat- 
ing their  authority,  privileges,  and  remedies  for  infringement  of  their  official  rights, 
or  of  the  interests  intrusted  to  their  care.  All  this  would  tend,  not  to  secure  a  loyal 
and  harmonious  cooperation,  to  a  common  end,  of  the  assistants  with  the  Secretary, 
but  to  encourage  rivalry,  to  invite  collision,  to  engender  hostility,  to  destroy  sub- 
ordination, to  distract  the  operations  of  the  Institution,  to  impair  its  efficiency,  and 
to  destroy  its  usefulness. 

This  view  of  the  question  has  been  made  very  clear  to  the  committee 
in  the  course  of  the  examination  which  they  have  made,  and  by  the 
testimony  taken  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  Mr.  Meacham's  charges. 
All  the  difficulties  in  the  Institution,  which  have  resulted  in  the  dis- 
missal by  the  Secretary  of  one  of  his  assistants  and  of  a  person  tempo- 
rarily employed  upon  the  meteorological  computations,  seem  to  have 
arisen  from  the  desire  of  independent  positions,  engendering  rivalry 
and  hostility,  producing  collisions  and  insubordination  utterly  incom- 
patible with  the  proper  authority  of  the  Secretary  and  the  harmonious 
action  so  necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  Institution.  The  facts  devel- 
oped in  regard  to  those  difficulties  entirely  satisfy  your  committee  that 
it  is  not  desirable  to  have  such  by-laws  as  Mr.  Meaeham  thinks  the 
Regents  should  have  made  or  procured. 

If  any  just  cause  of  complaint  by  the  assistants  against  the  Secretary 
should  arise,  they  can  at  all  times  resort  for  redress  to  the  Regents  by 
memorial  or  other  proper  form  of  application,  and  the  patience  with 
which  such  an  application,  although  entirely  without  cause,  has  been 
heard  by  the  executive  committee,  to  which  it  was  referred,  and  con- 
sidered by  the  Regents  is  quite  sufficient  to  show  how  needless  for  the 
purpose  any  by-laws  are. 

It  may  be  proper  to  say  that  the  only  section  of  the  law  in  which 
by-laws  are  mentioned  is  the  eighth,  which  seems  to  confer  the  power 
of  enacting  them  upon  the  members  of  the  establishment,  who  are  the 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  the  members  of 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  589 

the  Cabinet,  except  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  (whose  Department 
was  not  created  at  the  date  of  the  act),  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  and  the  mayor  of  Washington, 
with  "such  other  persons  as  they  may  elect  honorary  members." 

The  Regents  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Secretary  has 
power  to  remove  the  assistants.  This  opinion  is  expressed  in  the  fol- 
lowdng  resolution,  adopted  in  July  last: 

Be  it  resolved,  That  while  power  is  reserved  in  the  said  (seventh)  section  to  the 
Board  of  Regents  to  remove  both  the  Secretary  and  his  assistants,  in  the  opinion 
of  the -Board,  power,  nevertheless,  remains  with  the  Secretary  to  remove  his  said 
assistants. 

In  this  opinion  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  and  Mr.  Ber- 
ricn.  who  were  absent  when  the  resolution  was  passed,  afterwards 
expressed  their  full  concurrence. 

The  committee  can  not  doubt  that  it  was  a  sound  opinion.  The  law, 
as  before  stated,  makes  the  Secretary  the  sole  administrative  officer  of 
the  Institution.  He,  and  he  alone,  is  keeper  of  the  Museum  and  libra- 
rian. The  law  puts  all  the  property  of  the  Institution  into  his  charge, 
and  authorizes  him  alone  to  appoint  assistants  to  aid  him  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  devolved  upon  him.  Had  the  act  made  no  further 
provision  on  this  head,  there  could  not  be  a  doubt  that  the  power  of 
removal  would  be  in  him,  because  it  is  an  established  principle  that 
when  the  power  to  appoint  is  conferred,  the  power  of  removal  is  inci- 
dent to  it,  unless  restrained  by  some  other  provision.  There  is  an- 
other clause  in  the  same  section  (seventh)  which  applies  as  well  to  the 
Secretary  as  to  his  assistants,  which  provides  that  "the  said  officers 
shall  be  removable  by  the  Board  of  Regents  whenever  in  their  judg- 
ment the  interests  of  the  Institution  require  any  of  the  said  officers 
to  be  changed." 

Under  this  clause  the  question  arises  whether  it  restrains  the  inci- 
dental power  of  the  Secretary  to  remove,  or  whether,  in  addition  to 
that  incidental  power,  it  gives,  as  regards  the  assistants,  the  authority 
of  the  Board  to  make  such  removal.  Your  committee  think  the  latter 
the  sound  construction.  It  does  not  restrain  the  power  of  the  Secre- 
tary by  express  words  or  by  necessary  implication.  It  is  true  that  the 
clause  gives  to  the  Board  superior  power,  inasmuch  as  they  may 
remove  an  assistant  without  the  concurrence  of  the  Secretary,  and 
even  against  his  wish,  but  this  power  may  well  exist  without  conflict 
with  the  incidental  authority  of  the  Secretary.  The  same  reasons 
which  cause  the  Secretary  to  be  invested  with  authority  to  appoint 
justify  and  require  his  power  to  remove.  The  Hon.  George  M.  Dal- 
las, late  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  Chancellor  of  the 
Institution,  adopts  this  view,  and  in  an  opinion  upon  this  subject  says: 

It  is  clear  that  the  act  of  Congress  does  not  confer  upon  the  Board  of  Regents  the 
power  to  appoint  the  assistants  of  the  Secretary,  and  for  reasons  too  palpable  to 


590  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

require  mention.  But  if  the  Secretary  has  not  himself,  under  his  own  mere  motion, 
a  right  to  remove,  it  would  be  impossible  to  imagine  reasons  why  the  power  of  orig- 
inal appointment  was  not  given  to  the  Board. 

In  other  words,  the  reasons  which  excluded  the  Board  from  appointing  are  iden- 
tically the  reasons  which  preserve  to  the  Secretary  the  power  of  removing.  It  may, 
perhaps,  render  it  more  perspicuous  to  add  that  these  reasons  are  the  official  respon- 
sibilities and  practical  personal  intercourse  of  the  Secretary  with  his  assistants. 

Besides,  it  is  very  evident  that  the  interests  of  the  Institution  might 
often  be  in  peril  if  the  power  of  removal  were  denied  to  the  Secretary. 

The  Board  of  Regents  are  not  in  session  during  a  great  part  of  the 
year.  Many  of  them  reside  at  great  distances  from  Washington;  and 
could  not  be  assembled  without  much  inconvenience  to  themselves  and 
heavy  expense  to  the  Institution.  During  this  period  it  might  be  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  remove  an  unfaithful  assistant.  He  might 
cease  to  do  that  for  which  alone  he  was  appointed,  to  assist  the  Secre- 
retary  in  the  affairs  of  the  Institution.  He  might  refuse  to  deliver 
up  to  the  Secretary  the  property  of  the  Institution  which  the  law  puts 
in  his  charge.  He  might  threaten  and  intend  to  destroy  it,  might 
treat  the  Secretary  with  personal  indignity,  and  insult  and  defame  the 
Regents,  and  spread  insubordination  throughout  the  Institution.  For 
such  conduct  there  would  be  no  prompt  and  adequate  remedy  unless 
the  Secretary  possessed  the  power  of  removal.  One  case  of  this  kind 
has  already  occurred.  A  person  in  the  employment  of  the  Institution 
has  refused  to  deliver  up  certain  papers,  the  property  of  the  Institu- 
tion, and  threatened  to  destroy  them.  He  has  also  written  a  letter, 
which  was  published  over  his  own  signature  in  a  New  York  paper, 
vilifying  the  Secretary  and  several  of  the  Regents,  by  name,  in  the 
most  abusive  language.  For  this  and  other  causes  during  the  last 
recess  of  Congress  he  was  removed  by  the  Secretary,  and,  as  the  com- 
mittee can  not  doubt,  most  justly  removed.  This  very  individual  was 
the  principal  witness  against  the  Secretary  on  the  examination  before 
your  committee. 

We  think  that  the  resolution  of  the  Regents,  above  quoted,  while 
maintaining  the  superior  authority  of  the  Board,  properly  asserted 
the  power  of  the  Secretary. 

Your  committee  regret  very  much  to  say  that  the  Secretary  was 
also  justified  in  the  removal  of  Mr.  Jewett.  His  removal  was  not 
arbitrary,  unjust,  and  oppressive.  Mr.  Jewett  is  a  man  of  talent  and 
scholastic  attainments,  but  it  is  evident,  from  his  own  testimony,  that 
he  considered  himself  as  holding  an  antagonistic  position  to  the  Secre- 
tary, as  "having  charge  of  the  library,  and  being  considered  by  the 
public  as  the  representative  of  that  interest  in 'the  Institution."  He 
construed  the  law  in  oneway;  the  Secretary  construed  it  differently. 
He  thought  and  said  that  it  would  be  treachery  in  him  to  cooperate 
with  the  Secretary,  according  to  the  latter's  construction  of  the  law. 
He  told  the  Secretary,  in  effect,  that  if  he  attempted  to  annul  the 


THIKTY-THIED   CONGRESS,  1853-1855.  591 

compromise  in  the  way  he  proposed,  he  would  shake  the  Institution 
to  its  centre.  It  is  evident  that  he  was  impatient  of  the  restraints  of 
a  subordinate  position,  and  entertained  feelings  toward  the  Secretary 
which  made  their  harmonious  cooperation  impossible.  In  a  paper 
which  he  submitted  to  the  special  committee  of  the  Regents  he  assailed 
the  motives  and  honor  of  the  Secretary  and  criticised  harshly  and 
unnecessarily  the  reports  of  that  officer. 

So  the  special  committee  of  seven  Regents,  with  one  exception, 
reported  to  the  Board,  declaring  that  this  paper  disclosed  feelings  of 
excessive  hostility  and  insubordination.  After  this,  it  was  manifest 
that  the  common  civilities  of  life  could  not  be  exchanged  between 
them,  and  the  interests  of  the  Institution  required  their  separation. 
The  Board  of  Regents  accordingly  passed  a  resolution,  in  January 
last,  approving  of  Mr.  Jewett's  removal. 

Mr.  Meacham  also  charged  the  Secretary  with  claiming  and  exer- 
cising the  right  to  open  and  read  letters  directed  to  his  subordinates. 
The  evidence  satisfied  the  committee  that  the  Secretary  had  neither 
claimed  nor  exercised  any  improper  authority  in  this  respect.  He 
expressly  disclaimed  any  desire  or  authority  to  inspect  the  private 
letters  of  .his  subordinates.  Their  correspondence,  in  regard  to  the 
business  of  the  Institution,  he  properly  claimed  to  be  entitled  to 
examine  and  control.  In  the  absence  of  the  subordinates  he  did  con- 
sider himself  at  liberty  to  open  letters  addressed  to  them  which  were, 
evidently  of  an  official  character;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  actually 
exercised  this  authority,  the  claim  of  which  seems  to  have  been  mis- 
understood by  one  of  his  assistants,  and  grossly  perverted  by  another 
person,  under  the  influence  of  hostile  and  unjustly  suspicious  feelings. 

The  charge  of  denying  scientific  right  and  refusing  to  take  full 
measures  for  adjusting  the  claim  of  Mr.  Blodget  was  entirely  refuted, 
both  by  documentary  evidence  and  the  testimony  of  a  disinterested 
party. 

These  latter  charges  of  maladministration  seemed  to  your  committee 
not  to  come  precisely  within  the  scope  of  the  instructions  of  the  reso- 
lution under  which  the  committee  was  appointed.  The  Board  of 
Regents  might  properly  have  investigated  them,  and  undoubtedly 
would  have  done  so  if  asked  by  the  parties  concerned.  But  as  testi- 
mony was  taken  in  relation  to  them,  the  committee  feel  bound  to  say 
that  they  have  not  been  sustained,  and  that  the}r  consider  the  Secretary 
as  entirety  relieved  from  the  charge  of  maladministration  in  every 
particular.  They  believe  that  the  Regents  and  the  Secretary  have 
managed  the  affairs  of  the  Institution  wisely,  faithfully,  and  judi- 
ciously; that  there  is  no  necessity  for  further  legislation  on  the  sub- 
ject; that  if  the  Institution  be  allowed  to  continue  the  plan  which  has 
been  adopted,  and  so  far  pursued  with  unquestionable  success,  it  will 
satisfy  all  the  requirements  of  the  law,  and  the  purposes  of  Smithson's 
will,  by  "increasing  and  diffusing  knowledge  among  men.'' 


592  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  C.  W.  UPHAM.  I  would  now  ask  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
House  for  leave  to  introduce  and  have  passed  a  resolution  authorizing 
the  payment  of  the  clerk  of  that  select  committee  for  the  time  during 
which  he  has  been  employed. 

There  was  no  objection,  and  the  resolution  was  reported,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  select  committee  of  the  House  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
be  allowed  to  make  compensation,  at  the  usual  rate,  to  a  clerk  for  the  period  of  his 
services. 

The  question  was  taken,  and  the  resolution  was  passed. 

The  House  having  gone  into  the  Committee  of  the  Whole — 

Mr.  JAMES  MEACHAM,  of  Vermont,  said: 

Mr.  Chairman:  It  was  not  my  intention  to  offer  any  remarks  during 
this  session  with  reference  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  After 
mature  deliberation  and  consultation  with  judicious  friends  of  learn- 
ing, I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  affairs  of  that  establishment 
required  investigation.  I  proposed  the  matter  to  this  House.  They 
sustained  the  proposition,  and  appointed  a  special  committee  of  inquiry. 
To  them  I  hoped  the  matter  would  be  left  till  their  report  should  be 
presented.  I  believed,  sir,  that  in  the  hands  of  a  select  committee  of 
this  House,  the  interests  of  literature  and  science  connected  with  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  would  be  safe. 

But  the  unexpected  course  of  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  [Mr. 
English]  in  stepping  forward  to  eulogize  the  Institution  before  it  had 
been  attacked  here  seems  to  require  me  briefly  to  explain  and  defend 
my  position.  For  such  explanation  and  defense,  I  may,  in  the  main, 
rely  on  the  able  and  important  report  presented  by  the  select  com- 
mittee, which,  for  that  purpose,  I  propose,  in  substance,  to  insert  in 
my  speech,  confining  my  own  remarks  to  some  topics  not  alluded  to 
by  the  committee. 

The  gentleman  from  Indiana,  and  some  others,  seem  disposed  to 
view  this  investigation  as  indicating  deliberate  hostility;  as  intended 
to  give  "to  the  disappointed  and  dissatisfied  an  opportunity  of  assail- 
ing the  Institution  at  the  public  expense;"  as  manifesting  disrespect 
to  the  distinguished  and  honored  gentlemen  concerned  in  conducting 
its  affairs,  particularly  by  clothing  this  committee  with  power  to  send 
for  persons  and  papers.  Sir,  I  do  not  yield  to  the  honorable  gentlemen 
in  my  sincere  attachment  to  the  cause  of  knowledge,  whether  in  the  form 
of  literature  or  of  science.  But  the  very  devotion  which  I  feel  leads 
me  to  wish  to  keep  its  fountains  clean.  I  would  not  willingly  lend 
myself  to  the  aid  of  wanton  and  wicked  assaults,  nor  is  it  to  be  sup- 
posed that  this  committee  would  be  less  scrupulous;  but  I  believe  that 
"the  disappointed  and  dissatisfied"  may  sometimes  deserve,  or  need, 
protection,  and  redress.  I  would  not  be  wanting  in  respect  for  men 
in  exalted  positions;  but  I  know  that  under  the  authority  of  the  purest 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  593 

and  most  elevated,  abuses  may  arise  and  require  investigation,  though 
not  the  imputation  of  individual  blame.  I  am  not  the  first  member  of 
the  Board  of  Regents  who  has  believed  that  the  Institution  had 
departed  from  the  course  marked  out  for  it  by  Congress.  One  who 
had  a  large  share  in  shaping  its  charter,  within  the  first  three  years  of 
its  history  declared  in  his  place  in  this  House  that  he  "believed  the 
Board  of  Regents  would  be  and  ought  to  have  been  long  since  made 
acquainted  with  its  direct  responsibility  to  the  power  that  had  created 
it/'  And  lately  a  very  distinguished  member  of  the  Board  resigned 
his  seat  in  consequence  of  his  conviction  that  the  administration  of  the 
Institution  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  law. 

In  this  country  there  is,  perhaps,  no  precedent  for  an  investigation 
in  all  respects  like  this  simply  because,  before  the  existence  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  there  had  not  been,  under  the  direction  of 
our  Government,  any  establishment  for  the  promotion  of  knowledge 
in  general.  But  we  are  not  at  a  loss  for  precedents.  The  British 
Museum  served  as  a  model  with  many  of  those  actively  engaged  in 
framing  the  charter  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  It  is  under  Gov- 
ernment control.  During  the  last  twenty  years  its  affairs  have  twice 
been  made  the  subject  of  investigations  by  select  committees  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  once  by  a  special  royal  commission.  The 
committees  and  the  commission  were  each  clothed  with  power  to  send 
for  persons  and  papers.  That  institution  was  under  the  management 
of  the  highest  dignitaries  and  the  first  noblemen  of  the  realm. 

In  the  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  appointment  of  one 
of  these  committees,  Mr.  Warburton  quoted  the  complaints  of  Sir 
Humphry  Davy,  that  "there  must  be  a  general  change  in  everything 
belonging  to  the  Institution  before  a  proper  system  of  radical  improve- 
ment could  be  affected;"  and  Mr.  Hume  declared  "  that  it  was  impera- 
tive on  the  gentlemen  connected  with  that  Institution  to  defend 
themselves,  and  unless  the}7  make  a  good  defense,  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  Parliament  to  allow  them  to  continue  in  their  present  con- 
dition." 

Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  not  my  intention  to  follow  the  gentleman  from 
Indiana  through  his  remarks.  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  few  of  the 
most  important  points.  The  gentleman  maintains  that  the  provisions 
of  the  act  of  Congress  have  been  observed.  This  is  the  main  issue 
between  the  two  parties  to  this  Smithsonian  controversy,  and  is  ably 
discussed  in  the  report  of  the  select  committee. 

The  view  which  the  committee  have  taken  of  the  meaning  of  the 
law  was  that  of  the  first  Regents,  fresh  from  their  labors  in  framing 
the  charter,  and  unbiased  by  influences  subsequently  brought  to  bear 
upon  them. 

On  the  second  day  of  their  first  session  a  committee  was  appointed 
upon  the  clause  requiring  the  appropriation  for  a  library,  and  in- 
H.  Doc.  732 38 


594  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

structed  "to  prepare  a  report  upon  the  subject  of  the  formation  of 
such  a  library,  indicating  its  general  character,"  etc. 

In  their  report,  which  was  long  and  elaborate,  the  committee  say: 

They  see  in  the  language  of  the  act,  which  the  Regents  are  created  to  administer, 
and  in  the  history  of  the  passage  of  that  act,  a  clear  intimation  that  such  a  library 
was  regarded  by  Congress  as  prominent  among  the  more  important  means  of  increas- 
ing and  diffusing  knowledge  among  men.  This  intimation  they  think  should  control, 
in  a  great  degree,  the  acts  of  the  Regents.  They  will  not,  however,  withhold  the 
expression  that  the  apparent  policy  of  Congress  in  this  particular  is  marked  by  pro- 
found wisdom,  that  it  rests  on  a  right  of  construction  of  the  terms,  and  an  enlarged 
appreciation  of  the  spirit  of  the  bequest. 

They  recommended  the  appropriation  of  $20,000  of  the  income  "for 
the  present"  to  the  library,  independent  of  salaries,  and  this  recom- 
mendation was  adopted.  I  pause  to  remark,  that  if  this  resolution  had 
been  carried  out,  we  should  even  now  have  much  the  largest  library 
in  this  country.  It  would  be  something  to  have,  to  see,  to  use,  to  grow, 
and  I  atsk  you  to  place  beside  this  the  half  dozen  quarto  and  the  half 
dozen  octavo  volumes  published  by  the  Institution,  and  tell  me  which 
you  would  prefer?  Which  would  tend  most  for  the  increase  and  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge? 

Instead  of  this  library  what  have  we?  Why,  sir,  a  meager  collection 
of  some  14,000  volumes,  besides  pamphlets,  etc.,  made  up  of  copyright 
books,  imperfect  sets  of  periodicals  and  publications  of  societies,  and 
university  theses — with  doubtless  a  good  proportion  of  important  and 
valuable  wrorks;  but  the  whole  how  insignificant  in  comparison  with 
the  great  and  noble  design!  We  have  heard  it  stated  that  the  library 
is  worth  $40,000.  This  is  a  preposterously  exaggerated  estimate.  I 
do  not  believe  that  an  intelligent  bookseller  could  be  found  who  would 
value  it  at  a  third  of  the  sum!  If  the  value  of  the  museum  and  appa- 
ratus be  equally  exaggerated  we  must  abate  largely  from  the  vaunted 
possessions  of  the  Institution;  and  then,  sir,  this  library  is  cramped 
into  inconvenient  and  uncomfortable  quarters,  and  shut  up  from  the 
public,  at  a  time,  too,  when  there  is  an  unusual  concourse  of  people  at 
the  Institution. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  present  difficulties,  I  particular^  demur  to 
the  statement  of  the  gentleman  from  Indiana.  He  represents  the  ques- 
tion to  have  been  whether  the  funds  should  be  used  to  build  up  a  library 
as  a  paramount  object,  or  whether  they  should  be  applied,  not  only  for 
a  library,  but  for  such  other  purposes  as  the  Regents  might  think  would 
best  accord  with  the  will  of  Smithson  and  the  act  of  Congress.  Not  so, 
sir.  The  present  difficulty  originated  in  a  proposition  to  annul  the 
"compromise"  which  divided  the  income  equally  between  the  library 
and  the  museum  on  one  part,  and  publications,  researches,  and  lectures 
on  the  other;  for  the  purpose  of  giving  more  to  the  latter  department, 
making  that  a  paramount  and  controlling  interest. 

Let  me  briefh"  explain  this  compromise. 


THIRTY-THIKD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  595 

The  first  sense  of  the  Regents  respecting  the  library  was  soon  con- 
tested under  a  new  reading  of  the  law,  one  which  made  the  section 
authorizing  the  Regents  to  dispose  of  the  possible  surplus  or  residuum 
the  chief  clause  of  the  act  overriding  all  the  rest  and  overruling  all 
other  details.  Under  this  construction  new  purposes  were  to  be 
introduced;  purposes  dissimilar  to  those  provided;  purposes  which 
had  been  proposed  to  and  discussed  and  rejected  by  Congress — namely, 
the  publication  of  books  and  the  instituting  of  scientific  researches. 

The  early  days  of  the  Institution  seemed  likely  to  be  embittered  by 
controversy  resulting  from  this  new  movement,  but  in  a  magnanimous 
spirit  of  conciliation  the  friends  of  the  library  agreed  to  a  "com- 
promise" dividing  the  income  after  the  building  should  be  completed 
equally  between  the  library  and  museum  on  one  side,  and  publications, 
researches,  and  lectures  on  the  other. 

The  friends  of  the  library  reconciled  their  course  with  the  law  thus: 
If  $20,000  a  year  be  expended  for  books  during  the  four  or  five  years 
while  the  building  is  in  progress  we  shall  gather  a  considerable  library, 
and  then  we  may  be  justified  in  believing  that  for  the  future  the  share 
that  will  come  to  the  library  under  the  compromise  may  be  considered 
as  meeting  the  requirements  of  the  law,  the  friends  of  the  scientific 
scheme  will  be  propitiated,  and  perpetual  harmony  secured. 

I  think,  sir,  that  they  strained  their  discretion,  but  they  acted  in  the 
spirit  of  conciliation  worthy  of  a  fairer  requital  than  it  has  met. 

Let  this  matter  be  distinctly  understood.  The  friends  of  the  library 
did  not  begin  this  controversy.  They  held  to  the  compromise,  and 
asked  only  that  it  should  be  faithfully  administered.  They  demanded 
no  more  for  the  library  than  it  was  entitled  to  under  the  compromise. 
The}7"  did  not  ask  that  it  should  be  made  the  paramount  interest 
(although  some  of  us  believe  that  such  is  its  legal  position).  We  were 
content  to  abide  by  the  compact;  we  so  voted.  It  was  the  propo- 
sition coming  from  the  advocates  of  the  publication  system  to  annul 
the  compromise  and  reduce  the  library  to  the  condition  of  a  mere 
appendage  of  the  new  purposes  that  led  to  discussion,  and  finally, 
through  much  irritation,  to  our  present  position. 

We  are  not  in  any  wise  responsible  for  these  difficulties.  We  plant 
ourselves  on  the  law.  For  the  sake  of  peace  we  have  been  willing  to 
adhere  to  the  compromise.  We  have  had  reason  to  raise  the  contro- 
versy on  other  grounds,  for  although  the  resolution  of  the  board  giv- 
ing $20,000  of  the  income  to  the  library  was  not  repealed,  the  money 
was  withheld.  As  an  offset  the  compromise  was  to  be  observed 
before  the  finishing  of  the  building.  We  think  it  was  not  fairly 
administered.  We  did  not,  however,  take  issue  on  that  point,  but 
only  on  the  formal  proposition  to  rescind. 

We  may  not  inaptly  retort  insinuations  of  illiberality.  We  hold  to 
the  law,  and  the  law  requires  a  universal  library,  one  "composed  of 


596  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

valuable  works  in  all  departments  of  knowledge;"  one  for  the  man  of 
science,  the  artist,  the  mechanic,  the  historian,  the  scholar,  the  seeker 
of  knowledge  of  whatever  name;  one  open  to  men  of  all  States  and  all 
nations.  But  we  are  called  upon  to  yield  up  everything  to  men  of 
science.  The  scientific  men  are  down  upon  us,  as  if  their  craft  were 
in  danger.  They  come  in  societies,  and  as  individuals.  Smithson, 
though  a  chemist  and  member  of  the  Royal  Society,  appears  to  have 
been  a  man  of  general  culture,  and  to  have  had  sympathy  for  "  knowl- 
edge" without  any  restrictive  epithets.  By  consulting  solely  the 
wishes  of  one  particular  class  of  the  devotees  of  knowledge,  who 
cherish  only  what  is  called  science,  we  should  limit  his  intentions, 

And  give  up  to  party  what  was  meant  for  mankind. 

I  have  not  sought  letters  of  recommendation  for  the  library  plan, 
nor  have  others  for  me.  I  doubt  not  I  could  have  obtained  thou- 
sands. To  show  them  on  either  side  seems  to  me  idle  parade.  We 
doubt  not  that  librarians  in  Athens  and  Paris  are  glad  to  get  hand- 
some books  from  America  and  are  ready  to  praise  them  before  our 
traveling  countrymen.  'Tis  polite  to  do  so.  We  doubt  not  that 
scientific  men  like  to  have  means  of  publishing  their  works,  too  heavy 
for  booksellers.  We  need  not  here  doubt  that  it  may  sometimes  be 
useful  to  publish,  gratuitously,  books  that  people  do  not  care  enough 
about  to  buy.  But  the  question  here  is,  Can  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion lawfully  devote  itself  to  such  a  purpose  exclusively  or  principally  2 

The  gentleman  from  Indiana  puts  prominently  forward  the  fact 
that  the  funds  of  the  Institution  have  not  been  squandered.  This 
seems  irrelevant,  for  it  had  not  been  so  charged.  But  he  thinks  it  a 
high  meed  of  praise  that  its  capital  has  been  augmented.  If  the 
object  of  the  Institution  were  the  increase  of  its  wealth  this  would 
indeed  be  just  cause  for  satisfaction.  But,  sir,  this  establishment  was 
created  not  to  hoard  money ,  not  to  speculate  upon  it,  not  to  increase 
its  income,  but  to  spend  money  ' '  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge."  We  want  knowledge  more  than  gold.  We  have  no 
commission  to  accumulate  for  future  benefit,  but  to  spend  for  con- 
tinual profit.  We  should  remember, 

There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth;  and  there  is  that  withholdeth  more 
than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty. 

It  is  asked,  If  Smithson  intended  a  library  would  he  not  have  said 
so?  I  reply  by  asking.  If  he  had  meant  a  learned  society  would  he 
not  have  said  so?  He  knew  all  about  learned  societies  and  seems  to 
have  become  dissatisfied  with  them.  I  can  not  suppose  that  he  meant 
to  indicate  anything  in  particular  and  exclusively;  but  I  suppose  he 
intended  to  give  his  money  to  whatever  the  United  States,  in  the  dis- 
cretion of  its  Government,  might  deem  best  suited  to  promote  his 
general  purpose. 


THIRTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1853-1855.  597 

For  one,  sir,  I  suppose  that  Smithson  regarded  the  foundation  of  a 
"Smithsonian  Institution"  from  his  property  as  only  a  possibility. 
Look  at  the  facts.  He  left  the  income  of  his  property  for  life  to  a 
nephew,  and  the  property  ''absolutely  and  forever"  to  the  descend- 
ants of  the  nephew,  if  he  had  any,  "legitimate  or  illegitimate."  The 
nephew  was  a  young  man  leading  a  roving  life  in  France  and  Italy. 
What  was  the  chance  that  the  contingency  would  ever  arrive  when 
the  United  States  could  claim  the  legacy — that  of  failure  of  descend- 
ants of  the  nephew?  A  sentence  has  been  quoted  from  one  of  his 
papers  to  the  purport  that  his  name  would  live  in  the  memories  of 
men  when  the  titles  of  the  Perc}rs  and  Northumberlands  were  extinct 
or  forgotten,  and  it  seems  to  be  inferred  that  he  was  then  thinking  of 
this  Institution.  But  it  is  altogether  more  likely  he  was  thinking 
of  the  articles  which  he  had  published  in  the  Philosophical  Transac- 
tions. Every  scientific  man  deems  the  acceptance  of  his  articles  there 
a  sure  passport  to  immortality;  and  this  view  is  rendered  more  proba- 
ble by  what  is  asserted,  that  he  took  such  offense  at  the  rejection  of 
one  of  his  papers  by  the  Royal  Society  as  to  change  his  will.  But  I 
do  not,  after  all,  see  the  applicability  of  this;  for  the  name  of  Smith- 
son  would  be  as  much  attached  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  live 
with  it  as  long  and  as  honorably  if  that  Institution  becomes  what  Con- 
gress  intended,  as  if  it  becomes  anything  else.  Is  not  the  British 
Museum  or  the  Bodleian  Librar\'  as  well  known  as  any  other  institu- 
tion in  the  world? 

To  the  phrase  "active  operations"  I  will  devote  a  passing  word. 

The  publication  of  books  and  the  assumption  of  researches  have  been 
called  "active  operations,"  as  if  everything  else  were  in  comparison 
but  standstill.  I  should  have  liked  to  see  activity  in  finishing  the  build- 
ing and  in  filling  it  with  the  stores  of  knowledge.  Active  operations  of 
this  kind  would  have  tended  "to  stimulate  and  invigorate  the  mind 
for  original  thought,  and  supply  important  materials  for  investiga- 
tion," to  use  the  language  of  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  has  been  quoted 
to  show  that  anything  but  an  exclusive  devotion  of  this  fund  to  science 
is  a  "gross  perversion"  of  the  trust.  It  has  been  repeated  to  me  that 
another  of  these  gentlemen  was  in  the  habit  a  few  years  ago  of  saying, 
"You  can  do  nothing  for  science  in  this  country  till  you  have  books — 
large  libraries;"  and  this  he  said  in  special  reference  to  the  Smith- 
sonian library.  But  then,  sir,  the  Smithsonian  question  had  not 
become  one  of  physical  science  versus  everything  else. 

One  gentleman  refers  to  the  great  Humboldt  as  not  the  possessor  of 
a  private  library.  But  he  had  constant  access  to  the  Royal  Library  of 
Berlin,  one  of  the  best  in  the  world.  Now,  what  we  want  is  to  fur- 
nish scientific  and  literary  men  in  this  country  with  such  public  facili- 
ties for  research  that  they  will  not,  on  the  one  hand,  be  obliged  to 
expend  their  limited  means  in  buying1  themselves,  nor,  on  the  other, 


598  CX)NGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

abandon  their  researches  for  the  want  of  books.  For  us  this  case  of 
Humboldt  is  remarkably  apropos. 

In  order  to  show  how  intensely  active  these  "active  operations" 
are,  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  has  quoted  a  long  list  of  works  pub- 
lished by  the  Institution.  But,  sir,  you  will  probably  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  with  the  exception  of  a  few  octavo  pamphlets,  making  in 
all  only  about  1,000  pages,  the  first  six  titles  include  the  whole  that 
follow.  The  rest  are  merely  the  table  of  contents  of  the  first  six. 
Six  quarto  volumes  making  less  than  3,000  pages  and  about  enough  in 
octavo  to  make  a  volume  of  1,000  pages  exhibit  the  sum  and  substance 
of  the  "active  operations"  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  eight 
years — sa.y  500  pages,  great  and  small,  a  year. 

I  have  heard  it  argued  that  the  "active  operations"  are  justifiable 
on  the  ground  that  Congress  ordained  a  laboratory,  that  a  laboratory 
implies  researches,  and  researches  must  be  published.  But,  sir,  I 
have  looked  through  the  Smithsonian  publications,  and  made  inquiries 
with  the  view  of  ascertaining  what  results  they  contain,  procured  at 
the  Smithsonian  laboratory.  I  could  find  none.  I  asked  where  are 
the  Smithsonian  researches?  Where  are  the  "new  truths "  which  have 
been  developed  at  the  Smithsonian?  The  books  published  were  con- 
tributed to  knowledge  by  the  authors  who  wrote  them,  for  the  most 
part  without  pay.  The  Smithsonian  merely  published  them.  The 
Smithsonian  laboratory  is  next  to  nothing,  and  nothing  but  experi- 
ments and  illustrations  for  lectures  have  come  from  it,  as  yet,  so  far 
as  I  can  find. 

Now  these  operations  are  held  up  as  the  exponent  of  American 
activity  in  discovering  new  truths.  I  do  not  find  an}'  very  efficacious 
activity,  and,  as  to  the  proportion  of  absolutely  new  truths  due 
directly  to  the  Smithsonian  among  these  publications,  I  fear  they 
would,  notwithstanding  all  the  talk  about  them, 

Should  some  cold  critic  dare  to  melt  them  down, 
Roll  in  his  crucible  a  shapeless  mass, 
A  grain  of  gold  leaf  to  a  pound  of  brass. 

I  do  not,  sir,  by  any  means  object  to  these  publications  on  the 
ground  that  they  do  not  contain  new  truths.  I  go  for  truth,  old  or 
new,  but  I  object  to  the  holding  them  up  before  the  world  as  the  meas- 
ure of  American  active  operations  in  the  discovery  of  truth  and  as 
conveying  the  idea  that  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  the  great  active 
truth-discovering  engine  of  American  science.  The  idea  that  it  has 
been  so,  or  would  become  so,  although  it  has  done  more  than  all  else 
to  encourage  the  present  course  of  the  Institution,  is,  in  my  opinion, 
fallacious.  It  can  not,  I  think,  be  too  strongly  represented  that  dis- 
coveries are  not  made  by  direct  active  operations  of  societies  any- 
where, but  by  the  active  operations  of  individual  minds,  which  minds 
may  be  in  various  ways  brought  up  to  the  effort.  The  hope  of  reward 


THIRTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,    1855-1857.  599 

may,  indeed,  serve  sometimes  as  a  stimulus,  but  I  believe  that  the  his- 
tory of  science  shows  that  such  rewards  are  generally  valuable  as 
rewards  rather  than  as  incentives.  The  hope  of  having  results  pub- 
lished with  the  stamp  of  high  approval  may  operate  as  an  incentive  to 
effort;  but  incentives,  especially  in  this  country,  are  less  needed  than 
means  and  aids,  and  a  library  is  one  of  the  most  effectual  and,  espe- 
cially in  this  country,  the  most  needed  as  a  means  and  aid  to  exertion 
in  the  advancement  of  knowledge. 

Mr.  Chairman,  on  this  last  day  of  the  session  I  have  not  the  time  to 
produce  the  multitude  of  considerations  which  crowd  upon  me  on  this 
subject,  but  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  present  those  most  important  in 
the  lucid  argument  and  appropriate  language  of  the  select  committee. 

[Mr.  Meacham  then  gave  copious  extracts  from  the  report  of  Mr. 
Upham,  the  whole  of  which  will  be  found  in  preceding  pages.] 

ARMORY   BUILDING. 

March  3,  1855. 

Civil  and  diplomatic  act  for  1856. 

And  the  Secretary  of  War  be,  and  he  hereby  is,  directed  to  cause  to 
be  constructed  on  such  site,  in  a  central  position  on  the  public  grounds, 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  as  may  be  selected  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  a  suitable  building1  for  the  care  and  preservation  of 
the  ordnance,  and  arms,  and  accoutrements  of  the  United  States, 
required  for  the  use  of  the  volunteers  and  militia  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  for  the  care  and  preservation  of  the  military  trophies 
of  the  Revolutionary  and  other  wars,  and  for  the  deposit  of  newly- 
invented  and  model  arms,  for  the  military  service,  and  said  ordnance 
and  arms,  and  the  building  to  be  used  by  the  volunteers  and  militia  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed 
by  the  President,  and  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  this  act  into  effect, 
the  sum  of  $30,000  be,  and  the  same  hereby  is,  appropriated  out  of 
any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

(Stat.,  X,  665). 


THIRTY-FOURTH  CONGRESS,  1855-1857. 

OPERATIONS   OF   THE   SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

January  28,  1856— Senate. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBULL  presented  a  memorial  from  a  committee 
appointed  at  the  Illinois  State  educational  convention,  praying  for  a 
grant  of  land  to  each  State  in  the  Union,  for  the  purpose  of  endowing 

1  Designated  afterwards  the  Armory  building. 


600  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

industrial  universities,  to  cooperate  with  each  other,  and  with  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  at  Washington,  for  the  education  of  the 
industrial  classes  and  their  teachers,  accompanied  by  resolutions 
adopted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  favoring  the  pro- 
ject. Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 

REPORT  OF   THE   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

May  23,  1856— House. 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1855  presented. 

Mr.  W.  H.  ENGLISH  moved  that  10,000  extra  copies  be  printed. 
July  25,  1856—  Senate. 

Report  of  the  Institution  for  1855  presented,  and  ordered  to  be 
printed. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  moved  that  10,000  extra  copies  be  printed. 

July  29,  1856— Senate. 

Ordered,  That  10,000  additional  copies  of  the  tenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be  printed — 2,500  of  the  same  to  be  for  the  use  of  the 
Institution. 

August  9,  1856— House. 
Resolution  adopted: 

That  10,000  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1855 
be  printed — 7,500  for  the  use  of  members  of  the  House,  and  2,500  for  the  Institution. 

February  18,  1857— House. 

Report  for  1856  presented,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 
February  28,  1857— Senate. 

Annual  Report  for  1856  presented,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  G.  N.  FITCH  moved  that  10,000  copies  be  printed. 
March  3,  1857— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  R.  W.  JOHNSON,  of  Arkansas,  it  was — 

Resolved,  That  there  be  printed,  ior  the  use  of  the  Senate,  10,000  extra  copies  of 
the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  2,500  of 
the  same  to  be  for  the  use  of  the  Institution;  and  that  the  Secretary  be  authorized 
to  add  to  the  portion  of  his  report  now  before  the  Senate  such  matter  as  may  be 
necessary  to  complete  the  same:  Provided,  That  such  additions  shall  not  exceed  in 
the  aggregate  423  pages,  the  number  of  pages  contained  in  the  tenth  Annual  Report. 
And  provided,  further,  That  the  entire  amount  of  copy  necessary  to  complete  the  said 
report  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Public  Printer  by  or  before  the  10th  day  of  April 
next;  but  no  portion  of  said  copy  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Public  Printer 
until  the  whole  shall  have  been  completed  and  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  Super- 
intendent of  the  Public  Printing. 

March  3,  1857— House. 
Resolution  adopted: 

That  there  be  printed  of  the  Report  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  1856,  10,000  copies— 7,500  for  the  use  of  members  of  the  House,  and  2,500  for  the 
use  of  the  Institution. 


THIRTY-FOURTH   CONGRESS,    1855-1857.  601 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 
June  19,  1856— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  S.  A.  DOUGLAS,  James  A.  Pearce  was  reappointed 
Regent  by  the  President  of  the  Senate. 
March  6,  1857— Senate. 

The  President  of  the  Senate  (Mr.  JESSE  D.  BRIGHT)  appointed  James 
M.  Mason  as  Regent. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
February  26,  1856— House, 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  NATHANIEL  P.  BANKS)  made  the  following 
appointments  as  Regents:  Hiram  Warner,  of  Georgia,  James 
Meacham,  of  Vermont,  William  H.  English,  of  Indiana. 

Mr.  JAMES  MEACHAM.  In  the  nomination  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  made  by  the  Speaker  this  morning  I  find  that  n  y 
name  stands  in  the  list.  I  feel  grateful  to  you,  Mr.  Speaker,  for  the 
honor  thus  conferred  upon  me,  but  I  beg  of  you  to  erase  my  name 
and  appoint  some  other  member  of  this  House.  I  have  two  or  three 
reasons  for  making  this  request.  In  the  first  place,  1  have  enjoyed 
the  honor  and  borne  the  burden  of  that  position  for  a  period  of  four 
years,  and  I  think  it  better  that  the  duty  should  circulate  among 
different  members  of  the  body  and  that  it  should  not  remain  stationary. 
I  have  another  reason  for  asking  to  be  excused.  You,  sir,  have 
already  placed  me  in  a  position  on  a  committee  of  this  House  which 
demands  all  my  attention.  I  will  not  conceal  that  I  have  another 
reason,  which  I  shall  take  another  time  to  explain.  It  is  that  I  can 
not  approve  the  present  course  of  that  Institution,  if  it  have  any 
course  and  is  not  merely  standing  still  and  marking  time — the  mere 
mockery  of  motion.  It  is  not  producing  that  impression  upon  the 
country  and  people  which  it  ought  to  make.  I  can  not  consent,  and 
will  not  consent,  to  follow  an  Institution  whose  leader  is  smitten  with 
chronic  monomania  on  a  single  subject — an  Institution  whose  line  of 
march,  as  I  believe,  runs  athwart  the  line  of  law  by  which  it  holds 
its  existence.  I  therefore  beg  of  you  to  accept  my  thanks  and 
resignation. 

There  being  no  objection,  Mr.  Meacham's  resignation  was  accepted. 

The  SPEAKER  appointed  Benjamin  Stanton,  of  Ohio,  as  Regent. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
February  12,  1856— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  M.  MASON  gave  notice  of  his  intention  to  ask  leave  to  intro 
duce  a  joint  resolution  providing  that  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of 


602  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  other  than  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Iluf  us  Choate  and 
the  death  of  John  McPherson  Berrien,  be  filled  by  the  appointment 
of  George  E.  Badger,  of  North  Carolina,  and  C.  C.  Felton,  of 
Massachusetts. 
February  13,  1856— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  M.  Mason  offered  the  above  resolution. 

Mr.  MASON.  Mr.  President,  the  Board  of  Regents  have  been  unable 
to  obtain  a  quorum  in  consequence  of  the  delay  in  organizing  the 
House,  and  in  order  to  fill  the  existing  vacancies  it  is  desirable  that 
the  resolution  should  be  acted  on  at  once.  It  is  one  to  which,  I  pre- 
sume, there  is  no  objection.  I  therefore  ask  for  its  consideration  now. 

There  being  no  objection,  the  joint  resolution  was  read  the  second 
time  and  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

Mr.  MASON.  Mr.  Badger  is  known  to  every  Senator  present,  and  of 
Mr.  Felton  I  would  only  say  that  he  is  professor  of  Greek  at  the 
Harvard  University;  that  he  is  a  gentleman  of  eminent  literary  as 
well  as  other  attainments,  and  possesses,  perhaps,  a  better  knowledge 
of  literary  institutions  at  home  and  abroad  than  most  others. 

Passed. 

February  21,  185 6—  House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  A.  H.  STEPHENS  the  joint  resolution  from  the 
Senate  of  February  13  for  the  appointment  of  Regents  was  passed. 

February  27,  1856. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress," occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Rufus  Choate  and  the  death 
of  John  McPherson  Berrien,  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  George  E. 
Badger,  of  North  Carolina,  and  Cornelius  C.  Felton,  of  Massachusetts. 

(Stat.;XI,  142.) 

January  21,  1857— Senate. 

Resolution  adopted: 

That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  the 
class  "other  than  members  of  Congress"  be  filled  by  the  reappointment  of  the  late 
incumbents,  viz,  Richard  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Joseph  G.  Totten,  of  Washington. 

January  26,  1857— House. 

Resolution  of  Senate  of  January  21,  1857,  passed. 

January  28,  1857. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress" be  filled  by  the  reappointment  of  the  late  incumbents,  viz: 
Richard  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Joseph  G.  Totten,  of  Washington. 

(Stat,  XI,  253.) 


THIRTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,    1855-1857.  603 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
August  18,  1856. 

Civil  act  for  1857. 

To  enable  the  Secretary  of  State  to  purchase  100  copies,  each,  of 
Audubon's  i;  Birds  of  America"  and  "Quadrupeds  of  North  America," 
for  presentation  to  foreign  governments  in  return  for  valuable  works 
sent  by  them  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  $16,000. 

(Stat.,  XI,  90.) 

EXPLORING   EXPEDITION. 

August  18,  1856. 

Civil  act  for  1857. 

For  replacing  the  works  of  the  Exploring  Expedition,  destroyed  by 
the  fire  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  llth  April  last,  the  sum  of  $10,494.46. 
(Stat,  XI,  88.) 

CARE   OF   GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 

August  18,  1856. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1857. 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  expedition. — For 
compensation  of  keepers  and  watchmen  therefor,  and  for  laborers 
employed  at  the  rate  of  $480  per  annum,  per  act  August  4, 1854,  $3,210. 

For  contingent  expenses,  $200. 

(Stat.,  XI,  110.) 

March  3,  1857. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1858. 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  expedition. — For 
compensation  of  keepers,  watchmen,  and  laborers  therefor,  $3,450. 

For  contingent  expenses,  $200. 

For  the  construction  and  erection  of  suitable  cases  to  receive  the 
collections  of  the  United  States  exploring  expedition,  and  others  in 
geology,  mineralogy,  belonging  to  the  United  States,  now  in  the 
Patent-Office  and  elsewhere  in  Washington,  $15,000. 

For  the  expense  of  the  transfer  of  these  collections,  and  the  perma- 
nent arrangement  of  the  cases,  $2,000. 

(Stat.,  XI,  219.) 

[These  appropriations  of  $15,000  and  $2,000  were  made  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.] 

METEOROLOGY — JAMES  P.   ESPY. 

February  28,   1857— Senate. 

Resolution  passed  to  print  the  fourth  Meteorological  Report  by 
Prof.  James  P.  Espj*. 


604  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

March  3,  1857, 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1858. 

To  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  pay  the  salary  of  Professor 
James  P.  Espy  for  the  current  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1857,  $2,000, 
the  payment  to  be  made  in  the  same  manner  and  under  the  like  control 
as  former  appropriations  for  meteorological  observations.  And  also 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1858,  $2,000. 

(Stat.*  XI,  214.) 


THIRTY-FIFTH  CONGRESS,  1857-1859 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 

December  14,  1857— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JAMES  L.  ORR)  appointed  as  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  William  H.  English,  of  Indiana,  Benjamin  Stan  ton, 
of  Ohio,  and  Lucius  J.  Gartrell,  of  Georgia. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution, 

January  7,  1859— Senate. 
Resolution  adopted: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  other  "than  members  of  Congress"  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
Alexander  D.  Bache,  a  member  of  the  National  Institute  and  resident  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  George  E.  Badger,  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

January  10,  1859— House. 

Resolution  of  the  Senate  of  January  7  to  elect  A.  D.  Bache  and 
G.  E.  Badger,  Regents,  adopted. 
January  17,  1859. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  " other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress" be  tilled  by  the  appointment  of  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  a 
member  of  the  National  Institute  and  resident  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, and  George  E.  Badger,  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

(Stat.,  XI,  440.) 

REPORT   OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 
May  27,  1858— Senate. 

Annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1857  presented, 
and  Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  moved  the  printing  of  10,000  extra  copies, 
2,500  of  which  to  be  for  the  use  of  the  Institution. 


THIRTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,    1857-1859.  605 

May  29,  1858— House. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1857  was  laid 
on  the  table  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  W.  H.  ENGLISH.  1  move  that  10,000  extra  copies  of  the  report 
be  printed. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  I  hope  no  extra  copies  of  it  will  be 
printed. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 
June  3,  1858— Senate 

Mr.  R.  W.  JOHNSON,  of  Arkansas,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing, 
reported  resolution: 

That  10,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  for  the  year  1857,  be  printed — 5,000  for  the  use  of  the  Senate  and 
5,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  num- 
ber of  pages  contained  in  said  report  shall  not  exceed  440,  without  woodcuts  or 
plates,  except  those  furnished  by  the  Institution:  And  provided  further,  That  the 
entire  amount  of  copy  necessary  to  complete  said  report  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Public  Printing  before  the  commencement  of  printing  any 
portion  of  said  report. 

Mr.  ALFRED  IVERSON.  I  object  to  the  resolution,  unless  the  5,000 
copies  for  the  use  of  the  Senate  be  stricken  out.  I  have  no  objection 
to  the  other  5,000  being  printed  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  R.  W.  JOHNSON,  of  Arkansas.  I  do  not  care  whether  it  be 
published  or  not.  I  submit  to  the  will  of  the  Senate. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  JOHN  C.  BRECKINRIDGE).  Objection  being 
made,  the  resolution  will  lie  over. 
June  12,  1858— Senate. 

The  resolution  of  June  3  to  print  report  of  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  1857  was  adopted. 

June  12,  1858— House 

Mr.  M.  H.  NICHOLS,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  submitted 
resolution : 

That  there  be  printed  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  7,000  copies  for 
the  use  of  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  2,000  for  the  use  of  the 
Institution. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  How  much  will  that  cost? 

Mr.  NICHOLS.  The  cost  will  be  $3,500  according  to  an  estimate  made 
by  myself.  It  is  a  large  reduction  on  the  number  heretofore  ordered. 
I  call  for  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  H.  C.  BURNETT.   I  move  to  lay  the  resolution  upon  the  table. 

Mr.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  I  demand  the  yeas  and  n&ys. 

Mr.  L.  M.  KEITT.  I  rise  to  a  question  of  privilege. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JAMES  L.  ORR).  The  Chair  can  not  entertain  the 
motion  pending  the  call  for  the  previous  question. 


606  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  House  divided  on  ordering  the  yeas  and  nays,  and  there  were — 
ayes  25,  noes  109. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  yeas  and  nays  are  not  ordered. 

Mr.  BURNETT.  I  want  tellers  on  the  yeas  and  nays. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  thinks  the  call  comes  too  late.  The  Chair 
stated  the  vote  and  paused  some  time  before  he  announced  the  result. 

Mr.  BURNETT.  The  Speaker  stooped  over  a  moment  and  as  soon  as 
he  rose  to  an  erect  position  I  rose  and  called  for  tellers  upon  the 
yeas  and  nays  and  the  result  was  announced. 

The  SPEAKER.  Did  not  the  gentleman  hear  the  announcement  before 
he  addressed  the  Chair? 

Mr.  BURNETT.  Yes,  sir.     I  heard  the  announcement,  109  and  25. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  application  comes  too  late. 

The  question  was  then  taken  upon  the  motion  to  lay  the  resolution 
upon  the  table;  and  it  was  not  agreed  to — ayes  30,  noes  97. 

Mr.  BURNETT  demanded  the  yeas  and  nays  upon  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  ordered. 

The  question  was  taken;  and  it  was  decided  in  the  affirmative — yeas 
84,  nays  50 — as  follows: 

YEAS — Messrs.  Adrian,  Ahl,  Andrews,  Arnold,  Billinghnrst,  Bingham,  Bliss,  Bray- 
ton,  Buffinton,  Burlingame,  Burns,  Burroughs,  Chase,  Cavanaugh,  Chaffee,  Chap- 
man, Ezra  Clark,  Clawson,  Clark  B.  Cochrane,  Cockerill,  Colfax,  Comins,  Corning, 
Covode,  Cragin,  Curtis,  Davis  of  Massachusetts,  Davis  of  Iowa,  Dawes,  Dean,  Dira- 
mick,  Dodd,  Durfee,  Edie,  Fen  ton,  Foster,  Gillis,  Gilman,  Gilmer,  Gooch,  Goodwin, 
Groesbeck,  Grow,  Hatch,  Horton,  Owen  Jones,  Keitt,  Knapp,  John  C.  Kunkel, 
Landy,  Lovejoy,  Humphrey  Marshall,  Maynard,  Moore,  Morgan,  Merrill,  Edward 
Joy  Morris,  Freeman  H.  Morse,  Mott,  Nichols,  Olin,  Parker,  John  S.  Phelps,  William 
W.  Phelps,  Phillips,  Pottle,  Purviance,  Keagan,  Ricaud,  Ritchie,  Robbins,  Roberts, 
Judson  W.  Sherman,  Sickles,  Singleton,  Samuel  A.  Smith,  Stanton,  Tappan,  Under- 
wood, Walbridge,  Walton,  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  Israel  Washburn,  and  Wood — 84. 

NAYS— Messrs.  Atkins,  Barksdale,  Bennett,  Blair,  Bonham,  Branch,  Burnett, 
Caskie,  Clemens,  Cobb,  John  Cochrane,  James  Craig,  Curry,  Davis  of  Indiana,  Davis 
of  Mississippi,  Dowdell,  Eustis,  Faulkner,  Garnett,  Gregg,  Hopkins,  Houston,  Huy- 
ler,  Jackson,  Jenkins,  George  AV.  Jones,  Jacob  M.  Kunkel,  Leiter,  Letcher,  Mac-lay, 
McKibbin,  Miles,  Niblack,  Peyton,  Potter,  Powell,  Royce,  Ruffin,  Russell,  Sandidge, 
Savage,  Scales,  Henry  M.  Shaw,  William  Smith,  Spinner,  Stevenson,  Miles  Taylor, 
Tompkins,  Trippe,  Winslow,  and  John  V.  Wright— 50. 

Agreed  to. 
February  23,  1859— Senate. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  1858,  was 
presented. 

Mr.  J.  M.  MASON  moved  to  print  10,000  extra  copies,  5,000  for  the 
Senate  and  5,000  for  the  Institution. 
February  24,  1859— Senate. 

Mr.  G.  N.  FITCH  reported  the  following  resolution: 

That  there  be  printed,  in  addition  to  the  usual  number  of  the  report  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  year  1858,  5,000  copies  for  the 


THIRTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1857-1859.  607 

use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages 
contained  in  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450  pages,  'without  woodcuts  or  plates, 
except  those  furnished  by  the  Institution. 

Adopted. 
March  2,  1859— House. 

Mr.  S.  A.  SMITH,  of  Tennessee,  from  Committee  on  Printing,  sub- 
mitted resolution: 

That  there  be  printed  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  report  of  the  operations  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  year  1858;  3,000  for  the  use  of  members  of  the 
House,  and  2,000  for  the  use  of  said  Institution. 

Mr.  SMITH,  of  Tennessee,  demanded  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  G.  W.  JONES,  of  Tennessee,  demanded  a  division. 

The  house  divided;  and  there  were — ayes,  88. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JAMES  L.  ORR).  Does  the  gentleman  insist  on  his 
division '( 

Mr.  JONES,  of  Tennessee.  Yes,  sir;  unless  it  is  proposed  to  pay  for 
this  printing  out  of  the  Smithsonian  fund. 

The  division  was  made;  and  there  were — noes,  45. 

Resolution  adopted. 

CARE    OF   GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 
June  2,  1858. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1859. 

For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  survey- 
ing expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 

For  the  transfer  to,  and  new  arrangement  of  those  collections  in  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  $1,000. 

(Stat.  XI,  301.) 
December  16,  1858— House. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia  on  the  memo- 
rial of  the  National  Institution  for  the  Promotion  of  Science,  praying 
for  an  appropriation  for  preserving  the  collection  of  objects  of  natural 
history  intrusted  to  their  charge,  showed  that,  in  fact,  the  collections 
were  then  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution — they  were  formerly  in  the 
Patent  Office,  under  the  charge  of  the  Government — and,  therefore, 
the  committee  asked  to  be  discharged  from  the  further  consideration 
of  the  memorial.  Concurred  in. 
March  3,  1859, 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1860. 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying 
expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 
(Stat.  XI,  427.) 


608  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

METEOROLOGY — JAMES  P.   ESPY. 
June  12,  1858. 

Act  for  naval  service  for  1859. 

To  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  pay  the  .salary  of  Professor 
James  P.  Espy,  $2,000;  the  payment  to  be  made  in  the  same  manner 
and  under  the  like  control  as  former  appropriations  for  meteorolog- 
ical observations:  Provided,  That  the  employment  of  a  meteorologist, 
under  the  contract  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  shall  cease  on  and 
after  June  30,  1859,  $2,000. 

(Stat.  XI,  317.) 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 

February  5,  1859. 

An  act  providing  for  keeping  and  distributing  all  public  documents. 

SEC.  7.  And  ~be  it  furtlier  enacted,  That  by  this  act  the  distribution 
of  all  works  mentioned  in  the  first  section  as  public  documents  is 
intended  and  directed  to  be  made,  except  the  "  Exploring  Expedition." 
conducted  by  Commander  Wilkes. 

(Stat.,  XI,  380.) 

March  3,  1859. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1860. 

For  completing  certain  volumes  of  the  Exploring  Expedition  now 
nearly  finished,  and  pay  of  superintendent,  the  sum  of  $8,220.05. 
(Stat,  XI,  429.) 

ACT   OF   ORGANIZATION    AMENDED. — COPYRIGHTS. 
February  5,  1859. 

An  act  providing  for  keeping  and  distributing  all  public  documents. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  tenth  section  [relative  to  copyrights]  of  an  act 
entitled  "An  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  approved  August 
10, 1846,  is  hereby  repealed. 

SEC.  8.  All  books,  maps,  charts,  and  other  publications  of  every 
nature  whatever  heretofore  deposited  in  the  Department  of  State, 
according  to  the  laws  regulating  copyrights  *  *  shall  be  removed 

to,  and  be  under  the  control  of,  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  which 
is  hereby  charged  with  all  the  duties  connected  with  the  same,  and 
with  all  matters  pertaining  to  copyright. 

(Stat,  XI,  380.) 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  609 

THIRTY-SIXTH  CONGRESS,  1859-1861. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 

January  26,  1860 — Senate. 

The  President  of  the  Senate  (Mr.  JOHN  C.  BRECKINRIDGE)  reap- 
pointed  Stephen  A.  Douglas  as  Regent. 
January  12,  1861 — Senate. 

Mr.  S.  A.  DOUGLAS  submitted  a  resolution  that  the  Vice-President 
appoint  a  member  of  the  Senate  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  Board  of 
Regents,  which  was  to  occur  on  the  third  of  March  following  by  the 
expiration  of  the  term  of  James  A.  Pearce. 

Mr.  JOHN  P.  HALE  objected  and  resolution  was  laid  over. 
March  3,  1861— Senate. 

Mr.  S.  A.  DOUGLAS  reintroduced  resolution  of  January  12  to 
appoint  a  Regent;  agreed  to. 

The  President  of  the  Senate  (Mr.  JOHN  C.  BRECKINRIDGE)  reap- 
pointed  James  A.  Pearce  as  Regent. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
February  21,  1860— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  WILLIAM  PENNINGTON)  reappointed  as  Regents 
William  H.  English  of  Indiana,  Benjamin  Stanton  of  Ohio,  and 
Lucius  J.  Gartrell  of  Georgia. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
January  12,  1861— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE  offered  a  resolution  that  the  vacancies  in  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be  filled  by  the 
appointment  of  George  M.  Dallas,  William  B.  Astor,  and  Cornelius  C. 
Felton. 

Mr.  JOHN  P.  HALE  objected  and  resolution  laid  on  the  table. 
February  22,  1861— Senate. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBULL  introduced  a  resolution: 

That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  the 
class  "other  than  members  of  Congress,"  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  William  L. 
Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  in  place  of  Richard  Rush,  deceased;  William  B.  Astor,  of 
New  York,  in  place  of  Gideon  Hawley,  whose  term  has  expired;  and  that  Corne- 
lius C.  Felton,  of  Massachusetts,  whose  term  has  expired,  be  reappointed. 

Passed. 

March  2,  1861— House. 

The  Senate  resolution,  of  February  22,  passed. 
H.  Doc.  732 39 


610  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

March  2,  1861. 

Resol/oed,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress," be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  William  L.  Dayton,  of  New 
Jersey,  in  place  of  Richard  Rush,  deceased;  William  B.  Astor,  of  New 
York,  in  place  of  Gideon  Hawley,  whose  term  has  expired;  and  that 
Cornelius  C.  Felton,  of  Massachusetts,  whose  term  has  expired,  be 
reappointed. 

(Stat.,  XII,  251.) 

REPORT   OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

June  11,  1860— Senate. 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  1859,  presented. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE,  it  was — 

Resolved,  That  10,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Regente  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  for  the  year  1859  be  printed;  5,000  for  the  use  of  the  Senate  and 
5,000  for  the  use  of  the  Institution:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages 
contained  in  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450  pages,  without  woodcuts  or  plates, 
except  those  furnished  by  the  Institution. 
June  11,  1860— House. 

Annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1859  presented. 

Mr.  BENJAMIN  STANTON  moved  that  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  report 
be  printed. 
June  12,  1860— House. 

Resolution  adopted: 

That  there  be  printed  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion for  the  year  1859;  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  House  and  2,000  for 
the  use  of  the  said  Institution. 
February  26,  1861— Senate. 

Resolution  passed  to  print  extra  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  for  the  year  1860. 
February  27,  1861— House. 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1860  presented  and  ordered 
to  be  printed. 
February  28,  1861— House. 

Resolution  passed: 

That  there  be  printed  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion for  the  year  1860;  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  House  and  2,000  for 
the  use  of  the  said  Institution. 

FREE   USE    OF   TELEGRAPH   BY    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

June  16,  1860. 

Act  to  facilitate  communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  States  by  electric 

telegraph. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  under  the 
direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  is  hereby  authorized 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  611 

and  directed  to  advertise  for  sealed  proposals,  to  be  received  for  sixty 
days  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  (and  the  fulfilment  of  which  shall  be 
guaranteed  by  responsible  parties,  as  in  the  case  of  bids  for  mail  con- 
tracts), for  the  use  by  the  government  of  a  line  or  lines  of  magnetic 
telegraph,  to  be  constructed  within  two  years  from  the  31st  day  of 
July,  1860,  from  some  point  or  points  on  the  west  line  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  by  any  route  or  routes  which  the  said  contractors  may  select, 
(connecting  at  such  point  or  points  by  telegraph  with  the  cities  of 
Washington,  New  Orleans,  New  York,  Charleston,  Philadelphia, 
Boston,  and  other  cities  in  the  Atlantic,  Southern,  and  Western  States), 
to  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  in  the  State  of  California,  for  a  period  of 
ten  years. 

SEC.  3.  *  *  *  Provided,  That  the  use  of  the  line  be  given,  at  any 
time,  free  of  cost,  to  the  Coast  Survey,  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  the  National  Observatory,  for  scientific  purposes. 

(Stat.,XH,  41.) 

CARE    OF   GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 
June  25,  1860. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1861. 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying 
expeditions  of  the  government,  $4,000. 

(Stat,  XII,  109.) 
February  21,  1861. — Senate. 

House  bill  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the 
Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1862,  was  taken  up. 

The  next  amendment  was  to  strike  out  the  following  words: 

For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions 
of  the  Government,  and  the  construction  of  suitable  cases  to  receive  said  collections, 
$6,000. 

And  to  insert  in  lieu  thereof: 

For  the  distribution  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions 
of  the  Government,  and  the  construction  of  additional  cases  to  receive  such  part  of 
said  collections  as  may  be  retained  by  the  Government,  $6,000. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  put  the  question;  and  declared  the  noes 
appeared  to  have  it. 

Mr.  W.  P.  FESSENDEN.  Senators  certainly  do  not  understand  the 
amendment  they  are  voting  against. 

Mr.  JOHN  P.  HALE.  I  confess  I  do  not.     Let  us  have  it  explained. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  I  will  give  an  explanation.  This  sum  is  necessary 
to  be  appropriated  for  the  distribution  of  the  collections  of  the  explor- 
ing expeditions.  They  brought  back  with  them  a  great  deal  of  matter 
which  has  been  arranged  for  distribution  among  the  several  States. 


612  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  THOMAS  BRAGG.  I  hope  the  Senator  will  speak  louder;  he  can 
not  be  heard. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  I  say  there  were  a  great  many  duplicates  of  the 
collections  which  are  proposed  to  be  distributed  among1  the  several 
States,  and  this  sum  is  necessary  in  order  to  have  them  arranged  and 
distributed. 

Mr.  J.  W.  GRIMES.  How  many  such  appropriations  have  been  made 
for  distribution  heretofore? 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  This  is  the  first  appropriation  of  the  sort: 

For  the  distribution  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expcaiuons 
of  the  Government,  and  the  construction  of  additional  cases  to  receive  such  part  of 
said  collections  as  may  be  retained  by  the  Government,  $6,000. 

There  are  two  things  provided  for  in  this  amendment.  Both  are 
necessary.  The  sum  is  a  very  reasonable  one.  The  Committee  on 
Finance  examined  this  matter,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
proper  to  make  this  appropriation.  The  only  alteration  we  have  made 
is  to  put  it  in  a  better  shape  than  it  was  before.  The  chairman  of  the 
committee  thought  the  lines  proposed  to  be  stricken  out  were  indefinite. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  I  understand  this  is  the  first  appropriation  ever  made 
for  distribution  ? 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  Mr.  President,  these  collections  are  made  by  all 
the  expeditions  sent  out  by  the  Government.  A  great  many  of  them 
are  sent  overland  to  the  Northwest.  All  of  them  bring  home  col- 
lections of  natural  history.  They  are  all  sent  to  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, where  they  are  arranged  and  classified.  We  have  no  means  for 
keeping  these  specimens  there;  and  it  is  very  desirable  that  the  dupli- 
cates should  be  given  to  the  colleges  and  scientific  institutions  through- 
out the  country.  This  appropriation  is  not  a  large  one.  These 
specimens  have  been  collecting  for  a  number  of  years;  and  the  object 
now  is  to  distribute  them  to  places  where  they  would  be  valuable; 
that  is  all. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  Under  what  law,  to  what  institutions,  and  in  what 
manner  are  they  distributed? 

Mr.  PEARCE.  There  is  no  law  that  I  am  aware  of  for  the  distribution; 
but  it  has  been  proposed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  that  these 
objects  should  be  thus  distributed.  They  will  be  distributed  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  in  whose  care  they  are  placed. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  According  to  the  discretion  of  the  superintendent  of 
that  institution? 

Mr.  PEARCE.  Yes,  sir;  with  the  approbation  of  the  Interior  Depart- 
ment, of  course,  which  is  required  for  all  things  of  this  sort. 

Mr.  HALE.  Then,  I  think,  Congress  should  not  appropriate  the 
money.  I  think  they  ought  to  be  distributed  by  law,  as  books  and 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  613 

manuscripts  are,  and  should  not  be  given  to  the  discretion  of  this 
Department. 

Mr.  FESSENDEX.  Why  not  add  the  words:  "in  the  discretion  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  ? " 

Mr.  HALE.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  necessity  for  the  provision 
at  all. 

The  Presiding  Officer  (Mr.  TRUSTEN  POLK).  If  no  amendment  be 
offered  the  question  will  be  on  the  amendment  reported  from  the 
Committee  on  Finance. 

Mr.  FESSKXDKX.  I  suppose  the  amendment  may  be  amended. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  Certainly;  but,  as  the  Chair  stated,  no 
amendment  being  offered  to  it.  the  question  is  on  the  amendment  as 
reported  by  the  committee. 

Mr.  R.  M.  T.  HUNTER.  It  seems  to  me  that  before  we  adopt  this 
amendment  its  friends  ought  to  put  some  limitation  on  it  by  which 
hereafter  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  not  to  receive  these  things, 
for  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  the  beginning  of  a  system  of  annual  distri- 
bution like  those  Patent  Office  seeds,  and  may  lead  us  into  a  large 
annual  expenditure  unless  there  is  some  limitation.  I  would  be  willing 
to  distribute  them  once  if  you  would  put  a  stop  to  it  there,  and  there 
ought  to  be  something  done  to  prevent  the  receipt  of  these  things 
hereafter 

Mr.  PEARCE.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  has  not  the  slightest 
interest  in  this  thing  whatsoever,  but  the  Government  has  for  years — 
having  no  other  place  to  put  them — sent  all  these  collections  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  which  building,  large  as  it  is,  is  very  much 
lumbered  up  by  them.  If  }'ou  keep  them  there  they  will  be  compelled 
to  turn  other  collections  away.  There  is  no  room  to  receive  any  more. 
They  are  enormous  in  bulk  and  very  numerous.  It  is  desirable  to  get 
rid  of  them,  and  we  can  not  make  a  better  disposition  of  them  than  to 
send  them  to  colleges  and  scientific  institutions  which  have  already 
collections  of  this  sort,  though  imperfect.  It  is  a  very  remarkable 
collection  of  objects  in  natural  history.  There  is  no  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  Institution  to  obtain  the  distribution  of  this  collection.  It 
is  a  gratuitous  thing  on  their  part  altogether.  This  is  not  for  their 
advantage  at  all,  except  so  far  as  it  will  relieve  the  building  of  the 
incumbrance  of  such  an  immense  collection,  and  yet  it  can  never  be 
done  except  by  authority  of  law.  This  is  the  first  occasion  on  which 
it  has  been  asked. 

Mr.  HUNTER.  I  have  no  idea  that  this  is  to  the  advantage  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  I  believe  the  object  of  the  amendment  is  a 
good  one;  but  why  not  allow  them  to  give  these  things  to  those  that 
may  apply?  Why  appropriate  money  for  the  purpose  of  distributing 
them  (  Why  not  allow  them  to  give  them  to  those  who  may  apply, 
according  to  their  judgment?  That  would  throw  the  expense  upon 


614  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

those  who  received  them.  But  if  we  once  begin  with  this  appropriation 
I  am  afraid  we  shall  go  on  distributing  these  collections  just  as  we  do 
the  seeds  at  the  Patent  Office. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  A  large  part  of  this  appropriation  is  intended 
for  the  construction  of  cases  to  receive  such  portions  of  the  collections 
as  may  be  retained  by  the  Government.  The  expense  of  their  distribu- 
tion will  be  very  small,  indeed.  We  do  not  mean  to  pay  the  expenses 
of  their  distribution.  They  will  be  paid  by  the  institutions  to  whom 
they  go. 

Mr.  W.  P.  FESSENDEN.  Of  course  this  is  only  an  amendment  to  the 
preceding  one.  Was  the  other  amendment  struck  out? 

Mr.  PEARCE.  Yes,  sir;  I  think  so. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  I  will  inquire  whether  the  amendment  proposed  in 
the  two  hundred  and  twentieth  line,  to  strike  out  the  words  "and 
distribution"  after  the  word  "preservation"  has  been  acted  on? 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Chair  is  informed  by  the  Secretary 
that  that  amendment  has  not  been  acted  on,  and  will  now  put  the 
question  on  the  amendment  to  strike  out,  in  line  220,  after  the  word 
"preservation,"  the  words  "and  distribution;"  so  that  the  clause  will 
read: 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of 
the  Government,  $4,000. 

Mr.  J.  W.  GRIMES.  I  apprehend  there  is  not  a  college  or  museum  in 
the  land  but  would  be  willing  and  anxious  to  have  the  opportunity  to 
come  here  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  take  its  proportion  of 
these  fossils  or  specimens — 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  Will  the  Senator  from  Iowa  allow  the 
Chair  to  state  that  the  amendment  which  has  just  been  read  precedes 
the  one  under  consideration,  and  the  Senate  should  pass  on  that  first; 
and  then  the  subject  of  remark  to  which  the  Senator  from  Iowa  is 
directing  his  attention  would  be  appropriate. 

Mr.  HUNTER.  The  proposition  is  to  strike  out  one,  and  insert;  so 
that  now  is  the  time  to  speak  upon  it. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  Not  at  all. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  No,  sir;  this  precedes  the  other.  The 
question  is  on  the  adoption  of  the  amendment  last  read. 

Mr.  HUNTER.  Is  that  an  amendment  on  which  we  can  come  at  this 
question  ? 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  No,  sir;  it  is  the  amendment  that  pre- 
cedes it. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  It  is  the  amendment  in  line  220,  I  understand. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Secretary  will  report  the  amendment. 

The  Secretary  again  read  it.  On  page  10,  line  220,  to  strike  out  the 
words  "and  distribution;"  so  that  the  clause  will  read: 

Exploring  expedition. — For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  sur- 
veying expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  615 

Mr.  PEARCE.  These  words  were  improperly  put  in.  That  appro- 
priation is  the  one  which  we  make  annually.  These  collections  were 
all  in  the  Patent  Office,  and  as  the  Department  of  the  Interior  wanted 
the  Patent  Office  for  other  purposes,  provision  was  made  by  law  for 
transferring  these  collections  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Gov- 
ernment paying  the  expense.  The  annual  expense  is  about  $4,000. 
By  a  mistake  the  word  "distribution  "  was  put  in  the  bill  as  it  came 
from  the  House  of  Representatives.  This  money  is  wanted  for  the 
preservation  of  the  collections  and  not  for  their  distribution;  and 
therefore  wre  move  to  strike  out  the  words  "and  distribution." 

The  motion  to  strike  out  was  agreed  to. 

The  Secretary  read  the  next  amendment  of  the  Committee  on 
Finance,  which  was  to  strike  out  lines  223  to  226,  inclusive,  in  the  fol- 
lowing words: 

For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions 
of  the  Government,  and  the  construction  of  suitable  cases  to  receive  said  collections, 
$6,000. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  Mr.  President — 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  Striking  out  these  words  will  accomplish  the  Sen- 
ator's purpose. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  I  do  not  know  that.  The  bill,  as  it  came  from  the 
House  of  Representatives,  furnished  an  appropriation  for  the  preser- 
vation of  these  things.  That  I  am  willing  shall  be  done;  but  1  am 
unwilling  that  a  distribution  shall  be  made  by  which  these  articles  are 
to  be  distributed  over  the  country  without  Congress  specifying  the 
manner  in  which  they  shall  be  distributed.  I  want  to  know  how  they 
are  to  be  distributed.  I  am  content  that  they  should  be  distributed; 
and  I  think,  if  there  is  an  excess  of  them  here,  they  should  be  distrib- 
uted in  some  way,  either  by  allowing  persons  and  institutions  in  differ- 
ent portions  of  the  country  to  come  here  and  obtain  them,  or  else,  if 
you  see  fit  to  do  so,  allowing  the  Superintendent  of  the  Institution  to 
distribute  them;  but  he  should  not  be  permitted  to  distribute  them  on 
any  principle  of  favoritism,  as  I  fear  may  be  the  case  unless  you  pro- 
vide in  the  law  specifically  in  what  manner  they  shall  be  distributed. 
For  instance,  we  might  say  that  one  institution  in  each  State,  or  two 
institutions  in  each  State,  should  be  furnished  with  these  specimens, 
or  that  they  should  be  distributed  to  certain  specified  institutions; 
but  I  am  unwilling  to  leave  the  matter  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  or  the  Superintendent  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

Mr.  FESSEXDEX.  My  friend  from  Iowa  is  a  little  too  fast.  If  he 
will  look  at  this  amendment  he  will  find  that  it  is  merely  to  strike  out 
the  words  in  lines  223,  224,  225,  and  226,  for  which  other  words  are  to 
be  substituted.  If  these  words  be  stricken  out,  and  the  others  be  not 
substituted,  he  accomplishes  his  object.  The  question  he  is  debating 


616  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

is  really  the  substitution,  which  is  simply  to  put  in  this  clause  in  a 
more  definite  form.  There  can  be  no  objection  to  striking  out  these 
words. 

Mr.  HUNTER.  The  Senator  from  Iowa  will  accomplish  his  present 
purpose  if  we  should  refuse  to  strike  out,  and  leave  the  clause  as  it 
stands.  The  difference  between  the  two  is,  that  the  amendment  pro- 
poses to  distribute  as  well  as  to  preserve  these  collections,  and  the  words 
proposed  to  be  stricken  out  merely  provide  for  the  preservation. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  The  provision  above,  which  has  been  already 
adopted,  makes  all  the  appropriation  necessary  to  preserve  the  collec- 
tions. Then  we  come  to  the  clause  which  provides  for  the  distribu- 
tion, and  that  it  is  proposed  to  strike  out  and  to  insert  a  re-draft  of  the 
provision  in  another  form.  The  first  paragraph  applies  to  the 
preservation. 

Mr.  HUNTER.  Then  the  plan  would  be  to  vote  for  striking  out  and 
to  vote  against  inserting  what  it  is  proposed  to  insert. 

Mr.  FESSENUEN.  There  is  no  objection  to  appropriating  the  $4,000 
for  the  preservation.  That  is  done.  That  is  necessary.  Then  comes 
for  the  preservation  again.  That  is  a  mistake;  and  therefore  the 
clause  was  redrafted  by  the  committee  so  as  to  provide  for  the  distri- 
bution. We  do  not  want  to  provide  once  more  for  preserving  the 
collections  that  are  to  be  kept  there,  and  therefore  these  words  ought 
to  be  stricken  out. 

Mr.  HUNTER.  I  say  strike  out  these  words;  and  then,  if  you  oppose 
the  distribution,  vote  against  the  amendment  which  proposes  to  insert 
the  other  wrords. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  That  is  precisely  what  I  am  proposing  to  the  Sena- 
tor from  Iowa;  to  let  these  words  be  stricken  out,  and  then  bring  up 
the  question  in  that  way. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  I  should  like  to  say  to  the  Senator  from  Iowa 
that  there  are  collections  enough  to  supply  every  college  and  every 
scientific  institution  interested  in  such  matters  in  the  country,  and  our 
intention  is  to  supply  the  whole  of  them;  there  can  not  be  any  favor- 
itism; but  we  must  make  some  small  appropriation  for  it,  although 
we  do  not  propose  to  pay  the  transportation.  It  would  not  do,  for 
example,  to  let  the  president  of  a  college  come  here  and  select  just 
what  he  would  pick  and  carry  away.  That  would  produce  the  very 
effect  which  the  Senator  is  so  desirous  of  avoiding.  One  institution 
would  get  too  much,  perhaps.  Somebody  must  be  employed  not  only 
to  arrange  these  objects  of  natural  history  and  classify  them,  but  also 
to  put  aside  into  separate  parcels  the  portions  which  are  to  be  dis- 
tributed to  the  different  institutions.  For  that  we  are  to  pay.  The 
Senator  can  guard  against  the  Government  paying  the  expenses  of 
transportation,  if  he  pleases,  by  making  an  amendment  to  it  in  this 
form:  "Provided  that  no  part  of  the  said  money  shall  be  expended  in 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  617 

transportation."  As  to  favoritism,  I  say  it  is  not  possible,  because 
there  is  an  abundance  of  these  collections  to  answer  the  calls  of  every 
institution  in  the  country. 

Mr.  THOMAS  BRAGG.  I  think  the  difficulty  may  be  obviated  by  an 
amendment  which  I  have  prepared,  though  I  suppose  my  amendment 
will  not  be  in  order  at  this  time,  as  I  understand  there  is  an  amend- 
ment pending  to  the  amendment. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  now  is  on  striking  out. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  On  striking  out  what  nobody  objects  to  strik- 
ing out. 

Mr.  BRAGG.  This,  I  think,  will  accord  with  the  idea  of  the  Senator 
from  Maryland,  to  follow  the  amendment  offered  by  the  committee: 

Such  distribution  to  be  only  to  institutions  willing  to  receive  the  same,  and  at  their 
own  expense. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  is  on  striking  out. 

Mr.  J.  P.  HALE.  Is  it  in  order  to  move  to  strike  out  more  words 
with  those  which  the  committee  propose  to  strike  out? 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  Perhaps  it  would  be  in  order  as  an  amend- 
ment to  the  amendment;  but  the  Chair  would  suggest  to  the  Senator 
that  it  would  be  better  to  take  the  question  on  striking  out  the  words 
which  the  committee  proposes  to  strike  out. 

Mr.  HALE.  I  agree  to  that. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  is  on  striking  out  the  words 
which  have  been  read. 

The  motion  to  strike  out  was  agreed  to. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  now  is  on  the  amendment  of 
the  Committee  on  Finance,  to  insert  the  following  words: 

For  the  distribution  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions 
of  the  Government,  and  the  construction  of  additional  cases  to  receive  such  part  of 
said  collections  as  may  be  retained  by  the  Government,  $6,000. 

The  Senator  from  North  Carolina  moves  to  amend  the  amendment 
by  adding  to  it: 

Such  distribution  to  be  only  to  institutions  willing  to  receive  the  same,  and  at 
their  own  expense. 

The  question  is  on  the  amendment  to  the  amendment. 

Mr.  HALE.  I  am  opposed  to  the  whole  of  this,  from  beginning  to 
end.  I  have  been  in  Congress  I  do  not  know  how  man}7  years;  but 
about  as  long  as  the  Smithsonian  Institution  has  been  in  existence. 
I  have  devoted  some  time  every  year,  more  or  less,  to  finding  out 
what  on  earth  that  Smithsonian  Institution  was  for;  I  have  had  friends 
who  have  visited  Washington,  who  have  told  me  that  they  were  going 
to  examine  it  to  find  out;  and  I  have  asked  them  repeatedly,  if  any  of 
them  had  found  it  out,  to  tell  me.  The  New  York  Tribune — I  do  not 
often  quote  from  that  paper,  for  it  is  never  very  complimentary  to 


618  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

me,  any  more  than  it  is  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution — said  that  it 
was  a  sort  of  lying-in  hospital  for  literary  valetudinarians.  But,  sir,  it 
has  a  fund,  I  believe,  of  $500,000 — 

Mr.  J.  W.  GRIMES.  Six  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  HALE.  Six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  making  an  income,  then, 
of  $36,000  a  year  "  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,"  I  believe.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned  in  the  lot  of  humanity, 
they  have  never  distributed  knowledge  enough  to  me  to  let  me  know 
what  the  thing  is  for  or  what  it  does.  In  addition  to  the  $36,000 
which  it  has  of  its  annual  income  from  its  funds,  you  propose  now 
to  appropriate  $10,000  more  for  preserving  the  collections  of  the 
exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government,  and  for  the 
distribution  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  expeditions,  and 
the  construction  of  additional  cases  to  receive  such  collections  as  may 
be  retained  by  the  Government.  We  are  to  appropriate  $10,000  to 
this  Institution,  to  keep  and  distribute  these  collections,  in  addition 
to  their  annual  income  of  $36,000.  I  am  opposed  to  the  whole  of  it. 
I  think  it  is  wrong.  1  think  the  Institution  itself  is  wrong,  and  based 
upon  one  of  the  grossest  misconceptions  of  plain  English  that  any 
institution  ever  was. 

Old  Mr.  Smithson — if  the  Senate  do  not  want  to  hear  me  I  will  stop; 
I  know  it  is  not  a  very  good  time  to  speak  ["Go  on! "J — old  Mr.  Smith- 
son  I  suppose  was  a  man  of  scientific  attainments — no  doubt  of  that — 
a  friend  of  science;  a  lover  of  science.  He  had  seen  the  colleges  and 
the  universities  of  England  hitched  on  to  the  church  and  the  state. 
The  yoking  together  of  these  three  he  thought  was  not  favorable  to 
the  advancement  of  science  in  the  world.  Then,  sir,  he  had  in  his 
brain  the  sublime  conception  of  founding  a  democratic  university;  one 
that  should  be  free  from  the  corruptions  of  the  church  and  state,  as 
they  existed  in  England.  Looking  abroad  over  the  face  of  the  earth 
to  see  a  place  where  this  great  and  benevolent  idea  might  be  carried 
out,  he  selected  the  United  States  as  a  place  where  democratic  institu- 
tions prevailed,  and  he  gave  this  liberal  fund  that  he  might  found  an 
institution  under  the  benign  influence  of  democratic  institutions,  that 
should  be  devoted  to  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,  instead  of  having  it  harnessed  to  church  and  state.  Well,  sir, 
our  Government  undertook  the  trust,  and  a  grosser  abuse  of  a  trust 
never  was  perpetrated  on  the  earth.  Some  of  the  wisest  men  we  had 
at  that  day  thought  there  was  too  vague  a  meaning  in  that  phraseology 
which  said  that  it  was  to  be  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men.  They  forgot  that  men  were  made  of  boys,  and 
they  thought  that  if  they  devoted  it,  as  poor  old  Smithson  intended  it 
should  be,  for  the  education  of  boys,  under  the  influence  of  such  an 
institution  as  he  designed,  it  would  not  answer  his  purpose,  because 
he  intended  it  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  "among 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  619 

men;"  and  so  they  have  got  up  the  thing  they  Have.  I  will  not  char- 
acterize it,  for  I  confess  I  do  not  know  what  it  is.  I  saw  an  advertise- 
ment in  the  National  Intelligencer  that  there  was  to  be  an  exhibition 
there  at  25  cents  a  ticket,  or  perhaps  50  cents.  That  is  for  the 
"increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  In  addition  to 
perverting  Mr.  Smithson's  benevolent  and  sagacious  purposes,  defeat- 
ing one  of  the  greatest  ideas  that  ever  entered  into  the  head  of  a 
benevolent  scholar — instead  of  making  such  an  institution  as  he  wanted, 
you  have  founded  the  great  humbug  of  the  land;  and  you  propose 
now,  in  addition  to  the  $36,000,  to  pay  them  $10,000  out  of  the  public 
Treasury.  I  propose  to  strike  it  all  out.  Now,  I  am  prepared  to  be 
castigated  by  the  Senator  from  Maryland  [Mr.  Pearce]  just  as  much 
as  he  pleases. 

Mr.  J.  C.  TEN  EYCK.  Rather  than  have  this  discussion  continued  on 
the  merits  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  I  move  that  the  Senate  do 
now  adjourn.  ["  Oh,  no  ! "] 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  We  shall  have  it  to-morrow  instead  of  to-day. 

Mr.  H.  M.  RICE.  The  understanding  was  that  we  should  sit  here 
until  5  o'clock,  and  then  take  a  recess  until  7  o'clock. 

Mr.  L.  F.  S.  FOSTER.  I  would  suggest  that  the  motion  can  not  be 
entertained.  Under  the  order  of  the  Senate  last  night  the  Senate 
to-day  was  to  take  a  recess  from  5  o'clock  to  7,  and  an  adjournment  now 
would  override  the  order  of  the  Senate  yesterday,  and  would  be  an 
adjournment  until  to-morrow.  Therefore,  such  a  motion,  I  think,  can 
not  be  entertained. 

Mr.  TEN  EYCK.  I  withdraw  the  motion. 

Mr.  J.  A.  PEARCE.  Mr.  President — 

Mr.  WILLIAM  BIGLER.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  taking  a  recess  now. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Senator  from  Maryland  is  entitled  to 
the  floor. 

Mr.  PEARCE.  I  shall  not  consume  much  of  the  time  of  the  Senate 
by  replying  to  the  attack  which  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire 
has  made  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Some  years  ago  the  plan 
of  that  Institution  was  the  subject  of  deliberate  investigation  by  a 
committee  of  the  Senate.  It  was  discussed  here  in  this  body.  It  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  and  the  Committee  on  the 
Judiciary  approved  the  plan  of  the  Institution  for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  The  Senator  from  New  Hamp- 
shire has  not  given  us  any  great  reason  to  respect  his  authority  on  this 
subject,  because  he  started  out  with  a  confession  that  he  knew  nothing 
about  it;  and,  confessing  so  much,  I  take  it  that  the  Senate  will  take 
him  at  his  word  and  estimate  the  value  of  his  remarks  at  just  what  he 
himself  admits  them  to  be  worth.  It  is  enough,  sir,  that  the  men  who 
composed  the  first  Board  of  Regents,  of  which  I  was  not  one,  were 
among  the  best  men  in  the  country,  and  that  they  established  this  Insti- 


620  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

tution  upon  the  plan  by  which  it  is  now  known  and  which  has  received 
the  deliberate  assent  of  the  Committee  of  the  Judiciary  of  the  Senate 
and  of  the  Senate  itself.  How  the  Senator  gets  at  his  theory  of  Smith- 
son's  intentions  I  do  not  know.  If  he  has  ever  read  Smithson's  will, 
he  will  not  find  one  word  of  all  that  he  has  said  in  it;  and  we,  who  do 
know  something  about  the  history  of  Smithson,  know  the  peculiar 
reasons  which  induced  him  to  give  this  legacy  to  the  United  States. 

But,  sir,  the  Senator  has  remarked  about  an  exhibition  given  at  the 
Institution  a  few  days  since.  I  wish  to  explain  that.  It  might  be 
supposed  by  members  of  the  Senate  that  this  25  cents  a  head  was  a 
fee  to  the  Institution.  No  such  thing.  The  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion has  a  remarkably  fine  lecture  room,  and  it  is  very  often  applied 
for  by  individuals  who  wish  to  lecture  there.  In  no  case  is  it  given 
to  an  individual  who  charges.  The  only  case  in  which  anyone  is 
allowed  to  charge  is  where  the  object  is  charitable  or  religious. 
Church  congregations  have  sometimes  applied  for  it  when  a  lecture 
was  to  be  delivered,  and  they  have  been  allowed  in  that  case  to  use 
the  hall,  and  they  themselves  charge  25  cents  for  each  hearer  of 
the  lecture — making  a  fund  for  the  building  of  their  church  or  for 
the  charitable  object  which  is  to  be  subserved,  whatever  it  may  be. 
These  are  the  only  cases  where  a  charge  is  made.  The  lectures  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  are  always  free;  and  I  believe  they  are  a  little 
more  valuable  than  most  lectures  in  the  country  for  which  people  pay 
very  willingly. 

Now,  so  far  as  the  Government  giving  $10,000  a  year  to  this  Insti- 
tution is  concerned,  it  is  an  entire  mistake.  The  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution accommodated  and  obliged  the  Government  by  admitting 
within  their  walls  these  collections  for  which  the  Government  had  no 
proper  place,  the  Government  only  paying  the  expense  of  their  pres- 
ervation; that  is  all.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  does  not  derive 
any  value  to  its  funds  from  these  appropriations  by  the  Government. 
So  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  these  enormous  collections,  the 
Institution  is  not  benefited  a  fraction.  All  we  want  is  a  little  appro- 
priation to  defray  the  expense  which  the  Institution  must  incur  in 
classifying  and  separating  these  specimens  of  natural  history  for 
distribution.  I  do  not  object  to  the  amendment  of  the  Senator  from 
North  Carolina,  and  I  purposely  refrain  from  much  that  I  might  say, 
that  I  may  not  consume  the  time  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  SIMON  CAMERON.  I  am  one  of  those  who  were  here  at  the  time 
of  the  reception  by  this  Government  of  the  Smithsonian  legacy,  and 
one  of  those  who  voted  to  receive  that  donation  from  a  philanthropic 
man  in  England,  who  died  and  left  us  his  money.  I  recollect  very 
well  that  the  arguments  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  receiving  it 
were  that  it  would  be  a  constant  tax  on  us;  that  the  giving  to  us  of 
those  $500,000  would  result  in  the  expenditure  of  millions;  and  all  the 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  621 

friends  of  the  Institution,  amongst  them  myself,  said,  "No;  we  will 
take  this  $500,000  and  get  the  best  we  can  out  of  it."  From  that  time 
to  now  I  have  always  opposed  any  appropriation  for  it.  If  the  Insti- 
tution can  not  sustain  itself,  let  it  fall.  I  believe  it  is  doing  good. 
I  do  not  want  to  make  it  one  of  those  things  that  shall  constantly  eat 
into  the  vitals  of  this  Government.  This  is  a  Government  here  by 
itself,  controlling  itself,  and  controlling  many  other  things  around  it. 
My  feelings  to  it  are  nothing  but  kind;  but  I  think  it  ought  to  sus- 
tain itself,  and  I  shall  vote  against  every  appropriation  for  it.  I  rise, 
however,  only  to  say  a  word  in  regard  to  a  remark  made  by  the  Sena- 
tor from  Maryland,  who  is  almost  always  right.  He  spoke  of  the 
ignorance  of  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  on  this  subject.  I 
simply  want  to  say  to  the  Senator  from  Maryland  that  the  best  book 
we  have  ever  had  says  that  whenever  we  have  learned  our  own  igno- 
rance we  are  nearest  wisdom. 

Mr.  W.  P.  FESSENDEN.  I  wish  to  correct  an  error  into  which  my 
friend  from  Pennsylvania  has  fallen;  and  I  think  my  friend  from  New 
Hampshire  also  is  troubled  with  the  same  difficulty.  This  is  not 
anything  paid  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  It  is  not  in  aid  of  their 
fund.  It  has  nothing  to  do  with  anything  connected  with  that  Insti- 
tution in  any  shape  or  form.  They  do  not  call  upon  us  for  anything 
connected  properly  with  the  Institution,  to  render  them  any  aid  in  any 
shape.  The  simple  matter  is  this:  We  have  a  large  collection  of  this 
material,  coming  from  several  exploring  expeditions.  It  was  all 
placed  at  the  Patent  Office,  or  under  the  charge  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior.  There  was  nobody  to  take  care  of  it;  there  was  nobody  to 
arrange  it;  nobody  to  do  anything  with  regard  to  it;  it  was  turning 
out  to  be  utterly  useless,  of  no  good  to  the  Government;  and  we 
imposed  the  burden  on  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  We  decreed  that 
it  should  be  sent  there  and  should  be  examined  there. 

Mr.  J.  M.  MASON.  Against  their  will. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  And  against  their  will.  They  did  not  ask  it.  It 
was  a  burden  we  imposed  upon  them;  and  having  sent  it  there,  we 
have  made  an  appropriation,  heretofore,  merely  of  enough  to  preserve 
what  was  necessary  to  be  preserved,  and  to  pay  the  salary  of  a  person 
who  was  to  take  charge  of  it,  fix  the  room  and  take  care  of  it— $±,000, 
I  think,  each  year;  and  it  was  found,  on  a  careful  examination  (I  was 
on  the  committee  when  it  was  first  made),  to  be  a  reasonable  provision. 

Now,  sir,  there  is  a  very  large  number  of  these  duplicates,  and  it  is 
proposed  that  those  also  shall  be  arranged  by  these  persons;  and  after 
they  are  arranged,  and  it  is  found  distinctly  what  is  best  to  keep,  the 
rest  shall  be  distributed  among  the  institutions  of  the  country.  It  is 
not  for  the  benefit  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  but  for  the  benefit 
of  the  institutions  of  the  country.  We  called  on  them  to  do  the  work; 
and  gentlemen  get  up  here  and  argue  that  we  should  compel  them  to 


622  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

do  the  work  and  not  pay  them  for  the  labor,  and  compel  them  also  to 
pay  their  own  expenses.  It  is  simply  providing  a  mode  by  which  we 
may  cany  out  our  own  objects  and  our  own  purposes  through  their 
agency.  The  labor  that  they  have  given  to  this  work  and  the  serv- 
ices they  render  are  altogether  gratuitous;  and  certainly  they  ought 
not  to  be  abused  for  doing  what  we  asked  them  to  do  with  reference 
to  matters  which  we  have  placed  under  their  control,  without  their 
requesting  us  to  do  it.  That  is  the  simple  fact  about  this  matter.  It 
has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Institution. 

Now,  sir,  as  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  itself,  what  it  has  done 
for  science,  and  what  it  is  doing  for  science.  I  have  no  doubt  that  it 
is  doing  much;  how  much,  I  do  not  know.  I  confess  the  same  ignor- 
ance that  has  been  confessed  by  my  friend  from  New  Hampshire,  writh 
the  addition  that  I  feel  ashamed  I  do  not  know  more  about  it.  I  ought 
to  know  more  about  it.  I  have  only  to  leave  my  other  avocations, 
which  prevent  me  from  knowing  what  I  want  to  know.  It  is  my  own 
fault. 

Mr.  S.  A.  DOUGLAS.  I  desire  to  add  but  a  word  to  what  has  been  so 
well  said  by  the  Senator  from  Maine.  This  burden  was  imposed  upon 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  not  only  without  their  request,  but  against 
their  wish.  These  objects  were  collected  by  the  exploring  expedi- 
tions and  deposited  in  the  Patent  Office.  They  were  kept  there  and 
preserved  as  objects  of  great  curiosity  and  great  interest,  until  they 
occupied  so  large  a  space  that  the  Government  could  not  afford  the 
room.  They  needed  the  room,  and  had  no  place  to  put  them  in.  The 
Smithsonian  Institution  happened  to  have  vacant  space;  but  these  col- 
lections were  not  connected  with  the  objects  of  that  Institution.  The 
Institution  was  willing  to  give  them  the  room  free  of  rent.  They 
were  willing  to  take  charge  of  the  collection,  if  the  annual  expenses 
of  the  burden  thus  imposed  were  borne  by  the  Government.  It  was 
accepted  as  a  great  favor  by  the  Government.  I  do  think,  if  they  are 
worthy  of  our  encouragement,  we  ought  to  pay  the  actual  expenses, 
no  more,  of  taking  charge  of  these  objects  of  curiosity.  Probably 
there  is  no  object  of  greater  curiosity  to  the  visitor  and  the  stranger 
who  comes  to  Washington  than  this  museum  thus  collected;  and  inas- 
much as  they  would  be  an  attraction  to  the  Institution,  they  were 
willing  to  accept  them;  but  the  objects  themselves  belonged  to  the 
Government.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  is  giving  the  Government 
a  place  in  which  to  keep  them.  I  think,  therefore,  that  we  are  bound 
by  every  consideration  of  public  policy  and  duty  to  make  this  appro- 
priation. I  will  not  occupy  time,  for  I  believe  it  will  be  voted  almost 
unanimously. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  I  must  say  a  word  in  reply  to  what  has  been  said  by 
the  Senator  from  Maine  and  the  Senator  from  Illinois.  I  do  not  believe 
that  they  have  studied  this  subject  so  well  as  they  usually  study  ques- 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  623 

tions.  It  occurs  to  my  mind  that  all  this  labor  which  we  have  imposed 
upon  the  Smithsonian  Institution  they  have  invited.  I  remember  when 
this  exploring  expedition  came  in  it  was  said  specimens  were  brought 
home  that  would  be  valueless  to  the  country  unless  we  put  them  in  the 
Patent  Office.  After  awhile  somebody  came  and  asked  that  they 
should  be  given  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  because,  it  was  said, 
it  would  be  an  attraction  to  that  building,  take  people  there,  make  it  a 
credit  to  the  country;  and  we  voted  for  it.  After  awhile  they  asked 
us  to  give  them  a  certain  number  of  books  which  scientific  persons  had 
written  and  we  had  paid  for  the  printing  of.  The  rule  used  to  be  that 
all  those  books  were  sent  to  Congress  and  distributed  by  members  of 
Congress;  but  gentlemen  here  said  we  ought  not  to  distribute  them; 
we  should  give  them  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  Then  we 
gave  them  to  the  Patent  Office;  and  then  to  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion; and  now  these  gentlemen  ask  us  to  pay  them  for  distributing 
those  very  things  which  they  invited  us  to  give  them. 

Mr.  PEARCE.  I  will  ask  the  Senator  to  specify  what  scientific  books 
the  Institution  has  ever  asked  us  to  give  them? 

Mr.  CAMERON.  When  I  think  the  gentleman  has  a  right  to  ask  a 
question,  I  will  answer  it.  I  will  say  to  the  gentleman  now  that  I 
want  this  Institution  to  sustain  itself.  There  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  appropriate  money  from  year  to  year  to  keep  up  that,  a  bit 
more  than  that  you  should  build  up  a  scientific  institution  in  the 
village  where  I  live.  What  right  has  that  Institution  to  come  here, 
and  what  right  have  we  to  expend  money  to  keep  up  an  Institution  for 
the  benefit  only  of  those  who  live  by  it?  The  Government  has  no 
interest  in  it.  The  gentlemen  who  get  their  salaries,  and  who  live  on 
the  money  which  old  Smithson  gave  us,  have  an  interest  in  it,  but  we 
have  none.  I  shall  vote  against  it,  if  nobody  else  does. 

Mr.  DOUGLAS.  I  think  it  is  unfair  for  my  friend  from  Maryland  to 
be  putting  questions  to  my  friend  from  Pennsylvania,  for  he  is  evi- 
dently joking  in  what  he  says.  He  is  not  serious  when  he  talks  about 
the  request  of  the  Institution  made  to  Congress  for  this  appropriation 
and  that  appropriation.  It  is  contrary  to  the  known  history  of  the 
Institution,  and  to  the  known  history  of  the  country.  It  is  a  very 
good  joke  on  the  part  of  the  Senator  from  Pennsylvania;  but  I  really 
think  the  Senate  are  not  going  to  vote  down  this  amendment  on  the 
strength  of  that  joke. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  I  will  merely  say,  if  the  gentlemen  of  that  Institu- 
tion do  not  want  to  have  the  charge  of  these  things,  let  them  give 
them  up.  What  do  we  care  about  stuffed  snakes,  alligators,  and  all 
such  things? 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  is  on  the  amendment  offered 
by  the  Senator  from  North  Carolina  to  the  amendment  of  the  com- . 
niittee. 


624  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  agreed  to. 
The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  now  recurs  on  the  amend- 
ment as  amended. 

Mr.  PRESTON  KING.  What  is  the  amendment  as  amended? 
The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Secretary  will  read  it. 
The  Secretary  read  it,  as  follows: 

For  the  distribution  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions 
of  the  Government,  and  the  construction  of  additional  cases  to  receive  such  part  of 
said  collections  as  may  be  retained  by  the  Government,  $6^000;  such  distribution  to 
be  made  to  institutions  willing  to  receive  the  same  at  their  own  expense. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  That  refers  merely  to  the  transportation. 

Mr.  J.  W.  GRIMES.   What  is  the  appropriation  of  $6,000  for? 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  For  putting  them  in  order  and  arranging  them. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  I  move  to  strike  out  the  appropriation.  I  have  no 
doubt  if  these  things  are  of  any  use  scientific  people  will  be  glad  to 
get  them,  and  I  am  willing  to  let  them  have  them,  if  they  will  take 
them. 

Mr.  H.  M.  RICE.  The  question  strikes  me  in  two  different  aspects, 
a  personal  and  an  official  one.  If  we  have  a  right  to  make  an  appro- 
priation for  distributing  stuffed  snakes  and  the  various  other  things 
that  may  be  collected  and  brought  here,  why  have  we  not  a  right  to 
make  pn  appropriation  for  distributing  the  models  in  the  Patent  Office, 
or  distributing  hoes,  plows,  and  other  implements?  This  has  all  grown 
out  of  an  infraction,  in  my  opinion,  of  the  Constitution  by  distribu- 
ting seeds.  We  must  stop  somewhere.  If  you  can  do  this  under  the 
Constitution,  what  can  you  not  do?  I  know  that  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution has  done  great  good  for  the  country.  I  am  applied  to  daily 
for  books  published  by  it,  and  I  know  that  they  are  valuable;  but  it 
is  not,  under  the  Constitution,  a  Government  institution.  Let  us  stop 
somewhere,  and  I  think  we  might  as  well  stop  here  as  anywhere. 

Mr.  J.  P.  HALE.  I  think  so,  too.  I  should  like  the  country  to  know 
how  much  we  have  spent  for  printing  pictures  of  bugs,  reptiles,  etc., 
that  these  exploring  expeditions  have  brought  here.  We  published 
eleven  or  twelve  volumes  of  the  exploring  expedition,  illustrated  with 
pictures  of  bugs,  snakes,  and  reptiles.  It  has  cost  us  millions  of  dol- 
lars to  print  those  pictures,  and  now  we  are  going  to  spend  $10,000  to 
distribute  them  after  spending  millions  to  print  pictures  of  them. 
The  thing  is  all  wrong,  sir. 

Mr.  MASON.  Mr.  President,  I  have  been  for  many  years  one  of  the 
Regents  of  this  Institution,  under  the  appointment  of  the  Senate,  in 
connection  with  my  friend  from  Maryland.  We  know  that  it  is  a 
public  trust;  one,  we  think,  of  a  sacred  character.  We  know  as  a 
fact,  and  it  appears  in  the  records  of  that  Institution,  that  these  speci- 
mens of  natural  history,  sent  from  the  Patent  Office  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  were  sent  there  against  the  remonstrances,  repeated 


THIRTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1859-1861.  625 

from  year  to  year,  of  that  Institution;  and  if  either  the  Senator  from 
Pennsylvania  or  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire,  or  any  gentleman 
who  thinks  with  them,  would  introduce  an  amendment  to  this  bill 
directing  the  Institution  to  throw  what  they  had  received  from  the 
Government  out  of  doors — just  put  it  out  of  doors  and  let  it  rot — I 
will  vote  for  it.  It  belongs  to  the  Government.  It  does  not  belong 
to  the  Institution.  It  has  no  business  there  within  the  terms  of  the 
trust:  none  whatever.  It  was  forced  upon  them  against  their  will;  as 
they  believe,  in  violation  of  the  trust  left  to  us  by  Smithson;  and  if 
those  gentlemen  will  devise  any  mode  to  take  away  all  these  specimens 
of  natural  history  sent  there  by  the  Government  I  will  vote  for  it" 
cheerfully.  I  do  not  know  that  I  would  not  consider  it  incumbent 
upon  me,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  rid  of  them,  if  the  Government 
will  not  bear  the  expense  of  throwing  them  out  of  doors,  to  vote  it 
out  of  the  funds  of  the  Institution. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  I  will  take  the  Senator  from  Virginia  at  his  word,  as 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  and  say  let  them  throw  them  out  of  doors. 
They  are  good  for  nothing  there,  and  they  are  good  for  nothing  out  of 
doors.  Suppose  these  gentlemen  were  to  come  here  now  asking  us  to 
appropriate  $6,000  or  $10,000  to  distribute  through  this  country  speci- 
mens of  the  finest  arts  the  world  has  ever  produced,  which  they  could 
purchase  for  that  sum  of  money  in  Europe,  would  not  everybody  vote 
against  it  ?  There  is  not  a  man  here  who  would  not  vote  against  a 
proposition  to  bring  the  finest  statuary  and  the  finest  paintings — 

Mr.  MASON.  Will  the  Senator  allow  me  to  interrupt  him  a  moment? 

Mr.  CAMERON.  Certainly. 

Mr.  MASON.  The  Senator  says  he  will  do  it? 

Mr.  CAMERON.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned. 

Mr.  MASON.  The  law  now  directs  that  these  objects  shall  be  sent  to 
the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Let  the  Senator,  on  his  responsibility, 
propose  to  repeal  that  law.  and  I  will  vote  for  it. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  I  will  do  that  most  cheerfully. 

Mr.  MASON.   Well,  do  it  now. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  Sufficient  for  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.  I  will 
bring  in  a  bill  to-morrow,  if  Senators  think  it  proper;  but  we  are  dis- 
cussing this  question  now.  Here  is  an  appropriation  of  $6,000  for  a 
most  worthless  purpose;  and  what  right  have  we  to  appropriate  it? 
When  we  are  all  talking  about  the  distresses  of  the  country;  when  we 
do  not  know  how  much  country  we  shall  have  in  a  few  days:  when  the 
Treasury  is  empty — not  a  dollar  to  pay  even  members  of  Congress,  to 
pay  laborers  out  of  doors — we  are  to  appropriate  $6,000  or  $10,000  to 
preserve  a  parcel  of  what  you  call  scientific  specimens.  A  Senator 
over  the  way  said  they  were  toads  and  snakes,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
they  are  that  sort  of  thing.  They  are  no  use  to  anybody  now:  they 
have  served  their  day. 

H.  Doc.  732— — ±0 


626  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

I  am  tired  of  all  this  thing  called  science  here.  It  was  only  the  other 
day  we  made  another  appropriation  in  regard  to  the  expedition  which 
Captain  Wilkes  took  out  to  the  Paqific  Ocean.  We  have  paid  $1,000 
a  volume  for  the  book  which  he  published.  Who  has  ever  seen  that 
book  outside  of  this  Senate,  and  how  many  copies  are  there  of  it  in 
this  country  ?  We  have  spent  millions  in  that  sort  of  thing  for  the 
last  few  years,  and  it  is  time  it  should  be  stopped.  Now,  the  only 
way — and  I  say  it  in  all  sincerity — in  which  I  think  this  Smithsonian 
Institution  can  be  useful  to  the  country  is  by  living  within  its  means; 
that  it  shall  not  ask  any  aid  of  the  Government  at  all;  that  it  shall  not 
rely  on  patronage,  but  on  the  good  it  does  and  the  benefit  it  confers, 
to  sustain  it.  The  country  at  large  and  the  people  of  this  country  will 
take  care  of  it  if  it  is  worthy  to  be  taken  care  of,  but  if  they  come  to 
the  legislature  every  year  asking  for  an  appropriation  it  must  sink. 
As  a  friend  of  that  Institution,  and  as  a  friend  of  the  very  distin- 
guished and  able  and  pure  man  who  is  at  the  head  of  it,  I  do  not  want 
it  to  be  connected  with  the  Government  at  all. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Chair  understands  the  Senator  from 
Pennsylvania  to  move  to  strike  out  the  appropriation  contained  in  the 
amendment? 

Mr.  CAMERON.  Yes,  sir. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question,  then,  will  be  on  the  amend- 
ment to  the  amendment  to  strike  out  the  appropriation. 

Mr.  CAMERON  and  Mr.  HALE.  Let  us  have  the  yeas  and  nays  on  that. 

Mr.  K.  S.  BINGHAM.  Why  can  not  we  take  a  vote  direct  on  the 
amendment? 

Mr.  CAMERON.  I  have  no  objection  to  that.     I  withdraw  the  call. 

Mr.  HALE.  I  hope  we  shall  have  the  yeas  and  nays  on  the  amendment 
of  the  committee. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  Docs  the  Senator  from  Pennsylvania  with- 
draw his  amendment? 

Mr.  CAMERON.  Yes,  sir. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question,  then,  will  be  on  the  amend- 
ment of  the  committee  as  amended  on  motion  of  the  Senator  from 
North  Carolina. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  I  desire  to  have  the  yeas  and  nays  taken  on  that 
question. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  ordered. 

Mr.. HALE.  I  simply  want  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Senate  to  the 
fact  that  we  have  stricken  out  of  the  amendment,  on  motion  of  the 
Senator  from  North  Carolina,  all  the  expenses  incurred  for  distribu- 
tion, and  now  you  propose  to  give  $6,000  to  make  bug  cases  alone 
without  an}r  transportation. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  I  will  suggest  that  it  is  now  within  four  minutes 
of  the  time  when  we  agreed  to  take  a  recess. 


THIRTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1861-1863.  627 

Mr.  CAMERON.  Let  us  take  a  vote. 

The  question  being  taken  by  yeas  and  nays  on  the  amendment  of  the 
Committee  on  Finance,  as  amended,  resulted — yeas  29,  nays  6;  as  fol- 
lows: 

YEAS — Messrs.  Anthony,  Bigler,  Bragg,  Chandler,  Clark,  Dixon,  Douglas,  Durkee, 
Fessenden,  Foot,  Foster,  Harlan,  Hemphill,  Johnson  of  Arkansas,  Johnson  of  Tennes- 
see, Lane,  Latham,  Mason,  Nicholson,  Pearce,  Polk,  Powell,  Sebastian,  Seward, 
Simmons,  Sumner,  Ten  Eyck,  Wade,  and  Wilson— 29. 

NAYS— Messrs.  Cameron,  Grimes,  Hale,  King,  Rice,  and  Wilson— 6. 

So  the  amendment,  as  amended,  was  agreed  to. 

March  2,  1861. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1862. 

Exploring  expedition. — -For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the 
exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government;  $4,000. 

For  the  distribution  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  survey- 
ing expeditions  of  the  Government,  and  the  construction  of  addi- 
tional cases  to  receive  such  part  of  said  collections  as  may  be  retained 
by  the  Government,  $6,000;  such  distribution  to  be  only  to  institutions 
willing  to  receive  the  same,  and  at  their  own  expense. 

(Stat.,  XII,  217.) 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 
June  15,  1860. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  two  copies  of  the  works  of  the  exploring  expe- 
dition, so  far  as  they  can  be  supplied  from  the  copies  ordered  to  be 
deposited  in  the  Library  of  Congress  for  preservation,  by  the  resolu- 
tion of  February  20,  1845,  and  the  residue  of  said  works  as  they  shall 
be  completed,  be  delivered  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  one  copy  of  which 
to  be  presented  by  him  to  the  Federal  Republic  of  Switzerland,  and 
the  other  to  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  in  the  State  of  Maryland. 

(Stat.,  XII,  116.) 

February  21,  1861. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1861. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  There  is  hereby  further  appro- 
priated, in  like  manner,  to  pay  arrears  due  authors  and  artists  of  the 
exploring  expedition,  in  pursuance  of  the  act  of  August  26,  1842, 
$11,036.26. 

(Stat.,  XII,  144.) 


THIRTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS,  1861-1863. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 
December  4,  1861— Senate. 

The  CHAIR  announced  the  appointment  of  "W.  P.  Fessenden,  of  Maine, 
and  Lyman  Trumbull,  of  Illinois,  as  Regents, 


628  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

January  16,  1863 — Senate. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBULL  moved  that  the  Vice-President  (Mr.  HAN- 
NIBAL HAMLIN)  appoint  a  member  to  till  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of 
Regents  occasioned  by  the  death  of  James  A.  Pearce.  Adopted. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT  appointed  Garret  Davis,  of  Kentucky,  to  fill 
the  vacancy. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTi 

By  the  Speaker. 

December  19,  1861— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  GALUSHA  A.  GROW)  appointed  as  Regents, 
Schuyler  Colfax,  of  Indiana,  Edward  McPherson,  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
Samuel  S.  Cox,  of  Ohio. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTi 

By  Joint  Resolution. 

March  3,  1862— Senate. 

Mr.  JAMES  DIXON  asked,  and  by  unanimous  consent  obtained,  leave 
to  introduce  a  joint  resolution  (S.  56)  for  the  appointment  of  a  Regent 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  . 

Mr.  DIXON.  Let  the  resolution  be  read  at  length. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Congress,  caused  by  the  decease  of  Cor- 
nelius C.  Felton,  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Henry  Barnard,  of  Connecticut. 

Mr.  DIXON.  Mr.  Barnard  is  so  well  known  to  the  Senate,  and  to 
the  whole  country,  for  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  public  education, 
that  I  am  in  hopes  the  resolution  may  be  passed,  even  without  a  ref- 
erence. He  has  devoted  his  life  to  the  very  object  specified  in  the 
will  of  Mr.  Smithson,  "'the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  mankind," 
and  therefore  I  am  in  hopes  the  Senate  will  consent  to  its  immediate 
passage.  If  not,  I  shall  not  urge  it,  but  move  its  reference. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN).  The  Senator  from 
Connecticut  asks  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Senate  to  consider  this 
resolution  at  the  present  time. 

Mr.  W.  P.  FESSENDEN.  I  must  object  to  that.  Although  the  con- 
fession argues  myself  unknown,  I  must  say  that  I  never  heard  of  Mr. 
Barnard  before. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  Objection  being  made  to  the  consideration  of 
the  resolution,  it  will  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library. 

Mr.  DIXON.  Mr.  President — 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  It  is  not  subject  to  discussion. 

Mr.  DIXON.  I  should  myself,  on  objection  being  offered,  have  made 
a  motion  to  refer  it  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library. 


THIRTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1861-1863.  629 

The  VICE-PKESIDENT.  It  is  referred. 

Mr.  DIXON.  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  say  one  word,  if  the  Senate  will 
allow  me,  though  not  strictly  in  order,  in  reply  to  the  remark  of  the 
Senator  from  Maine,  that  he  had  never  heard  of  Mr.  Barnard.  It  is 
unfortunate  undoubtedly,  and  may  seem  to  be  a  reflection  on  Mr. 
Barnard.  He  is  known  everywhere  throughout  the  whole  country  and 
in  Europe  for  his  exertions  in  the  cause  of  popular  education.  I  would 
not  have  said  a  word  but  for  that  remark,  which  might  imply  some 
disrespect  on  the  part  of  the  Senator  to  Mr.  Barnard,  which  I  hope, 
however,  was  not  the  case. 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  I  meant  none  in  the  world.  I  meant  simply  to  say 
that  it  so  happened,  unfortunately  for  myself,  that  I  never  heard  of 
Mr.  Barnard,  and  I  would  rather  the  matter  should  be  referred. 

Mr.  DIXON.  I  supposed  it  to  be  so,  yet  felt  that  I  ought  to  say  so 
much  in  justice  to  a  gentleman  so  widely  and  favorably  known. 
March  12,  1862— House. 

Mr.  EDW.  McPHERSON  introduced  a  resolution  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  Theodore  D.  Woolsey,  of  Connecticut,  as  Regent,  in  place  of 
C.  C.  Felton,  deceased;  referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 

March  27,  1862— House. 

Mr.  EDW.  McPHERSON  asked  unanimous  consent  to  make  a  unani- 
mous report  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library  on  resolution  appoint- 
ing T.  D.  Woolsey  Regent. 

Mr.  E.  B.  WASHBURNE.  I  object. 

Mr.  WASHBURNE  subsequently  withdrew  his  objection,  and  it  was 
renewed  by  Mr.  S.  S.  Cox. 
March  28,  1862— House. 

Mr.  EDW.  MCPHERSON  reported  the  resolution  to  appoint  T.   D. 
Woolsey  as  Regent;  adopted. 
March  28,  1862— Senate. 

Mr.  JACOB  COLLAMER,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  reported 
unanimously  in  favor  of  the  passage  of  the  House  resolution  for  the 
appointment  of  T.  D.  Woolsey  Regent;  adopted. 
April  1,  1862— Senate. 

Mr.  JAMES  DIXON.  Yesterday,  I  think,  during  my  absence  from 
my  seat,  or  when  my  attention  was  not  directed  to  it,  the  Senator 
from  Vermont  [Mr.  Collamer]  called  up  a  joint  resolution  appointing 
President  Woolsey,  of  Yale  College,  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution.  I  had  previously  offered  a  resolution  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Barnard,  of  Connecticut.  Mr.  Barnard  has  requested 
me  to  withdraw  his  name.  I  ought  to  have  done  it,  and  should  have 
done  it  yesterday,  in  justice  to  him,  if  I  had  been  present  when  that 
joint  resolution  was  passed.  I  ask  the  consent  of  the  Senate  to  allow 
the  reading  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Barnard,  in  which  he  requests  that 
his  name  may  be  withdrawn  and  Mr.  Woolsey  be  appointed. 


630  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  President  pro  toinpore  (Mr.  SOLOMON  FOOT).  No  objection 
being  made,  the  letter  will  be  read  at  the  request  of  the  Senator  from 

Connecticut. 

WASHINGTON,  March  27,  1862. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  I  thank  you  for  the  kind  manner  in  which  you  were  pleased  to  pre- 
sent my  name  to  the  Senate  in  nomination  for  the  post  of  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution.  I  see  by  the  papers  that  the  name  of  President  Woolsey,  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, has  been  presented  to  the  House  for  the  same  vacancy.  As  an  "older  and  let- 
ter soldier"  in  the  cause  of  good  learning,  Dr.  Woolsey  should  receive  that  appoint- 
ment by  the  vote  of  every  friend  of  my  nomination;  and  I  beg,  therefore,  you  will, 
in  your  own  time  and  way,  withdraw  my  name  and  give  your  vote  and  influence 
heartily  for  his  appointment. 

Very  truly,  yours,  HENRY  BARNARD. 

Hon.  JAMES  DIXON. 

Mr.  JACOB  COLLAMER.  I  merely  wish  to  say  that  the  gentleman  is 
mistaken  in  one  idea.  I  know  he  was  present  when  this  resolution 
was  called  up.  He  was  sitting  in  his  seat. 

Mr.  DIXON.  I  presume  I  was,  but  my  attention  was  not  called  to  it. 

Mr.  COLLAMER.  The  Senator  might  not  have  heard  it,  but  he  was 
present. 

Mr.  DIXON.  I  was  not  aware  of  its  being  called  up. 
April  2,  1862. 

Be  it  resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Congress, 
caused  by  the  decease  of  Cornelius  C.  Felton,  be  filled  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Theodore  D.  Woolse}7,  of  Connecticut. 

(Stat.,  XII,  617.) 

January  29,  1863 — Senate. 

Mr.  HENRY  WILSON,  of  Massachusetts,  offered  a  resolution  expel- 
ling George  E.  Badger  from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  and  appointing  Louis  Agassiz  in  his  place. 
February  2,  1863— Senate. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN)  laid  before  the  Senate  a 
letter  from  Professor  Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
transmitting  the  following  resolution,  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Regents; 
which  was,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Charles  Sumner,  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Library: 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  inform  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
that  George  E.  Badger,  one  of  the  Regents  of  this  Institution,  has  not  attended  the 
recent  meetings  of  the  Board,  and  they  are  advised  that  he  is  now  in  rebellion  against 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  submit  whether  the  name  of  said  Badger 
should  longer  remain  on  the  list  of  the  Regents  of  the  said  Institution. 

February  6,  1863— Senate. 

Mr.  HENRY  WILSON,  of  Massachusetts.  I  move  to  take  up  the  reso- 
lution I  submitted  some  days  ago,  removing  Mr.  Badger  from  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  appointing  Pro- 


THIRTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1861-1863.  631 

fessor  Agassiz  in  his  place.     I  propose  to  refer  it  to  the  Committee  on 
the  Library,  who  have  the  subject  under  consideration  in  another  form. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to;  and  the  joint  resolution  expelling  George 
E.  Badger  from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
and  appointing  Louis  Agassiz  in  his  place  was  considered  as  in  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole. 

Several  SENATORS.  Why  not  pass  it  now? 

Mr.  WILSON,  of  Massachusetts.  I  should  like  to  have  it  put  on  its 
passage  now.  I  understand  that  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
the  Library  has  no  objection  to  the  resolution  being  considered  now 
without  being  referred  to  the  committee. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate. 

Mr.  JAMES  A.  McDouGALL.  I  move  that  the  joint  resolution  be  post- 
poned until  to-morrow. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  A.  RICHARDSON.  I  suggest  to  my  friend  from  Cali- 
fornia and  also  to  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  that  we  had  better 
confine  ourselves  now  to  the  expulsion  of  Mr.  Badger  and  leave  the 
appointment  to  be  made  as  the  law  requires.  I  do  not  know  what  the 
law  is  on  the  subject. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBULL.  The  appointment  is  made  by  joint  resolu- 
tion. This  is  the  usual  form. 

Mr.  WILSON,  of  Massachusetts.  I  will  simply  say  that  Mr.  Badger 
is  now  in  the  place,  and  I  introduced  this  resolution  to  expel  him  and 
to  appoint  Professor  Agassiz,  certainly  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  the 
age  in  any  country.  There  is  now  no  person  upon  the  Board  of 
Regents  from  my  State;  they  are  scattered  elsewhere  all  about  the 
country.  Certainly  we  could  not  select  in  the  whole  nation  any  man 
better  fitted  for  such  a  position  than  Professor  Agassiz.  I  hope  the 
resolution  will  be  passed. 

Mr.  McDouoALL.  I  do  not  take  any  exception  to  Professor  Agas- 
siz, who,  1  think,  would  be  a  most  competent  man  to  fill  this  place, 
but  I  think  the  business  should  be  disposed  of  with  more  care. 

Mr.  WILSON,  of  Massachusetts.  This  subject  was  brought  before  us 
a  few  days  since  by  the  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  and  facts  are  presented  showing  that  Mr.  Badger  is  now 
in  the  service  of  the  so-called  Confederate  government. 

Mr.  McDouGALL.  I  think  Professor  Agassiz  the  most  acceptable 
man  that  could  be  named.  I  do  not  object  to  it,  except  as  to  the  way 
in  which  it  is  done. 

Mr.  WILSON,  of  Massachusetts.  This  is  the  proper  way  to  do  it. 

Mr.  McDouGALL.  If  that  is  so,  I  withdraw  my  objection. 

The  joint  resolution  was  passed. 
February  19,  1863— House. 

The  next  bill  taken  from  the  Speaker's  table  was  a  joint  resolution 
expelling  George  E.  Badger  from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 


632  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

sonian  Institution  and  appointing  Louis  Agassiz  in  his  place;  which 
was  read  a  first  and  second  time. 

Mr.  E.  B.  WASHBURNE.  I  move  to  refer  that  bill  to  the  Committee 
on  the  Library. 

Mr.  B.  F.  THOMAS,  of  Massachusetts.  I  desire  to  ask  the  gentleman 
who  reported  this  resolution  what  information  he  has  in  regard  to  the 
course  and  conduct  of  Mr.  Badger  which  requires  this  resolution  of 
expulsion  ? 

Mr.  S.  S.  Cox.  This  matter  was  initiated  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  at  its  last  meeting.  The 
statement  was  there  made  that  Mr.  Badger  was  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  legislature;  that  he  had  made  a  speech  denouncing  this 
Government  and  favoring  the  Confederate  government,  and  there 
was  no  one  there  who  was  authorized  to  deny  that  that  reported  speech 
was  not  authentic.  I  should  be  glad  to  relieve  a  gentleman  of  the  high 
standing  of  Mr.  Badger  of  any  such  imputation.  He  does  not  attend 
the  meetings  of  the  Regents  of  the  Institution,  and  we  need  somebody 
there  to  fill  his  place.  I  should  be  happy  to  hear  any  statement  in 
exculpation  of  that  gentleman. 

Mr.  THOMAS,  of  Massachusetts.  All  I  desire  to  say  is,  a  letter  at- 
tributed to  him  was  afterwards  stated  to  have  been  a  forgery.  I  refer 
to  a  letter  said  to  have  been  written  to  Governor  Stanly. 

Mr.  Eow.  McPHERSON.  There  appears  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Badger  is  at  present  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  of  course  he  has  assumed  a  position  inconsistent  with  holding 
an  appointment  under  the  United  States  Government. 

Mr.  J.  J.  CRITTENDEN.  I  wish  to  say  that  Mr.  Badger  is  a  very  old 
friend  of  mine.  I  have  understood  that  on  the  4th  of  January  last  he 
was  prostrated  by  a  stroke  of  apoplexy.  I  heard  he  was  in  extremis, 
and  I  do  not  know  whether  he  is  dead  or  alive. 

Mr.  Cox.  I  call  the  previous  question  upon  the  passage  of  the 
resolution. 

The  previous  question  was  seconded,  and  the  main  question  ordered 
to  be  put,  and  under  the  operation  thereof  the  resolution  was  ordered 
to  be  read  a  third  time;  and  it  was  accordingly  read  the  third  time, 
and  passed. 

Mr.  Cox  moved  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which  the  resolution  was 
passed,  and  also  moved  to  lay  the  motion  to  reconsider  on  the  table. 

The  latter  motion  was  agreed  to. 
February  21,  1863. 

Resolved,  etc.^  That  George  E.  Badger,  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  who  is  now  giving  aid  and 
comfort  to  the  enemies  of  the  Government,  be,  and  is  hereby,  expelled 
from  the  said  board,  and  that  Louis  Agassiz,  of  Cambridge,  Massa- 


THIRTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1861-1863.  633 

chusetts.  bo,  and  he  is  hereby,  appointed  a  member  of  the  said  board 
to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  expulsion  of  Mr.  Badger. 
(Stat.,  XII,  825.) 

CARE   OF   GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 

January  8,  1862 — House. 

Mr.  W.  S.  HOLMAN.  I  move  to  amend  by  striking  out  the  following 
clause  [from  appropriation  bill]: 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of 
the  Government,  $4,000. 

I  understand  this  to  be  an  appropriation  for  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution— nothing  more  and  nothing  less.  It  is  an  appropriation  of 
$4,000  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in  keeping  up  the  museum  con- 
nected with  that  establishment.  I  find  in  the  last  report  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  a  clause  which  I  will  ask  to  have 
read  in  order  to  indicate  how  this  money  is  applied. 

The  extract  was  read  by  the  Clerk.  It  states  that  the  annual  appropriation  of 
$4,000  made  by  Congress  for  keeping  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying 
expeditions  of  the  United  States  has  been  expended,  under  the  direction  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior,  in  assisting  to  pay  the  extra  expenses  of  assistants  and  the  cost 
of  arranging  and  preserving  the  specimens.  This  has  served  to  diminish  the  cost  to 
the  Smithsonian  fund  for  the  maintenance  and  exhibition  of  the  museum,  but  is  by 
no  means  sufficient  to  defray  all  the  expenses  of  that  object. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  I  submit  the  amendment  to  strike  out  the  clause;  and 
I  desire  to  say,  in  addition  to  the  explanation  contained  in  the  extract 
just  read,  that  according  to  the  last  report  made  b}T  the  Secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  there  seems  to  be  on  hand,  of  the  appro- 
priations for  the  last  few  years,  the  sum  of  $55,148.09.  This  amount 
of  money  is  under  the  control  of  that  Institution — $30,910.14  being 
annually  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  for  its  main- 
tenance. It  is  very  true  that  this  is  interest  on  money  which  the  Gov- 
ernment assumed  to  pay — money  which  seems  to  have  been  loaned 
out  many  years  ago,  and  lost.  Still  it  is  a  direct  charge  on  the 
Treasury. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  one  of  the  most  desirable  features  in  con 
nection  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  that  which  gives  to  it 
any  degree  of  popularity,  is  the  museum  for  the  preservation  of  which 
this  appropriation  is  designed  to  be  made;  and  it  seems  to  me  that, 
with  so  large  a  fund  as  that  Institution  now  has  in  its  hands,  and  inas- 
much as  its  object  is  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  mankind,  and 
as  the  museum  is  as  effectual  in  accomplishing  that  purpose  as  any 
other,  this  $4,000  can  very  well  be  paid  for  such  an  object  out  of  the 
annual  appropriation.  I  therefore  make  the  motion  that  this  entire 
section  be  stricken  out. 


634  CONGRESSIONAL    TRUCK EDINQS. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRILL,  of  Vermont.  I  dislike  to  oppose  the  motion  of 
the  gentleman  from  Indiana,  because  I  believe  he  is  sincerely  desirous 
of  saving  money  to  the  Government.  But  in  relation  to  this  particu- 
lar item  I  think  he  labors  under  a  slight  mistake.  Now  it  is  true  that 
all  our  naval  officers  are  instructed,  or  at  least  are  in  the  habit  of  con- 
tributing every  year  to  a  very  great  extent  specimens  of  natural 
history  which  are  deposited  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  This 
Institution  also  receives  a  large  collection  of  specimens  in  natural  his- 
tory from  the  various  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions.  So  large 
has  been  the  receipts  by  this  Institution  of  these  specimens  that  they 
have  supplied  many  of  the  scientific  associations  in  the  country.  This 
appropriation,  therefore,  is  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution particularly,  but  to  enable  them  to  take  care  of  and  distribute 
these  contributions  that  are  now  deposited  there,  and  which  they  would 
be  very  glad  to  be  relieved  from  the  care  of.  It  is  but  a  small  item, 
and,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  only  one  we  make  for  the  benefit  of  science. 
I  hope  it  will  not  be  stricken  out. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  I  ask  the  gentleman  whether  a  very  large  amount  from 
the  interest  annually  paid  upon  the  Smithsonian  fund  is  not  absorbed 
in  salaries?  I  understand  that  $6,500  is  paid  annually  in  the  shape  of 
salaries  to  the  Secretary  and  his  assistants.  It  is  true  that  the  amount 
does  not  come  out  of  the  Government  directly,  but  it  comes  out  of  the 
money  to  sustain  that  Institution,  of  which  some  $30,000  is  appropri- 
ated by  the  Government  annually. 

Mr.  MORRILL,  of  Vermont.  I  answer  the  gentleman  that  the  expend- 
iture of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  fund  is  under  the  control  and 
direction  of  the  Regents  of  that  Institution,  and,  I  "suppose,  they  are 
responsible  for  the  manner  in  which  those  funds  are  expended.  So 
far  as  I  know  their  management  does  not  fully  meet  my  approbation, 
and  if  we  have  the  power  I  should  certainly  be  willing  to  ask  for  a 
reform  in  the  management  of  that  Institution.  But  this  is  an  entirely 
separate  and  distinct  matter. 

Mr.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX.  I  move  to  reduce  the  appropriation  $1,000. 
I  make  this  motion  merely  for  the  purpose  of  saying  that  I  hope  the 
gentleman  from  Ohio  [Mr.  Cox],  who  is  one  of  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  will  take  care  of  my  colleague  [Mr.  Holman] 
in  this  matter,  and  that  he  will  defend  the  Institution  from  the  attacks 
upon  it  from  that  side  of  the  House. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  I  wish  to  ask  my  colleague  whether  in  the  expendi- 
tures of  the  $30,000  annually  appropriated  to  supply  the  funds  of  this 
Institution  there  is  any  feature  more  entirely  popular  in  its  character 
or  better  calculated  to  carry  out  the  purposes  for  which  the  original 
grant  was  made  than  the  preservation  and  enlargement  of  the  museum 
of  the  Institution  ? 

Mr.  COLFAX.  I  say  to  my  colleague  that  I  concur  with  him  in  the 


THIRTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1861-1863.  635 

remarks  he  has  made;  but  as  I  am  not  yet  sworn  in  as  one  of  the 
Regents  I  must  refer  him  for  more  particular  information  to  the  gen- 
tleman from  Ohio. 

Mr.  S.  S.  Cox.  One  word,  sir.  My  friend  from  Indiana  [Mr.  Hoi- 
man],  who  has  been  placed  under  my  charge  by  the  gentleman  from 
Indiana  over  the  way  [Mr.  Colfax],  has  made  an  attack  upon  this  appro- 
priation and  based  his  attack  upon  the  expenditure  of  the  Smithsonian 
fund.  He  finds  fault  with  the  action  of  the  Regents.  In  other  words, 
he  finds  fault  because  they  have  taken  the  interest  upon  the  fund  left 
by  that  philanthropic  Englishman  Smithson  and  appropriated  some 
$6,000  of  it  for  the  salaries  of  officers.  I  submit,  sir,  that  the  gentle- 
man has  no  right  and  that  the  House  has  no  right  to  inquire  into  the 
expenditure  of  that  fund. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  Is  not  the  interest  upon  that  fund  appropriated  by 
Congress  ? 

Mr.  Cox.  The  expenditure  of  the  interest  upon  the  Smithsonian  fund 
is  under  the  direction  of  the  Regents  and  nobody  else.  Congress  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  All  that  Congress  gives  is  simply  the  small 
amount  of  $4,000  to  aid  Smithson  in  his  effort  to  diffuse  useful  knowl- 
edge among  men — and  women  also.  I  hope  the  motion  made  by  the 
gentleman  from  Indiana  [Mr.  Colfax]  will,  however,  prevail.  I  hope 
this  amount  may  be  cut  down  to  'the  extent  of  $1,000  to  satisfy  my 
economical  friend  on  my  right  [Mr.  Holman].  I  hope  a  small  reduc- 
tion will  be  made  upon  all  these  items  to  satisfy  my  friend  from 
Indiana,  and  I  think  we  might  spare  $1,000  from  this  amount  for  that 
purpose. 

Mr.  THADDEUS  STEVENS.  I  wish  to  ask  the  gentleman  from  Ohio 
whether  this  is  not  the  sum  which  has  always  been  appropriated  for 
this  purpose,  and  whether  that  sum  has  not  always  been  found  neces- 
sary for  the  purpose  of  collecting  and  distributing  these  collections? 

Mr.  Cox.  I  suppose  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means  is  perfectly  familiar  with  these  matters.  I  can  not  answer,  not 
having  yet  been  sworn  in  as  a  Regent. 

Mr.  STEVENS.  I  rose  to  ask  the  question,  supposing  that  I  had  no 
right  to  answer  it  myself,  when  one  of  the  Regents  was  present. 
If  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  will  give  me  leave  to  answer,  I  will  state 
that  this  sum  has  always  been  appropriated,  and  the  officers  of  the  Insti- 
tution report  that  it  is  necessary  for  these  purposes. 

Mr.  COLFAX.  I  withdraw  my  amendment. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  I  renew  the  amendment.  Before  the  question  is 
taken  on  it,  I  desire  to  state  that  the  sum  of  $30,000  is  always  appro- 
priated in  payment  of  the  interest  on  this  Smithsonian  fund,  although 
the  Government  itself  has  never  received  any  benefit  from  the  fund, 
and  it  is  only  equitably  liable  for  the  interest  upon  it.  Out  of  that 
sum,  as  I  have  stated,  $6,500  is  paid  in  the  shape  of  salaries,  and  if  my 


636  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

memory  serves  me  correctly,  over  $2,000  is  placed  under  the  head  of 
contingent  expenses,  although  all  proper  expenses  seem  to  be  covered 
by  the  various  other  items. 

Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  preservation  of  this  museum  comes  as 
much  within  the  original  intention  of  the  donor  as  any  other  purpose 
to  which  it  is  applied,  and  is  the  only  really  popular  feature  of  the 
Institution,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  can  properly  be  provided  for  out  of 
the  regular  fund. 

Mr.  Cox.  For  the  information  of  the  gentleman,  I  would  like  to 
correct  him  in  his  statement  about  the  Government  not  being  liable  to 
pay  this  $30,000  interest  money.  The  Government  received  $500,000 
from  the  Smithson  estate,  and  was  unfortunate  in  the  investment  of 
the  money.  It  invested  it,  I  believe,  in  Arkansas  bonds,  which  proved 
worthless.  It  received  the  money,  and  was  accountable  for  it  in  all 
honor.  And  to  carry  out  the  purposes  for  which  the  fund  was 
intended  they  are  bound  to  pay  the  interest  upon  the  sum  at  6  per 
cent,  which  is  yearly  due  from  the  United  States  Treasury. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  I  asserted  that  the  payment  of  this  $30,000  was 
munificence,  and  not  justice,  on  the  part  of  the  Government.  I  ask 
the  gentleman  whether  the  Government  acted,  in  the  acceptance  of 
this  trust,  in  any  other  capacity  than  as  trustee;  and  whether  as  such 
the  money  was  not  invested  in  good  faith  ? 

Mr.  Cox.  I  say  they  did  accept  the  trust,  and  got  the  money. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  And  did  not  they  act  in  good  faith  in  the  investment 
of  it,  although  it  was  lost? 

Mr.  Cox.  I  think  they  acted  with  very  bad  judgment. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

March  1,  1862. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1863,  etc. 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying 
expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 

(Stat.,  XII,  350.) 
March  15,  1862. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  letter  from  His  Majesty  the  Major  King  of 
Siam  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  accompanying 
gifts,  be  deposited  in  the  collection  of  curiosities  at  the  Department  of 
the  Interior. 

(Stat.,  XII,  616.) 

March  3,  1863. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1864,  etc. 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying 
expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 
(Stat.,  XII,  747.) 


THIRTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS.   1861-1863.  637 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 
March  14,  1862. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1863,  ete. 

For  putting  the  plates  of  the  exploring  expedition  in  order  for  preservation,  and 
transporting  them  and  the  other  effects  of  the  expedition  to  Washington,  to  be  pre- 
served in  some  of  the  public  buildings  or  at  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $2,000;  to 
be  expended  under  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  of  Congress;  and  if  any  part 
of  this  appropriation  shall  remain  unexpended  for  these  purposes,  the  same  may  be 
applied,  if  necessary,  to  the  completion  of  volume  23  of  the  works  of  said  exploring 
expedition,  or  to  the  payment  of  any  arrears  of  rent,  or  claims  for  service  due  on 
account  of  any  of  said  works. 

(Stat.,  XII,  368.) 
April  17,  1862— House. 

Mr.  EDWARD  MCPHERSON,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library, 
reported  a  joint  resolution  (H.  67)  to  supply  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion with  a  copy  of  each  of  the  volumes  of  the  Wi Ikes'  Exploring 
Expedition.     Adopted. 
April  21,  1862— Senate. 

Joint  resolution  from  House  of  April  17  adopted. 
April  24,  1862. 

Be  it  resolved  etc.,  That  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  Library  of 
Congress  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  directed  to  furnish  to  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  a  copy  of  each  of  the  volumes 
of  the  exploring  expedition  of  Captain  Wilkes,  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  Library. 

(Stat.,  XII,  618.) 

REPORT   OF   SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

June  4,  1862— House. 

Annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1861  presented. 

Mr.  S.  S.  Cox  moved  that  5,000  extra  copies  be  printed. 
June  5,  1862— House. 

Mr.  AMBROSE  W.  CLARK,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
the  following: 

Resolred,  That  there  be  printed  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  for  the  year  1861;  the  woodcuts  to  be  furnished  at  the  expense  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution;  3,000  copies  for  the  use  of  members  of  the  House  and  2,000 
for  the  use  of  the  Institution. 

Adopted. 
June  9,  1862—  Senate. 

The  following  resolution  was  adopted: 

That  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1861 
be  printed — 2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  3,000  for  the  use  of 
the  Senate:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages  contained  in  said  report 
shall  not  exceed  450,  without  woodcuts  or  plates,  except  those  furnished  by  the 
Institution, 


688  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

February  23,  1863— Senate. 

Annual  report  of  the  Institution  for  18(52  presented. 

Mr.  W.  P.  FESSENDEN  moved  to  print  extra  copies. 
February  27,  1863— House. 

Annual  report  of  the  Institution  for  1862  presented. 

Mr.  EDWARD  McPnEKSON  moved  to  print  extra  copies. 
February  28,  1863— Senate. 

The  following  resolution  was  passed: 

That  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1862 
be  printed — 2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  3,000  for  the  use  of 
the  Senate:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages  contained  in  said  report 
shall  not  exceed  450,  without  woodcuts  or  plates,  except  those  furnished  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution;  and  that  the  Superintendent  of  the  Public  Printing  be 
authorized,  if  consistent  with  the  public  service,  to  allow  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion to  stereotype  the  report  at  its  own  expense,  or  to  otherwise  print  at  its  own 
expense  such  additional  copies  as  may  be  desired  from  the  type  set  in  the  Govern- 
ment printing  establishment. 
March  3,  1863— House. 

Mr.  A.  W.  CLARK,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  a 
resolution : 

That  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1862  l>e 
printed — 3,000  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  2,000  for  the  use  of  the  members 
of  the  present  House. 

Agreed  to. 


THIRTY-EIGHTH  CONGRESS,  1863-1865. 

REPORT   OF   SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

June  13,  1864— Senate. 

Annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1863  laid  before 
the  Senate. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBULL  moved  that  extra  copies  of  the  report  be 
printed. 
June  13,  1864-   House. 

Annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1863  laid  before 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  Mr.  S.  S.  Cox  moved  that  extra 
copies  be  printed. 
June  18,  1864 — Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  the 
following: 

Resolved,  That  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  1863  be  printed,  2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  3,000  for 
the  use  of  the  Senate:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages  contained  in 
said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  without  woodcuts  or  plates,  except  those  furnished 
by  the  Institution;  and  that  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Printing  be  authorized,  if 


THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1863-1865.  639 

consistent  with  the  public  service,  to  allow  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  stereotype 
the  report  at  its  own  expense,  or  to  otherwise  print  at  its  own  expense  such  addi- 
tional copies  as  may  be  desired  from  the  type  set  in  the  Government  printing  estab- 
lishment. 

Adopted. 
June  28,  1864— House. 

Mr.  A.  W.  CLARK,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  the 
following: 

Resolved,  That  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
1863  be  printed,  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  2,000  for  the 
use  of  the  members  of  the  House. 

Adopted. 

March  1,  1865— Senate. 

Annual  report  for  the  year  1864  presented  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

March  8,  1865— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY.  I  offer  a  resolution  in  connection  with  the 
report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  It  is  the  usual  annual  resolu- 
tion on  the  subject,  and  has  received  the  assent  of  the  Committee  on 
Printing,  and  need  not,  therefore,  be  referred  to  that  committee: 

Resolved,  That  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  1864  be  printed,  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  Senate  and  2,000  for  the  use  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages  in  said  report 
shall  not  exceed  450,  without  woodcuts  or  plates,  except  those  furnished  by  the 
Institution,  and  that  the  report  be  stereotyped. 

Agreed  to. 

CARE    OF   GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 
July  2,  1864. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1865. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of 
the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 
(Stat.,  XIII,  348.) 

AMENDMENT  TO  ACT  OF  ORGANIZATION  OF  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION. 

December  21,  1864— Senate. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBULL  asKed,  and  by  unanimous  consent  obtained, 
leave  to  introduce  a  bill  to  repeal  the  provision  of  law  requiring  cer- 
tain Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  be  members  of  the 
National  Institute;  which  was  read  twice  by  its  title. 

Mr.  TRUMBULL.  I  scarcely  know  to  what  committee  it  would  be 
desirable  to  refer  this  bill,  and  unless  somebody  wishes  it  referred,  I 
shall  ask  the  Senate  to  act  upon  it  at  once.  If  the  Senate  will  indulge 
me  for  one  moment  in  making  an  explanation  of  it,  I  think  there  will 
be  no  objection  to  it. 

The  act  establishing  the  Smithsonian  Institution  provided  that  two 
of  the  Regents  should  be  residents  of  the  city  of  Washington  and 


640  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

members  of  the  National  Institute  in  the  city  of  Washington.  The 
National  Institute  was  an  incorporated  association,  and  its  charter  has 
expired.  It  did  not  meet  with  much  success;  it  has  been  dissolved; 
and  there  are  now  no  members  of  the  National  Institute.  There  is  a 
vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents,  occasioned  by  the  death  of  General 
Totten,  which  needs  to  be  filled,  but  it  can  not  be  tilled  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  resident  of  Washington  and  a  member  of  this  Institute,  as 
there  are  no  longer  any  members  of  this  Institute.  The  object  of  this 
bill  is  to  repeal  that  provision  of  the  law  which  requires  that  two 
Regents  should  be  members  of  the  National  Institute.  I  hope  the  Sen- 
ate will  let  the  bill  pass  at  once,  as  it  is  desirable  to  till  that  vacancy. 

There  being  no  objection,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
proceeded  to  consider  the  bill. 

Mr.  J.  COLLAMER.  I  do  not  know  that  1  understand  the  gentleman 
aright.  Is  it  proposed  to  repeal  that  part  of  the  law  which  requires 
them  to  be  inhabitants  of  Washington  ? 

Mr.  TRUMBUI.L.  No,  sir;  not  at  all.  I  ask  the  Secretary  to  read  the 
bill  again,  so  that  the  Senator  from  Vermont  may  see  that  it  does  not 
repeal  that  part  of  the  law  requiring  them  to  be  residents  of  Wash- 
ington. 

The  Secretary  read  the  bill : 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  so  much  of  the  "act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  as  requires  that  two  of  the 
Regents  of  said  Institution  shall  be  members  of  the  National  Institute,  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  repealed. 

The  bill  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment  and  passed. 
January  6,  1865— House. 

Mr.  S.  S.  Cox.  I  ask  unanimous  consent  to  take  from  the  Speaker's 
table  Senate  bill  to  repeal  the  provision  of  law  requiring  certain 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  be  members  of  the  National 
Institute. 

There  being  no  objection,  the  bill  was  taken  up,  and  was  read  a  first 
and  second  time. 

Mr.  Cox.  I  may  state  that  the  object  of  this  bill  is  to  repeal  that 
provision  of  law  which  requires  that  two  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  shall  be  members  of  the  National  Institute — an 
institution  which  is  now  obsolete. 

The  bill  was  passed. 
January  10,  1865. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  so  much  of  the  act  "To  establish  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men,"  as  requires  that  two  of  the  Regents  of  said  Institution  shall  be 
members  of  the  National  Institute,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  repealed. 

(Stat,  XIII,  420.) 


THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1863-1865.  641 

* 

FIRE    AT   SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

February  2,   1865— Senate. 

The  Senate  passed  the  following: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring) ,  That  the  Committee 
on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  of  the  Senate,  conjointly  with  the  Committee  on 
Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  be,  and  they  are 
hereby,  directed  to  inquire  into  the  origin  of  the  fire  by  which  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution building  and  the  valuable  deposits  therein  were,  on  Tuesday,  the  24th  day  of 
January,  in  whole  or  in  part,  destroyed;  the  approximate  loss  to  the  Government 
and  to  private  persons;  the  means  necessary  to  preserve  the  remaining  portions  of 
said  building  and  its  contents  from  further  injury,  and  such  other  facts  in  connection 
therewith  as  may  be  of  public  interest,  and  to  report  by  bill  or  otherwise. 

February  2,  1865— House. 

The  concurrent  resolution   from   the  Senate  of   February   2  was 
passed. 
February  21,  1865— Senate. 

Mr.  SOLOMON  FOOT  submitted  a  report: 
The  Joint  Committee  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  on' 

Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  to  which  was  referred  the  resolution 

passed  February  2,  1865,  respectfully  report — 

That  they  visited  the  building,  inquired  into  the  origin  of  the  fire, 
the  character  and  extent  of  the  loss  sustained,  and  requested  the 
Regents,  through  the  Secretary,  to  furnish  a  written  report  on  the 
subject  of  investigation.  In  accordance  with  this  request  the  follow- 
ing report  was  presented: 

REPORT  OF  THE  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  REGENTS  OF  THE  SMITHSONIAN 
INSTITUTION  RELATIVE  TO  THE  FIRE. 

The  special  committee  appointed  by  the  Board  at  its  meeting  on  January  28,  1865, 
to  inquire  into  the  origin  of  the  fire  at  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  ascertain  the 
extent  and  character  of  the  loss  sustained,  and  to  make  suggestions  as  to  what 
measures  should  be  adopted  for  the  repair  and  improvement  of  the  building,  respect- 
fully report  that  they  have  performed  the  duty  assigned  them,  so  far  as  the  time  and 
their  means  of  information  would  permit. 

I. — THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   FIRE. 

The  testimony  has  been  taken  of  all  persons  connected  with  the  establishment 
that  had  any  knowledge  of  the  occurrence,  and  a  written  account  of  the  whole  is 
herewith  submitted;  also  a  report  from  Col.  B.  S.  Alexander,  United  States  Army, 
who  superintended  the  fireproofing  of  the  main  building,  of  his  examination  of  the 
flues  connected  with  the  accident. 

It  is  evident  from  the  concurrent  testimony  thus  obtained  that  the  fire  commenced 
in  the  southwest  part  of  the  roof  of  the  main  building,  in  the  woodwork  immediately 
under  the  slate  covering,  and  that  it  was  kindled  by  the  heated  air  or  sparks  from  a 
stove  which  had  been  temporarily  placed  in  the  room  immediately  below.  The  pipe 
of  this  stove  had  been  inserted  by  mistake  into  a  brick  furring-space  resembling  a 
flue,  which  opened  under  the  rafters  instead  of  into  the  chimney  flue,  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  latter.  By  whom  the  hole  into  which  the  pipe  was  inserted  was  orig- 
H.  Doc.  732 41 


642  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

inally  made  is  not  known,  but  it  is  remembered  that  a  stovepipe  was  put  into  it  as 
far  back  as  1854,  at  the  time  of  the  exhibition  held  by  the  Mechanics'  Institute  in 
the  building.  No  fire,  however,  had  been  in  this  room  for  ten  years  previous  to 
Monday,  January  15,  when  the  machinist  and  carpenter  of  the  Institution  were 
engaged,  with  several  other  of  the  employees,  in  rearranging  the  pictures  of  the  gal- 
lery, the  weather  at  the  time  being  unusually  cold.  These  persons,  for  temporary 
convenience,  set  up  the  stove  above  mentioned,  intending  to  remove  it  as  soon  as 
their  task  was  finished.  A  coal  fire,  kindled  with  wood,  had  been  burning  in  this 
stove  for  eight  days  previous  to  the  conflagration,  yet  it  appears  from  the  testimony 
that  no  evidence  of  combustion  was  observed  by  a  person  who  passed  through  the 
loft  six  hours  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  flames.  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
the  wood  had  been  undergoing  a  process  of  charring  for  several  days. 

On  account  of  the  very  expensive  style  of  architecture  selected  for  the  building 
and  the  limited  means  at  the  command  of  the  board,  the  plan  had  been  at  first 
adopted  of  finishing  the  interior  of  the  whole  edifice  with  wood  and  plaster.  A 
large  portion,  however,  of  the  interior  woodwork  of  the  main  building,  after  the 
roof  and  exterior  had  been  finished,  gave  way  and  fell;  whereupon  the  Regents 
ordered  the  removal  of  the  woodwork  and  its  place  supplied  with  incombustible 
materials.  Thus  the  main  building  was  rendered  fireproof  with  the  exception  of  the 
supports  of  the  roof,  which,  being  covered  with  slate,  was  assumed  to  be  safe.  The 
only  danger  of  the  occurrence  of  fire  was  supposed  to  exist  in  the  two  wings  and  the 
towers,  and  to  guard  against  this  contingency  especial  precautions  were  constantly 
observed,  viz:  (1)  No  smoking  was  allowed  in  any  part  of  the  building  at  any  time. 
(2)  No  lights  were  allowed  to  be  carried  from  one  part  of  the  building  to  another 
except  in  lanterns.  (3)  Three  coils  of  large  hose  were  deposited,  ready  for  use,  one 
in  the  upper  story  and  the  other  two  on  the  first  floor  of  the  building,  and  there 
were  water  pipes  in  the  basement  with  faucets.  (4)  Barrels  and  buckets,  kept  con- 
stantly filled  with  water,  were  placed  at  different  points  of  the  building.  (5)  The 
rule  was  observed  of  cleaning  the  flues  every  autumn  before  the  commencement  of 
fires.  (6)  A  watchman  was  employed  each  night,  who  made  every  hour  the  rounds 
of  all  the  rooms  in  the  building,  giving  special  attention  to  those  in  which  fire  had 
been  kindled  during  the  day,  including  the  apartments  occupied  by  the  family  of 
the  Secretary. 

These  precautions,  however,  as  it  has  proved,  were  of  no  avail — the  fire  having 
occurred  at  a  point  where  no  danger  was  apprehended,  and  to  which  access  could  with 
difficulty  be  obtained. 

II. — THE    CHARACTER    AND    EXTENT    OK   THE    LOSS   SUSTAINED. 

The  loss  to  the  Institution  was  as  follows: 

1.  The  contents  of  the  Secretary's  office,  consisting  of  the  official,  scientific,  and 
miscellaneous  correspondence,  embracing  35,000  pages  of  copied  letters  which  had 
been  sent  (at  least  30,000  of  which  were  the  composition  of  the  Secretary) ,  and  50,000 
pages  of  letters  received  by  the  Institution.     Here,  moreover,  were  lost  the  receipts 
for  publications  and  specimens;  reports  on  various  subjects  which  have  been  referred 
to  the  Institution;  the  records  of  experiments  instituted  by  the  Secretary  for  the 
Government;  four  manuscripts  of  original  investigations,  which  had  been  adopted 
by  the  Institution  for  publication;  a  part  of  the  manuscript  material  of  the  report  of 
the  Secretary  for  1864;  a  large  number  of  papers  and  scientific  notes  of  the  Secretary; 
a  series  of  diaries  and  memorandum  books,  and  a  duplicate  set  of  account  books, 
prepared  during  the  last  twelve  years,  with  great  labor,  by  Mr.  Rhees,  the  chief 
clerk;  also  about  100  volumes  of  valuable  works  kept  at  hand  for  constant  reference. 

2.  In  the  apparatus  room  the  large  collection  of  scientific  instruments,  including 
the  donation  of  the  late  Dr.  Hare. 

3.  A  part  of  the  contents  of  the  Regents'  room,  including  the  personal  effects  of 
Stnithson,  with  the  exception  of  his  portrait  and  library. 


THIETY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1863-1865.  643 

4.  The  contents  of  the  rooms  in  the  towers,  including  the  meteorological  instru- 
ments, the  workshop,  containing  a  lathe,  and  a  large  number  of  valuable  tools,  nearly 
all  the  stock  on  hand  of  the  duplicate  copies  of  the  annual  reports,  and  many  other 
public  documents  and  books  intended  for  distribution  to  libraries,  as  well  as  a 
quantity  of  stationery,  hardware,  etc. 

5.  The  woodcuts  of  the  illustrations  contained  in  the  Smithsonian  publications. 
The  loss  to  other  parties  was  as  follows: 

1.  The  contents  of  what  was  called  the  Picture  Gallery,  viz:  (a)  About  200  por- 
traits, nearly  all  of  life  size,  painted  and  principally  owned  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Stanley, 
formerly  of  this  city,  and  now  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  and  which  were  on  deposit  in 
the  Institution.     (6)  A  number  of  half-sized  Indian  portraits,  painted  by  Mr.  King 
for  the  Government,     (c)  A  copy,  in  Carrara  marble,  of  the  antique  statue  tnown 
as  the  "Dying  Gladiator,"  by  John  Gott,  and  owned  by  Mr.  J.  C.  McGuire,  of 
this  city. 

2.  A  number  of  surveying  instruments  belonging  to  the  Government. 

3.  The  clothing,  books,  and  private  effects  of  several  of  the  persons  connected  with 
the  Institution,  and  of  those  engaged  in  scientific  studies. 

4.  The  library  removed  from  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  by  the  army,  and  also  that 
of  Bishop  Johns,  from  Fairfax  Theological  Seminary,  given  in  charge  to  the  Institu- 
tion by  the  Secretary  of  War  for  safe-keeping,  which  libraries  were  stored  in  an 
upper  room  in  the  south  tower. 

Independent  of  injury  to  the  building,  the  loss  to  the  Institution,  as  far  as  it  may 
be  estimated  and  can  be  restored  by  money,  may  be  stated  at  about  $20,000;  and  to 
individuals,  $26,000,  viz:  To  Mr.  J.  M.  Stanley,  $20,000;  Mr.  J.  C.  McGuire,  $1,000; 
Prof.  Joseph  Henry,  $1,500;  Mr.  W.  J.  Rhees,  $1,200,  Mr.  W.  De  Beust,  $1,300;  and 
all  others,  $1,000. 

Although  the  loss  which  the  Institution  and  individuals  have  sustained  is  much  to 
be  regretted,  yet  it  is  a  source  of  consolation  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the 
valuable  contents  of  the  building  have  escaped  without  injury.  The  valuable  library 
of  the  Institution,  the  most  extensive,  in  regard  to  the  transactions  of  learned 
societies  and  scientific  books,  in  this  country;  the  museum,  including  the  collection 
of  the  exploring  expedition  and  those  of  the  Institution;  the  large  stock  of  many 
thousand  duplicate  specimens  for  distribution  to  all  parts  of  the  world;  the  records 
of  the  museum;  a  large  portion  of  the  correspondence  relative  to  natural  history; 
nearly  all  the  records  of  meteorological  observations  which  have  been  accumulated 
during  the  last  fifteen  years;  the  sets  of  Smithsonian  publications  (except  the  annual 
reports)  which  have  been  reserved  to  supply  new  institutions,  and  the  stereotype 
plates  of  all  the  works  which  have  been  published  during  the  last  four  or  five  years, 
have  been  saved.  All  the  original  vouchers  of  payments  made  by  the  Institution, 
the  ledger  in  which  they  were  posted,  and  the  daybook  from  1858,  were  also  preserved, 
having  been  deposited  in  a  safe  in  the  Regents'  room.  The  contents  of  the  connecting 
range  between  the  library  and  the  museum  are  uninjured;  this  includes  a  series  of 
plaster  casts  and  portraits  of  distinguished  men,  among  the  latter  a  life-size  portrait 
of  Guizot,  by  Healy;  an  original  full-length  figure  of  Washington,  by  the  elder 
Peale,  and  also  a  valuable  series  of  rare  engravings  illustrative  of  the  history  of  art, 
purchased  from  the  Hon.  George  P.  Marsh. 

All  the  important  acts  of  the  Regents  from  the  beginning,  and  an  account  of  the 
operations  of  the  Institution,  having  been  published  from  year  to  year  in  the  several 
reports  to  Congress,  a  continued  record  of  the  history  of  the  establishment  from  the 
beginning  is,  therefore,  still  in  existence.  As  these  reports  have  been  widely  dis- 
tributed, they  are  generally  accessible  to  the  public. 

The  burning  of  the  roof  of  the  building  can  scarcely  in  itself  be  considered  a 
calamity,  since  it  probably  would  have  occurred  at  some  future  time  when  a  much 
larger  accumulation  of  valuable  articles  might  have  been  destroyed;  and  since  it  will 


644  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

now  be  replaced  by  one  of  fireproof  materials.  The  fireproofing,  as  far  as  it  was 
carried,  was  well  done,  and  it  is  to  this  circumstance  that  the  preservation  of  the 
most  valuable  objects  of  the  establishment  is  due. 

III.— SUGGESTIONS    AS   TO    WHAT    SHOULD    BE    DONE. 

There  can  be  no  hesitation  in  adopting  the  conclusion  that  steps  should  be  imme- 
diately taken  not  only  to  repair  the  injury,  but  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
building. 

1.  The  main  edifice  should  be  provided  with  a  metallic  roof. 

2.  For  the  wooden  conical  terminations  of  the  towers  should  be  substituted  metallic 
coverings. 

3.  All  valuable  articles  belonging  to  the  Institution  or  deposited  in  it,  including 
the  library,  should  be  placed  in  the  main  building,  which  should  be  cut  off  from  the 
wings  by  iron  doors. 

4.  Provision  should  be  made  for  a  thorough  heating  of  the  whole  building  by  steam 
or  hot  water. 

5.  Suggestions  should  be  requested  from  competent  architects  and  engineers  as  to 
work  to  be  done,  and  those  which  are  adopted  should  be  embodied  in  working  plans 
and  drawings. 

6.  A  building  committee  of  the  board  should  be  appointed  to  have  charge  of  the 
work. 

No  very  exact  estimate  can  as  yet  be  made  as  to  the  cost  of  the  repairs,  etc.,  for  it 
has  not  been  possible,  without  erecting  a  scaffolding,  to  determine  whether  it  will  be 
necessary  to  take  down  the  high  northern  tower.  Colonel  Alexander,  of  the  Engineer 
Corps,  however,  has  informed  the  committee  that  he  thinks  $100,000  will  be  required 
to  make  the  necessary  repairs  and  improvements. 

The  committee  can  not  conclude  without  adding  that,  in  their  opinion,  the  occur- 
rence of  the  fire  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  active  operations  of 
the  Institution,  on  which  essentially  depends  the  reputation  it  has  established 
throughout  the  world  and  its  efficiency  as  an  instrument  for  "the  increase  and  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge  among  men."  To  the  support  and  extension  of  these  opera- 
tions, therefore,  the  annual  interest  from  the  original  fund  should,  as  far  as  possible, 
continue  as  heretofore  to  be  conscientiously  applied. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

•    RICHARD  WALLACH, 
JOSEPH  HENRY, 

Special  Committee. 

WASHINGTON,  February,  1865. 

(Appended  to  this  report  was  the  testimony  relative  to  the  origin  of 
the  fire,  losses,  etc.) 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  committee  Professor  Henry  was 
requested  to  state  his  connection  with  the  Institution,  to  give  an 
account  of  its  objects  and  operations,  the  origin  of  the  building,  and 
such  other  facts  as  might  be  of  public  interest.  In  conformity  with 
this  request  he  made  a  statement:  (See  Senate  Rep.  Com.  No.  129, 
Thirty-eighth  Congress,  second  session.) 

Mr.  SOLOMON  FOOT  offered  a  resolution  to  print  1,000  extra  copies 
of  the  report,  500  of  which  to  be  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 
February  22,  1865— Senate. 

The  resolution  of  Mr.  Solomon  Foot  to  print  report  on  the  fire  was 
adopted. 


THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1863-1865.  645 

INTEREST   ON    SM1THSON    FUND. 
March  2,  1865— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  H.  RICE,  of  Maine.  I  offer  the  following  as  an  additional 
amendment  to  the  [Sundry  civil]  bill: 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be  directed  to  pay  the 
interest  on  the  public  debt  due  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  same  funds  as  the 
interest  on  other  permanent  debts  due  by  the  United  States  prior  to  the  present  rebel- 
lion have  been  and  are  paid;  and  in  case  the  interest  heretofore  paid  to  said  Institution 
has  been  paid  in  a  different  currency  and  of  less  value  than  that  paid  by  the  Govern- 
ment on  other  permanent  debts  or  trust  funds,  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  make 
up  the  difference  to  said  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  THADDEUS  STEVENS.  Why  not  put  in  the  word  "gold"  at  once? 

Mr.  W.  S.  HOLMAN.  I  rise  to  a  question  of  order.  This  is  not  an 
appropriation  in  accordance  with  law,  but  it  is  an  attempt  to  appro- 
priate a  specific  sum  of  money  in  gold  instead  of  the  ordinary  currency 
of  the  country. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  Chair  sustains  the  point  of  order,  and  rules  the 
amendment  out  of  order. 

Mr.  S.  S.  Cox.  I  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  Chair,  and  I  desire 
to  be  heard  a  moment  in  explanation.  This  is  not  an  appropriation. 
It  is  only  a  direction  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  pay  the  inter- 
est on  this  special  fund  in  gold,  as  it  always  has  been  paid,  and  as  it 
ought  to  be  paid  now. 

Mr.  E.  B.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois.  I  rise  to  a  question  of  order. 
Has  not  the  debate  been  closed  on  this  bill? 

The  CHAIRMAN.  It  has,  and  the  Chair  adheres  to  its  decision. 

Mr.  Cox.  I  wish  the  Chair  could  have  had  the  facts  of  the  case 
before  him  before  he  decided  it.  I  respectfully  appeal  from  the  deci- 
sion of  the  Chair. 

The  question  was,  Shall  the  decision  of  the  Chair  stand  as  the  judg- 
ment of  the  committee  ? 

The  question  was  taken  and  the  decision  of  the  Chair  was  sustained. 

Mr.  R.  P.  SPALDING.  1  move  to  insert  the  following  as  an  additional 
section : 

SEC.  — .  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  be  appropriated  for  the  purpose  of 
making  repairs  upon  the  building  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  lately  injured  by 
fire,  the  sum  of  $50,000. 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois.  I  raise  the  point  of  order  that  this 
amendment  proposes  to  change  the  existing  law,  and  is  therefore  out 
of  order. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  Chair  sustains  the  point  of  order. 
March  3,  1865—  Senate. 

The  next  amendment  was  to  insert  the  following  as  a  new  section : 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be  directed  to  pay 
the  interest  on  the  debt  due  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  coin,  as  the  interest  on 
other  permanent  debts  due  by  the  United  States  prior  to  the  present  rebellion  have 
been  and  are  paid. 


f>46  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  J.  W.  GRIMES.  I  have  a  word  to  .say  on  that  subject.  1  am 
opposed  to  the  adoption  of  that  amendment.  In  the  first  place,  I  do 
not  know  any  reason  why  there  should  be  a  distinction  made  between 
a  debt  that  is  due  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  a  debt  due  to 
anybody  else  by  the  United  States  Government.  I  understand  that 
by  some  construction  or  other  the  Treasury  Department  have  decided 
that  this  is  a  kind  of  trust  debt,  and  that  from  this  time  henceforth 
they  intend  to  pay  the  interest  upon  what  they  call  the  trust  fund  in 
gold.  The  purpose  of  this  amendment  is  to  make  this  retrospective 
and  to  pay  some  $40,000  in  currency,  being  the  difference  between  the 
amount  which  has  hitherto  been  received  by  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion and  that  which  they  claim  they  ought  to  have  received  and  would 
have  received  if  this  money  had  been  paid  to  them  in  coin.  The 
Smithsonian  Institution  is  a  very  wealthy  corporation,  and  is  able  to 
reimburse  itself  and  to  rebuild  and  refit  the  buildings  which  have 
been  recently  destroyed.  It  will  be  remembered  that  when  Mr. 
Smithson  made  this  bequest,  or  shortly  after  he  made  it,  the  Gov- 
ernment created  a  corporation.  That  corporation,  or  their  trustee, 
saw  fit  to  invest  their  money  in  Arkansas  bonds.  Those  bonds  mostly 
turned  out  to  be  valueless.  The  Government,  however,  assumed  it, 
and  we  now  pay,  and  have  for  many  years  paid,  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  upward  of  $30,000  a  year  upon  this  amount  of  $515,000, 
I  think  that  is  it,  which  is  the  amount  of  the  permanent  fund  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  CHARLES  SUMNER.  Allow  me  to  ask  the  Senator  whether  the 
Government  did  not  make  that  investment  in  Arkansas  bonds?  I 
think  it  was  not  an  act  of  the  corporation,  but  of  the  Government. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  It  is  perfectly  immaterial,  so  far  as  this  question  is 
concerned,  whether  the  Government  made  it  or  whether  the  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  made  it  directly  themselves;  for  if  the 
Government  made  it,  the  Government  made  that  investment  at  the 
instance  and  the  request  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  SUMNER.  No;  it  was  before  the  organization;  before  there  were 
Regents. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  Mr.  President,  the  amount  of  the  fund  belonging  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  is  $515,000.  They  expended  in  the  building 
on  the  public  reservation  $325,000.  It  is  claimed  by  them  that  to  put 
the  roof  on  the  building,  and  put  it  in  about  the  condition  it  was  in 
before  the  fire,  there  will  be  required  from  $36,000  to  $40,000;  but  to 
improve  it  as  they  want  to  improve  it,  to  make  it  entirely  fireproof, 
to  change  its  construction  very  materially,  they  say  they  have  the 
opinion  of  an  army  engineer,  Colonel  Alexander,  but  who  is  no 
architect,  no  expert,  and  whose  judgment,  therefore,  is  worthless  in  a 
matter  of  this  kind,  that  it  will  cost  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood 
of  $100,000.  This  Institution,  besides  the  $515,000  upon  which  we  are 


THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1863-1865.  647 

paying  them  the  interest,  has  accumulated  from  that  interest  $75,000 
in  Indiana  State  bonds,  which  are  good;  $53,500  in  Virginia  bonds, 
which,  are  not  of  much  value;  $12,000  in  Tennessee  bonds;  $500  in 
Georgia  bonds;  and  $100  in  Washington  city  bonds.  Then  they  have 
in  cash  $20,000,  and  they  have  in  gold  $26,200,  which  is  worth  $52,000 
to-day  in  currency.  So  it  will  be  observed  that  they  have  in  available 
funds,  saying  nothing  about  the  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Georgia,  and 
Washington  bonds,  $95,000,  besides  $26,200  in  gold. 

1  have  heard  it  said  that  we  ought  to  pay  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion this  money  in  gold,  because  we  pay  some  of  the  Indians  by  treaty 
Stipulation  in  gold.  I  think  the  Senators  who  are  members  of  the 
Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  will  bear  testimony  to  the  Senate  that  we 
have  paid  gold  to  no  Indians  except  where  there  was  an  express  agree- 
ment in  the  treaty  that  payment  should  be  made  in  coin.  We  have 
had,  and  have,  an  abundance  of  treaties  with  the  Indians;  we  hold 
their  money  in  trust;  but  in  no  instance,  1  undertake  to  say,  has  the 
money  been  paid  to  these  Indians  in  gold  except  when  there  was  an 
express  stipulation  in  the  treaty  that  it  should  be  paid  in  gold.  I  know 
of  no  reason  why  there  should  be  an  exception  made  in  favor  of  this 
rich  corporation,  the  Smithsonian  Institution — why  they  should  be 
treated  any  better  than  our  Indian  tribes  are  treated. 

Mr.  JACOB  COLLAMER.  Are  they  not  paid  in  gold? 

Mr.  GRIMES.  I  undertake  to  s&y  that  there  are  not  and  have  not  been 
any  Indians  paid  in  gold  except  where  there  was  an  express  stipulation 
in  the  treaty  that  they  should  be  paid  in  coin.  1  asked  the  gentlemen 
on  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs,  when  the  Indian  appropriation 
bill  was  under  consideration  the  other  day,  if  that  was  not  so,  and  they 
said  it  was  so.  The  Senator  from  Kansas  [Mr.  Lane]  bowed  his  head 
and  said  it  was  so.  There  are  treaties  made  with  the  Indians,  I  admit, 
by  which  we  have  agreed  to  pay  them  in  coin;  and  then  there  are 
other  treaties  in  which  we  have  not  that  stipulation;  but  where  that 
stipulation  is  not  embodied  in  the  treaty  we  do  not  pay  them  in  coin. 
There  is  lying  on  your  table  at  this  moment  a  communication  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  asking  that  we  shall  do  for  these  Indians 
precisely  what  the  Smithsonian  Institution  asks  we  shall  do  for  them — 
that  we  shall  pay  them  in  coin  in  the  future.  But  this  Senate,  so  far 
as  I  know,  has  refused  to  do  that;  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  the  Com- 
mittee on  Indian  Affairs  have  utterty  refused  to  do  it.  I  do  not  see 
the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  present,  nor  mv 
colleague;  but  there  are  gentlemen  here,  I  think,  who  know  what 
the  facts  are  in  regard  to  the  payment  of  these  Indians.  Now,  I  ask, 
if  it  be  true,  and  I  think  it  will  be  demonstrated  in  a  few  minutes  that 
it  is  true,  that  this  is  the  method  in  whiclj  we  treat  the  Indians  whose 
funds  we  hold  in  trust,  is  there  any  very  substantial  reason  why  we 
should  deviate  from  this  rule  in  favor  of  this  corporation,  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution? 


648  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN.  The  Committee  on  Finance  have  no  doubt  at 
all  about  this  proposition  so  far  as  it  is  now  reported.  It  is  true  that 
a  proposition  was  submitted  to  the  committee  that  the  back  payments 
already  made  should  be  made  equal  to  gold.  That  we  rejected  on  the 
ground  that  the  money  having  been  received  by  the  corporation,  with- 
out any  objection,  they  certainly  can  not  now  present  a  legal  claim 
against  the  United  States  to  make  good  any  loss  which  may  have 
accrued  from  their  taking  a  depreciated  currency.  But  upon  the  main 
question,  that  they  are  entitled  to  the  interest  of  this  trust  fund  in 
gold,  we  had  no  doubt.  All  the  permanent  debt  of  the  United  States 
is  now  payable  in  coin.  That  has  been  the  established  policy  of  the 
Government  since  the  foundation  of  the  Government,  and  I  think  it 
never  has  been  departed  from.  Let  me  put  this  case:  Suppose  this 
corporation,  instead  of  allowing  this  money  to  remain  simply  as  a  trust 
fund  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  had  taken  bonds  of  the 
United  States  registered  in  the  ordinary  way,  which  the}'  had  a  right 
to  do,  and  left  them  in  the  Treasury  Department;  they  would  have 
drawn  their  interest  in  gold  precisely  as  the  holder  of  any  other  bonds 
would  have  done.  I  am  informed  that  this  now  stands  as  a  registered 
debt. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  How  long  has  that  been  so? 

Mr.  SHERMAN.  Always,  I  presume.  It  stands  as  a  trust  debt. 
There  is  no  difference  between  them. 

Mr.  GRIMES.  Where  is  the  distinction  between  this  case  and  that  of 
the  Indians  ? 

Mr.  SHERMAN.  I  will  mention  that  in  a  few  moments. 

There  is,  therefore,  no  distinction  between  this  case  and  any  other 
portion  of  the  permanent  debt  of  the  United  States.  This  corpora- 
tion, whether  rich  or  poor,  whether  it  is  a  charitable  one  or  one  mak- 
ing money  on  its  own  account,  would  have  the  right  to  demand  of  the 
Government  the  same  interest  that  is  paid  to  any  other  bondholder  of 
the  United  States.  The  fact  that  this  money  stands  to  the  credit  of 
this  corporation  as  a  trust  fund  in  the  Treasury  Department  only 
strengthens  that  obligation,  because  it  is  a  general  rule  of  equity,  as 
well  as  a  rule  of  law,  that  a  trust  fund  must  be  treated  more  favorably 
than  any  other  fund.  Therefore  the  United  States,  having  assumed  the 
burden  of  a  trustee,  would  be  held  in  a  court  of  equity  to  a  more  rig- 
orous rule  than  it  would  be  even  where  it  stands  upon  its  legal  rights. 
If  the  United  States  is  bound  to  pay  to  any  other  class  of  bondholders 
interest  in  gold,  it  certainly  should  do  so  to  this  corporation,  whether 
it  be  rich  or  poor,  whether  it  be  a  charitable  one  or  one  making  money 
on  its  own  account.  It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  the  proposition  is  plain. 

But  the  Senator  says  that  we  have  refused  to  do  this  with  the 
Indians.  The  difference  between  our  treaties  with  the  Indians  and  an 
obligation  of  this  kind  is  that  an  Indian  treaty  requires  us  to  pay 


THIKTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1863-1865.  649 

annuities  from  time  to  time;  every  year  we  pay  so  much.  It  seems 
to  nie  there  is  a  distinction  between  the  two.  Wherever  we  stipulate 
to  pay  these  annuities  in  coin,  we  pay  them  in  coin.  There  is  a  differ- 
ence between  the  payment  of  an  annuity  and  the  payment  of  interest 
on  the  public  debt;  and  that  difference  has  alwa}7s  been  recognized 
since  the  foundation  of  the  Government.  But  even  if  we  did  injustice 
to  the  Indians,  we  make  it  good  by  the  payment  of  large  bounties; 
we  more  than  make  it  good  by  our  annual  appropriations  for  the 
expenses  of  the  Indian  department.  Since  the  recent  condition  of 
affairs,  since  we  have  been"  involved  in  war,  we  have  appropriated 
very  large  sums,  this  year  amounting  to  more  than  $1,000,000,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Indians  not  included  in  Indian  treaties.  We  have 
indeed  made  good  to  them  the  appropriations  in  gold,  or  nearly  so. 
If,  therefore,  there  is  any  injustice  done  to  the  Indians,  it  certainly  is 
not  a  peculiar  hardship. 

In  this  case  the  proposition  was  so  plain  that  the  committee  had  no 
hesitation  about  awarding  the  payment  in  gold  from  this  time  for- 
ward. 1  am  told  that  this  question  has  never  been  acted  upon  in  the 
Treasury  Department,  but  that  if  these  parties  had  demanded  their 
interest  in  gold,  precisely  as  other  creditors  have  done,  and  as  they 
had  a  right  to  do,  the}'  would  have  been  paid  in  coin  at  any  time  since 
the  beginning  of  this  war.  There  has  been  no  distinction  in  the 
Treasury  Department  between  this  debt  and  any  other  funded  debt  of 
the  United  States  the  interest  of  which  is  payable  in  coin. 

Mr.  JOHN  P.  HALE.  If  I  do  not  entirely  misunderstand  the  nature 
of  this  case,  it  seems  to  me  there  is  no  force  in  the  suggestions  which 
have  been  made  in  regard  to  any  obligations  of  the  Government,  for 
this  reason:  This  Mr.  Smithson  gave  this  fund,  some  $500,000  or  more, 
to  the  United  States;  they  are  the  beneficiaries  of  this  donation;  it 
was  the  property  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
whether  it  was  a  wise  or  an-  unwise  creation  of  Congress,  was  simply  a 
machinery  instituted  by  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on 
and  carrying  out  the  bequest  of  Mr.  Smithson.  To  speak  of  this  Insti- 
tution as  an  institution  apart  from  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
to  my  humble  comprehension,  is  perfectly  absurd.  It  is  the  United 
States  that  own  this  Institution.  It  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  United 
States  that  the  fund  was  given  to  them,  and  Congress,  because  it  was 
not  convenient  to  take'  it  and  manage  it,  as  they  did  the  other  interests 
of  the  Government,  created  these  agents,  created  this  Institution,  as-a 
mere  matter  of  convenience  by  which  the  Government  might  manage 
the  fund  that  was  intrusted  to  them  for  the  purposes  specified  in  Mr. 
Smithson'swill.  They  have  no  claim,  no  interest,  in  this  matter.  The 
only  question  was,  How  shall  the  Government,  if  they  accept  the  trust, 
carry  it  on  ?  They  concluded  to  carry  it  on  by  this  machinery.  It  is 
not  an  institution  adverse  to  the  United  States  Government.  It  is  not 


650  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

an  institution  that  has  the  least  claim  under  heaven  upon  the  Govern- 
ment. They  are  the  mere  creatures  of  the  Government,  to  enable  them, 
according  to  the  purport  of  the  will,  to  execute  the  trust  that  has  been 
confided  to  them.  How  can  the}^  come  here  and  occupy  the  position 
of  creditors  ?  They  are  no  creditors.  They  have,  no  interest  under 
heaven,  not  the  slightest;  they  are  the  mere  agents  appointed  by  law 
to  execute  this  trust  for  the  United  States  in  the  use  of  a  fund  which 
belongs  to  the  United  States.  That  is  the  whole  of  it.  That  being 
the  case,  this  being  the  property  of  the  United  States,  managed  for 
their  benefit  through  this  instrumentality,  it  is  contended  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  shall  increase  by  a  hundredfold  the 
appropriations  for  the  Institution.  I  do  not  see  the  slightest  claim  in 
the  world. 

Let  me  state  another  fact.  The  honorable  Senator  from  Iowa  did 
not  state  this  thing  exactly  as  it  was.  The  fact  was  that  about  18-10, 
or  not  far  from  that  time — I  do  not  know  the  exact  time  that  this  fund 
was  given  to  the  United  States — was  a  pretty  hard  time  for  the  Dem- 
ocratic party;  they  had  had  bad  luck,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury took  the  whole  of  this  fund,  every  dollar  of  it,  and  gave  it  to 
Arkansas,  no  doubt  for  highly  patriotic  purposes,  and  it  was  all  sunk, 
and  there  was  an  end  of  the  bubble,  or  ought  to  have  been.  But 
Congress  were  so  much  tickled  with  the  idea  of  this  bequest  that  they 
assumed  the  debt.  They  did  not  make  much  by  investing  it  in  Arkan- 
sas politics;  everything  went  by  default,  and  then  Congress  stepped  in 
and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  that  which  they  had  wasted. 

I  will  not  repeat  what  I  have  heretofore  said  in  regard  to  this  Insti- 
tution; I  will  not  say  but  that  it  is  possibly  a  wise  one,  and  a  wise 
appropriation  of  public  money,  because  it  is  rather  impertinent  to  the 
question  that  is  now  before  the  Senate..  It  has  been  characterized,  I 
think  by  Greelej" — and  I  do  not  often  quote  him— as  a  sort  of  lying-in 
hospital  for  literary  valetudinarians,  and  that  is  about  the  amount  of  it. 
I  remember  once  that  some  friends  were  here  and  had  been  visiting 
about  the  places  of  interest  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  had  got 
pretty  much  through  with  them,  when  I  asked  them,  "What  are  you 
going  to  do  to-day  ? "  They  said  they  were  going  to  look  at  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  and  find  out  what  it  was.  I  told  them  I  was  exceed- 
ingly glad  they  were  going  to  start  on  such  a  mission,  and  I  asked 
them,  if  they  did  find  out,  to  tell  me  when  they  got  back.  They  did 
not  call  on  me  when  they  got  back. 

Now,  sir,  I  know  of  no  reason  under  heaven  why,  when  we  are  pay- 
ing in  currency  the  men  who  are  shedding  their  blood  in  defense  of 
the  country,  the  men  who  are  periling  "everything  for  the  salvation  of 
the  country,  we  should  come  in  and  pay  this  pet  child  we  have  created 
in  this  manner  in  gold.  I  think  it  would  shock  the  moral  sense  of  the 
nation  to-day,  if  they  knew  that  we  propose  to  pay  in  gold  the  interest 


THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1863-1865.  651 

on  this  debt,  which  is  no  debt  at  all,  when  we  pay  those  who  tight  our 
battles  and  shed  their  blood  in  our  defense  in  currency.  I  hope  the 
amendment  will  not  be  adopted. 

Mr.  THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS.  The  Committee  on  Public  Buildings 
and  Grounds  investigated  this  subject  to  some  extent,  and  became 
entirely  satisfied,  with  the  exception  of  the  Senator  from  Iowa,  I 
believe,  that  this  interest  ought  to  be  paid  in  gold.  I  am  very  glad 
to  hear  the  statement  of  the  Senator  from  Iowa.  I  am  glad  he  is  able 
to  prove  that  this  Institution  is  in  good  condition.  I  am  gratified 
that  he  has  shown  it  has  full  funds,  with  an  accumulation  of  $75,000 
in  Indiana  bonds — a  sure  and  reliable  fund — and  something  against 
the  Starte  of  Virginia.  I  shall  be  gratified  each  session  while  I  have 
the  honor  of  serving  along  with  him  to  hear  him  make  as  good  a  state- 
ment of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  as  he  has  to-night. 

He  says  it  is  a  rich  institution.  I  am  glad  of  that.  I  was  once  a 
member  of  the  Indiana  legislature,  and  every  now  and  then  I  heard 
some  representative  or  senator  talking  about  the  bloated  corporations 
of  the  State;  and  we  all  had  it  in  our  heads  that  the  wealth  of  the  cor- 
porations, in  some  way  or  other,  was  made  off  our  constituents,  and 
therefore,  to  some  extent,  we  were  justified  in  making  war  upon  them, 
for  they  were  men  that  made  their  gains  off  the  people.  But  this  is 
not  the  case  with  the  corporation  that  the  Senator  now  styles  a  wealthy 
corporation.  No  money  to  fill  the  coffers  of  that  Institution  came  from 
the  good  people  of  Iowa. 

Mr.  J.  W.  GRIMES.  Not  until  we  pay  them  in  gold  $62,000  in  place 
of  $31,000,  while  we  pay  to  Iowa  soldiers,  as  the  Senator  from  New 
Hampshire  well  said,  only  $6.50  in  gold.  Then  it  will  come  off  my 
constituents. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  As  I  was  going  on  to  say,  all  the  rich  funds  of 
that  Institution  came  not  from  the  people  of  Iowa  or  of  Indiana.  It 
was  a  munificent  grant  from  a  foreigner,  Mr.  Smithson,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  establishing  in  this  country  an  institution  for  the  acquisition 
and  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge  among  men.  That  $500,000  was 
received  not  in  paper,  but  in  gold,  coming  from  a  kind  friend  of  this 
country  across  the  water.  If,  therefore,  the  Institution  is  rich,  it  is 
well  for  us;  if  it  were  poor  it  would  be  a  disgrace  to  us  to-day. 

Mi\  GRIMES.  I  think  the  Senator  is  mistaken  in  the  language  used 
in  the  will,  and  I  think  that  in  that  respect  the  managers  of  it  have 
been  true  to  the  direction  of  the  testator.  It  was  not  "  useful 
knowledge  among  men,"  but  "  knowledge  among  men." 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  Well,  sir,  whether  knowledge  is  useful  or  not  I 
will  not  undertake  to  discuss  now.  The  purpose  of  the  bequest  was 
to  establish  in  this  country  an  institution  for  the  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge, or  useful  knowledge,  among  men.  I  think  the  language  used 
was  "useful  knowledge."  Whether  the  knowledge  that  is  diffused 


652  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

among  men  from  that  Institution  be  useful  or  not  1  do  not  care  now 
to  discuss.  If  1  were  to  judge  from  the  number  of  applications  I  have 
for  the  reports  of  that  Institution,  I  should  say  it  is  useful  knowledge. 

Then,  sir,  if  the  Institution  is  rich,  it  has  cost  his  constituents  and 
mine  nothing;  but  if  it  were  poor  to-day  and  we  refused  to  make  up 
the  entire  fund,  it  would  cost  bis  constituents  and  mine  something — it 
would  cost  their  honor. 

Now,  sir,  upon  the  leading  question  I  do  not  agree  with  the  Senator 
from  New  Hampshire.  This  Institution  does  not  belong  to  us;  it  is 
not  the  property  of  the  United  States.  The  United  States,  in  respect 
to  that  Institution  and  the  funds  that  endowed  it,  is  but  the  trustee. 
We  are  not  the  beneficiaries,  in  its  language.  The  people- of  the 
world  are  the  beneficiaries;  all  who  can  be  instructed  by  the  diffusion 
of  useful  knowledge  are  the  beneficiaries. 

The  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  spoke  also  of  a  loss  because  of  a 
purchase  of  bonds  of  the  State  of  Arkansas.  If  we  purchased  bonds 
that  were  not  a  sure  investment,  in  law,  or  rather  in  equity,  we  are 
bound  to  make  it  good.  If  the  United  States,  as  a  trustee,  makes  a 
bad  investment,  she  must  make  that  investment  good.  If  the  Senator 
held  funds  for  me,  or  if,  as  a  guardian,  he  held  funds  for  some  of  his 
minor  constituents,  and  made  a  bad  investment,  would  he  not  be  com- 
pelled to  make  it  up?  If  he  made  a  bad  investment  he  would  be 
compelled  to  make  it  good,  unless  he  used  due  care  and  acted  under 
the  direction  of  the  court.  I  admit  if  entire  diligence  is  used,  perhaps 
he  would  not  be  responsible  in  a  court  of  equity.  But  I  understand 
the  facts  to  be  that  the  Institution  has  lost  nothing  from  the  Arkansas 
bonds.  That  has  been  made  up;  they  have  been  paid,  and  there  has 
been  no  loss  resulting  from  that  investment. 

Mr.  HALE.  The  Senator  is  mistaken. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  I  was  so  told  the  other  day.  I  am  not  fully 
informed,  except  as  the  committee  were  informed  by  Professor  Henry, 
who  has  this  business  in  charge.  That  is  the  way  I  understand  it. 
The  interest  has  been  paid. 

Mr.  HALE.  The  bonds  have  not  been  paid. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  Whether  the  bonds  have  been  paid  or  not  is  not 
important.  We  got  gold,  and  were  to  use  it  as  a  trustee  to  establish 
an  institution  that  would  be  an  ornament  to  the  country  as  well  as 
useful  to  the  world.  Now,  sir,  Avhat  is  the  obligation  of  the  United 
States  in  respect  to  that — a  gold  investment  endowing  an  institution 
not  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States,  but  for  the  benefit  of  man- 
kind generally  ?  I  understand  the  decision  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment has  been  that  all  trust  funds  are  to  be  paid  in  gold  and  that  all 
the  debts  against  the  Government  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the 
war  are  to  be  paid  in  gold. 

Both  the  Senators  have  asked  why  we  pay  gold  to  this  Institution 


THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1863-1865.  653 

when  we  pay  greenbacks  to  the  soldiers.  Why  do  the  Senators  agree 
by  their  numerous  votes  here  to  pay  gold  to  the  men  who  buy  the 
bonds  of  the  United  States?  Why  do  they  make  their  investment 
worth  12  per  cent  when  other  men  use  their  money  for  their  own 
benefit  but  to  the  extent  of  6  per  cent?  Why  do  they  pay  gold  to 
the  creditors  that  they  create  now,  not  by  $500,000  at  a  time,  but  by 
$600,000,000  at  a  time  in  gold?  Let  them  answer  that.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion between  them  and  the  soldiers.  They  pay  the  creditors  of  the 
Government  in  gold  and  the  soldiers  in  greenbacks.  Both  Senators 
unquestionably  were  governed  by  proper  considerations.  I  think  it 
is  a  plain  obligation  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  pay  this  inter- 
est in  gold.  It  is  according  to  the  practice  of  the  Government,  and  I 
should  think  it  a  shame  to  the  Government  to  do  otherwise. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBULL.  I  am  a  little  surprised  at  the  course  of  the 
Senator  from  Iowa  and  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire.  The  Sen- 
ator from  New  Hampshire  says  this  is  not  a  trust  at  all;  this  property 
was  given  to  the  United  States.  It  was  given  to  the  United  States  by 
James  Smithson,  but  it  was  given  for  a  particular  purpose,  and  it 
is  as  much  a  trust  as  when  any  testator  bequeaths  property  to  a  par- 
ticular person  for  a  particular  purpose.  The  Congress  of  the  United 
States  in  1846  passed  an  act  by  which  they  recognized  this  as  a  trust, 
and  I  would  like  to  inquire  of  the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  if  he 
means  to  repudiate  the  action  of  this  Government;  if  he  means  to 
repudiate  the  solemn  obligation  which  this  Government  has  taken 
upon  itself  ?  It  is  a  direct  act  of  repudiation  on  the  part  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  deny  that  this  is  a  trust  and  that  it  is  held  as  a  trust  for 
particular  purposes.  The  act  of  1846,  which  I  have  before  me, 
declares — 

That  James  Smithson,  esq.,  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  having 
by  his  last  will  and  testament  given  the  whole  of  his  property  to  the  United  States 
of  America  to  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  and  the 
United  States  having,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  received  said  property  and  accepted 
said  trust:  Therefore,  for  the  full  execution  of  said  trust  according  to  the  will  of  the 
liberal  and  enlightened  donor,  Be  it  enacted,  etc. 

Here  is  a  solemn  act  of  Congress  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  this 
property  as  a  trust  fund.  It  was  given  for  the  purpose  of  founding 
"at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an 
establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men," 
and  the  Senator  from  Iowa  says  "not  useful  knowledge."  Why,  sir, 
I  thought  that  the  term  "knowledge"  implied  that  it  was  a  useful 
thing.  I  supposed  that  knowledge  was  valuable;  that  it  was  what  we 
all  sought  to  acquire.  This  property  was  accepted  in  trust  for  this 
identical  purpose,  and  to  repudiate  it  now  and  say  it  is  no  trust,  it  is 
the  money  of  the  Government  and  you  have  a  right  to  squander  it  and 


654  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

use  it,  is  as  direct  a  breach  of  faith  as  it  would  be  on  the  part  of  this 
Congress  to  pass  a  law  that  it  would  pay  no  debt  whatever  that  it  had 
created.  It  would  be  the  worst  species  of  repudiation — worse  than 
borrowing  money  and  refusing  to  pay  it  under  ordinary  circumstances. 
The  Government  has  accepted  it;  it  has  committed  itself  to  it,  and  this 
Institution  had  as  perfect  a  right  to  call  for  the  payment  of  the  interest 
as  it  fell  due,  in  coin,  as  had  any  other  creditor  of  the  Government. 

The  Senator  from  Iowa  wants  to  know  why  a  distinction  is  to  be 
made  between  the  debt  due  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  a  debt  due 
any  other  person.  No  distinction  is  to  be  made.  It  is  the  very  thing 
we  do  not  want  to  do.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  in  1861, 
when  this  rebellion  broke  out,  owed  some  $90,000,000;  and  does  not 
the  Senator  from  Iowa  know  that  we  paid  the  interest  to  every  one  of 
the  holders  of  that  indebtedness  in  gold  ? 

Mr.  J.  W.  GRIMES.  I  know  we  did  not  do  it  to  the  Indians. 

Mr.  TRUMBULL.  You  have  done  it  to  the  Indians  in  many  instances; 
but  because  you  have  wronged  the  Indian  who  can  not  assert  his  rights; 
because  you  have  violated  your  treaties  with  him,  and  by  act  of  Con- 
gress are  changing  treaties  every  day  and  driving  him  from  the  lands 
that  you  set  apart  to  him  and  said  you  would  never  disturb  him  in  the 
possession  of;  because  you  impose  upon  the  Indian,  do  you  propose 
now  to  violate  all  your  contracts?  You  are  bound  to  pay  the  Indian 
in  gold  if  you  have  agreed  so  to  pay  him.  Sir,  this  argument  by 
which  you  talk  about  not  paying  the  poor  soldier  in  coin  smacks  a 
little  of  a  speech  upon  the  stump.  The  Senator  from  Iowa  votes  here 
to  pay  the  foreign  bondholder  in  coin. 

In  my  opinion  this  amendment  does  not  go  far  enough.  The  reason, 
probably,  for  the  introduction  of  the  amendment  at  this  time  is  in  con- 
sequence of  a  calamity,  the  destruction  of  a  part  of  the  Smithsonian 
building  within  a  few  days  by  fire,  involving  a  very  large  expenditure 
to  repair  the  building;  but  instead  of  calling  upon  Congress  for  an 
appropriation  for  that  purpose  it  was  thought  on  the  part  of  the 
.managers  of  the  Institution  they  would  be  enabled  to  get  along  if  they 
received  the  interest  due  the  Institution  in  coin.  They  were  entitled 
to  receive  it,  and  they  would  have  received  it  in  coin  had  they  insisted 
upon  it  heretofore.  The  only  reason  that  it  has  not  been  insisted  upon, 
as  I  understand,  is  that  in  this  great  emergency  of  the  country,  as  the 
Institution  was  able  to  get  along,  the  matter  was  not  pressed  upon  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  never  denied  the  obligation  of  the 
Government  to  pay  in  coin  as  much  upon  this  debt  as  any  other  debt 
which  the  Government  owed.  I  am  informed  by  the  Senator  from 
Maine  [Mr.  Farwell]  that  they  received  the  currency  of  the  country  with- 
out making  a  special  demand  for  the  coin  under  the  particular  condition 
of  things  in  the  country  at  the  time.  The  Institution  will  be  able,  as  I 
understand,  to  repair  the  building,  provided  they  receive  what  they  are 


THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,   1863-1865.  655 

entitled  to  receive,  and  hence  this  proposition  to  pay  the  interest  in 
coin.  I  shall  move  an  amendment  to  the  proposition  to  make  up  the 
difference  between  the  currency'  which  the  Institution  has  received  and 
the  coin  to  which  they  were  entitled  in  order  that  they  may  have  the 
means  to  repair  the  building.  I  think  the  Government  is  bound  to 
pay  it  by  eveiy  obligation,  and  particularly  by  the  obligation  which 
it  took  upon  itself  when  it  accepted  this  fund. 

But  the  Senator  from  Iowa  brings  in  here  the  fact  that  this  fund 
was  invested  in  Arkansas  bonds.  Was  that  the  fault  of  Smithson,  who 
made  the  bequest?  Whose  fault  was  it  if  an  improvident  use  was 
made  of  the  funds  of  the  Institution?  But  that  question  is  not  now 
to  be  settled.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  has  assumed  the 
control  of  this  money,  has  incorporated  this  Institution,  has  agreed 
to  pay  the  interest  forever  at  6  per  cent  upon  the  money  that  was 
placed  in  its  Treasury,  and  unless  it  means  to  repudiate  this  obliga- 
tion it  is  bound  to  pay  it,  and  it  is  bound  to  pay  it  in  the  same  cur- 
rency that  it  pays  to  other  creditors  similarly  situated.  That  is  all 
that  the  Institution  asks.  They  probably  would  not  have  pressed  at 
this  time  for  the  payment  in  coin  but  for  the  misfortune  of  the  fire 
which  has  recently  occurred.  I  move  to  amend  the  section  which  is 
pending  by  adding  to  it  the  following: 

And  in  case  the  interest  heretofore  paid  to  said  Institution  has  been  paid  in  a  dif- 
ferent currency,  or  of  less  value,  than  that  paid  by  the  Government* on  other  perma- 
nent debts  or  trust  funds,  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  make  up  the  difference 
to  said  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  JACOB  COLLAMER.  Mr.  President,  I  do  not  wish  to  confine  my 
remarks  to  the  amendment  now  under  consideration.  I  can  see  no 
good  reason  for  the  amendment  of  the  Senator  from  Illinois.  So  far 
as  this  Institution  have  received  their  interest  in  any  money  that  was 
satisfactory  to  them  when  they  received  it  I  consider  it  paid.  In 
relation  to  what  has  not  been  paid  them,  it  undoubtedly  should  be  paid 
them,  as  I  think,  in  coin,  as  is  the  case  with  all  the  trust  funds  in  the 
hands  of  the  Government. 

But,  sir,  I  rose  more  particularly  to  make  one  remark.  I' feel  a 
good  deal  gratified  at  the  speeches  that  have  been  made  on  this  subject 
this  evening,  and  from  this  consideration:  Congress,  by  the  votes  of 
many  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  spoken  on  this  subject  to-night, 
passed  a  law  nearly  four  years  ago  to  enable  individuals  to  pay  off  their 
old  notes  in  depreciated  paper  at  half  price,  and  we  called  it  a  legal 
tender.  These  gentlemen  voted  for  that  measure,  by  which  people 
were  enabled  to  cheat  their  creditors  and  \yy  which  the  Government 
never  got  anything,  and  never  will.  But  what  particularly  gratifies 
me  is  this:  That  while  they  were  willing  to  make  a  law,  and  it  is  a 
standing  law  now,  to  enable  individuals  to  cheat  their  creditors  by 
paying  them  off  in  money  at  half  price  they  are  ashamed  to  do  it  on 


656  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

their  own  account  and  will  not  do  any  such  thing,  and  I  hope  they 
never  will. 

Mr.  GARRET  DAVIS.  Mr.  President,  I  think  there  is  a  higher  obli- 
gation to  keep  this  bequest  at  its  original  amount  than  any  legal 
obligation.  Smithson  was  a  natural  son  of  the  Duke  of  Northumber- 
land. He  made  a  declaration  in  connection  with  this  bequest  that  he 
would  render  his  name  more  famous  than  that  of  the  illustrious  house 
to  which  he  was  allied.  He  executed  a  will,  in  which  he  bestowed  the 
whole  of  his  estate  upon  the  United  States,  in  trust,  to  establish,  as 
the  honorable  Senator  from  Illinois  has  just  read,  an  institution  to  be 
located  in  the  city  of  Washington  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knbwledge  among  men.  That  was  the  highest  testimony  that  that 
individual  could  have  rendered  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  or  to  the  United  States  themselves.  Although  allied  to  an 
illustrious  house,  he  gave  all  that  he  had  of  worldly  property  to  our 
country  and  to  our  Government  for  the  purpose  of  founding  an  insti- 
tution for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge.  From  the  circum- 
stances under  which  the  bequest  was  made  and  the  manner  in  which 
its  execution  was  assumed  by  our  Government,  in  my  judgment  it 
creates  a  higher  than  a  legal  obligation  that  the  amount  and  value  of 
this  noble  bequest  shall  not  deteriorate  or  be  reduced  in  amount  in  the 
hands  of  those  that  he  charged  with  the  execution  of  the  trust. 

The  honora-ble  Senator  from  Illinois  says,  correctly,  no  doubt,  that 
the  reason  why  this  application  is  now  made  at  this  time  is  because  of 
the  misfortune  that  befell  the  Smithsonian  Institution  a  few  weeks 
since.  That  was  in  some  degree  the  fault  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment. It  had  property  deposited  for  custody  and  exhibition  in  the 
Interior  Department,  which  was  directed  by  the  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  be  transferred  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  same 
custody  and  for  similar  exhibition.  This  property  was  not  properly 
attached  to,  or  appended  to,  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  The  man- 
agers of  that  Institution  received  the  custody  and  the  possession  of 
this  property  reluctantly  and  only  because  its  custod}7  had  been  imposed 
upon  them  by  the  officials  of  the  United  States  Government.  The 
proper  arrangement  of  that  property  in  one  of  its  halls  rendered 
necessary  the  making  of  some  repairs  in  the  hall  that  caused  the 
making  of  a  tire  in  that  hall,  which  resulted  in  the  conflagration  of  the 
building. 

It  seems  to  me,  Mr.  President,  in  view  of  the  nature  of  the  bequest, 
of  the  nobleness  of  the  motives  of  the  testator  who  bequeathed  it,  of 
the  high  scientific  purposes  for  which  it  was  given  to  the  United  States; 
in  view  of  the  great  trust  and  confidence  that  was  reposed  by  the 
testator  in  the  Government,  and  in  the  United  States,  and  in  our 
country,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this  fire  that  resulted  in  the  burn- 
ing of  the  Smithsonian  building  arose  from  the  imposition  of  a  duty 


THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,    1863-1865.  657 

that  did  not  appertain  to  that  Institution  at  all,  the  United  States 
Government  ought  to  hold  itself  bound  by  every  obligation  to  keep 
the  bequest  at  its  original  value;  and  that  is  all  that  is  proposed. 

The  Presiding  Officer  (Mr.  SOLOMON  FOOT  in  the  chair).  The  ques- 
tion is  on  the  amendment  of  the  Senator  from  Illinois  [Mr.  Trumbull] 
to  the  amendment  of  the  committee. 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  rejected. 

The  amendment  of  the  committee  was  adopted;  there  being,  on  a 
division — ayes  21,  noes  not  counted. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  amendments  reported  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Finance  are  all  disposed  of. 

Mr.  J.  P.  HALE.  I  find  we  have  got  another  Smithsonian  Institution 
on  a  smaller  scale  in  this  bill  that  I  want  to  get  rid  of.  I  move  to 
strike  out  the  following  clause  : 

For  publishing  the  annual  report  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  made  to 
Congress  under  the  act  approved  March  3,  1863,  $6,000. 

If  there  is  no  objection  to  striking  it  out  I  have  nothing  to  say. 
The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 

March  7,  1865— Senate. 

Mr.  SOLOMON  FOOT  offered  resolution  : 

That  the  President  of  the  Senate  appoint  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  in  the  vacancy  now  existing  in  the  Board  of  Regents. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  DANIEL  CLARK)  appointed  William 
P.  Fessenden. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
December  23,  1863— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX)  announced  that  that  being 
the  day  fixed  for  the  appointment  of  three  Regents  for  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  he  had  appointed  S.  S.  Cox,  of  Ohio,  Henry  Winter  Davis, 
of  Maryland,  and  J.  W.  Patterson,  of  New  Hampshire. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
January  11,  1865— Senate. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBULL  introduced  a  joint  resolution: 

That  Richard  Delafield,  resident  of  Washington  City,  be,  and  he  hereby  is, 
appointed  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  place  of  Joseph  G.  Totten, 
deceased. 

H.  Doc.  732 42 


658  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

January  17,  1865— Senate. 

Senate  resolution  to  appoint  Mr.  Delafield,  Regent,  passed. 
February  11,  1865— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  AUGUSTUS  FRANK,  the  joint  resolution  from  the 
Senate  appointing  Richard  Delafield  a  Regent  of   the   Smithsonian. 
Institution  was  taken  up  and  passed. 
February  14,  1865. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  Richard  Delafield,  resident  of  Washington  city, 
be,  and  hereby  is,  appointed  a  regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
in  place  of  Joseph  G.  Totten,  deceased. 

'Stat.,  XU1,  569.) 


THIRTY-NINTH  CONGRESS,  1865-1867. 

PARIS  EXPOSITION. 

Joint  Resolution. 
January  16,  1866. 

Whereas  the  United  States  have  been  invited  by  the  Government  of 
France  to  take  part  in  a  universal  exposition  of  the  productions  of 
agriculture,  manufactures,  and  the  fine  arts,  to  be  held  in  Paris, 
France,  in  the  year  1867: 

Be  it  resolved,  etc. ,  That  said  invitation  is  accepted. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  the  proceedings  heretofore 
adopted  by  the  Secretary  of  State  in  relation  to  the  said  exposition,  as 
set  forth  in  his  report  and  accompanying  documents  concerning  that 
subject,  transmitted  to  both  Houses  of  Congress  with  the  President's 
message  of  the  llth  instant,  are  approved. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  the  general  agent  for  the 
said  exposition  at  New  York  be  authorized  to  employ  such  clerks  as 
may  be  necessary  to  enable  him  to  fulfill  the  requirements  of  the  regu- 
lations of  the  imperial  commission,  not  to  exceed  four  in  number,  one 
of  whom  shall  receive  compensation  at  the  rate  of  $1,800  per  annum, 
one  at  $1,600,  and  two  at  $1,400. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  State 
be,  and  is  hereby,  authorized  and  requested  to  prescribe  such  general 
regulations  concerning  the  conduct  of  the  business  relating  to  the 
part  to  be  taken  by  the  United  States  in  the  exposition  as  may  be 
proper. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  347.) 
July  5,  1866. 

Joint  resolution. 

Be  it  resolved,  etc.,  That  in  order  to  enable  the  people  of  the  United 
States  to  participate  in  the  advantages  of  the  universal  exhibition  of 
the  productions  of  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  the  fine  arts,  to  be 


THIRTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1865-1867.  659 

held  at  Paris  in  the  year  1867,  the  following  sums  or  so  much  thereof 
as  may  be  necessary  for  the  purposes  severally  specified,  are  hereby 
appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated: 

First.  To  provide  necessary  furniture  and  fixtures  for  the  proper 
exhibition  of  the  productions  of  the  United  States,  according  to  the 
plan  of  the  imperial  commissioners,  in  that  part  of  the  building  exclu- 
sively assigned  to  the  use  of  the  United  States,  $48,000. 

Secondly.  To  provide  additional  accommodations  in  the  park,  $25,000. 

Thirdly.  For  the  compensation  of  the  principal  agent  of  the  exhibi- 
tion in  the  United  States,  at  the  rate  of  $2,000  a  year:  Provided,  That 
the  period  of  such  service  shall  not  extend  beyond  sixty  days  after  the 
close  of  the  exhibition,  $4,000,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  found 
necessary. 

Fourthly.  For  office  rent  at  New  York,  for  fixtures,  stationery,  and 
advertising;  for  rent  of  storehouse  for  reception  of  articles,  and  prod- 
ucts; for  expenses  of  shipping,  including  callages,  etc.;  for  freights 
on  the  articles  to  be  exhibited  from  New  York  to  France,  and  for  com- 
pensation of  four  clerks,  in  conformity  with  the  joint  resolution 
approved  January  15,  1866,  and  for  contingent  expenses,  the  sum  of 
$33,700,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  found  necessary. 

Fifthly.  For  expenses  in  receiving,  bonding,  storage,  cartage,  labor, 
and  so  forth,  at  Havre;  for  railway  transportation  from  Havre  to  Paris; 
for  labor  in  the  palace;  for  sweeping  and  sprinkling  compartments  for 
seven  months;  for  guards  and  keepers  for  seven  months;  for  linguists 
(eight  men)  for  seven  months;  for  storing,  packing-boxes,  carting,  and 
for  material  for  repacking;  for  clerk-hire,  stationery,  rent,  and  con- 
tingent expenses,  the  sum  of  $35,703,  or  so  much  thereof,  as  may  be 
found  necessary. 

Sixthly.  For  the  traveling  expenses  of  ten  prof essional  and  scientific 
commissioners,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  at  the  rate  of  $1,000  each,  $10,000, 
it  being  understood  that  the  President  may  appoint  additional  com- 
missioners, not  exceeding  twenty  in  number,  whose  expenses  shall  not 
be  paid;  but  no  person  interested,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  article 
exhibited  shall  be  a  commissioner;  nor  shall  any  member  of  Congress, 
or  any  person  holding  an  appointment  or  office  of  honor  or  trust  under 
the  United  States  be  appointed  a  commissioner,  agent,  or  officer  under 
this  resolution. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  the  governors  of  the  several 
States  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  requested  to  invite  the  patriotic  people 
of  their  respective  States  to  assist  in  the  proper  representation  of  the 
handiwork  of  our  artisans,  and  the  prolific  sources  of  material  wealth 
with  which  our  land  is  blessed,  and  to  take  such  further  measures  as 
may  be  necessary  to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  the  proposed  exhibition, 


660  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

and  to  secure,  to  their  respective  States  the  advantages  which  it 
promises. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  i .  shall  be,  the  duty  of  the  said 
general  agent  at  New  York,  and  the  said  commissioner-general  at  Paris, 
to  transmit  to  Congress,  through  the  Department  of  State,  a  detailed 
statement  of  the  manner  in  which  "such1  expenditures  as  are  herein- 
before provided  for  are  made  by  them,  respectively. 

(Stat,  XIV,  362.) 

January  11,  1867. 

Joint  resolution. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  be,  and  he  is 
hereby,  instructed  to  collect  and  prepare,  as  far  as  practicable,  and 
with  little  delay  as  possible,  suitable  specimens  of  the  cereal  produc- 
tions of  the  several  States  of  the  Union,  for  exhibition  at  the  Paris 
Exposition,  and  forward  the  same  in  proper  order  and  condition  for 
shipment  to  J.  C.  Derby,  agent  of  the  United  States  Government  for 
the  Paris  Exposition,  at  New  York:  Provided,  That  it  shall  require 
no  further  appropriation  from  the  Public  Treasury. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  563.) 

TRANSFER   OF    SMITHSONIAN    LIBRARY. 

March  9,  1866— House. 

Mr.  J.  W.  PATTERSON  introduced  a  bill  for  the  transfer  of  the  Smith- 
sonian library.     Referred  to  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library. 
March  22,  1866— Senate. 

Mr.  T.  O.  HOWE.  The  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  have  in- 
structed me  to  report  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  transfer  of  the  custody 
of  the  library  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress. 

Mr.  CHARLES  SUMNER.  I  am  very  much  interested  in  that  question. 
I  have  paid  some  little  attention  to  the  subject  in  advance,  and  I  should 
really  like  to  see  the  bill  in  print.  I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  objec- 
tion, but  I  think  it  had  better  lie  over. 

Mr.  HOWE.  Certainly;  that  is  a  very  reasonable  request.  1  can  not 
ask  to  have  it  considered. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  L.  F.  S.  FOSTER).  It  will  lie  over 
under  the  rule. 
March  27,  1866— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  L.  F.  S.  FOSTER).  If  there  be  no 
further  morning  business,  the  Chair  will  call  up  the  unfinished  busi- 
ness of  yesterday. 

Mr.  T.  O.  HOWE.  Is  that  now  regularly  before  the  Senate? 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  It  is  not  regularly  before  the  Senate 
until  1  o'clock;  but  if  there  be  no  other  business  the  Chair  will  call 
it  up. 


THIRTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1865-1867.  661 

Mr.  HOWE.  '  Then  I  move  that  the  Senate  proceed  to  the  considera- 
tion of  Senate  bill  216. 

Agreed  to;  and  the  bill  (S.  216)  to  provide  for  the  transfer  of  the 
custody  of  the  library  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  Library 
of  Congress  was  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

Mr.  HOWE.  I  move  to  amend  the  bill  in  section  2,  line  6,  by  insert- 
ing the  words  "  in  the  recess  of  Congress  "  after  the  word  "  year,"  so 
that  it  will  read: 

That  when  such  library  shall  have  been  so  removed  and  deposited,  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  shall  have  the  use  thereof  in  like  manner  as  it  is  now  used,  and  the  public 
shall  have  access  thereto  for  purposes  of  consultation  on  every  ordinary  week  day, 
except  during  one  month  of  each  year  in  the  recess  of  Congress,  when  it  may  be  closed 
for  renovation. 

Agreed  to. 

Mr.  T.  A.  HENDEICKS.  I  wish  to  ask  the  Senator  from  Wisconsin 
whether  this  bill  contemplates  the  permanent  transfer  of  these  books  to 
the  Congressional  Library?  These  books  belong  to  the  Smithsonian 
trust  fund,  which  I  think  ought  not  to  be  diverted. 

Mr.  HOWE.  The  Senator  will  see,  if  he  looks  over  the*  bill,  that  it 
does  not  transfer  the  title  of  the  books.  It  is  the  custody  of  the  books 
that  is  transferred  to  the  Congressional  Library  for  safe-keeping,  as 
well  as  for  the  better  accommodation  of  the  public. 

Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBUIX.  1  will  state  to  the  Senator  from  Indiana  that 
this  is  a  mutual  arrangement  entered  into  between  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  Committee  on  the  Library ,  satisfactory 
to  both  parties.  It  is  thought  to  be  safer  to  have  them  deposited  there. 
There  is  danger  of  them  at  present,  as  the  building  in  which  they  are 
is  not  fireproof. 

The  bill  was  reported  to  the  Senate  as  amended,  and  the  amendment 
concurred  in. 

Passed. 
April  2,  1866  -House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  by  unanimous  consent, 
Senate  bill  to  provide  for  the  transfer  of  the  custody  of  the  library  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  Library  of  Congress  was  taken  from 
the  Speaker's  table  and  read  a  first  and  second  time. 

Mr.  R.  B.  HAYES.  The  Committee  on  the  Library  recommend  the 
passage  of  the  bill. 

Passed. 

April  5,  1866. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  library  collected  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  approved,  August  10,  1846, 
shall  be  removed  from  the  building  of  said  Institution,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Regents  thereof,  to  the  new  fireproof  extension  of  the 
Librarv  of  Congress,  upon  completion  of  a  sufficient  portion  thereof 


662  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

for  its  accommodation,  and  shall,  while  there  deposited,  be  subject  to 
the  same  regulations  as  the  Library  of  Congress,  except  as  hereinafter 
provided. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  when  such  library  shall 
have  been  so  removed  and  deposited,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall 
have  the  use  thereof  in  like  manner  as  it  is  now  used,  and  the  public 
shall  have  access  thereto  for  purposes  of  consultation  on  every  ordinary 
week  day  except  during  one  month  of  each  year,  in  the  recess  of  Con- 
gress, when  it  may  be  closed  for  renovation.  All  the  books,  maps, 
and  charts  of  the  Smithsonian  library  shall  be  properly  cared  for  and 
preserved  in  like  manner  as  are  those  of  the  Congressional  Library, 
from  which  the  Smithsonian  library  shall  not  be  removed  except  on 
reimbursement  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  of  expenses  incurred  in  binding  and  in  taking  care  of 
the  same,  or  upon  such  terms  and  conditions  as  shall  be  mutually 
agreed  upon  by  Congress  and  the  Regents  of  said  Institution. 

SEC.  3.  And  l)e  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
through  its  secretary,  shall  have  the  use  of  the  Library  of  Congress, 
subject  to  th*e  same  regulations  as  Senators  and  Representatives. 

SEC.  4.  And  l)e  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Librarian  of  Congress 
shall  be  authorized  to  employ  two  additional  assistants,  who  shall 
receive  a  yearly  compensation  of  $800,  and  $1,000,  respectively,  com- 
mencing July  1,  1866,  to  be  paid  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated. 

SEC.  5.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  the  sum  of  $500,  or  so  much 
thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  shall  be  appropriated,  out  of  any  money 
in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
the  removal  herein  provided  for. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  13.) 

CARE   OF  GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 
April  7,  1866. 

Deficiency  act  for  1866,  etc. 

For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  survey- 
ing expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  19.) 
July  28,  1866. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1867. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of 
the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  316.) 
February  23,  1867— House. 

The  Clerk  read: 

For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions 
of  the  Government,  $4,000. 


THIRTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1865-1867.  663 

Mr.  J.  W.  PATTERSON.  I  move  to  amend  the  paragraph  just  read  by 
omitting  the  word  "four"  and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof  "ten,"  so  as  to 
increase  the  appropriation  to  $10,000. 

Agreed  to. 

March  2,  1867. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1868. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of 
the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $10,000. 
(Stat.,  XIV,  464.) 

March  2,  1867. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1868. 

For  the  purchase  of  the  Glover  Museum,  $10,000. 
(Stat.,  XIV,  452.) 

REPORT  OF   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

May  7,  1866— Senate. 

Annual  report  for  1865  presented. 
Mr.  LYMAN  TRUMBIILL  moved  the  printing  of  5,000  extra  copies. 

May  7,  1866— House. 

Annual  report  for  1865  presented. 

Mr.  J.  A.  GARFIELD  moved  that  5,000  extra  copies  be  printed. 
May  9,  1866— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
resolution : 

That  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, for  the  year  1865,  be  printed;  2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  Senate:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages 
contained  in  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450  pages,  without  woodcuts  or  plates, 
except  those  furnished  by  the  Institution. 

Adopted. 

June  8,  1866— House. 

Mr.  A.  H.  LAFLIN,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  submitted 
resolution: 

That  5, 000  extra  copies  of  the  last  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be  printed; 
2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Institution,  and  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  this 
House. 

Adopted. 
February  26,  1867— Senate. 

Annual  .report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1866  was  pre- 
sented. 

Mr.  L.  TRUMBULL  moved  that  5,000  extra  copies  be  printed. 


664  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

February  27,  1867— House. 

Annual  report  for  1860  presented. 

Mr.  J.  A.  GARFIELD  moved  that  5,000  extra  copies  be  printed. 
February  28,  1867— House. 

Mr.  A.  H.  LAFLIN,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  offered 
resolution: 

That  5, 000  additional  copies  of  the  last  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be 
printed;  2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  3,000  for  the  use  of  the 
members  of  this  House;  and  that  the  same  be  stereotyped. 

Adopted. 
March  1,  1867— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  offered 
resolution: 

That  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the 
year  1866,  be  printed;  2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  3,000  for 
the  use  of  the  Senate;  and  that  said  report  be  stereotyped:  Provided,  That  the  aggre- 
gate number  of  pages  contained  in  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  without  wood- 
cuts or  plates,  except  those  furnished  by  the  Institution. 

Agreed  to. 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 
July  26,  1866. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  be  authorized 
and  instructed  to  grant  to  the  Navy  Department  the  use  of  such 
gf  the  engraved  plates  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition 
under  Captain  Wilkes,  now  in  charge  of  said  committee,  as  may  be 
desired  for  the  purpose  of  printing  a  supply  of  charts  for  the  use  of 
said  Department. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  366.) 

AMENDMENT    TO    ACT    OF   ORGANIZATION    OF    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

February  1,  1867 — House. 
The  following  memorial  was  presented  to  Congress: 

To  the  honorable  the.  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  etc.  : 

The  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  have  directed  the  undersigned 
to  transmit  to  your  honorable  body  the  resolution  herewith  appended,  and  to  solicit 
the  passage  of  an  act  in  accordance  therewith. 

It  is  known  to  your  honorable  body  that  the  original  sum  received  into  the  United 
States  Treasury  from  the  bequest  of  James  Smithson,  of  England,  was  $515,169, 
which  was  considered  a  trust  fund,  the  interest  alone  to  be  applied  to  carrying  out 
the  purpose  of  the  testator,  viz,  "The  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men." 

This,  however,  was  not  the  whole  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest,  the  sum  of  £5,015 
having  been  left  by  Hon.  R.  Rush,  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  as  the  principal 
of  an  annuity  to  the  mother  of  the  nephew  of  Smithson.  , 

The  annuitant  having  died,  the  sum  of  $26,210.63  has  been  received  from  this 
source,  and  is  now  in  charge  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States; 


THIRTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1865-1867.  665 

and  no  provision  having  been  made  in  the  act  of  August  10,  1846,  establishing  the 
Institution,  for  the  disposition  of  this  remainder  of  the  legacy,  your  memorialists,  in 
behalf  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  now  ask  that  it  be  added  to  the  original  bequest  on 
the  same  terms,  and  that  the  increase  which  has  arisen  from  interest  or  otherwise  on 
the  sum  before  mentioned,  also  in  the  hands  of  the-  Treasury  Department  of  the 
United  States,  be  transferred  to  the  Board  of  Regejits  for  assisting  to  defray  the 
expense  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  building  and  for  other  objects  of  the  Institution. 

And  your  memorialists  would  further  ask  that  the  Board  of  Regents  be  allowed  to 
place  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  on  the  same  terms  as  the  original  bequest, 
such  sums  of  money  as  may  accrue  from  savings  of  income  and  from  other  sources, 
provided  the  whole  amount  thus  received  into  the  Treasury  shall  not  exceed 
$1,000,000. 

The  sole  object  of  this  request  is  the  permanent  investment  and  perpetual  security 
of  the  entire  Smithsonian  bequest  and  such  other  sums  as  may  be  accumulated  from 
savings  of  accrued  interest,  legacies,  etc. 

And  your  memorialists  will  ever  pray,  etc. 

S.  P.  CHASE, 

Chancellor. 
JOSEPH  HENRY, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  an  application  be  made  to  Congress  for  an  act  authorizing  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States  to  receive  into  the  Treasury,  on  the  same  terms  as  the 
original  bequest,  the  residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson,  now  in  United  States  bonds 
in  the  hands  of  said  Treasurer,  namely,  $26,210.63,  together  \yth  such  other  sums  as 
the  Regents  may  from  time  to  time  see  fit  to  deposit,  not  exceeding,  with  the  original 
bequest,  the  sum  of  $1,000,000;  and  that  the  income  which  has  accrued  or  may  accrue 
from  said  residuary  legacy  be  applied  in  the  same  manner  as  the  interest  on  the 
original  bequest. 

Mr.  J.  W.  PATTERSON  introduced  bill: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  author- 
ized and  directed  to  receive  into  the  Treasury,  on  the  same  terms  as  the  original 
bequest,  the  residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson,  now  in  United  States  bonds  in  the 
hands  of  said  Secretary,  namely,  twenty-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  ten  dollars 
and  sixty-three  cents,  together  with  such  other  sums  as  the  Regents  may  from  time 
to  time  see  fit  to  deposit,  not  exceeding,  with  'the  original  bequest,  the  sum  of  one 
million  dollars. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  increase  which  has  accrued,  or  which 
may  hereafter  accrue,  from  said  residuary  legacy  shall  be  applied  by  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  same  manner  as  the  interest  on  the 
original  bequest,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  August  tenth,  eighteen 
hundred  and  forty-six,  establishing  said  Institution. 

Passed. 
February  1,  1867 — Senate. 

Mr.  W.  P.  FESSENDEN.  There  is  a  little  bill  on  the  table  (House, 
February  1,  186T)  which  has  come  in  from  the  House  that  I  should 
like  very  much  to  take  up  and  have  passed  if  no  Senator  has  any 
objection  to  it,  because  it  is  rather  necessary  that  it  should  be  passed 
at  once,  if  at  all.  It  relates  to  the  funds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, and  the  Regents  of  that  Institution  are  now  in  session  in  this  city 
and  would  like,  probably,  to  take  some  action  under  the  bill.  It  is 


666  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

very  short,  and  if  there  be  no  objection  I  should  like  to  have  it  taken 
up  and  acted  upon.  I  have  examined  it  and  do  not  see  any  objection 
to  it. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN.  .  I  should  like  to  inquire  where  the  fund  has 
been  heretofore.  Has  it  been  in  the  Treasury  ? 

Mr.  FESSENDEN.  No,  sir;  it  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary. 
Under  the  bequest  of  Smithson  there  was  a  sum  that  was  to  come  to 
the  Institution  upon  the  death  of  a  certain  person,  and  that  person 
died  just  about  the  time  I  happened  to  be  in  the  Treasmy,  and  there- 
fore I  know  the  facts.  This  bill  simply  provides  that  this  money  shall 
be  paid  into  the  Treasury  and  disposed  of  precisely  in  accordance  with 
the  original  act  with  regard  to  the  disposal  of  Smithson's  bequest. 

Mr.  SHERMAN.  I  have  no  objection  to  it  at  all. 

The  bill  was  reported  without  amendment  and  passed. 
February  8,  1867. 

An  act  to  receive  into  the  Treasury  the  residuary  legacy  of  James  Smithson,  etc. 

Be  it  enacted  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and  he  is 
hereby,  authorized  and  directed  to  receive  into  the  Treasury,  on  the 
same  terms  as  the  original  bequest,  the  residuary  legacy  of  James 
Smithson,  now  in  United  States  bonds,  in  the  hands  of  said  Secretary, 
namely:  $26,210.63,  together  with  such  other  sums  as  the  Regents 
may  from  time  to  time  see  fit  to  deposit,  not  exceeding,  with  the 
original  bequest  the  sum  of  $1,000,000. 

SEC.  2.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  the  increase  which  has 
accrued,  or  which  may  hereafter  accrue,  from  said  residuary  legacy, 
shall  be  applied  by  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion in  the  same  manner  as  the  interest  on  the  original  bequest,  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  August  10,  1846,  estab- 
lishing said  Institution. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  391.) 

INTERNATIONAL    EXCHANGES. 

February  26,  1867 — Senate. 

Senate  resolution  to  provide  for  the  exchange  of  certain  documents 
with  foreign  countries  passed: 

That  fifty  copies  of  all  documents  hereafter  printed  by  order  of  either  House  of 
Congress,  and  fifty  copies  additional  of  all  documents  printed  in  excess  of  the  usual 
number,  together  with  fifty  copies  of  each  publication  issued  by  any  Department  or 
Bureau  of  the  Government,  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the 
Library,  who  shall  exchange  the  same,  through  the  agency  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, for  such  works  published  in  foreign  countries,  and  especially  by  foreign  gov- 
ernments, as  may  be  deemed  by  said  committee  an  equivalent;  said  works  to  l>e 
deposited  in  the  Library  of  Congress. 

March  2,  1867— House. 

The  House  rejected  the  joint  resolution  of  the  Senate  providing  for 
the  exchange  of  public  documents.  Subsequently,  on  motion  of  Mr. 


FOKTIETH    CONGRESS,   1867-1869.  667 

A.  H.  Lafiin,  the  House  reconsidered  its  action  and  passed  the  reso- 
lution. 
March  2,  1867. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  fifty  copies  of  all  documents  hereafter  printed 
by  order  of  either  House  of  Congress,  and  fifty  copies  additional  of 
all  documents  printed  in  excess  of  the  usual  number,  together  with 
fifty  copies  of  each  publication  issued  by  any  department  or  bureau  of 
the  Government,  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
the  Library,  who  shall  exchange  the  same,  through  the  agency  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  for  such  works  published  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, and  especially  by  foreign  governments,  as  may  be  deemed  by 
said  committee  an  equivalent;  said  works  to  be  deposited  in  the  Library 
of  Congress. 

(Stat.,  XIV,  573.) 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
March  7,  1867— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX)  appointed  Luke  P.  Poland, 
of  Vermont,  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  election  of  J.  W.  Patterson  to  the  United 
States  Senate. 


FORTIETH  CONGRESS,  1867-1869. 

EXPOSITIONS. 

Paris  Universal  Exhibition. 

March  12,  1867. 

Resolved,  etc.  1.  That  the  commission  of  the  United  States  at  the 
Universal  Exhibition  to  be  held  at  Paris  in  the  year  1867  shall  consist 
of  the  commissioner-general  and  honorary  commissioner,  whose  ap- 
pointment was  approved  by  the  joint  resolution  of  January  22  [15], 
1866;  also  of  the  thirty  commissioners  whose  appointment  was  pro- 
vided for  by  the  joint  resolution  of  July  5,  1866,  and  of  twenty  com- 
missioners whose  appointment  is  hereinafter  provided  for. 

2.  That  the  commissioner-general  shall  be  the  president  of  the  com- 
mission thus  constituted,  with  a  vote  on  all  questions  that  may  arise. 

3.  That  the  commission  shall  meet  at  Paris  as  early  as  possible 
before  the  opening  of  the  exhibition,  upon  the  call  of  the  commis- 
sioner-general, and,  when  properly  organized,  shall  make  such  rules 
and  regulations  as  may  be  necessary  for  efficient  action,  with  power  to 
elect  a  vice-president  from  their  own  number,  who,  in  the  absence  of 


668  CONGKESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  commissioner-general,  shall  preside,  at  all  meetings  of  the  commis- 
sion, and  to  appoint  committees  and  chairmen  of  groups. 

•i.  That  the  commission  may  designate  additional  persons,  not  ex- 
ceeding twenty  in  number,  being  citizens  of  the  United  States,  known 
to  be  skilled  in  any  branch  of  industry  or  art,  who  are  hereby  author- 
ized to  attend  the  exhibition  in  behalf  of  the  United  States,  as  honoraiy 
commissioners  without  compensation. 

5.  That  the  commission  may  employ  a  secretary  and  clerks  for  the 
commission,  the  necessary  scientific  assistants  and  draftsmen,  and  may 
engage  suitable  rooms  for  the  commission. 

6.  That  no  commissioner  shall  act  as  agent  for  the  show  or  sale  of 
an}-  article  at  the  exhibition,  or  be  interested,  directly  or  indirectly,  in 
any  profits  from  any  such  article. 

SEC.  2.  And  l>e  it  further  resolved.,  That  $50,000,  or  so  much  thereof 
as  may  be  necessary  for  the  purposes  severally  specified,  are  hereby 
appropriated  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated: 

For  additional  freights  from  New  York  to  Havre. 

For  transportation  and  freights  from  Havre  to  Paris. 

For  return  freight  of  articles  owned  by  the  United  States  or  lent  to 
the  Government  by  individuals. 

For  marine  and  fire  insurance  on  the  articles  thus  lent. 

For  additional  steam  power  at  Paris,  in  the ' '  palace  "  and  the ' '  annex, " 
or  supplemental  building,  and  in  grounds  adjacent. 

For  the  exhibition  of  machines,  agricultural  and  other,  and  for  the 
erection  of  buildings  to  illustrate  the  education  and  agriculture  of  the' 
United  States,  and  for  the  collection  of  specimens  of  agricultural  pro- 
ductions, under  the  joint  resolution  for  that  purpose. 

For  the  necessary  expense  of  collecting,  classifying,  labeling,  and 
packing  mineralogical  and  metallurgical  specimens,  to  complete  the 
exhibition  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  United  States. 

For  the  necessary  expense  of  laborers  and  extra  service  in  the 
offices  at  Paris  and  New  York,  and  for  the  expenses  of  a  secretary, 
clerks,  scientific  assistants  and  draftsmen,  rooms,  and  other  incidental 
expenses  of  the  commission. 

SEC.  3.  And  Tie  itfurtJier  resolved,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
general  agent  at  New  York,  and  of  the  commissioner-general  at  Paris, 
to  transmit  to  Congress,  through  the  Department  of  State,  a  detailed 
statement  of  the  manner  in  which  the  expenditures  herein  authorized 
are  made  by  them  respectively. 

(Stat.,  XV,  19.) 

Havre  International  Maritime  Exhibition. 

March  12,  1868. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  be  authorized  to 
detail  one  or  more  officers  of  the  Navy,  as  he  shall  think  best,  to  be 


FORTIETH    CONGRESS,    1867-1869.  669 

present  at  the  International  Maritime  Exhibition,  to  be  held  at  Havre, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  French  Government,  from  June  1  to  October 
31,  of  the  present  year,  there  to  represent  the  United  States,  and  other- 
wise promote  the  interests  of  exhibitors  from  our  country:  Provided, 
That  no  expenditure  shall  accrue  therefrom  to  the  Treasury,  or  to  any 
public  fund,  nor  shall  any  mileage  or  other  expenses,  or  any  additional 
compensation  be  paid  to  such  persons  as  may  be  designated  under 
authority  of  this  resolution,  nor  shall  any  national  or  public  vessel  be 
employed  to  convey  the  officers  so  detailed  to  or  from  the  place  of 
such  exhibition. 
(Stat.,  XV,  249.) 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 


By  the 
January  7,  1868 — House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX)  announced  the  appointment, 
as  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of  Jas.  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio, 
L.  P.  Poland,  of  Vermont,  and  J.  V.  L.  Pruyn,  of  New  York. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
January  6,  1868— Senate. 

Mr.  L.  TRUMBULL,  offered  resolution: 

That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  the 
class  "other  than  members  of  Congress"  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Theodore 
D.  Woolsey,  of  Connecticut;  William  B.  Astor,  of  New  York;  John  Maclean,  of  New 
Jersey,  and  Peter  Parker,  of  the  city  of  Washington. 
January  7,  1868— Senate. 

The  resolution  to  appoint  Regents  was  adopted. 
January  7,  1868— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  J.  A.  GARFIELD  the  Senate  resolution  of  Janu- 
ary 7,  to  appoint  Regents,  was  adopted. 
January  11,  1868. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  "  other  than  members  of  Congress" 
be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Theodore  D.  Woolsey  of  Connecticut, 
William  B.  Astor  of  New  York,  John  Maclean  of  New  Jersey,  and 
Peter  Parker  of  the  city  of  Washington. 

(Stat.,  XV,  246.) 

January  22,  1869 — Senate. 

Mr.  HENRY  WELSON  offered  resolution: 

That  Louis  Agassiz,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  reappointed 
a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  expira- 
tion of  his  present  term. 

Adopted. 


670  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

March  2,  1869— House. 

Joint  resolution  reappointing  Louis  Agassi/  a  Regent  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  passed. 

March  3,  1869. 

Resol/oed,  etc.,  That  Louis  Agassiz,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
be,  and  he  is  hereby,  reappointed  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  expiration  of  his  present  term. 

(Stat.,  XV,  349.) 

CARE    OF   GOVERNMENT    COLLECTIONS. 

February  27,  1868— House. 

The  civil  appropriation  bill  being  under  consideration,  the  clerk 
read: 

Smithsonian  Institution:  "For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring 
and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $1,000." 

Mr.  L.  P.  POLAND.  I  move  to  amend  the  paragraph  just  read  by 
striking  out  "$1,000"  and  inserting  "$6,000."  I  apprehend  that 
the  Committee  on  Appropriations  had  not,  probably,  looked  into  the 
history  of  this  annual  appropriation  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  taking  care  of  these  collections  of  the  Government  when  they  con- 
cluded to  report  this  sum.  These  collections  were  kept  in  the  Patent 
Office  building  up  to  1857,  and  were  then  much  smaller  than  they  are 
now.  An  annual  appropriation  of  $4,000  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
care  of  these  collections  was  made  from  1842  to  1857.  In  1857  the 
room  occupied  for  that  purpose  in  the  Patent  Office  building  was 
needed  for  other  purposes,  for  models,  etc.,  and  these  collections 
were  then  removed  to  the  Smithsonian  building,  where  they  have  since 
been  kept.  An  annual  appropriation  of  $4,000  for  their  preservation 
was  made  from  1857  to  last  year,  when  the  sum  was  increased  to 
$10,000.  These  collections  have  been  very  largely  increased;  they 
have  been  doubled;  in  fact,  they  have  been  quadrupled  since  they 
were  removed  to  the  Smithsonian  building,  and  the  expense  of  taking 
care  of  them  has  been  very  largely  increased  in  consequence  of  the 
general  increase  of  the  prices  of  labor,  fuel,  and  everything  that  goes 
to  make  up  that  expense.  Even  if  the  amount  of  labor  had  not  been 
increased  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of  the  collections,  the  appro- 
priation, which  from  1842  to  1866  was  $4,000,  ought  to  be  increased  to 
at  least  $6,000. 

The  fund  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  whatever  it  ma}r  be,  is  a 
fixed  sum,  and  in  consequence  of  the  great  increase  in  the  prices  of 
everything,  it  is  not  now  worth  more  than  half  as  much  to  the 
Institution  as  it  was  formerly.  A  very  large  portion  of  the  income 
from  the  fund  for  the  Institution  for  the  last  two  years  has  had  to  be 
expended  in  refitting  and  repairing  the  building,  rendered  necessary 


FORTIETH    CONGRESS,   1867-1869.  671 

b}r  the  destructive  and  ruinous  fire  that  occurred  there  in  1865.  It 
seems  to  me  there  can  be  no  question  but  what  the  appropriation  for 
this  purpose  should  be  at  least  $6,000. 

Mr.  CHARLES  UPSON.  Who  has  the  disbursing  of  this  money,  and 
what  account  is  ever  rendered  to  anyone  of  the  manner  in  which  it 
was  expended? 

Mr.  POLAND.  It  is  disbursed  under  the  care  of  Professor  Henry, 
one  of  the  most  prudent  men  in  the  country,  and  it  is  all  reviewed  by 
the  Board  of  Regents. 

Mr.  E.  B.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois.  The  Committee  on  Appropria- 
tions thought  that  $1,000  a  year  was  about  as  much  as  the  people  of 
this  country  desire  to  pay  to  preserve  the  collections  of  the  exploring 
and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government.  The  amount  appro- 
priated heretofore  has  been  much  larger,  as  the  gentleman  from  Ver- 
mont [Mr.  Poland]  has.  said.  I  had  a  conversation  this  morning  with 
Professor  Henry,  who  stated  to  me  how  this  appropriation  was  to  be 
used.  From  what  he  told  me  I  am  willing  to  admit  that  there  should 
be  appropriated  a  much  larger  sum  than  the  committee  have  reported 
in  this  bill,  though  not  so  much  as  $6,000,  as  the  gentleman  from  Ver- 
mont has  proposed.  The  Professor  himself  expressed  himself  satisfied 
with  $4,000,  the  usual  annual  appropriation  for  this  purpose. 

Mr.  POLAND.  It  may  be  true  that  Professor  Henry  did  not  desire  to 
have  the  friends  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  get  into  a  contro- 
versy with  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  [Mr.  Washburne],  for  he  knew 
too  well  how  much  was  involved  in  that;  and  "to  buy  his  peace,"  as 
lawyers  say,  he  agreed  to  take  $4,000  instead  of  asking  for  $6,000.  He , 
tells  me,  and  I  have  no  doubt  tells  the  gentleman,  that  $6,000  is  needed, 
and  that  he  ought  to  have  it. 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois.  I  understood  that  he  would  be  entirely 
satisfied  with  $4,000;  and  I  will  say  that  instead  of  losing  anything 
by  any  controversy  with  me  he  would  certainly  obtain  an  additional 
amount  here  by  getting  into  any  such  controversy.  Will  the  gentle- 
man from  Vermont  [Mr.  Poland]  consent  to  modify  the  amendment 
by  making  the  amount  $4,000? 

Mr.  POLAND.  No,  sir. 

Mr.  J.  V.  L.  PRUYN.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  move  pro  forma  to  amend 
the  amendment  by  making  the  amount  $7,500.  I  am  prepared  to  cor- 
roborate in  all  substantial  particulars  the  statement  made  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Vermont  [Mr.  Poland].  It  is  quite  impossible  that  these 
collections  can  be  taken  care  of  for  a  less  silm  than  five  or  six  thousand 
dollars.  They  occupy  the  large  hall  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
the  best  part  of  the  whole  building.  The  rent  of  such  a  room  anywhere 
else  in  this  city  would  cost  as  much  as  the  appropriation  asked  for. 
If  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  will  agree  to  an  appropriation  of  $5,000, 
I  will  modify  my  amendment  so  as  to  name  that  sum. 


672  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois.  No,  sir;  $4,000  is  the  usual  appropri- 
ation, and  I  see  no  reason  why,  in  the  present  condition  of  our  finances, 
we  should  increase  it. 

Mr.  PRUYN.  I  withdraw  my  amendment;  but  I  hope  the  committee 
will  agree  to  vote  at  least  $6,000  for  this  purpose. 

Mr.  LEWIS  SELYE.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  rise  to  oppose  the  amendment. 
I  would  like  to  know  of  what  this  Institution  consists.  I  would  like 
the  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Pruyn]  or  the  gentleman  from 
Vermont  [Mr.  Poland]  to  tell  us  how  many  of  his  constituents  ever  saw 
this  Institution  or  ever  will  see  it  or  ever  want  to  see  it?  It  is  enough 
to  make  any  man  or  woman  sick  to  visit  that  Institution.  No  one  can 
expect  to  get  any  benefit  from  it.  I  am  opposed,  sir,  to  taxing  my 
constituents  $7,000  a  year  to  keep  up  any  such  institution. 

Mr.  POLAND.  In  accordance  with  what  seems  to  be  the  wish  of  gen- 
tlemen around  me,  I  modify  my  amendment  so  as  to  make  the  amount 
$5,000. 

On  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Poland  as  modified  there  were — ayes  50, 
noes  53. 

Mr.  POLAND  called  for  tellers. 

Tellers  were  ordered,  and  Mr.  R.  P.  Spalding  and  Mr.  L.  Selye  were 
appointed. 

The  committee  divided,  and  the  tellers  reported — ayes  40,  noes  55. 

Amendment  not  agreed  to. 

Mr.  GINERY  TWICHELL.  I  move  to  amend  by  striking  out  "one" 
and  inserting  "four,"  so  as  to  make  the  paragraph  read: 

>     For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions 
of  the  Government,  $4,000. 

Agreed  to. 
May  1,  1868— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  S.  COLFAX)  laid  before  the  House  a  communica- 
tion from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  J.  A.  Garfield,  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Appropriations  and  ordered  to  be  printed: 

To  the  honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  etc.: 

In  behalf  of  the  Board,  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  undersigned 
beg  leave  respectfully  to  submit  to  your  honorable  body  the  following  statement,  and 
to  solicit  such  action  in  regard  to  it  as  may  be  deemed  just  and  proper. 

The  act  of  Congress  organizing  the  Institution  ordered  the  erection  of  a  building 
which  should  accommodate,  on  a  liberal  scale,  besides  a  library  and  a  gallery  of  art, 
a  museum,  consisting  of  all  the  specimens  of  natural  history,  geology,  and  art  which 
then  belonged  to  the  Government,  or  which  might  thereafter  come  into  its  posses- 
sion by  exchange  or  otherwise.  Although  the  majority  of  the  Regents  did  not  con- 
sider the  maintenance  of  these  objects  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  intention  of 
Smithson,  as  inferred  from  a  strict  interpretation  of  the  terms  of  his  will,  yet  in 
obedience  to  the  commands  of  Congress  they  proceeded  to  erect  a  building  of  the 
necessary  dimensions  and  to  take  charge  of  the  Government  collections. 


FOETIETH    CONGKESS,   1867-1869.  673 

The  erection,  and  maintenance  of  so  large  and  expensive  an  edifice,  involving  an 
outlay  of  $450,000,  and  the  charge  of  the  Government  museum  have  proved  a  griev- 
ous burden  on  the  Institution,  increasing  from  year  to  year,  which,  had  not  its 
effects  been  counteracted  by  a  judicious  management  of  the  funds,  would  have  par- 
alyzed the  legitimate  operations  of  the  establishment  and  frustrated  the  evident 
intention  of  Smithson. 

It  is  true  that  Congress,  at  the  time  the  specimens  were  transferred  to  the  Institu- 
tion, granted  an  appropriation  of  $4,000  for  their  care  and  preservation,  that  being 
the  equivalent  of  the  estimated  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  these  collections  in  the 
Patent  Office,  where  they  had  previously  been  exhibited.  But  this  sum,  from  the 
rise  in  prices  and  the  expansion  of  the  museum  by  the  specimens  obtained  from 
about  fifty  exploring  expeditions  ordered  by  Congress,  scarcely  more  than  defrays, 
at  the  present  time,  one-third  of  the  annual  expense.  In  this  estimate  no  account 
is  taken  of  the  rent  of  the  part  of  the  building  devoted  to  the  museum  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, which  at  a  moderate  estimate  would  be  $20,000  per  annum. 

Besides  the  large  expenditure  which  has  already  been  made  on  the  building,  at 
least  $50,000  more  will  be  required  to  finish  the  large  hall  in  the  second  story, 
necessary  for  the  full  display  of  the  specimens  of  the  Government.  But  the  Regents 
do  not  think  it  judicious  further  to  embarrass  the  active  operations  for  several  years 
to  come  by  devoting  a  large  part  of  the  income  to  this  object,  and  have,  therefore, 
concluded  to  allow  this  room  to  remain  unfinished  until  other  means  are  provided 
for  completing  it. 

It  is  not  by  its  castellated  building  nor  the  exhibition  of  the  museum  of  the  Gov- 
ernment that  the  Institution  has  achieved  its  present  reputation,  nor  by  the  collec- 
tion and  display  of  material  objects  of  any  kind  that  it  has  vindicated  the  intelli- 
gence and  good  faith  of  the  Government  in  the  administration  of  the  trust.  It  is  by 
its  explorations,  its  researches,  its  publications,  its  distribution  of  specimens,  and  its 
exchanges,  constituting  it  an  active,  living  organization,  that  it  has  rendered  itself 
favorably  known  in  every  part  of  the  civilized  world,  has  made  contributions  to 
almost  every  branch  of  science,  and  brought  more  than  ever  before  into  immediate 
and  friendly  relations  the  Old  and  the  New  Worlds. 

A  central  museum  for  a  complete  representation  of  the  products  of  America,  with 
such  foreign  specimens  as  may  be  required  for  comparison  and  generalization,  is  of 
great  importance,  particularly  as  a  means  of  developing  and  illustrating  our  indus- 
trial resources,  as  well  as  of  facilitating  the  study  pf  the  relations  of  our  geology, 
mineralogy,  flora,  and  fauna  to  those  of  the  Old  World.  But  the  benefit  of  such  an 
establishment  is  principally  confined  to  this  country,  and  does  not  partake  of  the 
cosmopolitan  character  of  an  institution  such  as  Smithson  intended  to  found,  and 
therefore  ought  not  to  be  supported  from  his  bequest. 

The  Board  of  Regents  are  confident  that  upon  a  full  consideration  of  the  case  your 
honorable  body  will  grant  an  adequate  support  for  the  collections,  of  the  Government, 
and  also  an  appropriation  for  finishing  the  repairs  of  the  building,  and  eventually, 
when  the  financial  condition  of  the  country  will  permit,  for  the  independent  main- 
tenance of  a  national  museum. 

It  may  not  be  improper,  in  addition  to  what  hae  been  said,  to  recall  the  fact 
that  the  Smithsonian  Institution  has  transferred,  without  cost,  to  the  library  of 
Congress  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  complete  collections  of  the  transactions  of 
scientific  and  learned  societies  and  serial  publications  in  existence,  consisting  of  at 
least  50,000  works,  which,  with  the  annual  continuation  of  the  same  series,  must 
render  Washington  a  center  of  scientific  knowledge  and  the  library  itself  worthy  of 
the  nation;  and  that  it  has  also  presented  to  the  Government  its  valuable  collection 
of  specimens  of  art  illustrating  the  history  of  engraving  from  the  earliest  periods.  It 
is  prepared  to  render  a  similar  service  to  a  national  museum  by  the  exchanges  from 

H.  Doc.  732 43 


674  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

foreign  museums  to  which  it  has  been  a  liberal  contributor,  and  which  may  be 
obtained  as  soon  as  means  are  provided  for  their  transportation  and  accommodation. 
It  may  also  be  mentioned  that  the  Institution  has  rendered  important  service  to 
the  Government  through  the  scientific  investigations  it  has  made  in  connection  with 
the  operations  of  the  different  departments,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  through 
the  labors  of  its  officers  it  has  been  the  means  of  saving  millions  of  dollars  to  the 
National  Treasury. 

In  conclusion,  your  memorialists  beg  leave  to  represent  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of 
Regents  that  the  usual  annual  appropriation  of  $4, 000  is  wholly  inadequate  to  the  cost 
of  preparing,  preserving,  and  exhibiting  the  specimens,  the  actual  expenditure  for  that 
purpose  in  1867  having  been  over  $12,000,  and  they  take  the  liberty  of  respectfully 
urging  on  your  honorable  body  the  expediency  of  increasing  it  to  $10,000,  and  that  a 
further  sum  of  $25,000  be  appropriated  at  this  session  of  Congress  toward  the  com- 
pletion of  the  hall  required  for  the  Government  collections. 
And  your  memorialists  will  ever  pray,  ete. 

S.  P.  CHASE, 
Chancellor  Smithsonian  Institution. 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 
Secretary  timitlisonian  Institution. 

May  2,  1868— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  B.  F.  WADE)  laid  before  the 
Senate  a  communication  from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Appropriations,  and  ordered  to  be 
printed.  (See  House,  May  1,  1808.) 

July  20,  1868. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1869. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of 
the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 

(Stat.,  XV,  115.) 
March   1,  1869— House. 

The  miscellaneous  appropriation  bill  being  under  consideration,  an 
amendment  was  read : 

For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions 
of  the  Government,  $4,000. 

Mr.  J.  A.  GARFIELD.  I  move  to  amend  this  paragraph  by  striking 
out  "$4,000"  and  inserting  "$10,000."  And  I  wish  briefly  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  to  the  facts  upon  which  I 
base  my  motion. 

In  1846,  when  the  Smithsonian  Institution  was  founded,  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  by  a  law  of  Congress,  transferred  to 
that  Institution  all  the  articles  now  belonging  to  the  museum  which  the 
Government  then  owned.  At  that  time  it  was  costing  $4,000  a  year 
to  take  care  of  and  preserve  those  articles.  Since  then  a  great  num- 
ber of  exploring  expeditions  have  been  sent  out  by  the  Government 
and  large  additions  have  been  made  to  the  museum,  and  the  actual 
cost  of  taking  care  of  and  keeping  the  articles  which  the  Government 


FORTIETH    CONGRESS,   1867-1869.  675 

now  owns  amounts  to  more  than  $10,000  a  year.  Having  imposed  this 
duty  upon  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  it  is  wrong  for  the  Govern- 
ment to  ask  that  Institution  to  pay  $6,000  out  of  its  own  fund — donated 
by  a  foreigner  to  the  cause  of  science  in  this  country — for  the  care, 
preservation,  and  custody  of  Government  property,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  use  of  the  building  for  that  purpose. 

Mr.  HORACE  MAYNARD.  What  are  the  items  of  the  expenditure  for 
that  purpose?  It  certainly  is  not  all  for  personal  supervision. 

Mr.  GARFIELD.  Only  so  far  as  the  Board  of  Regents  have  to  employ 
persons  to  take  care  of  and  watch  that  these  things  are  properly 
guarded.  I  have  here  a  memorial  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  of  which 
I  am  a  member.  It  is  signed  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Institution, 
Chief  Justice  Chase,  and  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Institution,  Professor 
Henry.  Accompanying  that  is  a  detailed  statement  of  the  expenses 
of  the  National  Museum  for  the  year  1868.  I  ask  the  attention  of 
members  to  these  papers. 

[See  proceedings  of  May  1,  1868.] 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  expense  of  the  National  Museum 
for  the  year  1868: 

Glass  for  cases $154.33 

Carbolic  acid,  insect  power,  and  arsenic 72. 85 

Glass  bottles  and  jars 96.68 

Trays..' 180.01 

Wrapping  paper 1 63. 90 

Benzine,  paint,  oil,  varnish,  putty,  brushes 201.87 

Saucers  for  nests  and  eggs 22. 30 

Stationery,  index  books,  and  blanks 123. 57 

Labels  for  specimens 208. 04 

Locks,  keys,  handles,  funnels,  measures,  tools,  cans,  etc 185.  05 

Paper  and  poison  for  plants 347. 20 

Numbers  and  labels  for  minerals 94,.  41 

Examination,  cleaning,  assorting,  and  labeling  shells „ 1, 168. 95 

Books  for  labeling  specimens 430. 47 

Tow  for  stuffing  large  animals  (bears) 24. 90 

Artificial  eyes  for  birds,  etc 35. 95 

Packing  boxes 50. 40 

Alcohol 400.00 

Mounting  birds,  beaver,  etc 195. 50 

Freight  on  collections 1, 200. 00 

Walnut  cases  for  specimens 1, 100. 00 

Heating  room  for  collections 500. 00 

Assistants — one 'at  $2,500,  one  at  $600,  one  at  $500,  and  one  at  $300 3, 900. 00 

Laborers  and  watchmen — one  at  $840,  one  at  $660,  one  at  $600,  one  at 

$312,  and  one  at  $312 2,724.00 


13,  480.  38 


In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  $125,000  have  been  expended  since  the 
fire  in  1865  on  that  part  of  the  building  required  for  the  accommoda- 


676  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

tion  of  the  museum,  the  interest  on  which,  at  (>  per  cent,  would  !>e 
$7,500  annually. 

The  bequest  to  found  this  Institution  was  from  a  foreigner  who 
never  visited  the  United  States.  He  bequeathed  his  fortune  with  unre- 
served confidence  to  our  Government  for  the  advancement  of  science, 
to  which  he  had  devoted  his  own  life.  The  sacredness  of  the  trust  is 
enhanced  from  the  fact  that  it  was  accepted  after  the  death  of  him  by 
whom  it  was  confided.  The  only  indications  of  his  intentions  which 
we  possess  are  expressed  in  the  terms  of  his  will,  it  therefore 
became  of  the  first  importance  that  the  import  of  these  terms  should 
be  critically  analyzed  and  the  logical  inference  from  them  faithfully 
observed.  The  whole  is  contained  in  these  few  and  explicit  words: 

To  found  at  Washington,  under  the  name  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  an  estab- 
lishment for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men. 

These  terms  have  a  strictly  scientific  import,  and  are  susceptible  of 
a  scries  of  definite  propositions. 

First.  The  bequest  is  for  the  benefit  of  mankind;  not  to  be  confined 
to  one  country,  to  one  race,  but  to  all  men  of  all  complexions. 

Second.  The  objects  of  the  Institution  are  primarily  to  increase,  and 
secondly  to  diffuse,  knowledge  among  men,  and  these  objects  should 
not  be  confounded  with  each  other. 

The  will  makes  no  restriction  of  any  kind  of  knowledge,  hence  every 
branch  of  science  capable  of  advancement  is  entitled  to  a  share  of 
attention. 

Though  the  terms  of  the  will  are  explicit  and  convey  precise  scien- 
tific ideas  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  their  technical  significance, 
yet  to  t]ie  public  generally  they  might  seem  to  admit  of  a  greater  lati- 
tude of  construction  than  has  been  put  upon  them.  It  is,  therefore,  not 
surprising  that  at  the  commencement  improper  conceptions  of  tlje 
nature  of  the  bequest  should  have  been  entertained,  or  that  Congress  in 
the  act  of  organization  should  direct  the  prosecution  of  objects  incom- 
patible with  the  strict  interpretation  of  it  or  to  impose  burdens  upon 
the  Institution  tending  materially  to  affect  its  usefulness. 

The  principal  of  such  burdens  was  the  direction  to  provide  a  build- 
ing on  an  ample  scale  to  make  provision  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
collections  of  Government,  consisting  of  all  the  specimens  of  nature 
and  art  then  in  the  city  of  Washington  or  that  might  hereafter  become 
the  property  of  the  Government,  by  exchange  or  otherwise. 

Though  the  majority  of  the  Board  of  Regents  did  not  consider  the 
expenditure  of  a  large  amount  of  the  income  on  this  subject  in  accord- 
ance with  the  will  of  Smithson,  they  could  not  refuse  to  obey  the 
injunction  of  Congress,  and  proceeded  to  erect  an  extended  building 
and  to  take,  charge  of  the  museum  of  the  Government.  The  cost  of 
this  building,  which  at  first  was  $325,000,  has  been  increased  by  the 


FORTIETH    CONGRESS,   1867-1869.  677 

reparation  of  damages  caused  by  the  fire  to  $450,000,  the  whole  of 
which  has  been  defrayed  from  the  annual  income.  Notwithstanding 
this  burden  the  Institution  has  achieved  a  reputation  as  wide  as  the 
civilized  world,  has  advanced  almost  every  branch  of  knowledge,  and 
presented  books  and  specimens  to  hundreds  of  institutions  and  societies 
in  this  country  and  abroad. 

It  is  not  a  mere  statical  establishment,  as  many  may  suppose,  sup- 
porting a  corps  of  individuals  whose  only  duty  is  the  exhibition  of  the 
articles  of  the  show  museum,  but  a  living,  active  organization  that  has 
by  its  publications,  researches,  explorations,  distribution  of  specimens 
and  exchanges  vindicated  the  intelligence  and  good  faith  of  the  Gov- 
ernment in  administering  a  fund  intended  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
community  of  civilized  men.  It  has  at  the  same  time  collected  a 
library,  principally  of  the  transactions  and  proceedings  of  learned 
societies,  the  most  perfect  one  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  consisting  of 
50,000  works;  also  a  collection  of  engravings  illustrative  of  the  prog- 
ress and  early  history  of  the  arts,  both  of  which  it  has  transferred  to 
the  Library  of  Congress.  It  is  not  alone  the  present  value  of  the 
books  which  it  has  placed  in  the  possession  of  the  Government,  but 
also  that  of  the  perpetual  continuation  of  the  several  series  contained 
therein. 

The  Institution  has  continued  to  render  important  service  to  the 
Government  from  its  first  organization  until  the  present  time  by  exam- 
ining and  reporting  on  scientific  questions  pertaining  to  the  operations 
of  the  different  departments,  and  in  this  way,  particularly  during  the 
war,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  has  saved  the  United  States  many 
millions  of  dollars. 

Let  me  say  one  word  more  before  leaving  this  subject.  As  I  have 
shown  the  real  purpose  of  the  donation  of  Smithson,  which  the  Board 
of  Regents  have  tried  to  promote  as  well  as  as  they  could,  was  to 
extend  and  circulate  means  of  scientific  information,  and  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Institution  has  always  resisted  the  tendency  to  keep  up 
and  increase  this  museum  at  the  expense  of  this  fund. 

Recently  the  Institution  has  given  over  to  the  Library  of  Congress 
a  collection  of  50,000  volumes,  constituting  probably  the  most  perfect 
scientific  library  in  the  world.  But  we  are  still  charged  as  an  Institu- 
tion with  the  cost  of  this  rapidly  increasing  museum.  Now,  the 
Regents  would  be  glad .  if  Congress  would  take  this  museum  off  their 
hands  and  provide  otherwise  for  the  care  of  it.  It  is  a  charge  imposed 
upon  the  Institution  by  law,  a  charge  which  it  never  sought  and  is  not 
desirous  to  retain.  At  the  time  when  this  museum  was  first  placed  in 
the  custody  of  the  Institution  it  cost  but  $4,000  a  year  to  keep  it  in  the 
Patent  Office.  Now  the  care  of  that  museum  costs  three  times  that 
amount.  I  hope,  therefore,  that  the  committee  will  vote  $10,000  instead 
of  $4,000  for  this  purpose. 


678  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  R.  P.  SPALDING.  Mr.  Chairman,'  J  am  very  sorry  to  find  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  among  the  leeches  that  are  all  the  while  crying 
to  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  "Give,  give! "  The  Smithsonian 
is  a  wealthy  Institution.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  is 
continually  paying  it  gold  interest  on  the  large  fund  belonging  to  the 
Institution;  but  the  Institution  is  not  willing  to  bear  this  little  addi- 
tional expense,  as  it  is  called,  from  its  own  means,  but  wishes  to  obtain 
the  money  from  the  public  Treasury.  The  men  who  pay  the  taxes 
must  contribute  the  additional  sum  to  this  wealthy  Institution. 

Sir,  we  have  loaned  to  that  Institution  the  National  Museum.  We 
have  paid  the  Institution  for  a  series  of  years  $4,000  annually  in  cash 
for  taking  care  of  that  museum.  The  Institution  has  been  content 
with  that  sum  heretofore;  but  now  it  comes  in  and  asks  an  appropria- 
of  $10,000  for  this  purpose.  Sir,  we  had  better  take  away  the  museum 
from  the  care  of  that  Institution.  I  had  almost  said  we  had  better 
throw  it  into  the  Potomac  than  be  constantly  paying  these  increased 
demands  from  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  That  is  the  light  in  which 
the  committee  have  viewed  the  subject;  and  in  that  light  they  protest 
against  this  increase. 

Amendment  not  agreed  to. 

March  3,  1869. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1870. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  the  preservation  of  the  collections  of 
the  exploring  and  surveying  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000. 
(Stat,  XV,  807.) 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 
February  28,  1868. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  Librarian  of  Congress  be,  and  is  hereby, 
directed  to  deliver  to  the  Secretary  of  State  a  set  of  Dana's  Crustacea, 
being  volumes  13  and  14  of  the  narrative  of  the  exploring  expedition 
under  Captain  Wilkes;  and  that  the  Secretary  of  State  is  nereby 
directed  to  deliver  them  to  the  Government  of  Great  Britain. 

(Stat.,  XV,  248.) 

REPORT    OF    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

May  29,  1868— Senate. 

Annual  report  for  1867  was  presented. 

Mr.  L.  TRUMBULL  moved  to  print  5,000  extra  copies. 
May  29,  1868— House. 

Annual  report  for  1867  presented. 

Mr.  J.  A.  GARFIELD  moved  to  print  5,000  extra'  copies. 
May  30,  1868— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
resolution : 

That  5,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the 
year  1867  be  printed;  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  Senate  and  2,000  for  the  use  of  the 


FORTIETH    CONGRESS,   1867-1869.  679 

Smithsonian  Institution,  and  that  the  said  report  be  stereotyped:  Provided,  That  the 
aggregate  number  of  pages  of  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  without  illustrations, 
except  those  furnished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Adopted. 
June  5,  1868— House. 

Mr.  A.  H.  LAFLIN,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
resolution: 

That  there  be  printed  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion; 3,000  for  the  use  of  the  House  and  2,000  for  the  Institution;  the  same  to  be 
stereotyped,  at  the  expense  heretofore  provided  for. 

Adopted. 
February  13,  1869— Senate. 

Annual  report  for  1868  presented  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  W.  P.  FESSENDEN  offered  a  resolution  to  have  additional  copies 
printed. 
February  13,  1869— House. 

Annual  report  of  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1868  presented  and 
ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  J.  V.  L.  PRUYN  offered  a  resolution  to  have  5,000  extra  copies 
printed. 

Mr.  E.  C.  INGERSOLL  moved  to  increase  the  number  of  extra  copies 
to  10,000,  on  account  of  the  value  of  the  document. 
February  27,  1869— House. 

Mr.  A.  H.  LAFLIN,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,"  reported  reso- 
lution : 

Resolved,  That  there  be  printed  5,000  extra  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution;  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  House,  and  2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Institution; 
the  same  to  be  stereotyped,  at  the  expense  heretofore  provided  for. 

Adopted. 
March  1,  1869— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
resolution: 

Resolved,  That  5, 000  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year 
1868  be  printed;  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  2,000  for  the  use  of  the  Institu- 
tion; and  that  said  report  be  stereotyped:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of 
pages  of  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  without  illustrations,  except  those  furnished 
by  the  Institution. 

Adopted. 

POWELL'S  EXPLORATION. 

June  11,  1868. 

Be  it  resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  Secretary  of  War  be,  and  he  is  hereby, 
authorized  and  empowered  to  issue  rations  for  twenty-five  men  of  the 
expedition  engaged  in  the  exploration  of  the  River  Colorado,  under 
direction  of  Professor  Powell,  while  engaged  in  that  work:  Provided, 
That  such  issue  is  not  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  military 
service. 

(Stat.,  XV,  253.) 


680  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

WASHINGTON    CANAL. 
June  16,  1868.— Senate. 

Mr.  JAMES  HARLAN  presented  a  report  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  on  the  influences  of  the 
Washington  city  canal  on  the  health  of  the  population  of  the  citjr. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia  and  ordered 
to  be  printed. 

(See  Smithsonian  report  for  1868,  p.  Ill,  and  Senate  Mis.  Doc,  No. 
95,  40th  Congress,  2d  Sess.) 

SMITIISON    FUND. 
July  20,  1868. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1869. 

To  pay  William  H.  West  for  services  rendered  for  taking  care  of 
and  keeping  safely  the  bonds  held  in  trust  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  for  the  benefit  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  from  March 
1,  1850,  to  July  1,  1863,  $2,500,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Smithsonian 
fund. 

(Stat.,  XV,  118.) 

INTERNATIONAL    EXCHANGES. 
July  20,  1868. 

,  Sundry  civil  act  for  1869. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  the  expenses  of  exchanging  public  docu- 
ments for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  as  provided  })\ 
resolution  approved  March  2,  1867,  $1,500. 

(Stat.,  XV,  95.) 
July  25,  1868. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  Congressional  Printer,  whenever  he  shall  be 
so  directed  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  be,  and  he  hereby 
is,  directed  to  print  fifty  copies  in  addition  to  the  regular  number,  of 
all  documents  hereafter  printed  by  order  of  either  House  of  Congress, 
or  by  order  of  any  Department  or  bureau  of  the  Government,  and 
whenever  he  shall  be  so  directed  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  the 
Library,  one  hundred  copies  additional  of  all  documents  ordered  to 
be  printed,  in  excess  of  the  usual  number;  said  fifty  or  one  hundred 
copies  to  be  delivered  to  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  to  be  exchanged, 
under  direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  as  provided 
by  joint  resolution  approved  March  2,  1867. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  resolved.  That  fifty  copies  of  each  publica- 
tion printed  under  direction  of  any  Department  or  bureau  of  the 
Government,  whether  at  the  Congressional  Printing  Office  or  else- 
where, shall  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the 
Library,  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  said  resolution. 

(Stat.,  XV,  260.) 


FOBTY-FIEST    CONGRESS,  1869-1871.  681 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
March  3,  1869. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1870. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,500. 
(Stat.,  XV,  286.) 


FORTY-FIRST  CONGRESS,  1869-1871. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 
January  18,  1870 — Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  LTMAN  TRUMBULL,  that  the  vacancy  in  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  caused  by  the  death  of 
W.  P.  Fessenden,  be  filled,  the  Vice-Presi<Jent  (Mr.  Schuyler  Colfax) 
appointed  Hannibal  Hamlin  a  Regent. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
February  2,  1870 — House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  J.  G.  ELAINE)  announced  the  appointment  of  the 
following  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution:  Luke  P.  Poland, 
James  A.  Garfield,  Samuel  S.  Cox. 

APPOINTMENT    OF   REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
January  26,  1871— Senate. 

A  letter  of  resignation  as  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  from 
Gen.  Richard  Delafield  was  read: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. ,  January  25,  1871. 

SIR:  The  period  of  six  years  for  which  I  was  appointed  a  Regent  of  the  Smithso- 
nian Institution  under  a  joint  resolution  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
expires  in  February. 

I  believe  the  welfare  and  the  best  interest  of  the  Institution  may  be  subserved  by 
tendering  my  resignation  of  this  trust  and  responsibility  at  the  present  date,  that  the 
Board  of  Regents  and  Congress  may  have  the  necessary  time  to  appoint  my  successor 
and  enable  him  to  attend  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Regents  now  about  to 
take  place. 

I  have  requested  Hon.  J.  A.  Garfield  to  present  my  resignation  as  a  Regent  to  the 
board  at  its  first  meeting,  and,  should  the  occasion  require,  request  you  will  state  the 
fact  to  the  Senate  of  my  having  tendered  my  resignation  for  the  reasons  herein 
stated. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  RICHARD  DELAFIELD, 

Brigadier-General  U.  S.  A.  (retired). 
Hon.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX,  Vice- President  of  the  U.  S., 

Member  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 


682  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

January  27,  1871 — Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN  offered  resolution: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  Gen.  William  T.  Sherman  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  appointed  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  place  of  Gen. 
Richard  Delafield,  resigned. 

Adopted. 
January  30,  1871— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  L.  P.  POLAND  the  House  took  up  and  passed  the 
joint  resolution  appointing  William  T.  Sherman  a  Regent  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  in  the  place  of  Richard  Delafield,  resigned. 
February  2,  1871. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  General  William  T.  Sherman  be,  and  he  is 
hereby  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithson- 
ian Institution,  in  the  place  of  Richard  Delafield,  resigned. 

(Stat,  XVI,  593.) 

REPORT   OF*  SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

March  30,  1870—  Senate. 

Annual  report  for  1869  presented,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  L.  TRUMBULL  offered  a  resolution  to  have  6,000  copies  printed. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
March  31,  1870— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  con- 
current resolution  to  print  13,000  copies  of  the  report  for  1869. 

Passed. 
April  20,  1870— House. 

The  resolution  by  the  Senate  to  print  13,000  additional  copies  of  the 
report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1869  was  objected  to. 
June  7,  1870— House. 

Mr.  JOEL  F.  ASPER  offered  a  resolution  that  2,000  copies  of  the 
reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1866,  1867,  and  1868  be 
printed  from  the  stereotype  plates. 

A  letter  from  Professor  Henry  was  read: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  May  28,  1870. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  I  have  the  honor,  with  your  permission,  to  address  you  in  relation 
to  extra  copies  of  the  reports  of  this  Institution,  for  which  the  demand  has  of  late 
years  become  so  great  that  the  number  ordered  by  the  House  for  its  members  has  not 
been  sufficient  to  supply  more  than  half  their  constituents  who  desire  them.  During 
the  last  three  years,  and  especially  during  the  year  just  passed,  so  numerous  have 
been  the  demands  upon  us  for  copies  of  reports  that  our  stock  is  entirely  exhausted. 
The  report  gives  not  only  an  account  of  the  operations  of  the  Institution,  but  also,  in 
an  appendix,  a  series  of  translations  which  exhibit  the  progress  of  science  in  foreign 
countries.  A  copy  is  sent  to  each  of  the  foreign  correspondents  of  the  establishment; 
to  colleges,  public  libraries,  and  learned  societies  publishing  transactions;  to  meteoro- 
logical observers  of  the  Institution;  to  contributors  of  the  material  to  the  library  or 
museum,  and  to  persons  engaged  in  teaching  or  in  special  scientific  research,  so  far 
as  the  number  of  copies  furnished  to  the  Institution  will  allow. 


FORTY-FIRST   CONGRESS,   1869-1871.  683 

In  view  of  these  facts,  I  would  respectfully  suggest  that  there  be  struck  off  from 
the  stereotype  plates  of  the  reports  for  1866,  1867,  and  1868,  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
Public  Printer,  2,000  copies  of  each  volume — 1,000  for  the  use  of  the  House  and  the 
other  1,000  for  distribution  by  the  Institution. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  J.  F.  ASPER, 

U.  S.  House  of  Representatives. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 

July  12,  1870— House. 

Mr.  A.  H.  LAFLIN  reported  resolution  from  the  Committee  on 
Printing: 

That  10,000  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the 
year  1869  be  printed,  3,000  of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  4,000  for  the 
use  of  the  House,  and  3,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution:  Provided, 
That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages  of  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  and  there 
shall  be  no  illustrations,  except  those  furnished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Adopted. 
July  13,  1870— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY  reported,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  the 
resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  to  print  10,000  additional 
copies  of  the  Smithsonian  report  for  1869. 

Concurred  in. 
December  12,  1870— House. 

Mr.  E.  C.  INGERSOLL  offered  resolution: 

That  there  be  printed  from  stereotyped  plates  now  in  possession  of  the  Public 
Printer,  2,000  copies  each  of  the  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  years 
1865, 1866, 1867, 1868;  1,000  of  these  to  be  for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  House, 
and  1,000  for  distribution  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
May  5,  1870. 

fiesotoed,  etc. ,  That  the  sum  of  $2, 500,  appropriated  by  acts  approved 
July  30,  1868,  and  March  3,  1869,  "for  expenses  of  exchanging  pub- 
lic documents  for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,"  the  same 
being  an  unexpended  balance  not  required  for  that  purpose,  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  transferred  to  the  fund  for  the  purchase  of  books 
for  the  Library  of  Congress. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  375.) 

July  12, 1870. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1871. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  docu- 
ments for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,500. 
(Stat.,  XVI,  234.) 


684  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

March  3.  1871. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1872. 

Library  of  Congress:    For    expenses  of   exchanging  public  dccu- 
inents  for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,500.  . 
(Stat,  XVI,  479.) 

CORCORAN    GALLERY    OF   ART. 

May  24,  1870. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  James  M.  Carlisle,  James  C.  Hall,  George 
W.  Riggs,  Anthony  Hyde,  James  G.  Berret,  James  C.  Kennedy,  Henry 
D.  Cooke,  and  James  C.  McGuire,  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  of 
Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia,  and  William  T.  Walters,  of  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  State  of  Maryland,  and  their  successors,  be,  and  they 
are  hereby,  created  and  constituted  a  body  politic  and  corporate  in 
law,  by  the  name  and  style  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Corcoran  Gallery  of 
Art,  and  by  that  name  may  sue  and  be  sued,  implead  and  be  impleaded, 
have  perpetual  succession,  and  shall  and  may  take,  hold,  manage,  and 
dispose  of,  at  all  times,  real  and  personal  estate,  and  shall  and  may  do 
and  perform  all  other  acts  and  things  necessary  or  appropriate  for  the 
execution  of  the  trusts  created  and  conferred  on  them  in  and  by  a  cer- 
tain deed  from  William  W.  Corcoran,  to  them,  the  said  parties  here- 
inbefore named,  which  is  dated  the  tenth  day  of  May,  1869,  and  was 
recorded  on  the  eighteenth  of  the  same  month  in  liber  D,  number 
eight,  folio  294,  et  sequitur,  one  of  the  land  records  of  Washington 
County,  District  of  Columbia,  to  which  reference  is  hereby  made  for 
greater  certainty;  the  intent  of  this  charter  of  incorporation  being  that 
the  same  shall  be  in  execution  of  the  trusts  in  the  said  deed  declared 
and  set  forth,  and  not  to  any  other  intent  or  purpose  whatever. 

SEC.  2.  And  l)e  it  further  enacted,  That  the  Secretary  of  War,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  Secretary  of  State  be,  and  they  are 
hereby,  authorized  and  directed  to  ascertain  and  settle,  upon  princi- 
ples of  justice,  a  fair  and  just  compensation  for  the  use  of  the  ground 
and  buildings  described  in  the  before-mentioned  deed,  while  the  same 
were  occupied  by  the  United  States  for  the  public  service,  and  that  the 
sum  so  ascertained  and  settled  by  them,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall, 
upon  their  certificate  and  award  thereof,  be  paid  to  the  corporation 
hereinbefore  created,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  any  tax  which  may  be 
claimed  or  due  to  the  United  States,  by  reason  of  the  transfer  of  the 
property  above  mentioned  or  the  execution  and  delivery  of  the  said 
deed  from  the  said  William  W.  Corcoran  to  the  above-named  trustees, 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  remitted  and  released. 

SEC.  4.  And  le  it  further  enacted,  That  the  aforesaid  buildings  and 
grounds  connected  therewith,  together  with  all  the  works  of  art  that 


FORTY-FIRST    CONGRESS,   1869-1871.  08  J 

may  be  contained  therein,  shall  be  free  from  all  taxes  and  assessment^ 
by  the  municipal  authorities,  or  by  the  United  States,  so  long  as  the 
same  shall  be  held  and  used  for  the  purpose  hereinbefore  set  forth. 
(Stat,  XVI,  139.) 

ZOOLOGICAL   SOCIETY. 
June  21,  1870. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  Henry  D.  Cooke,  George  W.  Riggs,  James 
C.  Kennedy,  Spencer  F.  Baird,  General  O.  O.  Howard,  T.  W.  Bart- 
ley,  Joseph  Casey,  Horace  Capron,  James  C.  McGuire,  and  George 
Taylor,  of  the  city  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  their 
associates  and  successors,  be,  and  are  hereby,  incorporated  and  made 
a  body  corporate,  by  the  name  of  the  Washington  Zoological  Society, 
and 'by  that  name  may  sue  and  be  sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded,  in 
any  court  of  law  or  equity  of  competent  jurisdiction,  and  be  entitled  to 
use  and  exercise  all  the  powers,  rights,  and  privileges  incident  to  such 
corporations  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and  maintaining  a  zoologi- 
cal garden  in  the  city  of  Washington,  and  that  they,  the  said  corpora- 
tors, may  purchase  or  lease  any  real  or  personal  estate  required  for  the 
purpose  aforesaid;  and  after  the  said  zoological  garden  shall  be  estab- 
lished, the  said  company,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  expenses  of 
the  same,  may  charge  and  receive  a  fee  for  entry  thereunto,  not  exceed- 
ing twenty-five  cents  for  each  and  every  person  over  the  age  of  twelve 
years  and  ten  cents  for  each  and  every  person  under  said  age:  Pro- 
vided, That  said  society  shall,  for  at  least  one  day  in  each  and  every 
week,  open  said  garden  to  all  classes  for  a  charge  not  exceeding  ten 
cents  each. 

SEC.  2.  Andbe  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  society  may  from  time 
to  time  import  into  this  country  from  foreign  countries,  free  of  duty, 
all  birds  and  animals  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  said  garden; 
and  in  consideration  thereof  the  said  society  shall  do  all  in  their  power 
to  introduce  valuable  animals,  poultry,  and  birds,  and  furnish  the  same 
to  persons  or  societies  requiring  the  same  at  the  least  possible  cost. 

SEC.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  society  be,  and  is 
hereby,  authorized  to  use,  under  the  direction  of  the  water  register 
[registrar]  of  the  city  of  Washington,  without  charge,  the  Potomac 
water  for  the  purpose  of  hydrants,  ponds,  and  fountains  in  said  garden. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  government,  and  direc- 
tion of  the  said  society  shall  be  invested  in  said  corporators;  and  that 
they  shall  have  full  power  to  make  and  prescribe  such  by-laws,  rules, 
and  regulations,  as  may  become  proper  and  necessary  for  the  manage- 
ment of  the  property  and  interests  of  said  society  not  contrary  to  this 
charter  or  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  Congress  shall  have  the  right 
to  amend,  alter,  or  repeal  this  act  at  any  time. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  157.) 


686  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

STANLEY    INDIAN    PAINTINGS. 
June  23,  1870. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  certain  printed  chromos  of  Indian  paintings 
belonging  to  John  M.  Stanley,  not  exceeding  twenty-one  thousand 
copies,  shall  be  admitted  free  of  duty,  under  such  rules  and  regula- 
tions as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  prescribe:  Provided*  That 
the  permit  so  granted  to  John  M.  Stanley  shall  be  in  full  settlement 
of  all  claim  against  the  United  States  for  the  destruction  by  fire,  of 
certain  Indian  paintings  belonging  to  him,  in  January,  1864,  at  the 
time  of  the  burning  of  the  building  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in 
the  city  of  Washington. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  668.) 

POWELL'S  EXPLORATION. 

July  12,  1870. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1871. 

For  completing  the  survey  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West  and  its  trib- 
utaries, under  the  direction  of  Professor  Powell,  $12,000,  to  be 
expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  242.) 

February  24,  1871 — House. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

For  continuing  the  completion  of  the  survey  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West  and  its 
tributaries,  by  Professor  Powell,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
$12,000. 

Mr.  H.  L.  DA  WES.  I  move  to  strike  out  the  words  ' '  Secretary  of 
the  Interior"  and  insert  "  the  Smithsonian  Institution." 
Agreed  to. 

March  3,  1871. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1872. 

For  continuing  the  completion  of  the  survey  of  the  Colorado  of  the 
West  and  its  tributaries,  by  Professor  Powell,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $12,000. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  503.) 

CAKE    OF    GOVERNMENT    COLLECTIONS. 

July  15,  1870. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1871. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $10,000. 

Toward  the  completion  of  the  hall  required  for  the  Government 
collections,  $10,000. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  294.) 


FOBTY-FIRST    CONGEESS,   1869-1871.  687 

March  3,  1871. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1872. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $10,000. 

For  the  completion  of  the  hall  required  for  the  Government  collec- 
tions, $10,000. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  500.) 

PHILADELPHIA    CENTENNIAL   EXPOSITION. 

March  3,  1871. 

Whereas  the  Declaration  of  Independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America  was  prepared,  signed,  and  promulgated  in  the  year  1776  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia;  and  whereas  it  behooves  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  celebrate,  by  appropriate  ceremonies,  the  centennial 
anniversary  of  this  memorable  and  decisive  event,  which  constituted 
the  fourth  day  of  July,  anno  Domini  1776,  the  birthday  of  the  nation; 
and  whereas  it  is  deemed  fitting  that  the  completion  of  the  first  cen- 
tury of  our  national  existence  shall  be  commemorated  by  an  exhibi- 
tion of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country  and  their  development, 
and  of  its  progress  in  those  arts  which  benefit  mankind,  in  comparison 
with  those  of  older  nations;  and  whereas  no  place  is  so  appropriate 
for  such  an  exhibition  as  the  city  in  which  occurred  the  event  it  is 
designed  to  commemorate;  and  whereas,  as  the  exhibition  should  be 
a  national  celebration,  in  which  the  people  of  the  whole  country 
should  participate,  it  should  have  the  sanction  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States:  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  an  exhibition  of  American  and  foreign  arts, 
products,  and  manufactures  shall  be  held,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the 
year  1876. 

SEC.  2.  That  a  commission  to  consist  of  not  more  than  one  delegate 
from  each  State,  and  from  each  Territory  of  the  United  States,  whose 
functions  shall  continue  until  the  close  of  the  exhibition,  shall  be  con- 
stituted, whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  prepare  and  superintend  the  execu- 
tion of  a  plan  for  holding  the  exhibition,  and,  after  conference  with 
the  authorities  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  to  fix  upon  a  suitable  site 
within  the  corporate  limits  of  the  said  city,  where  the  exhibition  shall 
be  held. 

SEC.  3.  That  said  commissioners  shall  be  appointed  within  one  year 
from  the  passage  of  this  act  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
on  the  nomination  of  the  governors  of  the  States  and  Territories, 
respectively. 

SEC.  4.  That  in  the  same  manner  there  shall  be  appointed  one  com- 
missioner from  each  State  and  Territory  of  the  United  States,  who 
shall  assume  the  place  and  perform  the  duties  of  such  commissioner 


(588  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

or  commissioners  ;i,s  may  be  unable  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the 
commission. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  commission  shall  hold  its  meetings  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  and  that  a  majority  of  its  members  shall  have  full  power 
to  make  all  needful  rules  for  its  government. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  commission  shall  report  to  Congress,  at  the  first 
session  after  its  appointment,  a  suitable  date  for  opening  and  for  clos- 
ing the  exhibition;  a  schedule  of  appropriate  ceremonies  for  opening 
or  dedicating  the  same;  a  plan  or  plans  of  the  buildings;  a  complete 
plan  for  the  reception  and  classification  of  articles  intended  for  exhi- 
bition; the  requisite  custom-house  regulations  for  the  introduction 
into  this  country  of  the  articles  from  foreign  countries  intended  for 
exhibition;  and  such  other  matters  as  in  their  judgment  may  be 
important. 

SEC.  7.  That  no  compensation  for  services  shall  be  paid  to  the  com- 
missioners or  other  officers  provided  by  this  act  from  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States;  and  the  United  States  shall  not  be  liable  for  any 
expenses  attending  such  exhibition,  or  by  reason  of  the  same. 

SEC.  8.  That  whenever  the  President  shall  be  informed  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  that  provision  has  been  made  for 
the  erection  of  suitable  buildings  for  the  purpose,  and  for  the  exclusive 
control  by  the  commission  herein  provided  for  of  the  proposed  exhi- 
bition, the  President  shall,  through  the  Department  of  State,  make 
proclamation  of  the  same,  setting  forth  the  time  at  which  the  exhibi- 
tion will  open  and  the  place  at  which  it  will  be  held;  and  he  shall 
communicate  to  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  all  nations  copies  of 
the  same,  together  with  such  regulations  as  may  be  adopted  by  the 
commissioners,  for  publication  in  their  respective  countries. 

(Stat.,  XVI,  470.) 


FORTY-SECOND  CONGRESS,  1871-1873. 

AMENDMENT    TO    ACT    OF   ORGANIZATION    OF    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

March  13,  1871— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN.  I  ask  unanimous  consent  of  the  Senate  to  introduce 
a  bill,  and  I  desire  to  have  it  considered  at  this  time.  1  think  it  will 
not  take  two  minutes. 

By  unanimous  consent  leave  was  granted  to  introduce  a  bill  to 
amend  an  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,  approved  August  10,  1846. 
Considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

The  bill  proposed  to  amend  the  act  of  August  10,  1846,  by  striking 
out  in  the  first  section  the  words  "mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington," 


FORTY-SECOND    CONGRESS,   1871-1873.  689 

and  inserting  "governor  of  the  District  of  Columbia,"  and  by  making 
the  same  change  in  the  third  section  of  the  act. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  "Auact  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men,"  approved  August  10,  1846,  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  amended  in  section  1  of  said  act  by  striking  out  the  words 
"the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington,"  and  inserting  in  place  thereof  the  words 
"the  governor  of  the  District  of  Columbia,"  and  that  said  act  be  further  amended 
in  section  three  by  striking  out  the  words  "the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington," 
and  inserting  in  place  thereof  the  words  "the  governor  of  the  District  of  Columbia." 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN.  Let  me  say  to  the  Senate  in  one  word  what  this 
bill  means.  The  original  act  creating  the  Institution  made  the  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Washington  one  of  its  Regents.  We  have  abolished 
that  office,  and  this  bill  simply  puts  the  governor  of  the  Territory  in 
his  place. 

Passed. 
March  14,  1871— House. 

Senate  bill,  of  March  13,  1871,  was  taken  up  on  motion  of  Mr.  L.  P. 
Poland.     Passed. 
March  20,  1871. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  "An  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men," 
approved  August  10,  1846,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  amended  in 
section  1  of  said  act  by  striking  out  the  words  "the  ma3Tor  of  the 
city  of  Washington,"  and  inserting  in  place  thereof  the  words  "the 
governor  of  the  District  of  Columbia,"  and  that  said  act  be  further 
amended  in  section  3  b}r  striking  out  the  words,  "the  mayor  of  the 
city  of  Washington,"  and  inserting  in  place  thereof  the  words  "the 
governor  of  the  District  of  Columbia." 

(Stat.,  XVII,  1.) 

REPORT   OF   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

April  10,  1871— House. 

Mr.  L.  P.  POLAND  submitted  a  concurrent  resolution  for  printing 
reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
April  18,  1871— House. 

Mr.  ELLIS  H.  ROBERTS,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
resolution : 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  (the  Senate  concurring),  That  12,500  addi- 
tional copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1870  be 
printed,  2,500  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  5,000  for  the  use  of  the  House,  and  5,000  for 
the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of 
pages  of  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  and  that  there  shall  be  no  illustrations, 
except  those  furnished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Adopted. 

H.  Doc.  732 44 


690  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

April  19,  1871— Senate. 

The  concurrent  resolution  of  April  IS,  from  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, for  the  printing  of    12,500  copies  of    the  report  of    the 
Smithsonian  Institution  for  1870,  was  agreed  to. 
April  3,  1872— House. 

Mr.  L.  P.  POLAND   introduced  concurrent    resolution   for  printing 
2,000  extra  copies  of  each  of  the  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion for  such  volumes  as  the  stereotype  plates  are  in  the  Congressional 
Printing  Office. 
April  26,  1872— Senate. 

Annual  report  for  1871  laid  before  the  Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN  moved  to  have  12,500  extra  copies  of  the  report 
printed. 
April  26,  1872— House. 

Annual  report  for  1871  laid  before  the  House. 

Mr.  L.  P.  POLAND  offered  a  resolution  to  print  20,000  extra  copies 
of  the  report. 
May  2,  1872— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY  reported  resolution: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring),  That  12,500  addi- 
tional copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1871  he 
printed,  2,500  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  5,000  for  the  use  of  the  House,  and  5,000 
for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of 
pages  of  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  and  that  there  shall  be  no  illustrations 
except  those  furnished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Agreed  to. 
May  10,  1872— House. 

Mr.  W.  P.  PRICE,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  back 
the  concurrent  resolution  of  the  Senate  to  print  12,500  additional 
copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1871. 

Mr.  J.  A.  GARFIELD.  I  hope  there  will  be  an  increase  of  the  num- 
ber of  these  reports  to  be  printed.  I  move  that  the  several  numbers 
be  doubled. 

Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL.  1  think  5,000  copies  will  be  enough  for  the 
Institution. 

Mr.  GARFIELD.  Well,  I  will  move  to  double  the  number  for  each 
House  of  Congress,  but  not  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to,  and  the  resolution  adopted. 
May  23,  1872— House. 

Mr.  J.  M.  PENDLETON,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  offered 
concurrent  resolution : 

That  2,000  copies  of  each  of  the  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  which  the 
stereotype  plates  are  now  in  the  Congressional  Printing  Office  be  printed  for  distri- 
bution by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  libraries,  colleges,  and  public  establish- 
ments. 

Adopted. 


FORTY-SECOND    CONGRESS,   1871-1873.  691 

May  24.  1872— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
nonconcurrence  to  the  amendment  of  the  House  of  Representatives  to 
increase  the  number  of  extra  copies  of  the  report  for  1871  to  20,000. 
Agreed  to. 

May  29,  1872— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
back  House  resolution  of  Ma}^  23,  1872. 

Agreed  to. 

June  3,  1872— House. 

Mr.  W.  P.  PRICE  reported  back  from  the  committee  the  Senate 
resolution  for  printing  12,500  extra  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  for  1871.  The  House  amended  the  resolution  by 
making  the  number  20,000,  but  the  Senate  refused  to  concur  in  that 
amendment.  The  Committee  on  Printing  recommended  that  the 
House  recede  from  its  amendment. 

Mr.  L.  P.  POLAND.  I  hope  the  House  will  not  recede. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JAMES  G.  BLAINE).  If  there  is  to  be  a  debate  the 
Chair  can  not  entertain  the  proposition.  The  House  is  acting  under 
an  order  made  under  suspension  of  the  rules  to  consider  business  on 
the  Speaker's  table. 

Mr.  JOHN  BEATTY.  I  think  the  gentleman  from  Vermont  [Mr. 
Poland]  had  better  agree  to  the  proposition  to  recede. 

Mr.  POLAND.  No,  sir;  I  have  very  good  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  Senate  will  concur  in  our  amendment  if  we  insist  upon  it. 

December  20,  1872 — House. 

Mr.  L.  P.  POLAND  offered  a  resolution  to  have  20,000  extra  copies 
of  the  report  for  1871  printed. 

January  31,  1873 — House. 

Senate  resolution  of  May  2,  1872,  agreed  to. 

February  21,  1873— Senate. 

Annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1872  presented. 

February  21,  1873— House. 

Mr.  L.  P.  POLAND  offered  a  resolution  to  have  20,000  extra  copies 
printed  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1872. 

March  1,  1873— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY  reported  from  the  Committee  on  Printing 
resolution : 

That  12,500  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the 
year  1872  be  printed,  2,500  copies  of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  5,000 
for  the  use  of  the  House,  and  5,000  for  the  use  of  the  Institution:  Provided;  That 
the  aggregate  number  of  pages  of  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  and  that  there 
shall  be  no  illustrations  except  those  furnished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Agreed  to. 


692  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

March  3,  1873— House. 

Mr.  W.  P.  PRICE,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported  con- 
currence in  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  to  print  12,500  extra  copies 
of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1872.  Agreed  to. 

DECORATION    FOR    PROF.   JOSEPH    HENRY. 
April  20,  1871. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  consent  of  Congress  is  hereby  given  to  Pro- 
fessor Joseph  Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to 
accept  the  title  and  regalia  of  a  commander  of  the  Royal  Norwegian 
Order  of  St.  Olaf ,  conferred  upon  him  for  his  distinguished  scientific 
service  and  character  by  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  grand 
master  of  said  order. 

(Stat.,  XVII,  643.) 

EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 

March  2,  1872. 

Be  it  encwted,  etc.,  That  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  be 
authorized  to  grant  to  James  D.  Dana  the  use  of  such  of  the  engraved 
plates  of  the  United  States  Exploring  -Expedition  under  Captain 
Wilkes,  now  in  charge  of  said  committee,  as  may  be  desired  by  him 
for  the  publishing  a  book  on  corals  and  coral  islands. 

(Stat.,  XVII,  646.) 
May  28,  1872. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  be,  and 
they  are  hereby,  authorized  to  contract  for  the  completion  of  three 
unfinished  volumes  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition  of  the 
years  1838  to  1842,  to  consist  of  physics  and  hydrography  of  the  expe- 
dition by  Charles  Wilkes,  and  the  volume  of  bota,ny  of  the  expedition 
by  John  Torrey  and  others;  said  publication  to  be  made  in  the  same 
style  as  the  volumes  heretofore  published,  and  distributed  in  the  same 
manner:  Provided,  That  no  more  than  $9,000  shall  in  any  case  be 
required  to  finish  said  volumes. 

(Stat.,  XVII,  164.) 

June  10.  1872. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1873. 

For  the  publication  of  three  volumes  of  Wilkes's  Exploring  Expe- 
dition, agreeably  to  act  of  May  28,  1872,  $9,000. 
(Stat.,  XVII,  362.) 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
May  8,  1872. 

legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1873. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,500. 
(Stat.,  XV11,  64.) 


FORTY-SECOND    CONGRESS,    1871-1873.  693 

May  18,  1872. 

Deficiency  act  for  1872,  etc. 

Library  of  Congress:  Fund  for  exchange  of  public  documents,  $6.70. 
(Stat.,  XVII,  123.) 
March  3,  1873. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1874. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,500. 
(Stat.,  XVII,  490.) 

CARE   OF   GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 
May  18,  1872. 

Deficiency  act  for  1872,  etc. 

To  commence  the  proper  fitting-up,  in  a  fire-proof  manner,  of  the 
vacant  apartments  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  building  for  the 
proper  distribution  and  exhibition  of  the  Government  collections  of 
natural  history,  geology,  and  mineralogy,  $5,000. 

(Stat.,  XVII,  131.) 

June  10,  1872. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1873. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  preservation  of.  the  collections  of  the 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $15,000. 

For  the  completion  of  the  hall  required  for  the  Government  collec- 
tions, $10,000. 

(Stat,,  XVII,  361.) 
February  28,  1873— Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  W.  STEVENSON.  I  am  authorized  by  the  Committee  on 
Appropriations  to  offer  a  small  amendment  on  page  27,  line  658,  to 
strike  out  "fifteen"  and  insert  "twenty."  The  clause  now  reads: 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of 
the  Government,  $15,000. 

This  increase  is  asked  for  in  order  to  enable  the  Institution  to 
arrange  and  exhibit  the  geological  collections  lately  transferred  from 
the  Land  Office,  and  to  make  out  duplicate  specimens  in  sets  for  dis- 
tributing to  colleges  and  institutions  throughout  the  United  States. 
Professor  Baird,  in  a  letter  before  me,  says  that  he  made  this  estimate 
of  $15,000,  which  is  the  usual  estimate,  before  the  transfer  was  made 
from  the  Land  Office  of  all  these  specimens,  and  the  additional  appro- 
priation is  required  to  prepare  for  the  large  increase  of  these  specimens, 
and  also  to  prepare  duplicates  for  distribution.  The  amendment 
simply  proposes  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  instead  of  $15,000.  I 
hope  the  Senate  will  agree  to  it. 

Mr.  CORNELIUS  COLE.  I  think  $20,000  is  probably  more  than  the 
whole  thing  is  worth. 

Mr.  STEVENSON.  I  am  astonished  at  the  chairman. 


694  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  COLE.  I  think  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  expend  such  a  large 
sum  for  such  things,  and  $15,000,  it  seems  to  me,  is  ample  for  what- 
ever care  is  requisite  for  the  specimens  that  were  received  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  from  the  Land  Office. 

Mr.  STEVENSON.  I  had  hoped  that  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
would  be  satisfied  with  the  recommendation  and  estimate  of  Professor 
Baird.  He  gives  a  very  good  reason  why  he  wants  an  increase  of  the 
appropriation,  and  when  a  man  like  Professor  Baird  tells  us  why  he 
wants  this,  in  order  to  enable  the  Institution  to  exhibit  the  geological 
collection  which  they  have  received,  and  to  make  out  duplicate  speci- 
mens of  them,  I  do  not  see  how  we  can  well  refuse  such  a  request. 

Agreed  to. 

March  3,  1873. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1874. 

Smithsonian  Institution  :  For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $15,000. 
For  fitting  up  the  new  halls  required  for  the  Government  collections, 

$15,000. 

For  steam-heating  apparatus  for  the  same,  $12,000. 
(Stat,  XVII,  518.) 

EXPOSITIONS. 

Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition. 
June  1,  1872. 

Whereas  Congress  did  provide  by  an  act  entitled  bi  A.n  act  to  provide 
for  celebrating  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  American  independ- 
ence by  holding  an  international  exhibition  of  arts,  manufactures,  and 
products  of  the  soil  and  mine  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1876,"  approved  March  third,  1871,  for  the 
appointment  of  commissioners  to  promote  and  control  the  exhibition 
of  the  national  resources  and  their  development,  and  the  nation's 
progress  in  arts  which  benefit  mankind,  and  to  suggest  and  direct 
appropriate  ceremonies  by  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  may 
commemorate  that  memorable  and  decisive  event,  the  Declaration  of 
American  Independence  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  Colonies 
assembled  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  anno 
Domini  1776;  and  whereas  such  provisions  should  be  made  for  pro- 
curing the  funds  requisite  for  the  purposes  aforesaid  as  will  enable 
all  the  people  of  the  United  States,  who  have  shared  the  common 
blessings  resulting  from  national  independence,  to  aid  in  the  prepara- 
tion and  conduct  of  said  international  exhibition  and  memorial  cele- 
bration under  the  direction  of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States: 
Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  there  is  hereb}T  created  a  body  corporate, 
to  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance,  and  by 
that  name  to  have  an  incorporate  existence  until  the  object  for  which 


FORTY-SECOND    CONGRESS,   1871-1873.  695 

it  is  formed  shall  have  hocn  accomplished;  and  it  shall  be  competent 
to  sue  and  be  sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded,  defend  and  be  defended, 
in  all  courts  of  law  and  equity  in  the  United  States;  and  may  make 
and  have  a  corporate  seal,  and  may  purchase,  take,  have,  and  hold, 
and  may  grant,  sell,  and  at  pleasure  dispose  of  all  such  real  and  per- 
sonal estate  as  may  be  required  in  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions 
of  an  act  of  Congress  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  celebrating  the 
one  hundredth  anniversary  of  American  independence  by  holding  an 
international  exhibition  of  arts  and  manufactures,  and  products  of  the 
soil  and  mine,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  year  1876,"  approved  March  third,  1871,  and  all  acts  supple- 
mentary thereto;  and  said  Centennial  Board  of  Finance  shall  consist  of 
the  following-named  persons,  their  associates  and  successors,  from 
the  States  and  Territories  as  herein  set  forth:  *  * 

SEC.  2.  That  the  said  corporation  shall  have  authority  and  is  hereby 
empowered  to  secure  subscriptions  of  capital  stock  to  an  amount  not 
exceeding  $10,000,000,  to  be  divided  into  shares  of  ten  dollars  each, 
and  to  issue  to  the  subscribers  of  said  stock  certificates  therefor  under 
the  corporate  seal  of  said  corporation,  which  certificates  shall  bear 
the  signature  of  the  president  and  treasurer,  and  be  transferable  under 
such  rules  and  regulations  as  may  be  made  for  the  purpose;  and  it  shall 
be  lawful  for  any  municipal  or  other  corporate  body  existing  by  or 
under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  to  subscribe  and  pay  for  shares  of 
said  capital  stock,  and  all  holders  of  said  stock  shall  become  associates 
in  said  corporation,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  one  vote  on  each  share;  and 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  to  pre- 
scribe rules  to  enable  absent  stockholders  to  vote  by  proxy.  The  pro- 
ceeds of  said  stock,  together  with  the  receipts  from  all  other  sources, 
shall  be  used  by  said  corporation  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings, 
with  their  appropriate  fixtures  and  appurtenances,  and  for  all  other 
expenditures  required  in  carrying  out  the  objects  of  the  said  act  of  Con- 
gress of  March  third,  1871,  and  which  may  be  incident  thereto;  and 
the  said  corporation  shall  keep  regular  minutes  of  its  proceedings,  and 
full  accounts,  with  the  vouchers  thereof,  of  all  the  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures, and  the  same  shall  be  always  open  to  the  inspection  of  the  United 
States  Centennial  Commission,  or  any  member  thereof. 

SEC.  3.  That  books  of  subscription  shall  be  opened  by  the  United 
States  Centennial  Commission,  under  such  rules  as  it  may  prescribe, 
and  an  opportunity  shall  be  given,  during  a  period  of  one  hundred  days, 
to  the  citizens  of  each  State  and  Territory,  to  subscribe  for  stock  to 
an  amount  not  exceeding  its  quota,  according  to  its  population,  after 
which  period  of  one  hundred  days,  stock  not  taken  ma}'  be  sold  to  any 
person  or  persons  or  corporation  willing  to  purchase  the  same. 

SEC.  tt.  That  after  the  expiration  of  said  period  of  one  hundred  days, 
the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  shall  issue  a  call  for  a  meet- 
ing, by  publication  in  one  or  moro  newspapers  published  at  the  capital 


696  CONGKESSIONAL    PHOCEEDINGS. 

of  each  State  and  Territory,  not  less  than  thirty  days  prior  thereto,  of 
the  corporators  and  all  others  who  may  then  have  subscribed  for  stock, 
to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  board 
of  directors,  to  consist  of  twenty-five  stockholders,  whose  term  of  office 
shall  be  one  year,  and  until  their  successors  shall  have  been  qualified; 
at  which  meeting  those  who  may  be  present  in  person  or  by  proxy,  of 
whom  one  hundred  shall  constitute  a  quorum,  shall  be  competent  to 
organize  and  elect  said  officers.  The  said  board  of  directors,  and  every 
subsequent  board,  shall  be  chosen  by  the  stockholders,  out  of  a  list  of 
one  hundred  stockholders,  selected  and  nominated  by  the  United  States 
Centennial  Commission.  Nine  members  of  the  board  of  directors  shall 
constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business,  but  no  election  or 
change  of  officers  shall  take  place  unless  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  of 
directors,  at  which  a  majority  shall  be  present. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  said  board  of  directors  shall  elect,  from  its  own 
number,  a  president  and  two  vice-presidents,  whose  term  of  office  shall 
be  one  year,  and  until  their  successors  shall  have  been  duly  qualified, 
and  shall  appoint  a  treasurer,  a  secretary,  and  such  other  officers  as 
may  be  required  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  the  corporation,  which 
elected  and  appointed  officers  shall  hold  their  respective  ^offices  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  board,  receiving  such  compensation  as  the  board 
may  prescribe;  and  the  board  shall  also  adopt  such  by-laws,  rules,  and 
regulations,  for  its  own  government,  and  for  the  government  of  its 
officers,  as  may  be  deemed  expedient:  Provided,  That  the  same  shall 
not  be  inconsistent  with  any  act  of  Congress  or  the  rules  adopted  by 
the  United  States  Centennial  Commission. 

SEC.  6.  That  as  soon  as  the  board  of  directors  shall  have  been  duly 
organized,  as  provided  for  in  section  five  of  this  act,  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  to  deliver  to  the  said 
board  all  stock  subscription  books,  with  the  papers  and  records  of  any 
kind  in  its  possession,  pertaining  to  the  same. 

SEC.  7.  That  the  grounds  for  the  exhibition  shall  be  prepared  and  the 
buildings  erected  by  the  said  corporation  in  accordance  with  plans 
which  shall  have  been  previously  adopted  by  the  United  States  Centen- 
nial Commission,  and  the  rules  and  regulations  of  said  corporation, 
governing  rates  for  "entrance"  and  "admission"  fees,  or  otherwise 
affecting  the  rights,  privileges,  or  interests  of  the  exhibitors,  or  of  the 
public,  shall  be  fixed  and  established  by  the  United  States  Centennial 
Commission;  and  no  grant  conferring  rights  or  privileges  of  any  de- 
scription connected  with  the  said  grounds  or  buildings,  or  relating  to 
said  exhibition  or  celebration,  shall  be  made  without  the  consent  of  the 
United  States  Centennial  Commission,  and  said  commission  shall  have 
power  to  control,  change,,  or  revoke  all  such  grants,  and  shall  appoint 
all  judges  and  examiners,  and  award  all  premiums. 

SEC.  8.  That  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance  shall  have  authority 


FORTY-SECOND    CONGRESS,   1871-1873.  697 

to  issue  bonds,  not  in  excess  of  its  capital  stock,  and  secure  the  pay- 
ment of  the  same,  principal  and  interest,  by  mortgage  upon  its  property 
and  prospective  income. 

SEC.  9.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States,  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the  passage  of  this  act, 
to  cause  to  be  prepared,  in  accordance  .with  a  design  approved  by  the 
United  States  Centennial  Commission  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
a  .sufficient  number  of  certificates  of  stock  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
this  act;  and  any  person  found  guilty  of  counterfeiting,  or  attempting 
to  counterfeit,  or  knowingly  circulating  false  certificates  of  stock,  herein 
authorized,  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  pains  and  penalties  as  are  or 
may  be  provided  by  law  for  counterfeiting  United  States  currency;  but 
nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  create  any  liability  of 
the  United  States,  direct  or  indirect,  for  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred, 
nor  for  any  claim,  by  the  centennial  international  exhibition,  or  the  cor- 
poration hereby  created,  for  aid  or  pecuniary  assistance  from  Congress 
or  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  in  support  or  liquidation  of  any 
debts  or  obligations  created  by  the  corporation  herein  authorized:  And 
provided,  That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  override 
or  interfere  with  the  laws  of  any  State;  and  all  contracts  made  in  any 
State  for  the  purposes  of  the  centennial  international  exhibition  shall 
be  subject  to  the  laws  thereof:  And  provided  further,  That  no  member 
of  said  Centennial  Board  of  Finance  assumes  any  personal  liability  for 
any  debt  or  obligation  which  may  be  created  or  incurred  by  the  corpo- 
ration authorized  by  this  act. 

SEC.  10.  That  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the  said  exhibition  shall 
have  been  closed,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  corporation  to  convert  its 
property  into  cash,  and,  after  the  payment  of  all  its  liabilities,  to  divide 
its  remaining  assets  among  its  stockholders,  pro  rata,  in  full  satisfaction 
and  discharge  of  its  capital  stock;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
United  States  Centennial  Commission  to  supervise  the  closing  up  of 
the  affairs  of  said  corporation,  to  audit  its  accounts,  and  submit,  in  a 
report  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  financial  results  of  the 
centennial  exhibition. 

SEC.  11.  That  the  commission  created  by  the  act  referred  to  in  the 
preamble  of  this  act  is  hereby  made  and  constituted  a  body  politic  and 
corporate  in  law,  with  power  to  do  such  acts  and  enter  into  such  obli- 
gations as  may  be  promotive  of  the  purposes  for  which  such  commis- 
sion was  established.  Its  title  shall  be  the  United  States  Centennial 
Commission.  It  shall  have  a  common  and  corporate  seal,  and  possess 
all  the  rights  incident  to  corporate  existence. 

SEC.  12.  That  the  alternate  commissioners  appointed  pursuant  to 
section  four  of  the  act  approved  March  third,  1871,  referred  to  in  the 
preamble  to  this  act,  shall  have  all  the  powers  of  a  commissioner  when 
the  commissioner  is  not  present  at  any  meeting.  When  the  commis- 


698  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

sioner  is  present  the  alternate  may  participate  in  the  debates  and 
serve  on  committees,  but  shall  have  no  vote.  The  appointment  of  all 
commissioners  and  alternate  commissioners  made  since  March  third, 
1872,  are  hereby  ratified  and  confirmed;  and  all  vacancies  now  existing, 
or  which  may  hereafter  exist,  whether  by  death,  resignation,  removal 
from  the  State  or  Territory,  or  otherwise,  shall  be  filled  at  any  time 
hereafter  in  like  manner  as  is  provided  in  said  act  of  March  third,  1871, 
for  the  appointment  of  commissioners. 

SEC.  13.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  United  States  Centennial 
Commission  to  make  report  from  time  to  time  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  of  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  in  a  final  report  pre- 
sent a  full  exhibit  of  the  result  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Cele- 
bration and  Exhibition  of  1876. 

(Stat,  XVII,  203.) 

Vienna  Exposition. 

February  14,  1873. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  in  order  to  enable  the  people  of  the  United 
States  to  participate  in  the  advantages  of  the  international  exhibition 
of  the  products  of  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  the  fine  arts,  to  be 
held  at  Vienna  in  the  year  1873,  there  be,  and  hereby  is,  appropriated, 
out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  the  sum 
of  $200,000,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  for  the  purpose 
herein  specified,  which  sum  shall  be  expended  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  State:  Provided,  That  the  President  be  authorized  to 
appoint  a  number  of  practical  artisans  not  exceeding  8  and  of  scien- 
tific men  not  exceeding  7,  who  shall  attend  said  exhibition  and  report 
their  doings  arid  observations  to  him,  and  whose  actual  and  reasonable 
expenses,  not  to  exceed  $1,000  each,  shall  be  paid  from  such  fund,  and 
that  the  President  be  further  authorized  to  appoint  a  number  of  hon- 
orary commissioners,  not  to  exceed  100,  who  shall  receive  no  pay  for 
their  expenses  or  otherwise:  And  provided  further,  That  no  person  so 
appointed  shall  be  interested,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  article 
exhibited  for  competition:  And  provided,  That  not  more  than  $50,000 
shall  be  expended  for  salaries  and  expenses  of  all  persons  receiving 
appointments  to  places  authorized  in  this  resolution,  and  not  more 
than  $5,000  shall  be  paid  for  salary  and  expenses  to  any  one  person. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  governors  of  the  several  States  be,  and  they  are 
hereby,  requested  to  invite  the  patriotic  people  of  their  respective 
States  to  assist  in  the  proper  representation  of  the  handiwork  of  our 
artisans  and  the  prolific  sources  of  material  wealth  with  which  our 
land  is  blessed,  and  to  take  such  further  measures  as  may  be  necessary 
to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  the  proposed  exhibition  and  to  secure  to 
their  respective  States  the  advantages  which  it  promises. 


FOBTY-SECOND    CONGBESS,    1871-1873.  699 

SEC.  3.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  trans- 
mit to  Congress  a  detailed  statement  of  the  expenditures  which  may 
have  been  incurred  under  the  provisions  of  this  resolution. 

(Stat,  XVII,  637.) 

FREE    POSTAGE. 
June  8,  1872. 

An  act  to  revise,  consolidate,  and  amend  the  statutes  relating  to  the  Post-Office 

Department. 

SEC.  184.  That  the  following  mail  matter  shall  be  allowed  to  pass 
free 'in  the  mails.  *  *  * 

Sixth.  All  publications  sent  or  received  by  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, marked  on  each  package  "  Smithsonian  Exchange." 

(Stat.,  XVII,  307.) 

POWELL'S  EXPLORATION. 

June  10,  1872. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1873. 

For  completing  the  survey  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West  and  its  trib- 
utaries, by  Professor  J.  W.  Powell,  under  the  direction  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  $20,000. 

(Stat,  XVII,  350.) 
March  3,  1873. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1874. 

That  the  sum  of  $10,000,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary, 
is  hereby  appropriated  to  enable  Professor  J.  W.  Powell  to  prepare  his 
materials,  and  to  present  to  Congress  at  its  next  session  a  report  of 
the  survey  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West  and  its  tributaries. 

(Stat.,  XVII,  513.) 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 

December  10,  1872— Senate. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX)  appointed  John  W. 
Stevenson,  of  Kentucky,  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in 
the  place  of  Garret  Davis,  deceased. 


700  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

PORTY-THIRD  CONGRESS,  1873-1875. 

EXPOSITIONS. 

Philadelphia  Centennial  Exhibition. 
July  3,  1873. 
Proclamation  of  President  Grant. 

Whereas  by  the  act  of  Congress  approved  March  3,  1871,  providing  for  a  national 
celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States  by  the  holding  of  an  international  exhibition  of  arts,  manufactures,  and  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil  and  mine,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1876,  it  is  provided 
as  follows: 

That  whenever  the  President  shall  be  informed  by  the  governor  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  that  provision  has  been  made  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings  for 
the  purpose,  and  for  the  exclusive  control  by  the  commission  herein  provided  for  of 
the  proposed  exhibition,  the  President  shall,  through  the  Department  of  State,  make 
proclamation  of  the  same,  setting  forth  the  time  at  which  the  exhibition  will  open 
and  the  place  at  which  it  will  be  held;  and  he  will  communicate  to  the  diplomatic 
representatives  of  all  nations  copies  of  the  same,  together  with  such  regulations  as 
may  be  adopted  by  the  commissioners,  for  publication  in  their  respective  countries; 
and 

Whereas  his  excellency  the  governor  of  the  said  State  of  Pennsylvania  did,  on 
the  24th  day  of  June,  1873,  inform  me  that  provision  had  been  make  for  the  erection 
of  said  buildings  and  for  the  exclusive  control  by  the  commission  provided  for  in 
the  said  act  of  the  proposed  exhibition;  and 

Whereas  the  president  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  has  officially 
informed  me  of  the  date  fixed  for  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  said  exhibition 
and  the  place  at  which  it  is  to  be  held: 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I,  Ulysses  S.. Grant,  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  aforesaid,  do 
hereby  declare  and  proclaim  that  there  will  be  held,  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  an  international  exhibition  of  arts,  manufactures,  and 
products  of  the  soil  and  mine,  to  be  opened  on  the  19th  day  of  April,  anno  Domini 
1876,  and  be  closed  on  the  19th  day  of  October,  in  the  same  year. 

And  in  the  interest  of  peace,  civilization,  and  domestic  and  international  friend- 
ship and  intercourse,  I  commend  the  celebration  and  exhibition  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States;  and  in  behalf  of  this  Government  and  people  1  cordially  commend 
them  to  all  nations  who  may  be  pleased  to  take  part  therein. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused  the  seal  of  the 
United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington  this  3d  day  of  July,  1873,  and  of  the  Independ- 
ence of  the  United  States  of  America  the  ninety-seventh. 

U.  S.  GRANT. 

By  the  President: 

HAMILTON  FISH,  Secretary  of  State. 

GENERAL    REGULATIONS. 

1.  The  international  exhibition  of  1876  will  be  held  in  Fairmount  Park,  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1876. 

2.  The  date  of  opening  the  exhibition  will  be  April   19,  1876,  and  of  closing  will 
be  October  19,  1876. 

3.  A  cordial  invitation  is  hereby  extended  to  every  nation  of  the  earth  to  be 
represented  by  its  arts,  industries,  progress,  and  development. 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  701 

4.  A  formal  acceptance  of  this  invitation  is  requested  previous  to  March  4,  1874. 

5.  Each  nation  accepting  this  invitation  is  requested  to  appoint  a  commission 
through  which  all  matters  pertaining  to  its  own  interests  shall  be  conducted.     For 
the  purpose  of  convenient  intercourse  and  satisfactory  supervision  it  is  especially 
desired  that  one  member  of  each  such  commission  be  designated  to  reside  at  Phila- 
delphia until  the  close  of  the  exposition. 

6.  The  privileges  of  exhibitors  can  be  granted  only  to  citizens  of  countries  whose 
governments  have  formally  accepted  the  invitation  to  be  represented  and  have 
appointed  the  aforementioned  commission,  and  all  communications  must  be  made 
through  the  governmental  commissions. 

7.  Applications  for  space    within  the  exposition  buildings,  or  in   the  adjacent 
buildings  and  grounds  under  the  control  of  the  Centennial  Commission,  must  be 
made  previous  to  March  4,  1875. 

8.  Full  diagrams  of  the  buildings  and  grounds  will  be  furnished  to  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  different  nations  which  shall  accept  the  invitation  to  participate. 

9.  All  articles  intended  for  exhibition,  in  order  to  secure  proper  position  and 
classification,  must  be  in  Philadelphia  on  or  before  January  1,  1876. 

10.  Acts  of  Congress  pertaining  to  custom-house  regulations,  duties,  etc.,  together 
with  all  special  regulations  adopted  by  the  Centennial  Commission  in  reference  to 
transportation,  allotment  of  space,  classification,  motive  power,  insurance,  police 
rules,  and  other  matters  necessary  to  the  proper  display  and  preservation  of  materials, 
will  be  promptly  communicated  to  the  accredited  representatives  of  the  several  gov- 
ernments cooperating  in  the  exposition. 

July  5,  1873. 

The  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  forwarded  the  Presi- 
dent's proclamation  to  the  various  ministers  from  foreign  countries 
residing  at  the  national  capital,  together  with  the  following  official 

note: 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  July  5,  1873. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose,  for  the  information  of  the  Government  of 

,  a  copy  of  the  President's  proclamation  announcing  the  time  and  place  of 

holding  an  International  Exhibition  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Products  of  the  Soil 
and  Mine,  proposed  to  be  held  in  the  year  1876. 

The  exhibition  is  designed  to  commemorate  the  declaration  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  on  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  that  interesting  and  his- 
toric national  event,  and  at  the  same  time  to  present  a  fitting  opportunity  for  such 
display  of  the  results  of  art  and  industry  of  all  nations  as  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
great  advances  •  attained  and  the  successes  achieved  in  the  interest  of  progress  and 
civilization  during  the  century  which  will  then  have  closed. 

In  the  law  providing  for  the  holding  of  the  exhibition  Congress  directed  that  cop- 
ies of  the  proclamation  of  the  President,  setting  forth  the  time  of  its  opening  and 
the  place  at  which  it  was  to  be  held,  together  with  such  regulations  as  might  be 
adopted  by  the  commissioners  of  the  exhibition,  should  be  communicated  to  the 
diplomatic  representatives  of  all  nations.  Copies  of  those  regulations  are  herewith 
transmitted. 

The  President  indulges  the  hope  that  the  Government  of  —          will  be 

pleased  to  notice  the  subject  and  may  deem  it  proper  to  bring  the  exhibition  and 
its  objects  to  the  attention  of  the  people  of  that  country,  and  thus  encourage  their 
cooperation  in  the  proposed  celebration.  And  he  further  hopes  that  the  opportunity 
afforded  by  the  exhibition  for  the  interchange  of  national  sentiment  and  friendly 
intercourse  between  the  people  of  both  nations  may  result  in  new  and  still  greater 
advantages  to  science  and  industry,  and  at  the  same  time  serve  to  strengthen  the 


702  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

bonds  of  peace  and  friendship  which  already  happily  subsist  between  the  Govern- 
ment and  people  of  —  —  and  those  of  the  United  States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  with  the  highest  consideration,  your  obedient  servant, 


January  23,  1874. 

Executive  order  by  the  President  of  the   United  States  creating  the  Government  executive 

board. 

Whereas  it  has  been  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
that  in  the  International  Exhibition  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Products  of  the  Soil 
and  Mine,  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1876,  for  the  purpose  of 
celebrating  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States,  it  is  desirable  that  from  the  Executive  Departments  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  in  which  there  may  be  articles  suitable  for  the  purpose  intended  there 
should  appear  such  articles  and  materials  as  will,  when  presented  in  a  collective 
exhibition,  illustrate  the  functions  and  administrative  faculties  of  the  Government 
in  time  of  peace  and  its  resources  as  a  war  power,  and  thereby  serve  to  demonstrate 
the  nature  of  our  institutions  and  their  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the  people.  Now, 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  complete  and  harmonious  arrangement  of  the  articles 
and  materials  designed  to  be  exhibited  from  the  Executive  Departments  of  the  Gov- 
ernment it  is  ordered  that  a  board,  to  be  composed  of  one  person  to  be  named  by 
the  head  of  each  of  the  Executive  Departments  which  may  have  articles  and  mate- 
rials to  be  exhibited,  and  also  of  one  person  to  be  named  in  behalf  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  and  one  to  be  named  in  the  behalf  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  be  charged  with  the  preparation,  arrangement,  and  safe-keeping  of  such 
articles  and  materials  as  the  heads  of  the  several  Departments  and  the  Commissioner 
of  Agriculture  and  the  Director  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  may  respectively 
decide  shall  be  embraced  in  the  collection;  that  one  of  the  persons  thus  named,  to 
be  designated  by  the  President,  shall  be  chairman  of  such  board,  and  that  the  board 
appoint  from  their  own  number  such  other  officers  as  they  may  think  necessary,  and 
that  the  said  board  when  organized  shall  be  authorized,  under  the  direction  of  the 
President,  to  confer  with  the  executive  officers  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  rela- 
tion to  such  matters  connected  with  the  subject  as  may  pertain  to  the  respective 
Departments  having  articles  and  materials  on  exhibition,  and  that  the  names  of  the 
persons  thus  selected  by  the  heads  of  the  several  Departments,  the  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture,  and  the  Director  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  be  submitted  to 
the  President  for  designation. 

By  order  of  the  President:  HAMILTON  FISH, 

Secretary  of  State. 

WASHINGTON,  January  23,  1874- 

"By  order  of  the  President: 

(Signed)  "HAMILTON  FISH, 

' '  Secretary  of  State. 
"WASHINGTON,  January  23d,  187  4-^ 

In  accordance  with  the  above  order  the  President  appointed  a  board 
composed  of  a  representative  from  each  of  the  Executive  Departments 
of  the  Government  except  the  Department  of  State  and  the  Attorney- 
General's  Department,  but  including  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
and  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  The  board  was  composed  as  follows: 

War  Department:  Col.  C.  S.  Lyford  (chairman),  Ordnance  Bureau. 

Treasury  Department:  Hon.  R.  W.  Taylor,  First  Controller  of  the 
Treasury. 


FOETY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  703 

Navy  Department:  Admiral  Thornton  A.  Jenkins,  United  States 
Navy. 

Interior  Department:  John  Eaton,  Commissioner  of  Education. 

Post-Office  Department:  Dr.  Charles  F.  McDonald,  Chief  of  Money- 
Order  Department. 

Agricultural  Department:  Wm.  Saunders,  Superintendent  of  Prop- 
agating Garden. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  Prof.  S.  F.  Baird,  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  United  States  Fishery  Commissioner. 

This  board  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  perfecting  a  collective 
exhibition  that  should  illustrate  the  functions  and  administrative  facul- 
ties of  the  Government  in  time  of  peace  and  its  resources  as  a  war 
power. 

June  5,  1874. 

An  act,  etc. 

Whereas  at  various  international  exhibitions  which  have  been  held 
in  foreign  countries  the  United  States  have  been  represented  in  pur 
suance  of  invitations  given  by  the  governments  of  those  countries  and 
accepted  by  our  own  Government:  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  President  be  requested  to  extend,  in  the 
name  of  the  United  States,  a  respectful  and  cordial  invitation  to  the 
governments  of  other  nations  to  be  represented  and  take  part  in  the 
international  exposition  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  the  year  1876:  Provided, 
however,  That  the  United  States  shall  not  be  liable,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, for  any  expenses  atttending  such  expocition  or  by  reason  of 
the  same. 

(Stat,  XVIII,  Part3,  53.) 
June  16,  1874. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  medals  with  appropriate  devices,  emblems, 
and  inscriptions,  commemorative  of  the  centennial  anniversary  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  be  prepared  at  the  mint  at  Philadel- 
phia for  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance,  subject  to  the  provisions  of 
the  fifty-second  section  of  the  coinage  act  of  1873,  upon  the  payment 
of  a  sum  not  less  than  the  cost  thereof,  and  all  the  provisions,  whether 
penal  or  otherwise,  of  said  coinage  act  against  the  counterfeiting  or 
imitating  of  coins  of  the  United  States  shall  apply  to  the  medals 
struck  and  issued  under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  76.) 
June  18,  1874. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  all  articles  which  shall  be  imported  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  exhibition  at  the  International  Exhibition  to  be  held 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  the  year  1876  shall  be  admitted 
without  the  payment  of  duty  or  of  customs  fees  or  charges,  under 
such  regulations  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  prescribe: 
Provided.  That  all  such  articles  as  shall  be  sold  in  the  United  States 


704  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

or  withdrawn  for  consumption  therein  at  any  time  after  such  importa- 
tion shall  be  subject  to  the  duties,  if  any,  imposed  on  like  articles  by 
the  revenue  laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  importation:  And  provided 
further,  That  in  case  any  articles  imported  under  the  provisions  of 
this  act  shall  be  withdrawn  for  consumption  or  shall  be  sold  without 
payment  of  duty  as  required  bjr  law,  all  the  penalties  prescribed  by 
the  revenue  laws  shall  be  applied  and  enforced  against  such  articles 
and  against  the  persons  who  may  be  guilty  of  such  withdrawal  or 
sale. 

(Stat.,X VIII,  Part8.  82.) 

March  3,  1875. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1876. 

For  engraving  and  printing  certificates  of  Centennial  stock  for  the 
international  exhibition  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  the 
year  1876,  $30,750:  Provided,  That  this  appropriation  shall  not  be 
construed  as  in  any  manner  committing  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  any  other  payment  whatever  to  meet  the  expenses  of  said 
exhibition. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  375.) 

March  3,  1875. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1876. 

SEC.  5.  To  enable  the  Executive  Departments  of  the  Government 
and  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  participate  in  the  International 
Exhibition  of  1876,  the  following  sums  are  hereby  appropriated, 
namely:  For  the  Interior  Department,  $115,000;  for  the  Treasury 
Department,  $5,000;  for  the  Post-Office  Department,  $5,000;  for  the 
Agricultural  Department,  $50,000;  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
$67,000;  for  the  United  States  Commission  of  Food  Fishes,  $5,000; 
for  the  War  Department,  $133,000;  for  the  Navy  Department, 
$100,000;  for  show  cases,  shelving,  stationery,  postage,  telegrams, 
expressage,  and  other  necessary  incidental  expenses,  $25,000;  in  all, 
$505,000;  to  be  disbursed  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  on  Execu- 
tive Departments  appointed  in  pursuance  of  the  Presidential  order  of 
January  23,  1874.  And  authority  is  hereby  given  to  the  heads  .of  the 
several  Executive  Departments  to  display  at  the  International  Exhi- 
bition of  1876,  under  such  conditions  as  they  may  prescribe,  subject 
to  the  provisions  of  section  7  of  the  act  of  June  1, 1872,  all  such  arti- 
cles in  store  or  under  the  control  of  said  Departments  as  may  be  nec- 
essary or  desirable  to  render  such  collection  complete  and  exhaustive: 
Provided,  That  should  it  become  necessary  to  erect  any  building  or 
part  of  a  building  for  said  exhibition,  on  the  part  of  the  Government, 
the  same  shall  be  paid  for,  pro  rata,  out  of  the  sums  appropriated  to 
the  several  Departments,  the  United  States  Commission  of  Food 
Fishes,  and  the  Treasury  and  Post-Office  Departments  excepted,  the 
cost  of  the  building  not  to  exceed  $150,000;  and  at  the  close  of  the  exhi- 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  705 

bition  said  building  shall  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  covered  into  the 
Treasury  as  miscellaneous  receipts:  And  provided  further,  That  the 
sums  hereby  appropriated  shall  cover  the  entire  expense  to  which 
the  United  States  Government  shall  be  subjected  on  account  of  said 
exhibition,  except  the  sum  appropriated  i;s  this  act  for  printing  the 
certificates  of  stock  of  said  exhibition;  and  the  Board  on  Executive 
Departments  is  forbidden  to  expend  any  larger  sum  than  is  set  down 
herein  for  each  Department,  or  to  enter  into  any  contract  or  engage- 
ment that  shall  result  in  any  such  increased  expenditure;  and  no  money 
shall  be  taken  by  any  Department  for  the  purposes  of  this  exhibition 
as  aforesaid  from  any  other  appropriations  except  the  one  hereby, 
made:  And  further  provided,  That  of  the  sum  hereby  appropriated 
the  sum  of  $200,000  shall  be  immediately  available.  .• 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  400.) 

Vienna  Exposition. 
March  3,  1875. 

Deficiency  act  for  1875,  etc. 

SEC.  7.  That  the  Secretary  of  State  is  authorized  to  pay,  out  of  any 
balance  now  remaining  unexpended  of  the  monies  appropriated  in 
joint  resolution  approved  February  14,  1873,  entitled  "Joint  resolu- 
tion to  enable  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  participate  in  the 
advantages  of  the  international  exposition  to  be  held  at  Vienna  in 
1873,"  the  sum  of  $500  to  each  of  the  15  commissioners  appointed 
under  authority  of  said  joint  resolution,  who,  in  addition  to  undertak- 
ing reports  upon  special  subjects  at  said  exposition,  either  served  upon 
international  juries  or  were  detained  in  Vienna  by  reason  of  assisting 
in  the  arrangement  of  the  American  department  of  the  exposition,  .or 
the  performance  of  other  duties  imposed  upon  them  by  the  State 
Department  for  a  period  of  more  than  seventy-five  days,  as  shown  by 
the  records  on  file  in  the  State  Department. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  418.) 

APPOINTMENT    OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 
January  3,  1874 — Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  M.  H.  CARPENTER)  appointed 
Aaron  A.  Sargent,  of  California,  a  Regent  of  the  Institution. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
December  18,  1873— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JAMES   G.  BLAINE)  appointed   E.  K.  Hoar,  of 
Massachusetts,  S.  S.  Cox,  of  New  York,  and  G.  W.  Hazelton,  of  Wis- 
consin, Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
H.  Doc.  732 45 


706  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
December  19,  1873— House. 

Mr.  S.  W.  KELLOGG.  I  ask  unanimous  consent  to  submit  the  fol- 
lowing- resolution: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  Professor  James  D.  Dana  be,  and  hereby  is,  appointed  as  one  of 
the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of  ttie  class  other  than  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  in  place  of  Theodore  D.  Woolsey,  of  Connecticut,  \vho  declines  to 
be  reappointed. 

Mr.  KELLOGG.  I  trust  there  will  be  no  objection  to  the  adoption 
of  the  resolution. 

,   Mr.  J.  A.  GARFIELD.  I  suggest  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Board  of 
Regents. 

Mr.  KELLOGG.  If  there  be  any  objection  1  will  not  press  the  reso- 
lution. 

Mr.  GARFIELD.  I  do  not  suppose  there  is  any  objection,  but  I  only 
suggest  that  it  is  the  usual  course. 

Mr.  KELLOGG.  If  the  usual  course  is  as  stated  by  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio  I  do  not  object. 

Mr.  GARFIELD.  There  is  another  vacancy  to  bo  filled,  occasioned 
by  the  death  of  Professor  Agassiz. 

Mr.  KELLOGG.  I  do  not  suppose  there  would  be  the  least  objection, 
Professor  Dana  being  so  well  known ;  but  if  that  is  the  usual  course, 
I  do  not  object. 

Mr.  B.  F.  BUTLER.  I  suggest  that  the  resolution  be  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Education  and  Labor. 

Mr.  KELLOGG.  I  move  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Education  and  Labor. 

January  5,  1874 — Senate. 

Mr.  J.  W.  STEVENSON  introduced  a  resolution  providing  that  the 
vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of 
the  class  other  than  members  of  Congress  be  tilled  by  the  appointment 
of  Asa  Gray,  J.  D.  Dana,  A.  T.  Stewart,  and  that  John  Maclean  and 
Peter  Parker  be  reappointed. 

Mr.  STEVENSON.  The  appointments  have  been  agreed  upon  by  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  they  are  to  sup- 
ply all  vacancies  in  that  board. 

The  President  pro  tempoiv  (Mr.  M.  H.  CARPENTER).  Is  there  objec- 
tion to  the  present  consideration  of  the  joint  resolution  ( 

Mr.  C.  SUMNER.  I  ask  if  that  is  the  report  of  a  committee,  or  a 
simple  resolution  ? 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  It  is  a  joint  resolution  introduced  by 
the  Senator  from  Kentucky. 

Mr.  SUMNER.   I  suggest  that  it  should  be  considered  by  a  committee. 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  707 

I  honor  all  the  gentlemen  named  in  the  resolution;  still  I  think  it  has 
been  customary  to  consider  sjich  resolutions  in  committee. 

Mr.  STEVENSON.  I  have  no  objection  to  its  reference  to  a  committee. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN.  I  think  the  resolution  ought  to  be  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  the  Library,  which  has  general  charge  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  Does  the  Senator  make  that  motion  ? 

Mr.  SHERMAN.  Yes,  s^r. 

Agreed  to. 
January  5,  1874 — House. 

Mr.  J.  A.  GARFIELD  introduced  a  joint  resolution  providirtg  that  the 
vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of 
the  class  other  than  members  of  Congress,  be  filled  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Asa  Gray,  J.  D.  Dana,  A.  T.  Stewart,  and  the  reappointment 
of  John  Maclean  and  Peter  Parker.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Education  and  Labor. 
January  6,  1874 — House. 

Mr.  HORACE  MAYNARD  offered  a  joint  resolution  (H.  32)  in  relation 
to  the  appointment  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.     Re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor. 
January  7,  1874 — House. 

Mr.  I.  R.  SHERWOOD  introduced  joint  resolution  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  Leo  Lesquereux,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  one  of  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Educa- 
tion and  Labor. 

Mr.  JAMES  MONROE.  The  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor  have 
had  under  consideration  sundry  resolutions  in  regard  to  filling  vacan- 
cies in  the  Board  of  Regents  of.  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Some 
other  gentlemen  had  asked  for  an  opportunity  to  suggest  names,  but 
there  seemed  to  be  reasons  for  prompt  action  upon  the  subject,  and 
the  committee,  therefore,  instructed  me  to  report  at  once  a  joint  reso- 
lution naming  certain  gentlemen  to  fill  these  vacancies. 

The  resolution  now  reported  by  the  committee  is  identical  with  that 
which  was  introduced  by  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  [Mr.  Garfield],  one 
of  the  Regents  of  the  Institution,  with  the  exception  that  in  a  single 
name  we  propose  a  change,  which  it  is  thought  would,  perhaps,  on 
the  whole,  more  fairly  distribute  the  appointments  and  meet  better 
certain  interests  which  were  deemed  by  the  committee  to  be  of  great 
importance.  The  highest  esteem  and  respect  were  felt  by  the  com- 
mittee for  all  the  gentlemen  whose  names  have  been  suggested,  but, 
on  the  whole,  the  arrangement  proposed  in  the  resolution  which  I  now 
report  seemed  to  the  committee  to  be  the  best  they  could  make. 

The  joint  resolution  provides  that  the  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  other  than 
members  of  Congress,  shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Asa  Gray, 


708  CONGRESSIONAL  PKOCEEDINGS. 

of  Massachusetts,  in  place  of  Louis  Agassiz,  deceased;  J.  I).  Dana,  of 
Connecticut,  in  place  of  Theodore  D.  Woojsey;  Henry  Coppee,  in  place 
of  W.  B.  Astor;  and  John  Maclean  and  Peter  Parker,  whose  terms 
have  expired,  are  to  be  reappointed. 

Mr.  HORACE  MAYNARD.  Will  the  gentleman  allow  me  to  occupy  one 
moment?  I  introduced  yesterday  and  had  referred  to  this  committee 
a  resolution  in  accordance  with  an  idea  I  entertained,  but  had  had  no 
occasion  to  express  specially  that  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  founded 
and  endowed  by  the  munificence  of  a  British  subject  "to  increase  and 
diffuse  knowledge  among  men,"  should  be  made,  so  far  as  possible, 
national  in  its  character.  Now,  in  looking  at  the  list  of  Regents,  I 
find  that  while  they  are  all  most  excellent  and  eminent  men  (and  I  hope 
the  day  is  far  distant  when  any  section  of  our  country  will  not  have 
eminent  and  distinguished  men  enough  to  more  than  furnish  the  list 
of  Regents),  the  appointments  are  at  present  limited  geographically. 

I  suggest  to  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor 
whether,  as  a  matter  of  wise  policy,  it  'would  not  be  well  to  emphasize 
the  national  character  of  the  Institution  by  extending  geographically 
the  citizenship  of  the  gentlemen  constituting  the  Board  of  Regents. 
With  this  view  I  have  proposed,  in  the  joint  resolution  introduced 
by  me  yesterday,  that  one  member  of  the  board  shall  be  a  distinguished 
and  eminent  citizen  of  my  own  State.  I  refer  to  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas 
W.  Humes,  president  of  the  University  of  East  Tennessee,  a  citizen 
by  birth  and  continued  residence  in  that  State,  and  a  gentleman  of 
great  attainments  and  high  personal  character — not  that  he  is  more 
distinguished,  more  worthy,  or  in  any  respect  superior  to  the  gentle- 
men who  have  been  named.  I  make  no  such  claim.  But  this  gentle- 
man, if  appointed,  will  be  the  representative  of  a  large  region  of  our 
country — the  great  Southwest  (embracing  also  a  portion  of  the  South 
and  of  the  West),  whose  scientific  possibilities  are  very  great — whose 
scientific  resources,  if  I  may  use  that  expression,  have  been  hitherto 
very  largely  unconsidered  and  undeveloped.  It  has  seemed  to  me  wise 
to  include  in  the  Board  of  Regents  a  representative  from  that  very 
large  portion  of  our  common  country. 

I  do  not  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  I  would  not  accept  as  readily 
any  other  distinguished  name  that  might  be  suggested  that  would  rep- 
resent the  same  general  region  of  country,  but  I  certainly  think  it 
would  give  greater  effect  and  importance  to  the  labors  of  that  Insti- 
tution to  have  its  regency  distributed  more  generally  throughout  the 
country.  1  am  reminded  by  gentlemen  sitting  near  me  that  there  is 
no  one  on  that  board  from  either  the  South  or  the  West. 

I  bring  this  subject  generally  before  the  House.  I  move  to  substi- 
tute the  name  of  Thomas  W.  Humes,  a  citizen  of  Tennessee,  for  that 
of  Henry  Coppee.  of  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  G.  F.  HOAR.   Mr.  Speaker,  it  may  possibly  interest  the  House 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,    1873-1875.  709 

if  1  occupy  a  few  minutes  in  stating  the  purpose  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  for  in  view  of  that  purpose  I  am  sure  the  gentleman  from 
Tennessee  [Mr.  Maynard]  himself  will  commend  the  wisdom  of  the 
recommendations  we  make.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  has  for  its 
Board  of  Regents  three  persons  appointed  from  the  members  of  this 
House,  three  persons  appointed  from  the  Senate,  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  certain 
other  officers  of  the  Government  are  Regents  ex  officio.  These  offi- 
cers give  the  regency  of  the  Institution  its  national  character.  The 
whole  nation,  of  course,  has  its  voice  in  their  selection.  There  are 
six  other  Regents  who  are  specially  appointed  by  joint  resolution  of 
Congress,  and  it  is  to  fill  vacancies  in  this  number  that  this  resolution 
is  designed. 

The  purpose  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  the  "  advancement  of 
knowledge  among  men,"  and  after  very  full  and  very  thorough  debate 
at  the  time  of  its  origin  tfoe  authorities  of  that  day  determined  that 
it  was  best  to  devote  the  fund  at  their  disposal  not  to  the  mere  dis- 
semination of  knowledge,  as  is  done  by  the  publication  and  distribution 
of  books,  nor  to  mere  educational  purposes,  as  would  be  done  by  the 
endowment  and  support  of  institutions  for  instruction,  but  that  the 
fund  should  be  applied  to  promoting  and  publishing  the  results  of 
such  original  investigations  as  may  tend  to  advance  and  increase  the 
pure  scientific  knowledge  of  mankind.  To  this  end  a  fund  of  about 
$700,000,  part  of  which  is  invested  in  buildings,  leaving  an  income- 
bearing  fund  of  about  $500,000,  is  within  the  control  of  the  Institution. 

The  income  of  that  fund  is  appropriated  in  this  way:  Suppose,  for 
instance,  an  eminent  mathematician  says  that  he  desires  to  have  made 
a  computation  in  connection  with  certain  investigations  to  determine 
the  cause  of  the  perturbation  of  a  planet,  such  as  those  of  Leverrier 
which  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  planet  Neptune.  If  those  investi- 
gations require  a  large  amount  of  mathematical  computation  which 
may  almost  be  termed  mechanical,  this  would  involve  a  good  deal  of 
expense  to  hin>.  Suppose  the  Smithsonian  Institution  decides  that 
the  result  of  such  investigation  will  advance  scientific  knowledge,  it 
will  advance  a  sum  of  money  to  pay  for  such  computations,  if  it  does  not 
pay  anything  to  the  scientific  man  himself  as  compensation,  or  for 
support.  So  if  a  scientific  man  wishes  to  make  a  certain  inquiry  into 
the  laws  of  optics  or  of  electricity,  and  if  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
is  satisfied  of  the  capacity  of  the  parson  and  of  the  usefulness  of  the 
results  likely  to  be  obtained,  it  appropriates  such  sum  of  money  as 
may  be  necessary  to  obtain  the  requisite  apparatus  and  lets  him  have 
the  use  of  it;  and  then,  if  the  result  of  that  investigation  is  found  to 
be  of  value  to  science,  it  appropriates  the  money  for  its  publication. 

Now,  everybody  knows  the  familiar  instance  when  Morse  invented 
his  alphabet  for  recording  telegraphy.  The  knowledge  of  the  laws 


710  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

of  magnetism,  which  made  that  magnificent  invention  .serviceable  to 
mankind,  which  has  rendered  the  name  of  American  science  illustrious, 
came  from  the  previous  researches  and  investigations  of  Professor 
Henry,  who  brought  from  the  vast  treasure-house  of  science  that 
knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature  which  the  invention  of  Morse  made 
useful  for  the  practical  benefit  of  mankind.  Now,  in  order  to  deter 
mine  what  papers  are  proper  to  be  published,  or  what  kind  of  inves 
tigations,  among  the  large  number  that  are  offered  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  will  be  useful  for  the  advancement  of  science,  you  should 
have  among1  the  members  of  that  board  persons  who  are  authority  in 
particular  departments  of  science.  They  are  not  selected  as  a  public 
honor  to  the  persons  themselves;  they  are  not  selected  for  the  pur 
pose  of  recognizing  the  claims  of  or  of  stimulating  interest  in  the 
Institution  in  different  portions  of  the  country;  but  men  are  selected 
whom  Professor  Henry  and  his  associates  in  that  Institution  deem 
competent  to  decide  in  regard  to  the  particular  scientific  investigations 
which  it  may  be  desired  to  make.  For  instance,  my  distinguished 
friend  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  Maynard]  proposed  the  name  of  Professor 
Snell,  of  Amherst  College,  in  place  of  the  late  Professor  Agassiz. 
Professor  Snell,  of  Amherst  College,  is  one  of  the  most  eminent 
scholars  of  my  State;  a  pure,  earnest,  modest  devotee  of  learning, 
who  has  made  a  thousand  contributions  to  science  from  which  he  has 
received  no  benefit.  But  Professor  Snell's  life  has  been  devoted  to 
the  investigation  of  optics,  magnetism,  and  certain  branches  of  nat- 
ural science,  which  are  also  the  special  pursuits  of  Professor  Henry, 
thr  Secretary  and  Director  of  the  Institution;  and  it  is  not  important, 
therefore,  to  add  at  this  moment  to  the  force  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti 
tution  another  gentleman  who  will  be  an  authority  on  matters  of 
optics,  magnetism,  galvanism,  etc.  But  one  thing  on  which  Professor 
Agassiz,  just  deceased,  was  the  great  authority  in  this  country  and 
the  world  was  natural  history,  including  the  growth  of  animals,  the 
origin  of  species,  the  growth  of  plants,  of  trees,  etc.,  and  this  is  a 
matter  in  regard  to  which  the  science  of  the  world  is  especially  busy 
ing  itself  at  the  present  time,  and  of  a  knowledge  of  which  the  prac 
tical  need  of  this  country  is  the  greatest. 

The  prairie  lands  of  the  Northwest,  which  lie  between  the  dense  set 
tlements  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  are  in  need  of  the  scientific 
information — as  my  friend  [Mr.  Kelley],  who  does  me  the  honor  to 
listen  to  me,  knows  very  well — which  may  cover  those  lands  with 
forests,. with  shade  trees,  with  vegetation.  Professor  Gray  is,  per- 
haps, the  greatest  authority  in  the  world  on  that  special  matter.  Now, 
how  idle,  how  unwise,  it  would  be  for  the  members  of  this  House  to 
say  that,  because  Colorado  or  Wyoming  are  to  be  represented  on  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  they  may  appoint 
some  man  from  those  Territories  rather  than  appoint  Professor  Gray, 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  711 

the  greatest  authority  on  this  question.  He  happened  to  reside  at 
Cambridge  in  his  ^youth  and  in  the  time'  of  his  early  studies.  The 
libraries  and  scientific  apparatus  which  were  necessary  for  the  prose- 
cution of  his  studies  in  that  department  of  science  were  there.  So  in 
the  case  of  Professor  Dana.  I  suppose  any  California  gentleman  on 
this  floor  will  agree  that  no  man  has  been  so  great  a  benefactor  to 
the  development  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  State  of  California 
as  Professors  Dana  and  Whitney.  (Professor  Whitney,  indeed,  has 
resided  in  California  of  late  years.)  Professor  Dana  is  a  great  author- 
ity on  matters  of  mines  and  minerals,  and  his  life  has  been  where  a 
library  and  apparatus,  making  the  prosecution  of  his  labors  pleasant 
and  profitable,  existed. 

Now  the  name  of  Alexander  T.  Stewart,  a  distinguished  financier, 
has  been  recommended  in  the  place  of  another  man  of  wealth  and  a 
business  man  in  the  State  of  New  York  (Mr.  Astor),  and  the  commit- 
tee would  have  been  delighted  to  adopt  that  recommendation;  but  we 
were  informed  by  a  gentleman  on  the  committee,  from  the  State  of 
New  York,  that  the  state  of  Mr.  Stewart's  health  is  such  that  it  would 
not  be  certain  he  would  be  able  to  give  his  personal  attention  to  the 
business  of  the  Board  of  Regents.  Therefore,  because  it  was  not  a 
matter  of  personal  honor,  but  because  it  was  a  matter  of  supplying 
the  wants  of  this  Institution,  we  recommend  in  his  stead  the  name  of 
an  eminent  man  of  science  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  formerly  the 
head  of  a  university  in  that  State,  who  adds  to  the  reputation  and 
capacity  of  a  scientific  man  great  financial  ability,  as  exhibited  in  the 
management  of  his  institution. 

Mr.  FERNANDO  WOOD.  Will  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts, 
before  he  sits  down,  please  tell  me  whether  Mr.  Astor  retires  at  his 
own  request? 

Mr.  HOAE.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  WOOD.  I  am  sorry  for  it,  for  he  is  one  of  the  best  belles-lettres 
scholars  in  the  country.  I  will  say,  further,  that  I  can  not  see  what 
practical  service  these  gentlemen  render  when  they  come  here  once  a 
year  for  a  day  or  two. 

Mr.  HOAR.  1  am  glad  the  gentleman  has  made  that  suggestion. 
Suppose  the  gentleman  from  New  York  goes  to  Professor  Henry  with 
a  paper  composed  by  himself  or  some  friend,  or  asking  an  investiga- 
tion involving  the  use  of  apparatus  or  other  expenditure  from  the 
funds  of  the  Institution;  Professor  Henry  refers  that  paper  or  that 
request  for  an  examination  to  one  of  these  scientific  gentlemen;  he 
sends  it  to  him  at  his  home,  and  he  spends  perhaps  days  or  weeks  in 
determining  whether  the  paper  is  one  proper  to  be  published  at  the 
expense  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  or  whether  the  investigation  is 
one  fit  to  be  pursued.  This  meeting  once  or  twice  a  year  in  Washing- 
ton is  bufa  trifle  to  the  labor  which  these  five  or  six  scientific  gentle- 


712  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

men  perform  in  the  rour.se  of  the  year.  There  is  residing  in  my  own 
city  a  gentleman,  the  librarian  of  the  Antiquarian  Society  there,  who 
prepared  by  the  labor  of  years  a  very  interesting  and  important  paper 
upon  the  origin  of  races  in  this  country— the  aboriginal  settlers  of  the 
country.  That  paper  was  published  at  the  expense  of  the  Smithson- 
ian Institute,  and  now  letters  come  from  all  parts  of  Europe  testifying 
to  the  appreciation  of  the  scientific  world  of  that  paper  published  by 
the  Smithsonian  Institute.  Now,  the  man  who  is  to  pronounce  upon 
the  character  of  a  publication,  or  upon  the  propriety  of  an  examina- 
tion, should  be  the  best  authority  upon  that  special  question  in  the 
country. 

Mr.  H.  MAYNARD.  I  desire,  in  the  first  place,  to  make  a  verbal  cor- 
rection. My  friend  from  Massachusetts  has  fallen  into  a  common 
error  in  speaking  of  this  establishment  as  the  ''Smithsonian  Institute." 
James  Smithson,  who  founded  it,  called  it  the  '"Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution." 

Mr.  HOAR.  I  am  much  obliged  to  the  gentleman  for  that  correction, 
and  now  will  the  gentleman  be  kind  enough  to  state  to  the  House  with 
regard  to  the  gentleman  whose  name  he  proposes,  what  special  branch 
of  science  he  has  devoted  himself  to?  I  am  not  myself  as  familiar  with 
his  labors  as  perhaps  I  ought  to  be. 

Mr.  MAYNARD.  I  listened  to  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  with 
great  pleasure  and  instruction,  as  I  always  do.  We  can  best  ascer- 
tain the  character  of  the  Regency  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by 
giving  the  names  and  residences  of  those  who  recently  constituted  it. 
They  are,  Louis  Agassiz,  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts;  Theodore  D. 
Woolsey,  a  citizen  of  Connecticut;  William  B.  Astor,  a  citizen  of 
New  York;  Peter  Parker  and  William  T.  Sherman,  citizens  of  Wash- 
ington; and  John  Maclean,  a  citizen  of  New  Jersey.  All  of  these 
gentlemen,  it  will  be  seen,  come  within  the  category  of  the  gentleman 
from  Massachusetts;  but  the  time  has  not  yet  come,  and  I  trust  it 
never  may  come,  when  the  scientific  talent  of  the  country  will  be  con- 
fined within  a  limited  area. 

The  gentlemen  proposed  are  all  distinguished,  and  I  did  not  predi- 
cate my  motion  upon  any  unfitness,  suggested  or  implied,  or  intended 
to  be  understood  in  reference  to  the  superior  fitness  of  any  one  of 
them.  I  suggested  what  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  better  and  wiser 
administration  of  this  great  public  trust,  a  trust  committed  to  us  in 
the  presence  of  the  civilized  world,  and  for  the  wise  administration  of 
which  we  stand  conspicuously  responsible.  My  suggestion  is  that  we 
should  select  the  Regency  from  different  portions  of  the  land,  so  as  to 
represent  the  vast  geography  of  the  whole  country.  The  gentleman 
from  Massachusetts  asks  me  what  have  been  the  distinguishing  studies 
and  the  character  of  the  intellectual  labors  of  the  eminent  gentleman 
whose  name  I  have  ventured  to  mention — a  divine  of  eminence  in  the 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  713 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  at  the  head  of  the  leading  university 
of  my  State,  if  not  of  the  great  Southwest.  He  is  eminent  for  his 
high  literary  and  scientific  attainments,  and  has  been  a  scholar  all  his 
life;  and  his  head,  like  mine  and  that  of  my  friend,  begins  to  bleach 
from  the  effect  of  years.  Many  gentlemen  on  this  floor  are  acquainted 
with*  him  personally  or  by  character,  and  there  will  be  no  controversy, 
I  urn  sure,  about  his  fitness  for  this  duty.  But  I  have  placed  the  dis- 
cussion upon  higher  ground.  The  question  is,  whether  it  is  not  a 
wiser,  better,  more  politic  arrangement,  other  things  equal,  to  dis- 
tribute these  offices  a  little  more,  rather  than  to  concentrate  the  whole 
Regency  within  a  few  States  upon  the  Atlantic  coast.  With  these 
remarks  I  leave  the  question. 

Mi'-  JAMES  MONROE.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  desire  to  say  a  word  in  regard  to 
what  has  been  said  of  the  action  of  the  committee. on  this  subject.  It 
is  a  matter  of  great  delicacy  to  discuss  this  question  here  in  the  House 
to  any  great  extent,  and  to  discuss  the  multitude  of  names  that  would  at 
once  be  offered  here  if  the  question  of  the  claims  of  the  several  States 
were  to  be  fully  examined  on  this  floor;  for  their  claims  are  all  very 
excellent  and  very  valid.  I  am  not  without  some  sympathy  with  the 
local  feeling  expressed  by  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  May- 
nard].  As  a  member  of  the  committee  I  represent  Ohio.  Now,  Ohio 
is  a  State  also;  there  is  some  land  in  Ohio;  it  is  quite  a  piece  of  terri- 
tory, and  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  a  large  number  of  accomplished 
gentlemen  and  dear  friends  of  mine  in  that  State,  some  of  whom  I 
would  be  very  glad  to  have  named  for  these  places,  and  men  whom  I 
know  would  have  filled  them  with  credit  to  themselves  and  with  high 
usefulness  to  the  objects  of  the  Institution.  But  I  saw  at  once  that 
this  was  just  one  of  those  questions  in  which  we  must  give  up  local 
preferences.  In  discussing  a  question  of  science,  of  all  others,  I 
imagine  on  the  whole  a  man  will  be  most  useful  who  can  be  most 
capable,  and  who  can  yield  most  readily  to  local  preference  belonging 
to  his  own  district.  I  recognized  the  necessity  for  that;  and,  although 
I  had  no  doubt  I  had  even  in  my  own  Congressional  district,  where 
there  are  four  colleges  of  a  very  high  order,  the  very  best  men  in  the 
world  to  fill  these  vacancies,  I  thought  it  quite  right  to  make  the  great 
sacrifice  of  yielding  up  this  question  of  the  local  claims  of  my  Con- 
gressional district. 

What  is  there  of  locality  about  these  great  names  in  science  ?  Who 
cares  anything  about  where  their  domicile  is?  How  inferior  any 
question  of  that  sort  is  in  comparison  with  the  high  commission  upon 
which  God  has  sent  them  into  this  world  and  the  grand  work  they  are 
accomplishing!  Will  anybody  who  hears  me  tell  me  that  Professor 
Dana,  of  New  Haven,  is  not  a  man  in  whom  my  own  locality  will  be 
interested?  He  belongs  to  my  locality;  he  belongs  to  my  vicinage; 
he  is  my  neighbor;  he  is  one  of  the  nearest  and  best  of  my  neighbors; 


714  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

he  is  by  intellect  among  the  men  in  whom  my  neighborhood  has  the 
deepest  interest;  he  belongs  to  my  neighborhood,  and  so  do  Professor 
Gray  and  Professor  Agassiz.  They  have,  by  the  services  they  have 
rendered  and  are  rendering  to  science,  secured  the  interest  not  only 
of  New  England,  New  York,  but  the  interest  of  the  whole  world. 
And  there  is  no  better  principle,  Mr.  Speaker,  upon  which  to  select 
these  men  than  to  search  diligently  for  the  best  and  put  them  in 
these  places.  We  .therefore  thought  it  best  upon  the  whole  to  make 
this  report  and  secure  its  adoption  by  the  House  if  we  could. 

Mr.  S.  S.  Cox.  I  ask  the  gentlemen  from  Ohio  to  yield  to  me  for  a 
moment. 

Mr.  MONROE.  I  was  going  to  demand  the  previous  question  on  this 
matter,  but  I  will  yield  to  the  gentleman  from  New  York.  I  recog- 
nize his  right  to  be  heard. 

Mr.  Cox.  I  would  not  intrude  my  voice  on  the  House  on  this  ques- 
tion but  for  the  fact  that  for  some  dozen  of  years  I  have  been  more  or 
less  associated  with  this  Smithsonian  regency;  and  I  would  say  to  the 
House  we  have  never  had  any  special  need  for  men  of  financial  ability, 
at  least  since  I  have  been  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Our 
affairs  have  been  conducted  with  economy.  There  has  been  no  surplus 
which  has  not  been  used  in  a  proper  way,  and  there  has  been  no  defi- 
ciency. I  supposed  the  Board  of  Regents  had  sent  in  the  name  of  Mr. 
Stewart  in  place  of  Mr.  Astor  after  some  consultation  with  him.  but  I 
learn  this  committee  has  withdrawn  the  name  of  Mr.  Stewart  on  the 
simple  suggestion  that  his  health  is  not  good. 

I  propose  to  amend  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Tennessee  so  as  to  replace  the  name  of  Mr.  Alexander  T.  Stewart,  of 
New  York;  and  1  do  it  for  this  reason:  There  is  no  special  need  or 
requirement  for  the  presence  of  these  Regents  at  Washington  except 
once  or  twice  a  year.  There  is  no  special  need  for  any  culture  in  any 
particular  line  of  science,  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  Regents  at  least, 
for  we  are  supplied  with  men  of  that  quality  in  the  presidents  and  pro- 
fessors of  colleges  who  are  now  there.  But  I  will  say,  Mr.  Speaker, 
on  behalf  of  Mr.  Stewart,  who  is  perhaps  entirely  ignorant  of  these 
proceedings,  that  he  adds  to  his  great  wealth,  his  wonderful  mercan- 
tile ability,  and  his  skill  in  finance,  rare  education  and  great  refine- 
ment of  culture.  He  would  give  strength,  solidity,  firmness,  to  this 
Institution.  I  think  the  original  idea  should  be  carried  out  and  his 
name  replaced.  Then  we  would  avoid  all  these  discussions  as  to  the 
particular  localities  which  have  been  raised  by  the  gentleman  from 
Tennessee  [Mr.  Maynard]  in  the  suggestion  of  a  man  from  that  State. 
I  therefore  move  to  amend  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 
Tennessee  by  inserting  the  name  of  Alexander  T.  Stewart. 

Mr.  MONROE.  I  now  yield  five  minutes  to  the  gentleman  from 
Pennsylvania  [Mr.  Storm],  a  member  of  the  committee,  after  which  I 
propose  to  call  the  previous  question. 


FORTY-THIRD    CONC4RESS,    1873-1875.  715 

Mr.  JOHN  B.  STORM.  I  hope  that  the  resolution,  as  modified  by  the 
Committee  on  Education  and  Labor,  will  be  adopted.  That  committee 
carefully  considered  the  resolution  referred  to  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion which  the}r  have  reported.  The  name  of  Mr.  Stewart  was 
before  that  committee,  together  with  several  other  names.  After  full 
discussion  and  interchange  of  views  by  the  members  of  the  committee 
they  came  to  this  conclusion,  and  I  trust  the  action  of  the  committee 
will  be  approved  by  this  House  at  this  time. 

If  we  follow  the  course  indicated  by  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee 
[Mr.  Maynard]  and  the  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Cox]  I  have 
no  doubt  that  every  gentleman  upon  this  floor  has  some  particular 
friend  whom  he  would  desire  to  honor  by  suggesting  his  name  for 
this  position.  The  committee  have  looked  solely  to  the  qualifications, 
scientific  and  literary,  of  the  persons  whose  names  have  been  suggested. 
If  the  gentleman  can  give  one  reason  or  state  one  single  particular 
wherein  Mr.  Stewart  is  superior  to  Professor  Coppee,  I  will  yield  to 
him.  Mr.  Stewart  is  a  merchant'  of  large  business,  engrossed  and 
absorbed  in  mercantile  pursuits.  I  dare  say  he  would  be  entirely 
unable  to  pay  any  attention  at  all  to  any  question  that  might  he 
referred  to  him  should  he  be  appointed  to  this  place. 

Professor  Coppee,  as  a  scientific  and  literary  man,  is  abreast  with 
the  age  upon  all  questions  of  science,  and  is  largely  interested  in 
metallurgy,  civil  engineering,  and  mining,  questions  which  are  now 
pressing  themselves  upon  the  attention  of  our  colleges  and  schools, 
and  the  study  of  which  is  replacing  the  old  .study  of  the  dead  lan- 
guages. He  has  given  great  attention  to  these  matters  and  is  to-day 
in  Pennsylvania  one  of  the  leading  scientific  minds  upon  all  these  great 
questions  in  which  the  people  have  such  a  deep  interest.  I  think  that 
it  is  due  to  that  class  of  our  people  that  they  should  be  represented 
upon  the  Board  of  Regents  by  such  a  man  as  Professor  Coppee.  He 
is  in  every  way  qualified  for  the  place,  and  I  think  to  strike  him  from 
the  list  proposed  would  be  an  ungracious  act  and  one  which  the  House 
would  not  desire  to  perform,  and  to  replace  him  by  a  man  who  has 
nothing  but  his  wealth  to  recommend  him. 

Professor  Coppee  has  a  thorough  military  training,  has  been  honor- 
ably connected  with  some  of  our  most  honored  colleges,  and  is  now' 
the  president  of  the  Packer  University.  He  has  published  one  of  the 
best  text-books  we  have  on  logic  and  rhetoric;  he  is  the  historian  of 
General  Grant,  and  his  criticisms  on  the  military  movements  of  the 
Army  in  the  late  war  are  the  best  we  have.  He  is  a  scholar  of  high 
attainments  and  of  great  financial  ability,  and  his  appointment  would 
be  a  deserved  compliment  to  his  great  talent. 

Mr.  MONROE.  I  now  call  the  previous  question. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JAMES  G.  ELAINE).  Does  the  gentleman  call  the 
previous  question  on  the  bill  and  amendments  ? 


716  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  MONROE.  At  the  earnest  request  of  gentlemen,  I  give  my  per- 
sonal consent  that  a  vote  should  be  had  upon  the  amendments. 

Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL.  Did  the  committee  instruct  you  tc  do  that? 

Mr.  MONROE.  No;  the  committee  gave  me  no  instructions. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  Then  you  can  not  permit  it. 

Mr.  MONROE.  I  merely  said  that  I  was  willing  to  have  votes  taken 
on  these  amendments. 

Mr.  G.  F.  HOAR.  Allow  me  to  make  a  suggestion.  Should  the 
House  vote  down  the  previous  question  and  permit  amendments  to  be 
in  order,  and  the  name  of  any  gentleman  should  be  proposed  and 
rejected,  it  would  put  him  in  a  very  uncomfortable  position.  But 
if  the  House  should  sustain  the  previous  question,  it  will  determine 
that  the  House  will  adopt  the  recommendations  of  the  committee  as  a 
whole.  1  hope,  therefore,  that  the  chairman  [Mr.  Monroe]  will  insist 
upon  tjje  previous  question  upon  the  bill  without  amendments. 

Mr.  MAYNARD.  After  having  debated  the  matter  for  half  an  hour,  I 
think  that  it  is  an  unkind  suggestion. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  I  think  there  is  'but  one  safe  course  for  us  to  pursue 
in  all  such  matters.  We  can  not  in  this  House  canvass  the  personal 
merits  or  qualifications  of  individuals.  I  dare  say  that  Mr.  Stewart  is 
a  very  proper  man  for  the  place.  But  the  committee  have  fully 
examined  the  whole  question  and  have  made  their  report.  I  think 
the  only  safe  course  for  us  to  pursue  is  to  adopt  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

In  regard  to  Professor  Coppee,  allow  me  to  say  that  he  is  a  gentle- 
man I  have  known  for  years.  He  is  a  professor  in  the  university  in 
which  I  was  partly  educated,  and  is  without  a  superior  in  science  or 
literature  in  this  country.  He  would  be  a  very  worthy  successor  to 
Mr.  Agassiz. 

Mr.  MONROE.  I  must  now  call  the  previous  question. 

The  SPEAKER.  Does  the  gentleman  include  amendments? 

Mr.  MONROE.  I  have  given  my  consent  personally.  Am  I  the 
proper  person  to  decide  that  question  ( 

The  SPEAKER.  The  only  person. 

Mr.  MONROE.  Then  I  will  call  for  the  previous  question  upon  the 
bill  and  amendments  of  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  Maynard] 
and  the  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Cox]. 

The  previous  question  was  seconded,  and  the  main  question  ordered. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  MaynardJ  moves 
to  insert  instead  of  the  name  of  Henry  Coppee,  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
name  of  Thomas  W.  Humes,  of  Tennessee.  The  gentleman  from 
New  York  [Mr.  Cox]  moves,  as  an  amendment  to  the  amendment,  to 
insert,  instead  of  the  name  of  Mr.  Humes,  the  name  of  Alexander  T. 
Stewart,  of  New  York.  The  first  question  is  upon  the  amendment  to 
the  amendment. 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  717 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  not  agreed  to. 

The  question  recurring  on  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Maynard,  it  was 
not  agreed  to. 

The  joint  resolution  was  then  passed. 
January  12,  1874 — Senate. 

Mr.  T.  O.  HOWE,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  to  whom 
was  referred  the  Senate  resolution  of  January  5,  1874^ asked  to  be 
discharged  from  its  further  consideration,  and  that  it  be  indefinitely 
postponed.  Agreed  to. 

The  same  committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  joint  resolution 
from  the  House  filling  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  reported  it  back  without  amendment, 
and  with  the  recommendation  that  it  pass;  which  was  ordered  to  lie 
over. 
January  13,  1874 — Senate. 

Mr.  J.  W.  STEVENSON  moved  to  take  up  the  joint  resolution  from  the 
House  providing  for  the  appointment  and  reappointment  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  on  January  12  was  ordered  to 
lie  over,  and  it  was  read  a  third  time  and  passed. 
January  19,  1874. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress, shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Asa  Gray,  of  Massachu- 
setts, in  place  of  Louis  Agassiz,  deceased;  J.  D.  Dana,  of  Connecticut, 
in  place  of  Theodore  D.  Woolsey ;  and  Henry  Coppee,  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  place  of  W.  B.  Astor;  and  John  Maclean,  and  Peter  Parker,  whose 
terms  have  expired,  shall  be  reappointed. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part3,  285.) 
December  10,  1874 — Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN  offered  joint  resolution: 

That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Congress,  shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
George  Bancroft,  of  the  city  of  Washington,  in  place  of  William  T.  Sherman,  resigned. 

Mr.  HAMLIN.  I  will  say  only  that  there  is  an  existing  vacancy,  as 
stated  in  that  resolution,  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  General 
Sherman,  who  has  moved  from  this  city.  The  law  requires-  that  that 
Regent  shall  be  from  the  city.  Mr.  Bancroft,  the  eminent  historian, 
has  come  here  to  reside.  All  three  of  the  Board  of  Regents  on  the 
part  of  this  body  think  it  is  eminently  fitting  that  he  should  be  desig- 
nated by  Congress  to  fill  that  existing  vacancy.  • 

Adopted. 
December  11,  1874— House. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  SAMUEL  HOOPER,  the  joint  resolution  appointing 
George  Bancroft  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  place  of 
William  T.  Sherman,  resigned,  was  taken  up  and  passed. 


718  CONGRESSIONAL    1'KOCEEDINGS. 

December  18,  1874. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress, shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  George  Bancroft,  of  the 
city  of  Washington,  in  place  of  William  T.  Sherman,  resigned. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  523.) 

REPORT   OF    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

February  13,  1874 — Senate. 

Annual  report  for  1873  laid  before  the  Senate. 
Mr.  H.  HAMLIN  offered  the  following: 

Resolved  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring) ,  That  12,500  additional  copies  of 
the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1873  be  printed,  2,500  of 
which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  5,000  for  the  use  of  the  House,  and  5,000  for 
the  use  of  the  Institution :  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages  of  said  report 
shall  not  exceed  450,  and  that  there  shall  be  no  illustrations  except  those  furnished 
by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
February  20,  1874— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY!  The  Committee  on  Printing,  to  whom  was 
referred  a  resolution  to  print  extra  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  have  directed  me  to  report  it  back  with  amendments 
and  to  ask  for  its  present  consideration. 

The  Committee  on  Printing  proposed  to  amend  the  resolution  so  as 
to  make  it  read: 

Resolved  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring),  That  7,500  additional  copies  of  the 
report  of  the  Smithsanian  Institution  for  the  year  1873  be  printed,  500  of  which  shall 
be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  1,000.  for  the  use  of  the  House,  and  6,000  for  the  use  of 
the  Institution. 

Mr.  ANTHONY.  The  customary  publication  of  this  document  has  been 
12,500  copies;  5,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  2,500 
for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  5,000  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. We  now  have  reported  to  increase  the  number  to  the 
Institution  from  5,000  to  6,000,  to  reduce  the  number  for  the  Senate 
from  2,500  to  500,  and  to  reduce  the  number  for  the  House  from  5,000 
to  1,000.  If  the  number  for  Congress  is  reduced  so  much,  the -Insti- 
tution will  require  a  little  more,  so  the  Regents  think.  This,  I  believe, 
is  the  first  resolution  that  the  Committee  on  Printing  have  reported  at 
this  session  for  printing  any  additional  documents.  The  number  is 
exceedingly  small,  and  it  is  the  intention  of  those  who  are  best 
acquainted  with  the  Institution,  especially  of  those  who  have  been 
charged  on  the  part  of  Congress  with  participation  in  its  management, 
that  there  should  be  some  extra  copies,  and  in  deference  to  them  we 
have  made  the  recommendation. 

Mr.  LOT  M.  MORRILL,  of  Maine.  I  should  like  to  inquire  of  the 
Senator  from  Rhode  Island  whether  he  is  aware  of  the  fact  that  Con- 
gress, in  the  early  part  of  the  session,  passed  a  resolution  suspending 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,    1873-1875.  719 

the  publication  of  documents,  and  whether  this  is  in  harinonv  with  the 
expression  of  Congress? 

Mr.  ANTHONY.  That  has  not  passed  the  House. " 

Mr.  MORRILL.  It  passed  the  Senate. 

Mr.  ANTHONY.  If  the  Senator  asks  my  judgment,  L  think  this  is 
not  in  conformity  with  that. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  should  think  that  until  the  Senate  reconsiders  that 
proposition  we  ought  to  adhere  to  it.  Yesterday  some  proposition 
came  from  the  Committee  on  Printing  of  a  similar  kind. 

Mr.  ANTHONY.   What  one  ? 

Mr.  MORRILL.  Recommending  the  publication  of  some  document. 

Mr.  ANTHONY.  That  was  for  the  use  of  the  proper  Department,  not 
for  the  use  of  Congress.  It  was  only  500  copies  of  a  medical  report 
that  was  thought  to  be  valuable  for  scientific  purposes,  and  they  are 
to  be  distributed  entirely  by  the  Department. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  think  we  ought  not  to  go  into  retail  in  printing 
when  in  wholesale  we  have  resolved  not  to  print;  and  I  do  think  it  is 
wise  to  adhere  to  the  resolution  that  we  passed,  at  least  until  some  full 
understanding  as  to  the  publication  and  distribution  of  documents  is 
had. 

Mr.  ANTHONY.  I  do  not  think  we  are  bound  by  a  proposition  that 
has  only  passed  one  House  of  Congress;  but  1  am  not  a  lawyer,  and  I 
will  leave  that  to  the  Senator  from  Maine. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  think  we  should  have  a  little  respect  for  our  own 
action,  whether  the  House  chooses  to  concur  or  not. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN.  I  wish  to  state  a  fact.  I  may  say  in  behalf  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  that  1  think  this  is  entirely  distinct  from  the 
documents  which  we  publish  sent  to  us  from  the  Departments  or  which 
emanate  from  our  committees.  This  is  purely  a  scientific  work.  It 
is  the  annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  made  in  pursuance 
of  law  to  this  body.  To  myself  it  may  seem  of  very  much  less  value 
than  to  many  others,  but  I  think  no  man  can  ever  examine  a  single  report 
of  that  Institution  without  being  impressed  with  its  great  value.  These 
reports  are  for  the  general  reader  perhaps  of  little  use,  being  some- 
what technical  and  scientific,  but  yet  they  are  of  immense  value  to  the 
world,  and  they  are  transmitted  all  over  the  world,  and  we  receive 
back  in  exchange  the  scientific  reports  of  different  societies  and  differ- 
ent governments.  I  think  this  stands  entirely  distinct  from  the  docu- 
ments ordinarily  printed  by  Congress;  and  I. do  not  think  the  law  or 
resolution  to  which  my  colleague  refers  ought  to  apply  to  this  report, 
if  it  does  technically;  and  if  it  does,  this  has  got  to  pass  the  ordeal  of 
the  House,  and  it  must  be  by  a  concurrent  vote,  which  will  express 
their  opinion  that  this  stands  distinct  from  other  matters,  as  well  as 
our  own.  1  hope  the  resolution  will  be  concurred  in. 


720  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  Only  one  word.  Early  in  this  session  we  determined 
to  arrest  the  publication  of  public  documents,  and  I  think  properly. 
I  am  not  going  to  say  whether  it  is  true  or  not,  for  on  that  I  have  my 
own  opinions,'  and  they  may  not  be  in  harmony  with  the  public  sense 
on  that  subject;  but  one  thing  is  clear,  that  from  one  consideration 
or  another,  within  the  last  few  years,  a  very  general  impression  or 
sentiment  or  conviction  has  come  to  obtain  in  the  public  mind  that 
the  publication  of  documents  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
had  become  a  very  great  abuse.  It  took  a  variety  of  forms.  It  was 
an  abuse  under  the  franking  privilege  which  overloaded  the  mails. 
It  was  an  expense  in  many  ways,  and  it  was  a  corruption  in  itself. 
That  is  a  deep-seated  and  thorough  conviction  in  the  public  mind, 
right  or  wrong,  and  I  think  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  was  wise 
when,  at  the  beginning  of  this  session,  it  said  it  would  pause  in  the 
publication  and  distribution  of  documents,  for  the  present  at  .least, 
until  some  wise  determination  could  be  come  at. 

Now,  it  may  be  that  the  views  of  my  colleague  render  this  an  excep- 
tional case,  and  it  is  a  proper  thing,  possibly,  to  publish  the  reports 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  being  of  a  scientific  character,  so  far 
as  relates  to  itself;  but  this  resolution  provides  for  their  publication 
for  distribution,  and  certainly  it  ought  not  to  apply  to  that.  We  do 
not  want  these  reports  for  distribution.  We  have  no  means  of  dis- 
tributing them.  At  any  rate,  to  that  extent  I  submit  to  my  colleague 
that  this  is  certainly  within  the  inhibition  of  the  resolution  of  the 
Senate.  If  there  is  no  special  objection,  therefore,  I  should  like  to 
have  this  resolution  lie  over  until  to-morrow. 

Mr.  F.  T.  FRELINGHUYSEN.    I  wish  to  say  a  word  on  this  subject. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  withdraw  the  motion,  to  allowr  the  Senator  to  do  so. 

Mr.  FRELINGHUYSEN.  I  have  only  a  word  to  say.  I  shall  vote  for 
the  resolution  to  print  this  report,  and  I  will  vote  for  any  resolution 
to  print  the  proceedings  of  Congress.  I  think  this  idea  of  isolating 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  from  the  people  is  a  very  foolish 
one.  As  to  economy,  I  think  it  is  an  illustration  of  that  wise  saying 
that  "there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to 
poverty."  The  people  of  my  State  write  to  me  every  day  for  copies 
of  the  Agricultural  Report,  which  contains  most  valuable  information 
to  the  farmers  of  the  country,  and  they  can  not  be  obtained.  The 
books  are  read}7  to  be  printed,  but  their  printing  is  stopped;  and 
we  are  keeping  the  proceedings  of  Congress  here  as  a  close  corpora- 
tion from  the  people.  I  introduced  a  bill  providing  that  these  public 
documents  should  be  circulated,  the  postage  in  no  event  to  be  more 
than  25  cents  a  volume,  and  not  requiring  prepayment,  and  authoriz- 
Mig  the  documents  to  be  sold  if  they  were  not  called  for  within  ten 
.ays.  That  bill  has  not  been  reported  from  the  Committee  on  Post- 
Offices  and  Post-Roads. 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  721 

Mr.  ALEX.  RAMSEY.  I  will  say  to'  the  Senator  that  the  committee, 
have  it  under  consideration. 

Mr.  FRELINGHUYSEN.  I  hope  Congress  will  adopt  some  measure  by 
which  that  which  transpires  here  may  be  circulated  and  disseminated 
among  the  people.  At  a  large  expense  we  print  every  day  a  record 
of  the  proceedings  of  Congress.  What  good  does  it  do  ?  The  people 
do  not  get  it.  No  provision  is  made  for  its  circulation. 

Now,  as  to  the  idea  that  the  people  are  opposed  to  this,  I  was  very 
much  struck  by  a  remark  which  was  made — I  do  not  know  but  that 
it  was  in  one  of  the  articles  which  were  read  here  yesterday — that  a 
million  of  people  might  petition  Congress,  but  we  must  remember 
there  are  thirty-nine  millions  that  are  not  heard  from.  I  believe  the 
people  want  information  as  to  what  transpires  here,  and  it  is  their 
right  to  have  it,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  give  them  the  opportunity  to 
know  what  we  do. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY.  I  believe  when  this  report  was  presented  the 
usual  number  was  ordered  to  be  printed.  If  not,  I  will  make  that 
motion.  That  number  ought  to  be  printed  at  any  rate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  M.  H.  CARPENTER).  It  was  ordered. 
The  Chair  understands  objection  to  be  made  to  the  further  considera- 
tion of  the  resolution. 

Mr.  MORRILL,  of  Maine.  Yes,  sir. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  resolution  will  lie  over. 
February  27,  1874 — Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN.  I  move  to  take  up  the  resolution  for  the  printing 
of  the  Smithsonian  report.  I  think  it  will  detain  the  Senate  but  a 
moment.  It  was  up  the  other  morning. 

Agreed  to. 

Mr.  HAMLIN.  My  colleague  interposed  some  objection  to  the  res- 
olution because  there  were  500  copies  provided  for  in  it  for  the  Senate 
and  1,000  for  the  House.  I  have  conferred  with  my  colleague,  and  I 
have  also  conferred  with  the  Senator  who  reported  the  resolution,  and 
with  their  concurrence  I  move  now  to  strike  out  the  whole  number 
appropriated  to  both  the  Senate  and  House.  That  will  be  my  first 
motion.  I  shall  follow  that  with  another  motion  to  increase  the  num- 
ber to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  1,500,  which  is  just  the  number 
stricken  out.  That  takes  away  entirely  the  objection  to  printing  any 
copies  for  our  own  distribution.  I  transfer  that  number  to  the  Insti- 
tution for  this  reason :  I  take  it  every  Senator,  like  myself,  has  sup- 
plied the  principal  libraries  of  the  State  for  years  with  this  work. 
They  will  want  it,  and  they  will  cease  to  call  upon  us,  but  they  will 
call  upon  the  Institution  for  it,  and  that  number  which  was  proposed 
for  the  Senate  and  for  the  House  will  be  transferred  there,  and  there 
they  will  find  them. 

I  want  to  say  also,  in  this  connection,  that  by  an  exchange  of  this 
H.  Doc.  732 46 


722  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

very  work  with  foreign  societies  and  foreign  governments  we  add  to 
our  Congressional  Library  works  of  value,  amounting  to  between 
2,000  and  3,000  volumes  annually. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  M.  H.  CARPENTER).  The  resolution 
will  be  read  as  proposed  to  be  amended. 

The  CHIEF  CLERK.  If  amended  as  proposed  by  the  Senator  from 
Maine,  the  resolution  will  read: 

Resolved  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring),  That  7,500  additional  copies  of 
the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1873  be  printed  for  the  use 
of  the  Institution:  Provided,  That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages  of  said  report  shall 
not  exceed  450,  and  that  there  shall  be  no  illustrations  except  those  furnished  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  resolution  as  amended  agreed  to. 
May  15,  1874— House. 

Mr.  W.  G.  DONNAN,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
back,  with  the  recommendation  that  it  be  concurred  in,  concurrent 
resolution  from  the  Senate: 

That  7,500  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the 
year  1873  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Institution :  Provided,  That  the  aggregate 
number  of  pages  of  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  and  that  there  be  no  illustrations 
except  those  furnished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  W.  S.  HOLMAN.  Does  that  resolution  propose  to  give  all  the 
copies  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution? 

Mr.  DONNAN.  I  desire  to  say  to  the  House  that  this  resolution  pro- 
poses 5,000  less  than  the  usual  number  of  copies,  but  we  make  no 
provision  for  furnishing  any  copies  to  members  of  Congress.  The 
whole  number  is  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  ought  to  be  some  copies 
for  members  of  Congress.  I  think  it  would  be  fair  not  to  increase 
the  number,  but  to  divide  it  up  so  that  a  portion  shall  be  distributed 
by  Senators  and  members  of  the  House. 

Mr.  DONNAN.  This  is  a  Senate  resolution,  and  it  was  believed,  inas- 
much as  members  of  Congress  have  no  means  of  distributing  the  doc- 
uments, that  they  could  obtain  such  copies  as  they  desired  for  their 
own  use  from  the  Institution. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  I  think  it  would  be  better  to  have  a  small  number 
provided  for  members  of  Congress.  Most  of  us  are  perfectly  willing 
to  send  them  to  our  constituents.  I  think  one-third  of  the  number 
should  be  furnished  for  the  use  of  members  of  Congress.  What  is 
the  number  which  the  resolution  proposes  to  have  printed? 

Mr.  DONNAN.  Seventy -five  hundred  for  distribution  by  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  Seventy -five  hundred  all  together? 

Mr.  DONNAN.  Yes;  and  the  usual  number  was  12,000. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  Then  I  would  move  to  amend  the  resolution  so  that 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  723 

3,000  copies  shall  be  furnished  to  the  Senate  and  House — 2,000  for 
the  House  and  1,000  for  the  Senate- — and  that  the  remaining  4,500 
shall  be  for  the  Institution. 

Mr.  DONNAN.  I  have  no  objection  to  the  House  voting  on  that 
amendment. 

Mr.  E.  R.  HOAR.  I  did  not  understand  whether  the  motion  of  the 
gentleman  from  Indiana  was  to  add  to  the  number. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  No;  but  to  divide  the  number  proposed  so  as  to  give 
a  portion  to  the  Senate  and  to  the  House. 

Mr.  HOAR.  I  desire  to  say  that  this  number  is  only  what  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  desires  for  distribution,  according  to  its  systems, 
among  the  libraries  and  colleges  of  the  country,  and  for  its  exchanges. 
I  do  not  think  it  would  be  proper  or  wise  for  the  House  to  take  away 
a  part  of  the  ordinary  number  furnished  to  this  Institution  for  the 
purpose  of  distributing  this  document  to  favored  constituents  of  mem- 
bers of  the  House.  If  members  desire  copies  for  distribution  I 
think  they  should  add  to  and  not  diminish  the  regular  supply  to  the 
Institution.  I  move  to  amend  the  amendment  so  that  the  number 
proposed  for  the  House  and  Senate  shall  be  in  addition  to  the  number 
proposed  by  the  resolution. 

Agreed  to. 

The  resolution  as  amended  was  concurred  in. 
December  U,  1874 — Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  A.  A.  SARGENT  the  House  resolution  of  May  15, 
1874,  ordering  10,500  extras  of  the  report  of  the  Institution  for  1873, 
was  taken  up  and  adopted. 

January  26,  1875— House. 

Annual  report  for  the  year  1874  laid  before  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives and  ordered  to  be  printed. 
February  8,  1875— House. 

Mr.  G.  F.  HOAR  moved  to  have  additional  copies  of  the  report  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  printed. 

February  24,  1875— House. 

Mr.  W.  G.  DONNAN,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
concurrent  resolution : 

That  10,500  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1874 
be  printed,  2,000  copies  of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, 1,000  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  7,500  for  the  use  of  the  Institution:  Proinded, 
That  the  aggregate  number  of  pages  of  said  report  shall  not  exceed  450,  and  that 
there  shall  be  no  illustrations  except  those  furnished  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Agreed  to. 
February  27,  1875— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
back  the  resolution  of  House  of  February  24,  which  was  concurred  in. 


724  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

INTERNATIONAL    EXCHANGES. 
June  20,  1874. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1875. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public;  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,500. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part3,  88.) 
March  3,  1875. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1876. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,500. 
(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  347.) 

DOCUMENTS. 
June  20,  1874. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.     *     *     * 

SEC.  6.  That  at  the  close  of  every  session  of  Congress  the  Secretary 
of  State  shall  cause  to  be  distributed  pamphlet  copies  of  the  acts  and 
resolves  of  Congress  for  that  session,  edited  and  printed  in  the  man- 
ner aforesaid,  as  follows:  To  the  *  *  Smithsonian  Institution, 
five  copies.  *  *  * 

SEC.  7.  That  after  the  close  of  each  Congress  the  Secretary  of  State 
shall  have  edited,  printed,  and  bound  a  sufficient  number  of  the 
volumes  containing  the  Statutes  at  Large  enacted  by  that  Congress 
to  enable  him  to  distribute  copies,  or  as  many  thereof  as  may  be 
needed,  as  follows:  To  the  *  *  *  Smithsonian  Institution,  two 
copies.  *  *  * 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  113.) 

ACT    OF   ORGANIZATION    OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

June  22,  1874. 

Revised  Statutes. 

Preamble. — James  Smithson,  esq.,  of  London,  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain,  having  by  his  last  will  and  testament  given  the  whole 
of  his  property  to  the  United  States  of  America,  to  found,  at  Wash- 
ington, under  the  name  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  an  estab- 
lishment for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  and 
the  United  States  having,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  received  said  property 
and  accepted  said  trust;  therefore,  for  the  faithful  execution  of  said 
trust,  according  to  the  will  of  the  liberal  and  enlightened  donor, 

SEC.  5579.  The  President,  the  Vice-President,  the  Secretary  of  State, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  the  Postmaster-General,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Chief 
Justice,  the  Commissioner  of  the  Patent  Office,  and  the  governor  of 


FORTY-THIRD   CONGRESS,   1873-1875  725 

the  District  of  Columbia,  and  such  other  persons  as  they  may  elect 
honorary  members,  are  hereby  constituted  an  establishment,  by  the 
name  of  the  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  for  the  increase  and  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  men;  and  by  that  name  shall  be  known  and  have 
perpetual  succession,  with  the  powers,  limitations,  and  restrictions 
hereinafter  contained,  and  no  other. 

SEC.  5580.  The  business  of  the  Institution  shall  be  conducted  at  the 
city  of  Washington  by  a  Board  of  Regents,  named  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  be  composed  of  the  Vice-President, 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  the  governor  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  three  members  of  the  Senate  and  three  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives;  together  with  six  other  persons  other  than 
members  of  Congress,  two  of  whom  shall  be  resident  in  the  city  of 
Washington;  and  the  other  four  shall  be  inhabitants  of  some  State, 
but  no  two  of  them  of  the  same  State. 

SEC.  5581.  The  Regents  to  be  selected  shall  be  appointed  as  follows: 
The  members  of  the  Senate  by  the  President  thereof;  the  members  of 
the  House  by  the  Speaker  thereof;  and  the  six  other  persons  by  joint 
resolution  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  The  members 
of  the  House  so  appointed  shall  serve  for  the  term  of  two  years;  and 
on  every  alternate  fourth  Wednesday  of  December  a  like  number  shall 
be  appointed  in  the  same  manner,  to  serve  until  the  fourth  Wednesday 
in  December,  in  the  second  year  succeeding  their  appointment.  The 
Senators  so  appointed  shall  serve  during  the  term  for  which  they  shall 
hold,  without  reelection,  their  office  as  Senators.  Vacancies,  occasioned 
by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  shall  be  filled  as  vacancies  in  com- 
mittees are  filled.  The  regular  term  of  service  for  the  other  six  mem- 
bers shall  be  six  years;  and  new  elections  thereof  shall  be  made  by 
joint  resolutions  of  Congress.  Vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resigna- 
tion, or  otherwise  may  be  filled  in  like  manner  by  joint  resolution  of 
Congress. 

SEC.  5582.  The  Regents  shall  meet  in  the  city  of  Washington  and 
elect  one  of  their  number  as  Chancellor,  who  shall  be  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  and  called  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  and  a  suitable  person  as  Secretary  of  the 
Institution,  who  shall  also  be  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents. 
The  Board  shall  also  elect  three  of  their  own  body  as  an  executive 
committee,  and  the  Regents  shall  fix  on  the  time  for  the  regular  meet- 
ings of  the  Board;  and,  on  application  of  any  three  of  the  Regents  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Institution,  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  appoint  a 
special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  of  which  he  shall  give  notice, 
by  letter,  to  each  of  the  members;  and,  at  any  meeting  of  the  Board, 
five  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business.  Each  member  of  the 
Board  shall  be  paid  his  necessary  traveling  and  other  actual  expenses, 
in  attending  meetings  of  the  Board,  which  shall  be  audited  by  the 


726  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

executive  committee,  and  recorded  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Board;  hut 
his  service  as  Regent  shall  be  gratuitous. 

SEC.  5583.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents  shall  take  charge 
of  the  building  and  property  of  the  Institution,  and  shall,  under  their 
direction,  make  a  fair  and  accurate  record  of  all  their  proceedings,  to 
be  preserved  in  the  Institution;  and  shall  also  discharge  the  duties  of 
librarian  and  of  keeper  of  the  museum,  and  may,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Board  of  Regents,  employ  assistants. 

SEC.  5584.  The  Secretary  and  his  assistants  shall,  respectively,  receive 
for  their  services  such  sum  as  may  be  allowed  by  the  Board  of  Regents, 
to  be  paid  semiannually  on  the  1st  day  of  January  and  July;  and  shall 
be  removable  by  the  Board  of  Regents  whenever,  in  their  judgment, 
the  interests  of  the  Institution  require  such  removal. 

SEC.  5585.  The  members  and  honorary  members  of  the  Institution 
may  hold  stated  and  special  meetings,  for  the  supervision  of  the  affairs 
of  the  institution  and  the  advice  and  instruction  of  the  Board  of 
Regents,  to  be  called  in  the  manner  provided  for  in  the  by-laws  of  the 
Institution,  at  which  the  President,  and  in  his  absence  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent, shall  preside. 

SEC.  5586.  Whenever  suitable  arrangements  can  be  made  from  time 
to  time  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious 
research,  and  all  objects  of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and 
mineralogical  specimens  belonging  to  the  United  States,  which  may 
be  in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody  they  may  be,  shall 
be  delivered  to  such  persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  Board  of 
Regents  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be  so  arranged  and  classified  in  the 
building  erected  for  the  Institution  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examina- 
tion and  study  of  them;  and  whenever  new  specimens  in  natural  history, 
geology,  or  mineralogy,  are  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  Institution, 
by  exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens,  which  the  Regents  may  in  their 
discretion  make,  or  by  donation,  which  they  may  receive,  or  otherwise, 
the  Regents  shall  cause  such  new  specimens  to  be  appropriately 
classed  and  arranged.  The  minerals,  books,  manuscripts,  and  other 
property  of  James  Smithson,  which  have  been  received  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  shall  be  preserved  separate  and  apart 
from  other  property  of  the  Institution. 

SEC.  5587.  The  Regents  shall  make,  from  the  interest  of  the  fund, 
an  appropriation,  not  exceeding  an  average  of  $25,000  annually,  for  the 
gradual  formation  of  a  library  composed  of  valuable  works  pertaining 
to  all  departments  of  human  knowledge.  [See  sees.  94,  99,  100.] 

SEC.  5588.  The  site  and  lands  selected  for  buildings  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  shall  be  deemed  appropriated  to  the  Institution,  and 
the  record  of  the  description  of  such  site  and  lands,  or  a  copy  thereof, 
certified  by  the  Chancellor  and  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  shall 
be  received  as  evidence  in  all  courts  of  the  extent  and  boundaries  of 
the  lands  appropriated  to  the  Institution. 


FORTY-THIRD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  727 

SEC.  5589.  All  laws  for  the  protection  of  public  property  in  the  city 
of  Washington  shall  apply  to,  and  be  in  force  for,  the  protection  of 
the  lands,  buildings,  and  other  property  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion. All  moneys  recovered  by  or  accruing  to,  the  Institution  shall  be 
paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  to  the  credit  of  the  Smith- 
sonian bequest,  and  separately  accounted  for. 

SEC.  5590.  So  much  of  the  property  of  James  Smithson  as  has  been 
received  in  money,  and  paid  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States, 
being  the  sum  of  $541,379.63,  shall  be  lent  to  the  United  States 
Treasury,  at  6  per  centum  per  annum  interest;  and  6  per  centum  inter- 
est on  the  trust-fund  and  residuary  legacy  received  into  the  United 
States  Treasury,  payable  in  half-yearly  payments,  on  the  1st  of  January 
and  July  in  each  year,  is  hereby  appropriated  for  the  perpetual  main- 
tenance and  support  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  all  expendi- 
tures and  appropriations  to  be  made,  from  time  to  time  to  the  purposes 
of  the  Institution  shall  be  exclusively  from  the  accruing  interest,  and 
not  from  the  principal  of  the  fund.  All  the  moneys  and  stocks  which 
have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be,  received  into  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States,  on  account  of  the  fund  bequeathed  by  James  Smithson, 
are  hereby  pledged  to  refund  to  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  the 
sums  hereby  appropriated. 

SEC.  5591.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  authorized  and  directed 
to  receive  into  the  Treasury,  on  the  same  terms  as  the  original  bequest 
of  James  Smithson,  such  sums  as  the  Regents  may,  from  time  to  time, 
see  fit  to  deposit,  not  exceeding,  with  the  original  bequest,  the  sum  of 
$1,000,000. 

SEC.  5592.  The  Regents  are  authorized  to  make  such  disposal  of  any 
other  moneys  which  have  accrued,  or  shall  hereafter  accrue,  as  interest 
upon  the  Smithsonian  fund,  not  herein  appropriated,  or  not  required 
for  the  purposes  herein  provided,  as  they  shall  deem  best  suited  for 
the  promotion  of  the  purpose  of  the  testator. 

SEC.  5593.  Whenever  money  is  required  for  the  payment  of  the 
debts  or  performance  of  the  contracts  of  the  Institution,  incurred  or 
entered  into  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  title,  or  for  mak- 
ing the  purchases  and  executing  the  objects  authorized  by  this  title, 
the  Board  of  Regents,  or  the  executive  committee  thereof,  may  certify 
to  the  Chancellor  and  secretary  of  the  Board  that  such  sum  of  money 
is  required,  whereupon  they  shall  examine  the  same,  and,  if  they  shall 
approve  thereof,  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  proper  officer  of  the 
Treasury  for  payment.  The  Board  shall  submit  to  Congress,  at  each 
session  thereof,  a  report  of  the  operations,  expenditures,  and  condition 
of  the  Institution. 

SEC.  5594.  Congress  may  alter,  amend,  add  to,  or  repeal  any  of  the 
provisions  of  this  title;  but  no  contract  or  individual  right  made  or 
acquired  under  such  provisions  shall  be  thereby  divested  or  impaired. 

(Rev.  Stat,  1875,  pp.  1088-1090.) 


728  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

PUBLIC    PRINTING. 
June  22,  1874. 

SEC.  196.  The  head  of  each  Department,  except  the  Department  of 
Justice,  shall  furnish  to  the  Congressional  Printer  copies  of  the  docu- 
ments usually  accompanying  his  annual  report,  on  or  before  the  1st 
day  of  November  in  each  year,  and  a  copy  of  his  annual  report  on  or 
before  the  3d  Monday  of  November  in  each  year. 

(Rev.  Stat.,  2d  edition,  1878,  31.) 

POLARIS    EXPEDITION. 
June  23,  1874. 

Act  for  the  relief  of  Mercy  Ann  Hall,  widow  of  Capt.  Charles  F.  Hall. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  is  hereby  author- 
ized and  directed  to  allow  and  settle  the  salary  of  Charles  F.  Hall, 
late  in  command  of  the  Polaris  expedition,  to  December  31,  1873,  and 
pay  the  balance  to  his  widow,  Mercy  Ann  Hall. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  is  hereby  authorized  to 
purchase  from  the  said  Mercy  Ann  Hall  the  manuscripts  of  said  Charles 
F.  Hall  relative  to  his  several  voyages  and  explorations  in  the  north 
seas,  at  a  price  not  exceeding  $15,000,  and,  in  case  of  purchase,  to 
deposit  the  same  with  the  officers  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
safe-keeping,  examination,  and  report  to  Congress. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  sum  of  $16,936,  or  so  much  thereof  as  ma}r  be 
necessary,  is  hereby  appropriated  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this 
act. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  614.) 

March  3,  1875. 

Deficiency  act  for  1875,  etc. 

For  printing  illustrations  of  the  results  of  the  Polaris  expedition, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  $15,000. 
(Stat.,  XVIII,  Parts,  409.) 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — ESTIMATES. 

December  7,  1874 — House. 

Estimates  for  1876. 

Preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying  and  exploring 
expeditions  of  the  Government,  $25,000. 

Smithsonian  Institution  building:  Fitting  up  new  halls  required  for 
Government  collections,  $10,000. 
December  7,  1874 — House. 

SIR:     *  I  have  also  included  an  estimate  for  the  preparation 

of  a  series  of  illustrations  of  the  American  fisheries  and  their  products 
for  exhibition  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia  in  1876. 
The  object  is  one  of  great  interest  and  practical  importance,  and  a 
proper  presentation  can  only  be  made  by  Government  aid. 


FOKTY-THIKD    CONGRESS,   1873-1875.  729 

It  is  proposed  to  furnish  a  complete  series  of  illustrations  or  models 
of  all  the  different  kinds  of  vessels  and  boats  of  every  grade  used  in 
the  various  fisheries  on  the  coast  and  in  the  interior,  together  with  the 
apparatus  employed,  of  whatever  kind,  including  not  only  what  relates 
to  the  fishes  properly  so  called,  but  also  to  the  whales,  seals,  oysters, 
lobsters,  sponges,  etc. 

Such  an  exhibition  has  always  constituted  an  important  feature  in 
the  national  display's  at  foreign  exhibitions,  and  unless  steps  are  taken 
immediately  by  the  Government  toward  that  object,  there  is  no  proba- 
bility that  anything  of  the  kind  will  be  prepared  for  the  particular 
occasion  in  question. 

The  collection  will  also  embrace  specimens  of  the  various  products 
of  the  fisheries,  both  in  their  crude  and  manufactured  condition,  with 
illustrations  of  the  objects  themselves,  including  plaster  casts,  carefully 
colored,  of  life-size,  of  such  fishes  as  can  not  be  otherwise  properly 
exhibited.  This  collection  will  finally  form,  appropriately,  a  portion 
of  the  National  Museum  at  Washington. 

Very  respectfully,  SPENCEK  F.  BAIRD, 

Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries. 

The  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — APPROPRIATIONS. 

June  20,  1874. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1875. 

For  official  postage  stamps  for  the  National  Museum  in  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  $1,000. 
(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  103.) 

June  23,  1874. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1875. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $20,000;  and 
for  fitting  up  and  completing  the  cases  in  the  new  halls  required  for 
the  Government  collections,  $10,000;  in  all,  $30,000. 

(Stat,  XVIII,  Part  3,  216.) 
March  3,  1875. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1876. 

For  official  postage  stamps  for  the  National  Museum  in  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  $1,000. 
(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  364.) 

March  3,  1875. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1876. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditious  of  the  Government,  $20,000; 


730  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

For  fitting  up  new  halls  required  for  the  Government  collections, 
$10,000; 

To  complete  the  heating  apparatus  of  the  National  Museum,  $2,500. 
(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part  3,  387.) 

KEGENTS   TO   HAVE    USE    OF   LIBRARY   OF   CONORTOSS 

March  2,  1875— Senate. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  HENRY  WILSON)  laid  before  the  Senate  a 
bill  extending  the  privileges  of  the  Library  of  Congress  to  the  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  : 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  the  Joint  Committee  of  both  Houses  of  Congress  on  the 
Library  be  authorized  to  extend  the  use  of  the  books  in  the  Library  of  Congress  to 
the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  resident  in  Washington,  on  the  same 
conditions  and  restrictions  as  members  of  Congress  are  allowed  to  use  the  Library. 

Passed. 

March  2,  1875— House. 

Mr.  G.  F.  HOAR  introduced  a  bill  extending  the  privileges  of  the 
Library  of  Congress  to  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Passed. 
March  3, 1875. 

Be  It  enacted,  etc,,  That  the  Joint  Committee  of  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress on  the  Library  be  authorized  to  extend  the  use  of  the  books  in 
the  Library  of  Congress  to  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
resident  in  Washington,  on  the  same  conditions  and  restrictions  as 
members  of  Congress  are  allowed  to  use  the  Library. 

(Stat.,  XVIII,  Part3,  512.) 


FORTY-FOURTH  CONGRESS,  1875-1877. 
Augusts,  1876. 

Restoration  of  the  original  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  a  commission,  consisting  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior,  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the 
Librarian  of  Congress,  be  empowered  to  have  resort  to  such  means  as 
will  most  effectually  restore  the  writing  of  the  original  manuscript  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  with  the  signatures  appended 
thereto,  now  in  the  United  States  Patent  Office;  and  that  the  expoi  se 
attending  the  same  be  defrayed  out  of  the  contingent  fund  of  the 
Interior  Department. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  216.) 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  731 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 

August  15,  1876. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1877. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  docu- 
ments for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  U1.^ 
March  3,  1877. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1878. 

Library   of  Congress:    For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  docu- 
ments for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 
(Stat.,  XIX,  298.) 

INDIAN    STATISTICS   AND   HISTORY. 

August  15,  1876. 

Indian  service  act  for  1877. 

For  continuing  the  collection  of  statistics  and  historical  data 
respecting  the  Indians  of  the  United  States,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  $3,500:  Provided,  That  when  sufficient 
matter  to  make  a  volume  of  statistics  and  historical  data  is  prepared 
it  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  and 
referred  by  him  to  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute  [Insti- 
tution], and  published  on  their  written  approval. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  197.) 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM   BUILDING. 

January  26,  1877 — Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  THOMAS  W.  FERRY)  presented  a 
resolution  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
adopted  at  a  meeting  held  January  24,  1877,  asking  an  appropriation 
by  Congress  for  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building  in  connection  with 
the  present  edifice  for  the  accommodation  of  additional  collections. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
February  2,  1877— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  MICHAEL  C.  KERR)  laid  before  the  House  a  pre- 
amble and  resolution  from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  relative  to  additional  room  for  the  collections  of  the  Insti- 
tution. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Appropriations. 
February  6,  1877 — Senate. 

Mr.  J.  J.  STEVENSON.  I  desire  to  present  a  memorial  from  the 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  I  desire  to  have  read. 
It  will  be  found  to  refer  to  a  subject  in  which  the  entire  country  must, 
I  am  sure,  feel  a  very  deep  interest. 


732  CONGEESSIONAL    PKOCEEDINGS. 

It  is  known  to  the  Senate  that  the  Smithsonian  Institution  was  rep- 
resented at  the  late  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia.  At  the 
close  of  that  exposition  a  number  of  the  foreign  powers  there  repre- 
sented and  who  contributed  to  that  grand  national  display,  at  its  close 
generously  donated  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  most  of  their  articles 
and  products  there  exhibited.  A  list  of  the  articles  donated  and  the 
names  of  the  donors  accompany  this  memorial.  Among  these  gifts 
will  be  found  an  exquisite  pair  of  vases  valued  at  some  $17,000. 

The  motive  which  prompted  these  donations  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  was  unquestionably  one  of  amity  and  respect  entertained 
by  the  foreign  powers  donating  them  for  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  But  unquestionably  these  donors  expected  that  this 
Government  would  through  the  agency  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
keep  these  articles  thus  donated  on  public  exhibition,  and  in  this  way 
the  respective  products  of  each  country  would  become  known  to  the 
people  of  our  entire  country. 

The  articles  donated  are  valuable,  rare,  varied,  and  occupy  much 
space.  They  are  all,  I  believe,  now  stored  in  Philadelphia,  for  the 
reason  that  the  Smithsonian  Institution  has  no  building  in  which  they 
can  be  either  exhibited  or  safely  preserved.  They  must  remain,  there- 
fore, in  boxes,  subject  to  injury  and  to  decay,  unless  Congress  shall 
take  some  immediate  action  toward  the  erection  of  a  building  in  all 
respects  suitable  for  their  exhibition  and  preservation.  The  capacity 
of  such  a  building  is  estimated  by  competent  architects  to  be  four 
times  as  large  as  the  Smithsonian  building.  A  plan  of  such  a  structure 
has  been  already  drawn  by  General  Meigs.  Its  estimated  cost  will 
not  exceed  $200,000. 

The  Regents  of  the  Institution  by  this  memorial  ask  Congress  to 
make  at  once  the  necessary  appropriation.  If  it  be  promptly  done,  a 
beautiful  and  capacious  building  can  be  put  up  and  finished  by  the 
assembling  of  Congress  in  December  next.  Of  course,  this  memorial 
should  go  first  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
The  prompt  erection  of  the  proposed  building  is  a  public  necessity 
which  I  hope  will  commend  itself  to  the  judgment  of  that  committee, 
and  I  trust  they  will  at  the  earliest  moment  make  a  report.  I  submit 
that  the  honor  and  good  faith  of  our  country  seems  to  demand  and 
require  prompt  and  liberal  action  by  Congress.  That  is  all  I  have  nowr 
to  suggest. 

Mr.  ROSCOE  CONKLING.  What  is  the  worth  of  these  articles? 

Mr.  STEVENSON.  It  is  stated  in  the  memorial  that  the  estimated 
value  is  a  million  dollars.  I  ask  that  the  memorial  be  now  read. 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  Stales  of  America  in  Congress 

assembled  : 

The  undersigned,  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  beg  leave  respectfully  to 
lay  before  you  a  question  which  has  suddenly  arisen,  and  which  can  be  solved  only 
by  your  authority. 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  733 

In  the  year  1846,  on  the  organization  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  "for  the 
increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  man,"  Congress,  to  the  great  relief  of  the 
Patent  Office  and  other  public  buildings,  devolved  upon  the  Regents  of  that  Institution 
the  custody  of  "all  objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research,  and  all  objects 
of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens  belonging  or 
hereafter  to  belong  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of  Washington." 

In  accordance  with  the  enactment  the  Institution  has  received  and  carefully  pre- 
served all  the  specimens  which  have  been  brought  together  from  more  than  fifty 
public  exploring  expeditions,  and  has  added  specimens  collected  by  itself  or  obtained 
from  foreign  museums  by  exchange,  till  its  present  edifice  in  the  beginning  of  1876 
had  become  full  to  overflowing. 

By  an  act  bearing  date  July  31,  1876,  additional  duties  were  laid  upon  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  as  custodian,  and  $4,500  were  appropriated  "for  repairing  and 
fitting  up  the  so-called  Armory  building  on  the  Mall,  between  Sixth  and  Seventh 
streets,  and  to  enable  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  store  therein  and  to  take  care  of 
specimens  of  the  extensive  series  of  the  ores  of  the  precious  metals,  marbles,  building 
stones,  coals,  and  numerous  objects  of  natural  history  now  on  exhibition  in  Philadel- 
phia, including  other  objects  of  practical  and  economical  value  presented  by  various 
foreign  governments  to  the  National  Museum." 

As  a  fruit  of  this  act  of  the  General  Government,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  finds 
itself  the  custodian  of  enormous  collections  that  had  been  displayed  at  the  Centen- 
nial Exposition,  and  on  closing  of  that  exhibition  had  been  presented  to  the  United 
States.  These  donations  are  made  by  individuals  among  our  own  citizens,  by  foreign 
exhibitors,  and  by  several  of  the  States  of  the  Union;  and  there  is  scarcely  a  power 
in  the  civilized  world  in  any  region  of  the  globe  which  has  not  taken  part  in  the  con- 
tributions, and  some  of  them  with  the  largest  generosity.  Men  of  science  most  com- 
petent to  pass  judgment  pronounce  them  to  be  of  immense  value,  and  are  of  opinion 
that,  including  the  gift  from  States  of  the  Union  and  the  exhibits  of  the  United 
States,  they  could  not  have  been  brought  together  by  purchase  for  less  than  a  mil- 
lion of  dollars. 

That  the  magnitude  and  value  of  the  donations  from  foreign  governments  may  be 
manifest,  we  annex  to  this  memorial  a  list  of  the  more  important  of  them,  as  prepared 
by  Prof.  S.  F.  Baird,  who  represented  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Philadelphia. 

Their  adequate  exhibition  requires  an  additional  building  which  shall  afford  at 
least  four  times  the  space  furnished  by  the  present  edifice  of  the  Institution. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  is  now  in  possession  of  the  materials  of  a 
museum  exhibiting  the  natural  products  of  our  own  country  associated  with  those  of 
foreign  nations  which  would  rival  in  magnitude,  value,  and  interest  the  most  cele- 
brated museums  of  the  Old  World. 

The  immediate  practical  question  is,  Shall  these  precious  materials  be  for  the  most 
part  packed  away  in  boxes,  liable  to  injury  and  decay,  or  shall  they  be  exhibited? 

It  was  the  act  of  Congress  which  ordered  the  acceptance  in  trust  of  these  noble 
gifts  to  the  United  States.  The  receiving  of  them  implies  that  they  will  be  taken 
care  of  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  the  just  expectations  of  those  who  gave  them; 
and  one  of  the  prevailing  motives  of  the  donors  was  that  the  productions  of  their 
several  lands  might  continue  to  be  exhibited.  The  intrinsic  value  of  the  donations 
is  moreover  enhanced  by  the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  made.  They 
came  to  us  in  the  one  hundredth  year  of  our  life  as  a  nation,  in  token  of  the  desire 
of  the  governments  of  the  world  to  manifest  their  interest  in  our  destiny.  This  con- 
sideration becomes  the  more  pleasing  when  we  bring  to  mind  that  these  gifts  have 
been  received,  not  exclusively  from  the  great  nations  of  Europe  from  which  we  are 
sprung,  or  from  the  empire  and  republics  on  our  own  continent  beyond  the  line,  but 
that  they  come  to  us  from  the  oldest  abode  of  civilization  on  the  Nile,  from  the  time- 
honored  empires  and  kingdoms  of  the  remotest  eastern  Asia,  and  from  the  principal 


734  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

states  which  are  rising  into  intellectual  and  industrial  and  political  greatness  in  the 
farthest  isles  and  continent;  from  states  which  are  younger  than  ourselves  and  bring 
their  contributions  as  a  congratulatory  offering  to  their  elder  brother. 

We  have  deemed  it  our  duty  to  lay  these  facts  and  reflections  before  both  Houses  of 
Congress  and  to  represent  to  them  that,  if  they,  in  their  wisdom,  think  that  this 
unequaled  accumulation  of  natural  specimens  and  works  interesting  to  science,  the 
evidence  of  the  good  will  to  us  that  exists  among  men,  should  be  placed  where  it  can 
be  seen  and  studied  by  the  people  of  our  own  land  and  by  travelers  from  abroad,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  make  an  appropriation  for  the  immediate  erection  of  a  spacious 
building.  Careful  inquiries  have  been  instituted  to  ascertain  the  smallest  sum  which 
would  be  adequate  to  that  purpose ;  and  the  plan  of  a  convenient  structure  has  been 
made  by  General  Meigs,  the  Quartermaster-General,  United  States  Army.  We  beg 
leave  further  to  represent  that  to  accomplish  the  purpose  there  would  be  need  of  an 
appropriation  of  $250,000.  This  amount  is  required  not  as  a  first  installment,  to  be 
followed  by  others,  but  as  sufficient  entirely  to  complete  the  edifice. 

Should  this  appropriation  be  made  at  an  early  day  the  building  could  be  ready  for 
the  reception  of  articles  before  the  next  session  of  Congress. 

M.  K.  WAITE, 
T.  W.  FERRY, 
H.  HAMLIN, 
J.  W.  STEVENSON, 
A.  A.  SARGENT, 
HIESTER  CLYMER, 
BEN.I.  H.  HILL, 
GEO.  W.  McCRARY, 
PETER  PARKER, 
ASA  GRAY, 
GEO.  BANCROFT, 

Regents  of  Smithsonian  Institution. 
WASHINGTON,  February  5,  1877. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRILL.  I  desire  to  say  to  the  Senate  that  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  have  already  had  the  subject 
before  them  and  would  have  made  a  report  before  this  time,  but  we 
understood  that  the  same  subject  was  before  a  committee  of  the  House, 
where  it  was  being  favorably  considered.  As  I  have  stated  in  years 
past,  it  has  seemed  to  be  a  necessity  that  we  should  provide  for  a 
National  Museum.  It  has  been  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  on 
Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  I  believe 
unanimously,  for  some  years,  that  we  ought  to  take  all  of  the  squares 
next  east  of  the  public  grounds,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
on  the  north  and  south  range  of  one  square,  taking  one  square  in  depth 
and  the  whole  length,  for  the  purpose  of  a  National  Museum  and  Con- 
gressional Library;  and  evidently  this  matter  should  be  provided  for 
at  once.  The  National  Armory,  I  understand,  is  already  filled  from 
basement  to  top. 

Mr.  A.  A.  SARGENT.  With  boxes  without  any  opportunity  for 
display. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  With  boxes  without  any  opportunity  of  displaying 
their  contents;  and  there  are  at  this  time,  as  I  am  informed,  at  least 
fifty  carloads  of  articles  that  have  been  given  to  us  by  foreign  gov- 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  735 

ernmente.  Thirty-two  or  thirty -three  out  of  the  forty  nationalities 
abroad  have  given  us  their  entire  exhibits  at  the  Centennial  Exhibi- 
tion. Their  money  value  is  scarcely  computable,  but  if  it  were  to  be 
computed  it  exceeds  our  own,  as  large  as  our  exhibits  were  there  and 
as  creditable  to  the  country.  Our  own,  I  believe,  in  money  value, 
have  been  computed  at  $400,000.  These  foreign  exhibits  are  com- 
puted, at  least  in  money  value,  at  the  sum  of  $600,000,  but  in  histor- 
ical and  scientific  interest  they  perhaps  surpass  anything  that  has  been 
assembled  in  any  national  museum  on  the  globe. 

I  shall,  therefore,  hope  to  receive  favorable  consideration  of  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  at  an  early 
day,  if  in  the  meantime  we  do  not  receive  a  bill  from  the  House  on 
the  subject. 

Mr.  J.  W.  STEVENSON.  I  now  move,  Mr.  President,  that  this  memo- 
rial be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
Allow  me  to  add  a  single  word.  1  hope  that  speedy  action  will  be  had 
b}7  both  the  Senate  and  the  committee.  I  hope  this  building  will  be 
put  on  the  Smithsonian  grounds.  There  is  ample  room  on  that  square 
without  the  cost  of  additional  ground.  Professor  Henry  assures  me 
that  with  the  erection  of  the  contemplated  building  on  the  plan  of 
General  Meigs,  with  the  articles  now  on  exhibition  in  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  with  those  just  donated,  we  shall  have  the  nucleus  of  a 
National  Museum  which  in  a  few  years  will  equal  any  in  the  world. 

Mr.  SARGENT.  Accompanying  this  memorial  is  a  list  of  the  various 
articles  contributed  by  different  powers,  by  different  exhibitors,  and 
by  States  of  the  Union,  and  I  think  that  if  Senators  will  take  the 
pains  to  examine  that  list  they  will  find  that  articles  rare  in  their  char- 
acter, of  great  interest  in  a  scientific  point  of  view,  and  of  intrinsic 
value,  have  been  given  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  To 
properly  display  these  objects  will  be  to  furnish  education  of  the  most 
valuable  character  to  all  of  our  people  (and  there  are  millions  of  them 
who  come  here)  who  visit  this  capital. 

I  wish  to  add  my  earnest  desire  that  the  committee  will  promptly 
report  a  measure  that  will  enable  us  to  open  this  great  educational 
Institution  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  to  utilize  this  vast  and 
valuable  collection  which  has  been  given  to  us,  to  show  that  we  receive 
them  from  these  powers  in  good  faith,  and  are  disposed  to  show  that 
we  properly  appreciate  the  riches  which  they  have  placed  within  our 
hands. 

I  move  that  the  list  with  the  memorial  be  printed,  and  that  they 
both  go  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 

Agreed  to. 
February  7,  1877— House. 

Mr.  HIESTER  CLTMER.  I  ask  unanimous  consent  to'  present  for 
reference  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  a  memo- 


736  CONGKESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

rial  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  beg-  permission 
briefly  to  explain  its  import. 

It  sets  forth  that  many  foreign  nations,  states,  and  individuals,  by 
whom  articles  were  sent  to  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia, 
have  made  noble  and  valuable  gifts  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  of  objects  of  art,  of  firearms,  of  mineral  and  agricultural 
products,  and  of  artistic  and  mechanic  skill.  It  may  not  be  disputed 
that  the  acceptance  of  them  by  the  Government  imposes  an  obligation 
that  they  shall  be  preserved  and  exhibited  for  the  gratification  and 
instruction  of  the  people.  Their  preservation  and  exhibition  must  be 
confided  to  the  National  Museum,  of  which  by  law  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  have  the  custody.  They  have  presented  for 
our  consideration  the  necessity  for  erecting  a  suitable  building  for  the 
purposes  1  have  indicated,  giving  an  estimate  of  its -probable  cost.  I 
do  not  ask  that  the  memorial  be  printed  in  the  Record,  as  one  of  like 
import  was  presented  to  the  Senate,  which  will  be  found  in  its  pro- 
ceedings of  yesterday.  I  therefore  ask  its  reference  to  the  Committee 
on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  and  that  the  accompanying  list,  set- 
ting forth  the  name  of  the  donors  and  the  character  of  them,  be 
printed  in  the  Record  for  the  information  of  the  House  and  the 
country. 

Mr.  CASEY  YOUNG.  I  will  say  to  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
that  there  is  already  a  bill  pending  before  the  Committee  on  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds,  on  which  a  favorable  report  has  been  pre- 
pared, and  we  only  wait  a  meeting  of  the  committee  to  order  it  to  be 
reported. 

Mr.  CLYMER.  I  am  delighted  to  have  that  information.  But  it  can 
do  the  committee  no  harm  to  have  the  memorial  referred  to  it. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  asks  unanimous 
consent  to  present  a  memorial  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  and  to  have  the  same  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds,  not  to  be  brought  back  on  a  motion  to  recon- 
sider. Is  there  objection? 

Mr.  CLYMER.  I  also  ask  that  the  list  attached  to  the  memorial  be 
printed  in  the  Record. 

Mr.  WASHINGTON  TOWNSENU,  of  Pennsylvania.  I  ask  that  the 
memorial  itself  be  printed  in  the  Record. 

Mr.  CLYMER.  With  the  accompanying  list. 

There  was  no  objection;  and   the  memorial   was  referred   to   the 
Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  and  ordered,  with  the 
accompanying  list,  to  be  printed  in  the  Record. 
February  14,  1877— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRILL,  from  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and 
Grounds,  reported  a  bill  (S.  1252)  for  the  erection  of  a  fireproof 
building  for  the  National  Museum;  which  was  read  by  its  title. 


FORTY-FOUKTH    CONGKESS,   1875-1877.  737 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRILL.  Let  the  bill  be  read  at  length.  It  will  take  but 
a  moment. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  THOMAS  W.  FERRY).  The  bill  will 
be  read  the  second  time  at  length. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  for  a  fireproof  building  for  use  of  the  National  Museum, 
300  feet  square,  to  be  erected  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  Maj.  Gen.  M.  C.  Meigs, 
now  on  file  with  the  Joint  Committee  of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  sum  of  $250,000  is 
hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  nofr  otherwise  appropriated. 
Said  building  to  be  placed  west  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  leaving  a  roadway 
between  it  and  the  latter  of  not  less  than  30  feet,  with  its  north  front  on  a  line 
parallel  with  the  north  face  of  the  buildings  of  the  Agricultural  Department  and  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  all  expenditures  for  the  purposes  herein  mentioned, 
not  including  anything  for  architectural  plans,  shall  be  audited  by  the  proper  officers 
of  the  Treasury  Department. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  bill  will  be  placed  on  the  Calendar. 
February  22,  1877 — Senate. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRILL.  I  ask  the  Senate  to  take  up  a  bill  that  will  not 
take  more  than  three  or  four  minutes  in  relation  to  the  National 
Museum.  It  is  rather  important  that  this  bill  should  be  acted  upon 
that  it  may  go  to  the  House.  The  bill  is  one  which  has  been  reported 
by  the  action  of  the  joint  committee  of  the  two  Houses,  that  is  to  say, 
of  the  committee  of  the  Senate  and  the  subcommittee  of  the  House, 
and  meets  their  unanimous  approval.  I  move  that  the  Senate  proceed 
to  the  consideration  of  the  bill  (S.  1252)  for  the  erection  of  a  fireproof 
building  for  the  National  Museum. 

Agreed  to;  and  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  considered 
bill. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  shall  not  occupy  any  time  in  an  explanation  of  this 
bill,  for  I  presume  every  Senator  recognizes  the  prime  necessity  there 
is  for  it.  The  bill  is  so  carefully  guarded  that  there  will  be  no  danger 
of  any  further  demand  upon  the  Treasury,  and  I  think  it  will  meet  the 
approbation  of  all  who  examine  it. 

The  bill  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment,  engrossed, 
and  passed. 
March  2,  1877— Senate. 

The  sundry  civil  bill  being  considered  an  amendment  was  offered: 

For  a  fireproof  building  for  the  iise  of  the  National  Museum,  300  feet  square,  to  be 
erected  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  Maj.  Gen.  M.  C.  Meigs,  now  on  file 
with  the  Joint  Committee  of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  sum  of  $250,000  is  hereby 
appropriated  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated;  said 
building  to  be  placed  west  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  leaving  a  roadway  between 
it  and  the  latter  of  not  less  than  30  feet,  with  its  north  front  on  a  line  parallel  with 

H.  Doc.  732 47 


738  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS 

the  north  face  of  the  buildings  of  the  Agricultural  Department  and  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution;  and  all  expenditures  for  the  purposes  herein  mentioned,  not  including 
anything  for  architectural  plans,  shall  be  audited  by  the  proper  officers  of  the 
Treasury  Department. 

Mr.  A.  A.  SARGENT.  On  line  500,  after  the  word  "dollars,"  I  move 
to  strike  out  the  words  "is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money  in 
the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated." 

Agreed  to. 

The  amendment,  as  amended,  was  agreed  to. 
March  3,  1877— House. 

Mr.  H.  CLYMER.  I  ask  unanimous  consent  that  the  bill  (S.  1252)  for 
the  erection  of  a  fireproof  building  for  a  National  Museum  be  taken 
from  the  Speaker's  table  and  passed. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  for  a  fireproof  building  for  the  use  of  the  National  Museum, 
300  feet  square,  to  be  erected  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  Maj.  Gen.  M.  C.  Meigs, 
now  on  file  with  the  Joint  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  sum  of  $250,000  is 
hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated; 
said  building  to  be  placed  west  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  leaving  a  roadway 
between  it  and  the  latter  of  not  less  than  30  feet,  with  its  north  front  on  a  line  parallel 
with  the  north  face  of  the  buildings  of  the  Agricultural  Department  and  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution;  and  all  expenditures  for  the  purposes  herein  mentioned,  not 
including  anything  for  architectural  plans,  shall  be  audited  by  the  proper  officers  of 
the  Treasury  Department. 

Mr.  J.  W.  THROCKMORTON.  1  object. 

Mr.  CLYMER.  I  move  that  the  rules  be  suspended  and  the  bill  passed, 
and  I  ask  unanimous  consent  to  make  a  brief  statement  in  regard  to  it. 

Mr.  R.  Q.  MILLS.  I  object. 

The  question  was  taken  on  the  motion  to  suspend  the  rules  and  pass 
the  bill;  and  on  a  division  there  were — ayes  71,  noes  41;  not  two-thirds 
voting  in  the  affirmative. 

Mr.  CLYMER.  I  call  for  tellers. 

Tellers  were  ordered;  and  Mr.  Clymer  and  Mr.  Throckmorton  were 
appointed. 

The  House  divided;  and  the  tellers  reported — ayes  106,  noes  42. 

Mr.  J.  L.  VANCE,  of  Ohio.  I  call  for  the  yeas  and  nays. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  ordered. 

The  question  was  taken,  and  there  were — yeas  99,  nays  72,  not  voting 
119,  as  follows: 

YEAS— Messrs.  Abbott,  Adams,  John  H.  Bagley,  jr.,  Ballon,  Banks,  Belford,  Bell, 
Blair,  Bliss,  Bradley,  William  R.  Brown,  Horatio  C.  Burchard,  Cannon,  Caswell, 
Caulfield,  John  B.  Clark,  jr.,  of  Missouri,  Clymer,  Conger,  Crapo,  Crounse,  Cutler, 
Danford,  Davy,  Denison,  Eames,  Evans,  Flye,  Foster,  Freeman,  Frye,  Garfield,  Hale, 
Hancock,  Haralson,  Hardenbergh,  Benjamin  W.  Harris,  Hathorn,  Raymond,  Hendee, 
Henderson,  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  Hill,  Hoge,  Hopkins,  Hubbell,  Hurlburt,  Hyman, 
Joyce,  Kasson,  Kelly,  Kimball,  Lamar,  Lynch,  Mackey,  Magoon,  MacDougall, 
McCrary,  Miller,  Money,  Monroe,  Morgan,  Nash,  O'Brien,  O'Neill,  Page,  William 
A.  Phillips,  Platt,  Pratt,  Purman,  Rainey,  John  Reilly,  James  B.  Reilly,  William  M. 


FORTY-FOUETH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  739 

Robbins,  Robinson,  Rusk,  Sampson,  Seel  ye,  Sinnickson,  Smalls,  A.  Herr  Smith, 
Stone,  Stowell,  Strait,  Tarbox,  Terry,  Martin  I.  Townsend,  Washington  Townsend, 
"Waddell,  John  W.  Wallace,  Watterson,  G.  Wiley  Wells,  White,  Whitehouse,  Andrew 
Williams,  Alpheus  S.  Williams,  Charles  G.  Williams,  James  Williams,  William  B. 
Williams,  James  Wilson,  Alan  Wood,  jr.,  Woodburn,  Woodward,  Yeates,  and 
Young — 99. 

NAYS— Messrs.  Ainsworth,  Beebe,  Bland,  Blount,  Boone,  Buckner,  John  H.  Cald- 
well,  William  P.  Caldwell,  Campbell,  John  B.  Clarke,  of  Kentucky,  Cochrane,  Col- 
lins, Culberson,  Davis,  Durham,  Ellis,  Felton,  Finley,  Forney,  Fort,  Franklin, 
Glover,  Goode,  Goodin,  Gunter,  Andrew  H.  Hamilton,  John  T.  Harris,  Harrison, 
Hartzell,  Hatcher,  Hays,  Hooker,  House,  Humphreys,  Jenks,  Thomas  L.  Jones, 
Knott,  Franklin  Landers,  George  M.  Landers,  Lawrence,  Le  Moyne,  Levy,  Lynde, 
Meade,  Mills,  Morrison,  Mutchler,  Neal,  N3w,  Payne,  John  F.  Philips,  Poppleton, 
Rea,  Reagan,  Rice,  Riddle,  Miles  Ross,  Scales,  Singleton,  Siemens,  Southard,  Sparks, 
Springer,  Stenger,  Stevenson,  Thomas,  Throckmorton,  Tucker,  Turney,  John  L. 
Vance,  Robert  B.  Vance,  Charles  C.  B.  Walker,  Walling,  Warner,  Whitthorne,  Wike, 
Jere  N.  Wiliams,  and  Benjamin  Wilson — 72. 

NOT  VOTING— Messrs.  Anderson,  Ashe,  Atkins,  Bagby,  George  A.  Bagley,  John 
H.  Baker,  William  H.  Baker,  Banning,  Bass,  Blackburn,  Bradford,  Bright,  John  Young 
Brown,  Samuel  D.  Burchard,  Burleigh,  Buttz,  Cabell,  Carr,  Cason,  Gate,  Chapin, 
Chittenden,  Cook,  Cowan,  Cox,  Darrall,  De  Bolt,  Dibrell,  Dobbins,  Douglas,  Dunnell, 
Durand,  Eden,  Egbert,  Faulkner,  Field,  Fuller,  Gause,  Gibson,  Robert  Hamilton, 
Henry  R.  Harris,  Hartridge,  Henkle,  Goldsmith  W.  Hewitt,  Hoar,  Holman,  Hos- 
kins,  Hunter,  Hunton,  Hurd,  Frank  Jones,  Kehr,  King,  Lane,  Lapham,  Leavenworth, 
Lewis,  Lord,  Luttrell,  Maish,  McDill,  McFarland,  McMahon,  Metcalfe,  Milliken, 
Norton,  Odell,  Oliver,  Packer,  Phelps,  Pierce,  Piper,  Plaisted,  Potter,  Powell,  John 
Robbins,  Roberts,  Sobieski  Ross,  Savage,  Sayler,  Schleicher,  Schumaker,  Sheakley, 
AVilliam  E.  Smith,  Stanton,  Stephens,  Swann,  Teese,  Thompson,  Thornburgh,  Tufts, 
Van  Vorhes,  Wait,  Waldron,  Gilbert  C.  Walker,  Alexander  S.  Wallace,  Walsh,  Ward, 
Warren,  Erastus  Wells,  Wheeler,  Whiting,  Wigginton,  Willard,  Willis,  Wilshire, 
and  Fernando  Wood — 119. 

So  (two-thirds  not  voting  in  favor  thereof)  the  rules  were  not  .sus- 
pended. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM— ESTIMATES. 

December  6,  1875— House. 

Estimates  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1877,  through  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior. 

Preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying  and  exploring 
expeditions  of  the  Government,  $25,000. 

Smithsonian  Institution  building:  Fitting  up  apartments  for  mount- 
ing and  photographing  specimens,  $5,000. 

NOTE. — A  separate  place  is  absolutely  necessary  for  conducting  these  operations. 
December  4,  1876— House. 

Estimates  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1878,  through  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior. 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying  and  exploring 
expeditions  of  the  Government,  $25,000. 

NOTE. — This  item  covers  the  estimated  expense  for  the  coming  fiscal  year  for  the 
charge  and  administration  of  the  entire  natural-history  collections  of  the  Government, 


740  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

including  those  transferred  from  the  Centennial,  more  than  four  times  the  collections 
of  1875. 

For  the  expense  of  watching  and  taking  proper  care  of  the  Armory 
building  and  the  objects  therein  contained,  $2,500. 

NOTE. — No  other  appropriation  is  available  for  the  care  and  attendance  of  the 
Armory  building,  lighting,  heating,  ete. 

For  expenses  of  making  up  into  sets  for  distribution  to  colleges  and 
institutions  the  duplicate  ores,  minerals,  and  objects  of  natural  history 
now  belonging  to  the  United  States  or  in  the  collections  of  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  presented  to  it  by  foreign  governments,  $10,000. 

NOTE.— This  appropriation  is  needed  in  order  to  distribute  the  large  bulk  of  dupli- 
cate material  belonging  to  the  Government,  and  for  the  distribution  of  it  to  institu- 
tions where  it  will  be  of  service.  This,  however,  is  less  urgent  in  its  necessity  than 
the  other  items.  Hundreds  of  applications  are  on  file  for  these  objects. 

December  4,  1876— House. 

Estimates  for  1878,  through  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying  and  exploring 
expeditions  of  the  Government,  $10,000. 

For  restoring  to  proper  place  in  National  Museum  and  repairing 
cases  moved  to  the  International  Exhibition  and  for  expense  of  re-ar- 
ranging the  collections,  $5,000. 

For  completing  and  fitting  up  the  building  erected  in  the  Smithso- 
nian grounds  for  the  preparation  and  photographing  of  specimens, 
$5,000. 

For  fitting  up  the  so-called  Armory  building,  on  the  Mall,  between 
Sixth  and  Seventh  streets,  for  the  reception  and  storage  of  objects 
of  natural  history,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  United  States,  including  those 
transferred  from  the  International  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia,  $2,500. 

For  expense  of  watching  and  taking  proper  care  of  the  said  building 
and  the  objects  therein  contained,  $1,500. 
January  12,  1877— House. 

Deficiency  estimates  for  1877. 

For  the  ordinary  care  and  preservation  of  the  collections,  $10,000. 

This  is  asked  for  the  following  reason: 

It  was  found  from  experience  that  $25,000  were  not  more  than  sufficient  to  arrange, 
preserve,  and  exhibit  the  collections  of  the  Government  Museum,  but  of  this  amount 
which  we  estimated  for  the  year,  only  $10,000  were  allowed,  and  it  therefore  became 
necessary  to  discharge  many  of  the  assistants,  leaving  a  number  insufficient  to  pre- 
serve the  rapidly  increasing  number  of  specimens  from  deterioration  and  destruction, 
much  less  to  put  them  in  a  condition  for  display  and  satisfactory  study. 

While  the  national  collections  have  developed  into  a  museum  in  magnitude  and 
importance  commensurate  with  many  of  the  museums  of  the  Old  World,  the  provision 
for  its  service  is  inferior  even  to  that  of  the  national  museums  of  Mexico,  Buenos 
Ayres,  Denmark,  Sweden,  etc. 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  741 

For  completion  and  equipment  of  laboratory  of  natural  history, 

$5,000. 

This  is  for  a  separate  building  erected  for  curing  and  poisoning  the  skins  and  bones 
of  animals,  making  plaster  casts  of  fishes,  etc.,  and  for  photographing  objects  of  nat- 
ural history  and  ethnology,  processes  for  which  no  adequate  provision  was  made  in 
the  original  design  of  the  Smithsonian  building  and  of  which  some  could  not  be  car- 
ried on  in  it  without  discomfort  to  the  employees  and  visitors  of  the  establishment. 

For  completion  of  fitting  up  Armory  building,  $2,500. 

For  fitting  up  the  Armory  building  as  a  temporary  place  of  storage  for  a  por- 
tion of  the  Centennial  collections,  an  additional  sum  of  $2,500  is  needed  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons: 

The  sum  previously  appropriated  of  $4,500  was  found  insufficient,  because  the 
building  had  long  been  unused,  was  in  a  dilapidated  condition,  the  windows  broken, 
and  the  whole  of  the  interior  requiring  renovation.  The  appropriation  was  expended 
in  repairs  of  a  permanent  character,  and  in  a  manner  exhibiting  marked  economy. 
The  roof  and  gutters  were  repaired,  the  whole  building  painted,  water  introduced, 
thorough  drainage  established,  new  sash,  shutters,  etc.,  provided.  These  necessary 
repairs  exhausted  the  small  appropriation,  leaving  no  provision  for  heating  and  ven- 
tilating apparatus  and  other  necessary  arrangements. 

For  lighting,  heating,  and  watching  Armory  building,  $1,500. 

An  appropriation  is  also  asked  for  the  armory  of  $1,500  for  lighting,  warming,  and 
watching  the  building,  the  necessity  for  which  must  be  evident,  and  for  which  no 
funds  are  available. 

For  restoring  cases  moved  to  Philadelphia,  and  rearranging  museum, 

$5,000. 

This  is  asked  for  restoring  to  proper  place  in  the  National  Museum  and  repairing 
the  cases  and  fixtures  removed  from  Washington  to  the  International  Exhibition,  and 
for  the  expense  of  rearranging  the  collections.  * 

In  many  instances  cases  erected  in  the  halls  of  the  Institution  were  transferred  to 
Philadelphia  and  have  since  been  returned.  In  consequence  of  this  transfer  to  and 
from  Philadelphia,  extensive  repairs  of  these  cases  are  required,  especially  in  the 
renewal  of  plate  glass.  Again,  cases  which  were  constructed  especially  for  the  Cen- 
tennial require  modification  to  fit  them  to  places  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
The  specimens  themselves  also  require  more  or  less  work  for  their  restoration,  for 
labeling,  etc. 

For  packing,  boxing,  transporting  50  carloads  of  the  exhibits  of 
thirty -three  foreign  nations  presented  to  the  United  States,  and  arrang- 
ing the  same,  $13,500. 

This  is  asked  for  the  following  reason: 

The  sum  appropriated  by  Congress  was  expended  in  the  preparation  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  specimens  exhibited  at  Philadelphia  in  the  United  States  Government 
building,  which  illustrated,  in  a  manner  to  challenge  the  admiration  of  all  who  were 
qualified  to  judge  of  such  matters,  the  mineral  and  animal  resources  of  the  country. 

At  the  close  of  this  exhibition,  however,  on  account  of  the  popularity  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  liberal  donations  it  had  made  of  books  and  speci- 
mens to  foreign  museums,  thirty-three  out  of  forty-one  foreign  governments  made 
valuable  presents  to  the  United  States  National  Museum,  in  charge  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  These  constituted  in  many  cases  nearly  the  entire  exhibits  of 
the  following  countries:  Argentine  Confederation,  Austria,  Brazil,  Bermuda,  Canada, 


742  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Chile,  China,  Egypt,  France,  Germany,  (Jreat  Britain,  Japan,  Mexico,  Netherlands, 
New  South  Wales,  New  Zealand,  Norway,  Orange  Free  State,  Peru,  Portugal,  Queens- 
land, Russia,  Sandwich  Islands,  Spain,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  South  Australia,  Tas- 
mania, Tunis,  Turkey,  Venezuela,  Victoria. 

The  value  of  these  collections  can  scarcely  be  overestimated  in  an  educational 
point  of  view  and  as  illustrations  of  special  processes  in  the  arts,  and  as  they  are  pre- 
sented through  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  United  States  and  will  fill  fifty 
large  freight  cars,  it  must  be  evident  that  means  should  be  provided  by  Congress  for 
boxing,  packing,  and  transporting  them  to  Washington. 

NATIONAL,   MUSEUM — APPROPRIATIONS. 
July  31,  1876. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1877. 

For  repairing  and  fitting  up  the  so-called  Armory  building  on  the 
Mall  between  Sixth  and  Seventh  streets,  and  to  enable  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  to  store  therein  and  to  take  care  of  specimens  of 
the  extensive  series  of  the  ores  of  the  precious  metals,  marbles,  building 
stones,  coals,  and  numerous  objects  of  natural  history  now  on  exhibi- 
tion in  Philadelphia,  including  other  objects  of  practical  and  econom- 
ical value  presented  by  various  foreign  governments  to  the  National 
Museum,  $4,500:  Provided,  That  the  said  sum  shall  be  expended  under 
the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  it 
shall  hereafter  be  the  duty  of  all  watchmen  or  policemen  employed  in 
the  grounds  belonging  to  the  United  States  to  cooperate  with  the 
Metropolitan  police  in  enforcing  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
board  of  Metropolitan  police  made  in  relation  to  the  public  works  and 
approved  by  said  board. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  120.) 

July  31,  1876.     + 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1877. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  preservation  of  the  collections  of  the 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $10,000. 

For  fitting  up  apartments  for  mounting  and  photographing  speci- 
mens, $3,000. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  109.) 
August  15,  1876. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1877. 

For  official  postage  stamps  for  the  National  Museum  in  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  $1,000. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  163.) 
March  2,  1877— Senate. 

The  Senate  having  under  consideration  the  sundry  civil  appropri- 
ation bill,  the  next  amendment  was  in  line  486,  under  the  head  of 
"  Smithsonian  Institution,"  to  increase  the  appropriation  "  for  preser- 
vation and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum"  from 
$13,000  to  $25,000. 

Agreed  to. 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  743 

The  next  amendment  was  to  insert— 

For  expenses  of  making  up  into  sets  for  distribution  to  colleges  and  academies  the 
duplicate  ores,  minerals,  and  objects  of  natural  history  now  belonging  to  the  United 
States  or  in  the  collections  of  the  international  exposition  presented  to  it  by  foreign 
governments,  $5,000. 

Agreed  to. 

March  3,  1877. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1878. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  preservation  and  care  of  the  collec- 
tions of  the  National  Museum,  $18,000. 

For  expenses  of  making  up  into  sets  for  distribution  to  colleges  and 
academies  the  duplicate  ores,  minerals,  and  objects  of  natural  history 
now  belonging  to  the  United  States,  or  in  the  collections  of  the  Inter- 
national Exposition  presented  to  it  by  foreign  governments,  $5,000. 

For  fitting  up  the  Armory  Building  for  storage  of  articles  belonging 
to  the  United  States,  including  those  transferred  from  the  Interna- 
tional Exhibition  and  expense  of  watching  the  same,  $2,500. 

(Stat.,XIX,350.) 

March  3,  1877. 

Deficiency  act  for  1877,  etc. 

For  the  National  Museum  in  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution: 
For  restoring  to  their  proper  place  in  the  National  Museum  cases 
removed  to  the  International  Exhibition,  and  rearranging  the  collec- 
tions, and  for  expenses  and  preservation  of  the  collections,  and  for 
receiving,  packing,  and  transporting  the  objects  presented  to  the 
United  States  at  the  Centennial  by  State  and  foreign  governments, 
and  for  properly  storing  and  preserving  them  until  a  proper  disposi- 
tion can  be  made  of  the  same,  $25,000. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  370.) 

PHILADELPHIA    CENTENNIAL   EXHIBITION,    1876. 

February  16,  1876. 

Whereas  by  the  act  of  Congress  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the 
celebrating  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  American  independence 
by  holding  an  international  exhibition  of  arts,  manufacture,  and  products 
of  the  soil  and  mine,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  the  year  1876,"  approved  March  3,  1875  [1871],  provision 
was  made  for  the  celebration  of  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the 
declaration  of  American  independence  by  "an  exhibition  of  American 
and  foreign  arts,  products,  and  manufactures,"  to  be  "held  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1876;"  and 

Whereas  by  the  act  of  Congress  entitled  "An  act  relative  to  the 
Centennial  International  Exhibition  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 


744  CONGRESSIONAL    PEOCEEDINGS. 

phia,  State  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1876,"  approved  June  1, 1872, 
the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance  was  incorporated,  with  authority  to 
raise  the  capital  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  the 
said  act  of  March  3,  1871;  and 

Whereas  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  compliance  with  a 
joint  resolution  of  Congress  approved  June  5,  1874,  did  "extend,  in 
the  name  of  the  United  States,  a  respectful  and  cordial  invitation 
to  the  governments  of  other  nations  to  be  represented  and  take  part 
in  the  International  Exposition  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,"  and  as  the  govern- 
ments so  invited,  to  the  number  of  thirty-eight,  have  so  accepted  such 
invitation,  and  many  of  them  are  making  extensive  preparations  to 
embrace  the  courtesy  so  extended  to  them,  thereby  rendering  proper 
arrangements  for  the  coming  ceremonies  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  a  matter  of  honor  and  good  faith;  and 

Whereas  the  preparations  designed  by  the  United  States  Centennial 
Commission,  and  in  part  executed  by  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance, 
are  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  acts  of  Congress  relating 
thereto  and  are  on  a  scale  creditable  to  the  Government  and  people  of 
the  United  States:  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  sum  of  $1,500,000,  to  complete  the 
Centennial  buildings  and  other  preparations,  be,  and  the  same  is 
hereby,  appropriated,  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  United  States  Treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated,  which  shall  be  paid  on  the  drafts  of  the 
president  and  treasurer  of  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance,  one-third 
immediately  after  the  passage  of  this  act  and  the  remainder  in  four 
equal  monthly  payments:  Provided,  That  in  the  distribution  of  any 
moneys  that  may  remain  in  the  treasury  of  the  Centennial  Board  of 
Finance  after  the  payment  of  its  debts,  as  provided  for  by  the  tenth 
section  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved  June  1,  1872,  incorporating 
said  Centennial  Board  of  Finance,  the  appropriation  hereinbefore 
made  shall  be  paid  in  full  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States 
before  any  dividend  or  percentage  of  the  profits  shall  be  paid  to  the 
holders  of  said  stock:  Provided  also,  That  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  shall  not,  under  any  circumstances,  be  liable  for  any 
debt  or  obligation  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  or 
the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance  or  any  payment  in  addition  to  the 
foregoing  sum. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  money  by  this  act  appropriated  shall  be  paid  to 
the  treasurer  of  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance  only  after  he  and 
the  president  of  the  board  shall  have  executed  a  bond  in  the  sum  of 
$500,000  to  the  United  States,  with  sufficient  security,  to  be  approved 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for  the  safe-keeping  and  faithful 
disbursement  of  the  sum  hereby  appropriated. 

(Stat.,  XIX,  3.) 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  745 

April  17,  1876. 

Be  it  enacted^  etc.,  That  the  sum  of  $40,000  be,  and  the  same  is 
hereby,  appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  for  the  purpose  of  examination  and  appraisement  and 
for  the  incidental  expenses  connected  with  the  admission  of  foreign 
goods  to  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia. 

(Stat,  XIX,  34.) 

May  1,  1876. 

Deficiency  act  for  1876,  etc. 

For  the  purpose  of  paying  the  expenses  of  transportation,  care,  and 
custody,  arranging  and  exhibiting,  and  safe  return  of  articles  belong- 
ing to  the  United  States,  to  be  presented  and  exhibited  in  the  United 
States  building  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia,  during 
the  year  1876,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Congress  approved  March  3, 
1875,  the  following  sums  are  hereby  appropriated,  namely:  * 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $21,000:  *  *  *  Provided,  That 
for  contingent  expenses  any  surplus  arising  from  appropriations  made 
to  either  of  said  Departments  by  act  of  March  3,  1875,  is  hereby 
authorized  to  be  used  for  the  purposes  herein  mentioned. 

(Stat,  XIX,  45.) 

July  20,  1876. 

Be  it  resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  act  approved  June  18,  1874,  entitled 
"An  act  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  intended  for  the  International 
Exhibition  of  1876,"  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  so  amended  as  to  per- 
mit the  sale  and  delivery,  during  the  exhibition,  of  goods,  wares,  and 
merchandise  heretofore  imported  and  now  in  the  exhibition  buildings, 
subject  to  such  additional  regulations  for  the  security  of  the  revenue 
and  the  collection  of  duties  thereon  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
may  in  his  discretion  prescribe. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  entire  stock  of  each  exhibitor,  consisting  of  goods, 
wares,  and  merchandise  imported  by  him  and  now  in  said  buildings,  is 
hereby  declared  liable  for  the  payment  of  duties  accruing  on  any  por- 
tion thereof,  in  case  of  the  removal  of  such  portion  from  said  build- 
ings without  payment  of  the  lawful  duties  thereon. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  penalties  prescribed  by  and  the  provisions  con- 
tained in  section  3082  of  the  Revised  Statutes  shall  be  deemed  and 
held  to  apply  in  the  case  of  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  now  in 
said  buildings  sold,  delivered,  or  removed  without  payment  of  duties, 
in  the  same  manner  as  if  such  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  had  been 
imported  contrary  to  law;  and  the  article  or  articles  so  sold,  delivered, 
or  removed  shall  be  deemed  and  held  to  have  been  so  imported  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  parties,  respectively,  concerned  in  such  sale,  deliv- 
ery, or  removal. 

(Stat,  XIX,  214.) 


746  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 


PHILADELPHIA    CENTENNIAL    EXPOSITION.— GOVERNMENT    EXHIBIT. 

February  1,  1877— House. 

Mr.  HOPKINS,  from  the  Select  Committee  on  the  Centennial  Cele- 
bration, submitted  report,  No.  144: 

That  they  have  fully  and  carefully  considered  the  President's  rec- 
ommendation, and  also  the  letters  from  Professors  Henry  and  Baird, 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  are  hereto  attached,  and  they 
appreciate  the  great  importance  of  prompt  and  favorable  action  I)}' 
Congress  to  provide  a  suitable  building  for  the  preservation  and  dis- 
play of  perhaps  the  largest,  most  interesting  and  valuable  museum  in 
the  world. 

It  may  be  well  to  call  attention  to  the  history  of  the  Government 
exhibit,  and  to  its  character,  extent,  and  value,  especially  as  it  has 
been  increased  by  large  and  generous  donations  from  other  nations 
who  were  also  exhibitors  at  our  Centennial  Exposition. 

INCEPTION  OF  THE  IDEA  OF  A  GOVERNMENT  EXHIBIT. 

Call  of  the  President.— Qn  the  23d  of  January,  1874,  the  President 
of  the  United  States  called  upon  the  various  departments  of  the 
Government,  including  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  nominate  one 
member  each,  to  constitute  a  board  in  behalf  of  the  Executive  Depart- 
ments, to  which  should  be  committed  the  preparation  and  adoption  of 
a  plan  for  a  collective  exhibition  at  the  International  Exhibition  of 
1876  ' '  of  such  articles  and  material  as  will  illustrate  the  functions  and 
administrative  faculties  of  the  Government  in  time  of  peace  and  its 
resources  as  a  war  power,  and  thereby  serve  to  demonstrate  the  nature 
of  our  institutions  and  their  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the  people." 

Appointment  of  board  of  Executive  Department. — The  persons  desig- 
nated in  response  to  the  call  of  the  President  were  the  following: 

By  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  F.  M.  Sawyer. 

By  the  Secretary  of  War,  Col.  S.  C.  Lyford,  IJ.  S.  A. 

By  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Admiral  T.  A.  Jenkins,  U.  S.  N. 

By  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  John  Eaton. 

By  the  Postmaster-General,  Charles  F.  McDonald. 

By  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  William  Saunders. 

By  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  S.  F.  Baird. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  1874,  the  nominations  were  approved  by  the 
President  for  the  board  referred  to,  and  Col.  S.  C.  Lyford  was  desig- 
nated as  chairman.  Subsequently,  on  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Saw- 
yer, Mr.  R.  W.  Tayler  was  appointed  in  behalf  of  the  Treasury 
Department. 

The  first  business  before  the  board  being  that  of  preparing  a  gen- 
eral plan  of  the  exhibition  and  estimates  of  the  cost  of  carrying  this 
out  for  each  department,  the  following  estimates  were  made,  after  a 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,    1875-1877.  747 

careful  consideration  of  the  subject,  as  being  absolutely  necessary  to 
accomplish  the  work  on  a  proper  scale: 

Original  estimates  of  board. 

Interior  Department $211, 000 

Treasury  Department 5, 000 

Post-Office  Department 5, 000 

Agricultural  Department : 50, 000 

Smithsonian  Institution 100, 000 

War  Department 200, 000 

Navy  Department 150, 000 

Add  for  show  cases,  shelving,  incidentals,  etc 50, 000 

For  a  separate  building,  capable  of  removal  to  Washington  after  the  close 
of  the  exhibition,  to  be  used  as  a  national  museum  at  the  capital  of  the 

nation 200,  000 

971,000 

Amount  actually  appropriated. — These  estimates  were  reduced  by 
the  Committee  on  Appropriations  to  the  following,  which  was  Dassed 
without  opposition  from  any  quarter: 

War  Department $133,000 

Navy  Department 100, 000 

Interior  Department 115, 000 

Treasury  Department 5, 000 

Post-Office  Department 5, 000 

Agricultural  Department 50, 000 

Smithsonian  Institution 67, 000 

United  States  Commission  of  Food-Fishes 5, 000 

For  show  cases,  shelving,  stationery,  postage,  telegrams,  expressage,  and 

incidentals 25, 000 


505,000 

Authority  was  also  given  in  the  enactment  to  erect  any  building  or 
part  of  a  building  that  might  be  necessary,  to  be  "paid  for  pro  rata 
out  of  the  sums  appropriated  to  the  several  departments,  the  United 
States  Commission  of  Food-Fishes,  the  Treasury  and  Post-Office  De- 
partments excepted,  the  cost  of  the  building  not  to  exceed  1150,000, 
said  building  to  be  sold  at  the  close  of  the  exhibition  and  the  proceeds 
covered  into  the  Treasury  as  miscellaneous  receipts." 

Authority  was  also  given  to  the  heads  of  the  several  Executive 
Departments  to  display  at  the  exhibition,  under  such  conditions  as 
they  might  prescribe,  all  such  articles  in  store  or  under  the  control  of 
such  departments  as  might  be  necessary  or  desirable  to  render  the  col 
lection  complete  and  exhaustive,  but  the  board  were  forbidden  to 
expend  any  larger  sum  than  was  set  down  for  each  department  or  to 
enter  into  any  contract  or  engagement  that  should  result  in  any  such 
increased  expenditure.  *  *  * 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 


748  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Erection  of  building. — A  committee  of  the  board  of  the  respective 
Departments  was  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  all  the  matters 
relating  to  this  building,  and  to  consider  plans  for  the  same;  and  from 
several  offered  them,  that  of  an  edifice  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  designed 
by  James  H.  Windrim,  of  Philadelphia,  was  selected.  The  floor  of  this 
occupied  102,840  square  feet,  of  which  20,840  was  taken  up  by  passages, 
leaving  a  space  remaining  of  82,000  square  feet  for  exhibition  purposes. 
It  was  completed  and  ready  for  occupation  March  1,  1876,  on  which 
date  it  was  accepted  by  the  board.  The  space  assigned  to  each  Depart- 
ment was  as  follows: 

Feet. 

War  Department 1 1,  200 

Navy  Department 10,  400 

Treasury  Department 3, 000 

Post-Office  Department 3,  800 

Interior  Department 20,  600 

Agricultural  Department 6,  000 

Smithsonian  Institution 20, 600 

Fish  Commission 6, 000 


81,600 

The  original  contract  for  the  cost  of  this  building  was  $67,201.61, 
but  subsequent  changes  somewhat  increased  the  amount.  These,  with 
other  expenses,  such  as  grading  the  grounds,  etc.,  made  the  total 
amount  to  be  deducted  from  the  available  fund  and  divided  pro  rata 
among  the  various  Departments,  with  the  exception  of  the  Treasury 
and  the  Commission  of  Food  Fishes,  about  $94,000,  leaving  about 
$411,000  for  the  actual  purposes  of  the  display. 

The  building  was  entirely  of  wood,  and  of  course  liable  to  damage 
from  fire.  A  careful  guard  was,  however,  maintained,  and  no  accident 
of  any  kind  occurred  during  the  exhibition. 

Completeness  on  opening  day. — Although  the  time  at  the  command 
of  the  board  for  the  preparation  of  the  exhibit  was  short,  and  the 
amount  of  money  appropriated  to  carry  out  the  plans  of  the  several 
Departments  was  considered  by  them  insufficient  for  the  purpose,  on 
the  opening  day  of  the  exhibition  most  of  the  articles  were  in  their 
places,  this  being  especially  the  case  with  those  of  the  Army  and  Navy; 
and  the  remainder  were  ready  within  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  later. 
In  this  respect  the  Government  display  was  in  advance  of  those  in  the 
other  buildings,  the  internal  arrangements  of  which  were  more  or  less 
incomplete  for  a  long  time  after  the  10th  of  May. 


THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITl'TION. 


This  illustrated,  first,  the  operations  of  the  Institution  itself;  sec- 
ond, that  of  the  National  Museum  of  the  United  States  under  its 
charge. 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  7-19 

1.  The  Smitlisonian  Institution. — This  display  contained  a  full  series 
of  all  the  publications  of  the  Institution  and  charts  illustrating  its 
system  of  international  exchanges,  with  a  set  of  large  charts,  showing 
the  mean  temperature  and  the  rainfall  in  the  United  States. 

2.  National  Museum,  undei*  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution.—  In  the  museum  section  were  shown  collections  illustrating  the 
economical  mineral  wealth  of  the  United  States,  in  a  series  of  ores  of 
the  precious  and  baser  metals  and  their  metallurgy,  including  speci- 
mens of  the  metals  and  their  simple  applications;  the  materials  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  glass,  such  as  sand,  soda,  etc.,  and  the  earth 
and  clays,  with  their   applications   in  tiles,  terra  cotta,  bricks,  and 
pottery;  the  different  varieties  of  coal,  petroleum;    samples  of  the 
principal  building  stones,  as  marble,  granite,  etc. 

The  animal  section  contained,  first,  representations  of  the  animals 
of  the  United  States  of  economical  importance  to  the  country,  as  fur- 
nishing food,  ivory,  bone,  leather,  glue,  furs,  bristles,  oil,  etc.;  second, 
the  apparatus  by  which  these  animals  are  pursued  and  captured;  third, 
the  means  by  which  they  are  utilized  for  the  wants  or  luxuries  of  man 
when  taken;  fourth,  specimens  of  the  products  of  such  utilization  and 
their  simple  applications,  and,  fifth,  the  methods  by  which  they  are 
protected  and  multiplied. 

The  United  States  Fish  Commission. — In  this  was  shown  a  series  of 
models  in  plaster  or  papier-mache  of  the  principal  fishes  and  cretaceans 
of  the  United  States,  and  photographs  and  original  drawings  of  the 
same,  as  furnishing  oil,  bone,  or  manure,  together  with  the  apparatus 
of  pursuits  and  capture;  models  of  boats  of  different  styles  of  con- 
struction, and  special  illustrations  of  the  whale  fishery.  Also  the 
methods  of  fish  culture,  in  illustrations  of  hatching  boxes,  carrying 
vessels,  models  of  fish  ways,  etc.  This  display  and  that  of  the  animal 
department  of  the  Smithsonian  exhibit  were  more  or  less  united,  and 
illustrated  not  only  the  methods  and  appliances  of  civilized  man  in  this 
connection,  but  also  those  of  the  American  savage. 

Public  opinion  in  regard  to  the  Government  exhibit. — As  already 
remarked,  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  Government  exhibit  were  unable 
to  make  it  as  complete  as  they  had  hoped,  on  account  of  the  reduced 
appropriation  for  the  purpose;  but  as  it  was,  it  was  considered  by  all 
visitors  as  decidedly  the  best  part  of  the  International  Exhibition,  in 
view  of  the  extent  and  exhaustiveness  of  the  collection  and  the  method 
and  order  of  its  display. 

No  special  catalogue  of  the  Government  exhibits  was  printed, 
authority  not  having  been  obtained  from  Congress  for  the  purpose, 
although  a  very  full  catalogue  had  been  prepared. 

The  building  was  constantly  the  resort  of  intelligent  visitors  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  a  great  many  critical  reports  have  been 
published  already  in  foreign  journals  in  regard  to  this  display.  Pro- 


750  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

fessor  Archer,  one  of  the  chief  commissioners  from  Great  Britain,  in 
a  lecture  recently  delivered  before  the  Society  of  Arts  in  London,  uses 
the  following  language  in  speaking  of  the  United  States  Government 
building  and  its  annexes: 

This  group  consisted  of  a  very  large  edifice,  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  erected  by  the 
United  States  Government  at  a  cost  of  $60,000,  and,  in  addition,  a  laboratory  for  illus- 
trations of  arsenal  work  and  a  model  military  hospital,  which  was  of  great  practical 
utility  during  the  exhibition.  Within  the  chief  building  was  displayed  most  inter- 
esting and  instructive  collections,  illustrative  of  the  work  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, and  the  general  and  geological  surveys  of  the  States,  the  mineral,  zoological, 
and  botanical  collections  connected  with  those  surveys,  and  also  most  important 
ethnological  and  prehistoric  collections.  The  great  collection  of  food-fishes  of 
America,  made  for  the  Fishery  Commission  by  Professor  Baird,  with  the  appliances 
for  catching  and  preserving  fish ;  also  series  illustrating  the  various  naval  and  mili- 
tary weapons  and  engines,  and  machinery  for  arsenal  work;  and,  lastly,  a  complete 
display  of  all  the  applications  in  the  postal  department  of  the  States.  The  general 
arrangement  of  the  contents  of  this  large  building,  covering  about  2  acres,  was  most 
satisfactory  and  had  been  carried  out  under  the  most  competent  scientific  super- 
vision; hence  it  was  felt  to  be  the  most  instructive  portion  of  the  Centennial  Exhibi- 
tion. It  brought  into  full  view  a  great  mass  of  the  intellectual  work  of  some  of  the 
greatest  of  American  workers  in  the  fields  of  science.  (Journal  of  the  Society  of 
Arts,  December  22,  1876. ) 

These  suggestions  were  based  upon  the  exhibit  as  actually  made,  and 
which  closed  with  the  expiration  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition  on  the 
10th  of  November. 

DONATIONS   TO   THE    UNITED    STATES   GOVERNMENT. 

After  the  close  of  the  exhibition  a  new  element  was  introduced  into 
the  question  of  the  transfer  of  the  Government  collections  to  Wash- 
ington and  their  arrangement  for  inspection  and  study,  namehr,  the 
donation  to  the  United  States  of  many  objects  or  entire  collections 
that  had  been  displayed  elsewhere  in  the  exhibition  than  in  the  Gov- 
ernment building.  These  were  derived  from  two  sources: 

First.  From  American  State  commissions  and  private  exhibitors, 
by  whom  much  material  of  great  value  was  presented  and  tending  to 
fill  up  important  blanks. 

Second.  From  the  commissions  of  the  several  foreign  governments 
participating  in  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876. 

The  experience  of  previous  expositions  had  indicated  the  proba- 
bility of  contributions  from  the  latter  source,  and  to  meet  the  expected 
emergency  Congress  at  its  last  session  granted  the  Armory  building 
to  the  National  Museum,  and  made  an  appropriation  for  the  purpose 
in  the  following  words: 

For  repairing  and  fitting  up  the  so-called  Armory  building,  on  the  Mall,  between 
Sixth  and  Seventh  streets,  and  to  enable  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  store  therein 
and  to  take  care  of  specimens  of  the  extensive  series  of  the  ores  of  the  precious 
metals,  marbles,  coals,  and  numerous  objects  of  natural  history  now  on  exhibition  in 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  751 

Philadelphia,  including  [any]  other  articles  of  practical  and  economical  value,  pre- 
sented by  various  foreign  governments  to  the  National  Museum,  $4,500:  Provided, 
That  the  said  sum  shall  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

The  contributions  from  the  States  were  of  very  great  value; 
Nevada,  Utah,  Montana,  Tennessee,  etc.,  presenting  most  valuable 
series  of  their  ores,  while  an  aggregate  of  much  magnitude  was 
received  from  individuals;  minerals,  metals,  ores,  building  stones, 
coals,  pottery,  etc.,  all  being  included.  It  was,  however,  from  the 
foreign  commissions  as  above  referred  to  that  the  greatest  mass  was 
derived,  so  that,  although  the  gift  of  some  articles  was  anticipated, 
the  members  of  the  Government  board  were  not  prepared  for  the 
wholesale  donation  of  by  far  the  greatest  portion  of  the  collective 
exhibits  made  by  foreign  nations,  as  well  as  those  of  many  of  their 
individual  exhibitors.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  specimens  of 
mining  and  metallurgy,  ores,  metals,  combustibles,  building  stones, 
earths,  clays,  tiles,  terra  cotta,  and  pottery;  vegetable  products,  as 
samples  of  woods,  fibers,  seeds,  medicinal  plants,  etc.,  furs,  skins,  gel- 
atin, samples  of  industrial  products  in  the  way  of  woven  and  plaited 
fabrics,  objects  in  metal,  wood,  glass,  earthen  wares,  illustrations  of 
manners  and  customs,  etc. 

List  of  countries  from  which  donations  were  received. — The  nations 
from  which  were  received  the  collections  in  question  are  the  following: 

Argentine  Republic,  Austria,  Africa  (Orange  Free  State),  Belgium, 
Brazil,  Chile,  China,  Egypt,  France,  German  Empire,  Hawaiian 
Islands,  Japanese  Empire,  Mexico,  Netherlands,  Norway,  Peru,  Por- 
tugal, Russia,  Spain,  Philippine  Islands,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Tunis, 
Turkey,  United  Kingdom  and  Colonies,  Bermuda,  Canada,  New  South 
Wales,  New  Zealand,  Queensland,  South  Australia,  Tasmania,  Vic- 
toria, Venezuela. 

The  commissions  which  are  not  included  in  this  list  had  nothing  at 
their  disposal,  their  exhibitions  consisting  either  purely  of  private 
material  reclaimed  or  otherwise  disposed  of  by  their  owners,  or,  as  in 
the  case  of  several  British  colonies,  of  articles  borrowed  from  the 
colonial  museum  in  London  and  necessarily  returned  there. 

Assignment  of  collections  received. — While  no  special  authority  had 
been  given  by  Congress  to  receive  these  articles,  it  was  not  considered 
proper  to  refuse  them,  and  they  were  accordingly  taken  charge  of  by 
the  several  departments  of  the  Government  to  which  they  were  most 
nearly  related.  An  exhibit  of  the  iron,  chain  cables,  cordage,  etc.,  of 
the  naval  department  of  Russia  was  received  by  the  representatives  of 
the  Navy  Department.  To  the  Bureau  of  Education  was  delivered 
everything  of  an  educational  character.  The  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture received  the  articles  belonging  to  the  vegetable  kingdom,  such  as 
sections  of  wood,  fibers,  grains,  seeds,  etc.,  while  articles  belonging  to 


752  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  mineral  and  animal  kingdoms,  and  as  illustrative  of  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  people,  were  taken  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  objects  relating  to  the  fisheries  by  the  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission. 

Accompanying  communications  from  some  of  these  departments  give 
in  fuller  detail  the  character  of  these  donations.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
so  far  as  the  Bureau  of  Education,  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the  Commission  of  Food-Fishes  are  con- 
cerned, the  collections  promise  to  exceed  in  magnitude  their  own  Cen- 
tennial exhibitions. 

PROPOSED    TRANSFER    OF   THIS    COLLECTION    TO    WASHINGTON. 

General  feeling  on  the  subject. — The  interest  in  the  exhibition  of  the 
Government  very  naturally  suggested  to  many  the  importance  of 
transferring  it  to  Washington  and  maintaining  it  in  its  original  form, 
and  numerous  suggestions  and  earnest  appeals  to  that  effect  have 
already  appeared  in  the  public  press.  This  feeling  met  with  special 
expression  in  a  resolution  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  at  its 
session  in  Philadelphia  in  October;  and  in  compliance  with  its  instruc- 
tions, Professor  Henry,  its  president,  transmitted  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  the  following  communication: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  November  13,  1876. 
To  His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences  held  in  October  last  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unani- 
mously adopted: 

' '  Whereas  the  members  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  have  been  greatly 
impressed  by  the  extent,  rarity,  and  richness  of  the  truly  national  collection  con- 
tained in  the  Government  building  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  and  considering 
the  great  importance  and  lasting  interest  with  which  the  people  of  the  United  States 
must  regard  this  collection:  Therefore, 

" 'Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  the  Academy  the  Government  collections  as  a 
whole  should  be  transferred  to  Washington,  and  there  preserved  in  an  appropriate 
building  for  perpetual  exhibition. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Academy  entertains  the  hope  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  will  favor  the  foregoing  proposition;  that  he  will  delay  the  dispersion  of  the 
exhibit  from  the  several  Executive  Departments  until  Congress  has  assembled,  and 
that  he  will  recommend  to  that  body  to  provide  for  the  transfer  of  the  Government 
collection  to  the  city  of  Washington,  and  for  its  subsequent  permanent  support," 

In  transmitting  these  resolutions  to  Your  Excellency,  I  beg  leave,  in  favor  of  the 
proposition,  to  suggest,  first,  that  the  exhibit  would  form  a  fitting  memorial  of  the 
centennial  condition  of  the  country;  second,  that  it  would  illustrate  in  a  striking 
manner  the  appliances  used  by  the  Government  in  carrying  on  its  various  and  com- 
plex operations;  third,  that  it  would  be  a  repository  in  which  the  natural  resources 
of  each  State  would  be  exhibited;  fourth,  that  it  would  give  information,  in  one 
veiw  of  importance  to  the  statesman,  legislator,  scientist,  educator,  and  the  capitalist 
of  our  own  and  of  foreign  countries;  fifth,  it  would  be  of  interest  to  the  intelligent 
public  at  large,  and  would  meet  the  approbation  of  all  who  regard  the  prosperity  of 
the  country,  and  take  pride  in  the  condition  of  the  national  capital. 


FOETY-FOUETH    CONGEESS,   1875-1877.  753 

In  conclusion,  it  may  not  perhaps  be  improper  to  remark  that  I  do  not  advocate 
this  proposition  for  the  purpose  of  extending  the  power  and  influence  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.      On  the  contrary,  I  think  the  exhibit  should  be  made  a  truly 
national  one,  and  be  immediately  under  the  control  of  the  Government. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 
President  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

Economical  value  of  the  collection.  — Embracing  as  these  donations  do 
the  essential  portion  of  the  displays  of  foreign  nations,  such  as  their 
natural  products,  general  industries  and  educational  and  scientific 
methods,  etc. ,  it  is  clearly  evident  that  the  element  of  the  Centennial 
exhibition  of  most  importance  to  the  American  people  has  thus  been 
left  to  it,  in  the  closing  of  the  centennial,  and  if  properly  administered 
must  conduce  in  a  very  great  degree  to  the  material  and  mental  advance 
of  the  nation.  By  rearranging  it  in  a  systematic  manner,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  articles  already  shown,  a  most  instructive  and  important 
museum  can  be  made  available  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  We 
are  assured  that  no  such  collection  as  this  is  to  be  found  in  any  part  of 
the  world;  and  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  it  can  ever  again  be  repro- 
duced, as  many  of  the  nations  represented  at  the  centennial  have  inti- 
mated their  intention  of  not  taking  part  in  the  Paris  or  any  future 
exposition. 

Distribution  of  duplicates. — As  might  be  expected,  a  large  amount 
of  duplicate  material  accompanies  these  donations  to  the  United  States 
from  American  and  foreign  sources,  which,  when  a  final  arrangement 
is  accomplished,  can,  if  Congress  so  direct,  be  distributed  to  various 
educational  and  industrial  establishments  throughout  the  United  States. 

Commercial  value. — The  expenditures  of  the  United  States,  for  an 
exhibition  lasting  but  six  months,  have  amounted  to  nearly  $600,000. 
The  donations  from  our  own  States  and  individuals,  tending  to  fill  up 
some  of  the  gaps  and  complete  the  American  display,  which  an  insuf- 
ficient appropriation  interfered  with,  and  those  from  foreign  nations 
which  have  been  given  to  the  United  States,  can  hardty  be  considered 
as  overvalued  at  $400,000,  and  we  therefore  have  an  aggregate  of  prop- 
erty, in  value  of  at  least  a  million  of  dollars  to  provide  for. 

Future  increase  of  collections.— Premises  have  been  made  by  most  of 
the  foreign  commissions  to  complete  any  portion  illustrating  the  nat- 
ural products  and  industries  of  their  respective  countries  whenever  the 
arrangement  of  the  collection  shows  the  deficiencies. 

Action  of  the  President  in  regard  to  transfer. — In  view  of  the  magni- 
tude  of  the  collections  thus  acquired  by  the  United  States,  and  the 
inadequacy  of  any  present  provision  for  their  transfer  to  Washington 
and  their  arrangement  here,  as  also  in  view  of  the  urgency  of  the 
appeal  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  President,  under  date 
of  November  17,  1876,  issued  an  order  forbidding  the  removal  of  the 
articles  in  the  Government  building  until  some  arrangement  could  be 
H.  Doc.  732 48 


754  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

made  in  regard  to  them.  This  order  was  subsequently  modified  by 
allowing  such  objects  as  were  required  for  the  use  of  the  Government 
in  Washington  or  elsewhere  to  be  transferred,  as  also  such  as  were 
liable  to  decay  or  injury  by  remaining  in  a  building  exposed  to  cold 
and  dampness.  The  greater  part  of  these  articles  are  now  stored  in 
the  Government  building  at  Philadelphia  waiting  some  action  on  the 
part  of  Congress. 

Demolition  of  Government  centennial  building  soon  required. — As 
the  contract  made  by  the  park  commission  with  the  Centennial  Com- 
mission requires  the  removal  of  all  the  buildings  within  sixty  days  of  the 
close  of  the  exhibit,  it  is  necessary  to  take  speedy  action  on  this  sub- 
ject; and  if  Congress  does  not  see  fit  to  erect  a  building  at  the  present 
time  for  the  proper  display  of  the  collections,  measures  must  at  any 
rate  be  authorized  for  their  removal  to  Washington  and  their  storage 
in  some  safe  place.  As  the  appropriations  made  to  the  Government 
board  did  not  contemplate  these  foreign  and  domestic  donations  in 
their  enormous  aggregate,  and  are  'entirely  inadequate  to  handling 
them,  your  committee  earnestly  recommend  that  an  appropriation  be 
made  to  convey  this  large  and  most  interesting  collection  to  Wash- 
ington City,  and  for  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building  in  which  to 
exhibit  the  same,  so  that  all  of  our  citizens  may  have  free  access  and 
abundant  opportunity  to  study  the  contents  of  a  really  international 
museum. 

No  argument  is  needed  to  prove  the  beneficial  effects  upon  the  whole 
people  of  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  great  resources  of  our  own 
and  of  other  nations.  And  the  advantages  which  will  be  afforded  by 
the  contemplated  museum  can  not  be  overestimated. 

The  location  and  plans  suggested  by  Professors  Henry  and  Baird 
seem  to  your  committee  convenient  and  proper.  The  very  nature  of 
the  collection  suggests  its  association  with  the  museum  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution;  but  securing  and  providing  for  the  display  is 
vastly  more  important  than  the  selection  or  adoption  of  any  specific 
place. 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,  January  %4,  1877. 

SIR:  As  chairman  of  the  committee  to  which  was  referred  so  much  of  the  Presi- 
dent's message  as  relates  to  the  transfer  of  the  Government  collections  to  Washing- 
ton, I  beg  leave  to  submit  to  you  the  following  remarks: 

1.  Congress,  in  the  organization  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  directed  that  it 
should  make  provision,  on  a  liberal  scale,  for  a  museum,  which  should  contain  all 
objects  of  natural  history  and  of  curious  and  foreign  research  belonging  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. In  accordance  with  this  direction  the  Institution  erected  a  building, 
which  has  cost  upward  of  $500,000,  from  the  Smithson  fund.  It  has  also  developed 
and  for  many  years  principally  supported  this  museum,  the  collections  being  the 
property  of  the  Government,  while  the  building  was  erected  out  of  the  Smithson 
fund. 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  755 

2.  On  account  of  the  appropriations  of  Congress  for  the  Centennial,  and  the  liberal 
donations  which  have  been  made  to  the  collections  by  the  States  of  the  Union,  by 
individuals,  and  especially  by  foreign  governments,  the  National  Museum  has  sud- 
denly increased  to  fourfold  its  previous  dimensions. 

3.  For  this  increase  an  additional  building  is  required,  which  can  not  be  made,  as 
the  previous  one  was,  from  the  income  of  the  Smithson  fund,  and  means  must  there- 
fore be  provided  by  an  appropriation  from  Congress  for  this  purpose. 

4.  The  edifice  required  should  be  placed  in  connection  with  the  present  Smith- 
sonian building,  in  order  that  the  whole  may  form  one  system;  for  should  it  be  placed 
on  other  grounds  and  made  a  distinct  museum,  the  present  Smithsonian  building,  far 
too  large  for  its  own  operations  and  too  expensive  to  be  properly  sustained,  would  be 
left  upon  the  hands  of  the  Institution. 

I  herewith  beg  leave  to  transmit  the  accompanying  communication  of  Prof.  S.  F. 
Baird,  who  had  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  exhibit  at  the  Centennial,  which  contains 
a  full  exposition  of  the  nature  of  the  additions  to  the  museum  and  of  the  necessity  of 
the  immediate  erection  of  a  suitable  building  to  contain  them. 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  JAS.  H.  HOPKINS, 

House  of  Representatives  Select  Committee  on  the  Centennial. 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  January  18,  1877. 

SIR:  Understanding  that  the  Centennial  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives has  under  consideration  that  portion  of  the  President's  message  in  reference  to 
the  rearrangement  of  the  collections  exhibited  in  the  Government  building  at  the 
International  Exhibition  in  some  suitable  building  in  the  city  of  Washington,  I 
would  respectfully  request  that  you  communicate  with  them  in  reference  to  the 
needs  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  which  the  care  of  the  National  Museum  has 
been  committed  by  Congress. 

There  is,  I  believe,  no  question  as  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  American  people  with 
the  United  States  exhibition  made  in  the  Government  building.  It  was  a  subject  of 
repeated  commendation,  and  suggestions  were  continually  made  by  the  press  and 
elsewhere  as  to  the  importance  of  its  transfer  to  and  maintenance  in  the  city  of 
Washington.  It  was  universally  considered  the  best  part  of  the  Centennial  display, 
and  was  the  special  object  of  attention  and  investigation  among  the  foreign  judges 
and  members  of  the  foreign  commissions  whose  duty  it  was  to  prepare  reports  upon 
the  International  Exhibition  of  1876  to  their  respective  governments.  Professor 
Archer,  one  of  the  two  chief  commissioners  from  Great  Britain,  in  an  address  deliv- 
ered before  the  Society  of  Arts  in  London  on  the  22d  of  December,  especially  char- 
acterizes the  Government  exhibit  as  the  most  interesting  and  important  at  the 
Centennial. 

The  general  feeling  on  the  subject  of  a  transfer  of  the  collections  found  expression 
in  the  vote  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  highest  scientific  tribunal  in 
the  country,  at  its  October  session,  in  which  the  president  of  the  academy  was 
instructed  to  address  the  President  of  the  United  States  in  reference  to  the  impor- 
tance of  exhibiting  in  Washington  the  United  States  collection  then  in  Philadelphia. 
This  was  done,  and  the  subject  was  referred  to  in  the  message  of  the  President  with 
earnest  commendation.  The  collections  were  at  the  same  time  ordered  by  him  to 
be  kept  in  the  Government  building  until  the  decision  of  Congress  could  be  ascer- 
tained. The  transfer  of  the  objects  from  the  building  was  therefore  arrested,  to  await 
further  action. 


756  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

As  is  well  known  to  the  committee,  the  participants  in  the  display  were  the  War, 
Navy,  Treasury,  Interior,  Post-Office,  and  Agricultural  Departments,  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  and  the  United  States  Fish  Commission,  and  it  is  especially  with  refer- 
ence to  the  last  two  sections  that  I  beg  leave  to  address  you. 

The  exhibition  made  at  the  Centennial  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  connec- 
tion with  that  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission,  was  intended  to  represent 
especially  the  animal  and  mineral  resources  of  the  United  States.  The  mineral  dis- 
play was  designed  to  show  the  products  of  the  United  States  as  derived  from  its 
mines,  and  embraced  the  largest  collection  of  ores  of  gold,  silver,  and  mercury  from 
the  Pacific  and  Western  States  ever  brought  together.  It  included  also  excellent 
series  of  the  same  objects  from  the  more  eastern  portions  of  the  country.  This  divi- 
sion of  the  mineral  exhibition  amounts  to  over  25  tons  in  weight,  and  possesses 
a  bullion  value  of  probably  $30,000  or  $40,000.  A  special  exhibit  of  her  ores  of 
great  scientific  and  industrial  value  was  made  in  the  Government  building  by  the 
State  of  Nevada,  afterwards  presented  to  the  United  States.  Similar  displays  and 
donations  of  somewhat  less  magnitude  were  shown  by  Montana,  Utah,  Tennessee,  etc. 

In  addition  to  the  representation  of  the  precious  metals,  full  series  were  shown  by 
the  National  Museum  of  the  ores  of  iron,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  tin,  nickel;  while  the 
marbles  and  other  ornamental  stones,  plain  and  polished,  in  very  great  variety,  were 
displayed  in  large  masses.  All  the  varieties  of  coals  are  included  in  the  collection, 
as  also  the  earths  and  clays,  with  their  applications  in  the  way  of  brick,  tile,  terra 
cotta,  etc. 

The  entire  mineral  display,  as  such,  was  closely  crowded  in  a  sp'ace  of  about  10,000 
square  feet,  and  would  have  been  more  conveniently  exhibited  in  twice  that  area. 
Notwithstanding  the  intrinsic  value  of  much  of  the  material  exhibited,  no  money 
was  expended  in  actual  purchases,  the  outlays  consisting  of  the  necessary  expenses 
incurred  by  the  agents  of  the  Institution  in  visiting  the  different  mining  regions  of 
the  United  States  to  collect  the  specimens,  and  their  own  compensation,  the  cost  of 
boxing,  transportation,  etc. 

The  display  of  the  animal  resources  of  the  United  States  was  arranged  under  five 
heads:  First.  All  the  animals  bearing  some  definite  relation  to  the  wants  or  luxuries 
of  man,  and  shown  either  living,  as  stuffed  specimens,  or  in  plaster  casts,  photo- 
graphs, or  drawings.  Second.  The  apparatus  by  which  they  are  pursued  and  cap- 
tured. Third.  The  manner  in  which  they  are  utilized.  Fourth.  The  results  of  such 
utilization  in  the  form  of  the  raw  material  and  their  simpler  applications.  Fifth. 
The  means  by  which  they  are  propagated  and  multiplied.  About  6,600  feet  were 
occupied  by  these  collections. 

The  variety  of  subjects  required  for  so  extensive  a  programme  was  very  great,  not 
less  than  3,000  subdivisions  being  provided  for  in  the  classification,  and  represented, 
for  the  most  part,  in  more  or  less  detail. 

The  display  included  not  only  the  means  and  appliances  of  civilized  man,  but  also 
those  used  by  the  Indian  for  the  same  purpose.  Here,  as  with  the  minerals,  a  large 
part  of  the  exhibit  was  presented  by  persons  interested  in  completing  the  display. 

The  special  exhibit  of  the  fisheries  included  models  or  plaster  casts  of  the  various 
whales,  porpoises,  seals,  and  true  fishes;  samples  of  the  eatable  and  ornamental 
shells,  the  sponges,  corals,  and  the  like;  isinglass  and  other  products;  specimens  or 
models  of  the  different  kinds  of  nets,  pounds,  fish  traps,  hooks,  lines,  rods  and  reels, 
boats  of  all  patterns,  models  of  ships,  apparatus  for  the  capture  and  utilization  of 
the  whale,  etc.  This  collection  occupied  a  space  of  about  10,000  square  feet,  making 
three  divisions,  or  an  aggregate  of  26,600  feet  of  the  mineral,  animal,  and  fishery 
sections. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  also  prepared,  in  behalf  of  the  Indian  Bureau,  a 
representation  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  American  aborigines,  which  was 
extremely  attractive  to  every  one,  especially  to  the  foreigner.  This  collection,  exhib- 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  757 

ited  by  the  Indian  Bureau,  but  which,  in  accordance  with  law,  becomes  a  part  of 
the  National  Museum  in  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  on  its  return  to  Wash- 
ington, occupied  at  least  7,500  feet,  and  embraced  every  thing  procurable  connected 
with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians,  their  dress,  ornaments,  weapons, 
implements,  cooking  and  household  utensils,  their  modes  of  progression,  illustrations 
of  their  religious  rites  and  ceremonies,  etc. 

The  original  assignments  of  space  in  the  Government  building  were  as  follows: 

Feet. 

War  Department 11,  200 

Navy  Department 10, 400 

Treasury  Department 3,  000 

Agricultural  Department 6, 000 

Post-Office  Department 3,  800 

Interior  Department 20, 600 

Smithsonian  Institution  and  Fish  Commission 26,  600 


81,  600 

As  a  total  space  of  about  34,000  square  feet  was  thus  required  for  the  collections  of 
the  National  Museum  at  the  Centennial,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  occupied  about  41 
per  cent  of  the  whole  contents  of  the  -Centennial  building;  equivalent  to  a  space 
nearly  double  the  capacity  of  the  present  Smithsonian  Institution  building. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that  very  little  was  taken  to  Philadelphia 
of  the  previous  exhibits  of  the  National  Museum,  and  that  its  halls  are  even  now 
crowded  and  fully  occupied  with  the  original  specimens.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
basement  storerooms  contain  collections  never  exhibited  for  want  of  space,  and  fully 
equal  in  extent  to  those  already  displayed;  among  them  many  thousands  of  skins  of 
rare  and  choice  quadrupeds  and  birds  of  all  parts  of  the  world,  one  of  the  largest 
collections  of  the  kind  in  existence.  Other  collections,  similarly  withdrawn  from 
the  public  examination,  include  many  skeletons  of  animals,  fishes,  fossil  remains,  etc. 

Since  the  close  of  the  exhibition  on  the  10th  of  November,  and  the  official  action 
taken  by  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  on  the  subject  of  a  transfer  to  Washing- 
ton, a  very  important  consideration  has  been  added  to  the  arguments  in  its  favor. 
It  was  thought  probable  that  some  valuable  donations  would  be  made  to  the  several 
departments  of  the  Government  by  foreign  commissions,  such  having  been  the 
experience  of  previous  expositions;  and  Congress  appropriated  a  sum  of  money  to 
fit  up  the  Armory  building,  under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for 
the  reception  of  foreign  and  domestic  donations  that  might  thus  be  added  to  the  col- 
lections of  the  National  Museum. 

The  result,  however,  was  far  beyond  the  anticipations,  and  the  acquisitions  thus 
made  have  been  such  as  almost  to  outnumber  the  previous  collections  in  extent  and 
value.  The  special  displays  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  entire  States  have  been  pre- 
sented to  the  Government,  and  numerous  collections  from  private  individuals  have 
also  been  added,  all  tending  to  render  the  representation  of  the  United  States 
extremely  rich  and  full. 

It  was,  however,  from  foreign  sources  that  the  greater  part  of  the  new  material 
was  received,  consisting  in  many  cases  of  nearly  the  entire  exhibits  of  the  countries 
referred  to,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  resources  of  the  respective  nations,  derived 
from  the  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms;  also  many  series  illustrating  the 
peculiar  habits  and  characteristics  of  the  people,  especially  of  China,  Siam,  Japan, 
Australia,  and  New  Zealand. 

Since  the  close  of  the  exhibition,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  have  been  busily  engaged  with  a  large  force  in  transferring  the  collec- 
tions referred  to  from  the  different  buildings  of  the  commission  to  that  belonging  to 
the  Government,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  alone  having  spent  already  more  than 


758  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

two  months  in  this  work,  with  a  probability  that  it  will  not  be  completed  before  the 
1st  of  February. 

The  Government  building  is  at  present  crowded  with  these  additions,  notwith- 
standing the  removal  of  many  of  the  original  exhibits;  the  objects  thus  presented, 
it  is  believed,  being  sufficient  to  fill  50  freight  cars  to  their  utmost  capacity.  * 

The  value  of  these  collections  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  can  not  be  over- 
estimated, consisting  as  they  do  of  many  varieties  of  ores  and  minerals,  specimens  of 
animal  products,  and  materials  from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  including,  also,  the 
stages  of  their  manufacture  and  the  finished  products,  as  well  as,  in  many  cases,  the 
apparatus  by  which  these  results  are  accomplished.  Thus,  nearly  all  the  known 
varieties  of  the  ore?)  of  silver,  gold,  mercury,  iron,  copper,  lead,  tin,  zinc,  nickel,  cobalt, 
antimony,  etc.,  are  represented,  with  the  furnace  products  accompanying  them,  and 
the  resulting  metal;  the  brick,  tile,  and  pottery  earth  and  clays  of  China,  Japan, 
France,  Belgium,  Great  Britain,  Australia,  Brazil,  etc.,  in  many  cases  accompanied  by 
careful  analyses  of  their  composition  and  numerous  illustrative  specimens  of  their 
products;  also  building  stones,  marbles,  etc.,  specimens  of  artificial  stone,  mortars,  and 
cements,  with  the  materials  producing  them,  and  samples  of  coals  from  hundreds  of 
different  localities. 

Among  illustrations  of  products  from  the  animal  industries  may  be  mentioned 
specimens  of  leathers  from  all  parts  of  the  world  and  from  many  varieties  of  animals; 
wools,  graded  by  their  different  qualities,  and  applications  and  prices;  furs  of  various 
species  of  animals  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Australia,  and  preparations  of  Russian  isin- 
glass, glues,  and  gelatins  in  immense  variety. 

The  wealth  of  vegetable  material  is  incalculable,  embracing  as  it  does  the  magnifi- 
cent displays  of  Brazil,  the  Argentine  Confederation,  Australia,  Netherlands,  and 
other  countries  that  have  excited  so  much  attention  during  the  exhibition. 

Among  the  individual  objects  may  be  enumerated  samples  of  the  woods  of  thou- 
sands of  species  of  trees,  fibers  of  all  kinds,  including  material  for  paper  and  textile 
fabrics,  objects  of  the  materia  medica,  gums,  dyestuffs,  materials  for  tanning,  seeds 
of  every  variety  of  the  grains,  hemp,  flax,  cotton,  ramie,  tobacco,  coffee,  cocoa,  etc., 
many  of  them  at  present  new  to  the  United  States  and  giving  promise  of  successful 
introduction  therein.  These  have  been  received,  in  large  part,  in  quantity  sufficient 
for  distribution,  Russia  alone  supplying  more  than  200  bushels  of  seeds  of  every  best 
variety  of  hemp,  oats,  wheat,  barley,  etc.  A  large  amount  of  material  illustrating 
the  habits  and  customs  of  other  nations  has  also  been  received.  Notably  among  these 
objects  may  be  mentioned  the  entire  exhibit  of  the  King  of  iSiam  and  that  of  the 
commissioners  of  customs  of  China.  Both  of  these  collections  present  an  exhaustive 
illustration  of  the  mode  of  life,  habits,  and  characteristics  of  the  people.  Many 
important  collections  of  educational  apparatus  and  objects  have  also  been  presented. 
The  navy  department  of  Russia  has  furnished  samples  of  cordage,  wire  rope,  chain- 
cable,  iron  forgings,  etc. 

The  various  objects  thus  presented,  after  being  transferred  to  the  Government 
building,  have  been  taken  possession  of  by  the  respective  departments  to  which  they 
are  most  appropriate,  and  by  which  they  would  naturally  be  exhibited  in  connection 
with  any  systematic  display  that  might  be  authorized  by  Congress.  Although  no 
formal  action  had  been  taken  by  Congress  in  reference  to  the  acceptance  of  such  dona- 
tions, yet  the  fact  that  an  appropriation  was  made  to  fit  up  a  building  in  Washington 
to  receive  what  might  be  presented  was  considered  a  sufficient  warrant  for  receiving 
them,  especially  as  their  rejection  would  have  placed  the  United  States  in  an  embar- 
rassing position  in  respect  to  its  foreign  guests. 

It  is  proper  to  state  that  the  utmost  eagerness  has  been  manifested  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  technical,  industrial,  and  educational  institutions  in  the  United  States  in 
gathering  objects  of  the  kind  in  question,  and  that  in  very  great  part  they  were  pre- 
vented from  accomplishing  their  object  by  the  information  that  the  entire  exhibits 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  759 

had  been  presented  to  the  United  States,  and  that  application  should  be  made  to  its 
representatives  for  any  desiderata.  It  has  been  impossible,  however,  to  make  any 
selections  with  this  object,  as  the  time  of  those  concerned  has  been  fully  occupied  in 
packing  and  removing  the  collections.  It  will  hereafter  be  desirable  to  make  up 
from  the  duplicate  material  a  considerable  number  of  sets  of  these  various  substances 
for  distribution  whenever  the  means  are  furnished  for  the  purpose. 

It  will  readily  be  understood  that  the  reception  and  care  of  so  enormous  an  addi- 
tion to  the  original  collections  already  in  charge  of  the  Government  board  would 
greatly  increase  their  responsibilities  and  expenditures,  and,  so  far  as  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  \3  concerned,  the  balance  of  its  appropriation  is  entirely  inadequate  to  the 
duty  of  caring  for  this  material  and  of  transferring  it  to  Washington.  After  its 
arrival,  too,  provision  will  need  be  made  for  its  maintenance  and  exhibition. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  a  collection  of  such  magnitude  is  now  the  property  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  large  part  the  spontaneous  tribute  of  respect  to  it  from  foreign 
governments,  and  that  the  whole  furnishes  ample  material  for  an  economical  and 
industrial  museum  of  the  utmost  value,  perhaps  the  finest  in  the  world,  it  is  quite 
reasonable  to  hope  that  Congress  will  take  the  steps  necessary  to  make  it  available 
to  the  country,  with  all  the  l>enents  likely  to  result  from  its  display. 

The  proper  disposition  of  the  collections  referred  to,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the 
animal  and  mineral  kingdoms,  to  ethnology,  and  to  the  general  industries,  would  be 
to  place  them  with  the  other  objects  constituting  the  National  Museum  in  the  halls 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  under  its  charge.  Not  a  tenth  part,  however,  of  the 
total  mass  could  be  accommodated  in  that  building,  and  it  therefore  becomes  neces- 
sary to  make  some  provision  for  the  reception  and,  if  possible,  for  the  suitable  display 
of  the  collections  elsewhere,  at  as  early  a  date  as  practicable. 

It  is,  of  course,  possible  to  store  the  specimens  for  a  time,  but  the  Armory  Building, 
which  has  already  been  assigned  for  that  purpose,  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  accommo- 
date the  portions  in  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  even  if  packed  in  Phila- 
delphia with  special  reference  to  being  kept  unopened  for  an  indefinite  period  of 
time,  although,  of  course,  some  additional  places  of  deposit  could  be  found. 

In  addition,  however,  to  the  importance  of  presenting  this  collection^ to  the  public 
examination  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  much  of  the  material  would  be  seri- 
ously deteriorated  by  being  kept  inclosed.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  polished 
steel  and  iron,  and  all  objects  likely  to  be  injured  by  dampness,  such  as  animals,  furs, 
dresses,  etc. 

For  the  above  considerations,  therefore,  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  Congress  may 
see  fit  to  authorize  the  construction  of  a  plain  and  inexpensive,  but  fireproof  and 
durable,  building,  capable  of  being  erected  within  a  few  months  and  sufficiently 
large  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  National  Museum  and  the  other  bureaus  of  the 
Government.  It  is  believed  that  an  edifice  in  general  plan  like  that  adopted  for  the 
building  at  the  Centennial  would  be  best  adapted  for  the  purpose,  except  in  being 
somewhat  more  substantial  and  capable  of  being  heated.  By  laying  a  concrete  floor 
directly  on  the  ground,  for  the  exclusion  of  moisture  and  vermin,  making  the  exterior 
of  brick,  using  iron  for  the  beams,  joists,  rafters,  etc. ,  and  by  having  the  roof  con- 
structed of  tongue-and-grooved  boards,  and  slate  or  tin  above  it,  and  possibly  plas- 
tered on  the  underside,  it  is  believed  that  these  several  requirements  can  be  most 
readily  met. 

The  question  of  a  site  for  the  building  is  also  one  requiring  careful  consideration. 
But  for  many  reasons  it  would  seem  desirable  that  this  be  placed  on  the  Smithsonian 
reservation,  which  has  been  set  aside  by  Congress  for  such  purposes,  and  where  a 
building  may  be  erected  without  raising  the  inquiry  as  to  the  space  being  needed  for 
the  use  of  any  other  Department,  or  of  its  interfering  with  the  plan  of  an  ornamental 
city  park.  A  space  immediately  south  of  the  Smithsonian  building  will  admit  the 
erection  of  a  building  300  feet  square,  and  connected  with  the  present  Smithsonian 


760  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

edifice  by  means  of  its  south  tower.  This,  with  a  ground  floor  of  90,000  feet,  and 
capable  of  the  addition  of  a  gallery  containing  30,000  square  feet,  will  furnish  an 
aggregate  of  120,000  square  feet,  which  it  is  thought  will  permit  the  proposed  display. 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  mineral  collections  referred  to  it  is  desirable  that  a 
special  area  be  devoted  to  the  mineral  products  of  each  State,  so  that  the  resources 
of  all  parts  of  the  country  may  be  shown  to  the  inquirer  or  investigator,  and  that  as 
new  mining  localities  are  developed  in  different  parts  of  the  country  their  illustra- 
tion, by  suitable  specimens,  may  be  made  in  their  appropriate  places. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  was  established  on  the  bequest  of  a  -foreigner,  who 
left  $542,000  in  trust  to  the  United  States  to  found  an  establishment  "for  the  increase 
and  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men."  Among  the  other  duties  specified  in  the 
act  of  incorporation  in  1846  was  the  charge  of  the  National  Museum,  as  expressed 
in  the  following  words: 

"SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  in  proportion  as  suitable  arrangements  can 
be  made  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research, 
and  all  objects  of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens 
belonging,  or  hereafter  to  belong,  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such 
persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  Board  of  Regents  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be 
arranged  in  such  order  and  so  classed  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and  study 
of  them." 

The  Regents  were  authorized  to  determine  the  plan  of  operations  in  other  direc- 
tions, and,  through  the  adherence  to  the  plan  of  operations  authorized  by  the  original 
board  and  indorsed  by  successors,  the  Institution  has  become  the  leading  scientific 
and  educational  institution  of  the  country,  and  perhaps,  indeed,  of  the  world.  Its 
expenditures  are  devoted  to  the  prosecution  of  original  researches,  the  publication  of 
important  memoirs,  and  especially  to  the  maintenance  of  a  system  of  international 
exchanges,  by  which  the  publications  of  societies  in  the  United  States,  including 
mechanics'  institutions,  agricultural  bodies,  etc.,  as  well  as  those  of  the  United  States 
Government  and  of  the  bureaus  of  the  several  Departments,  are  exchanged  for  the 
works  of  corresponding  establishments  throughout  the  world,  and  resulting  in  the 
most  rapid  diffusion  of  knowledge  possible,  and  in  the  acquisition  of  the  latest  scien- 
tific, technical,  and  industrial  publications. 

The  publications  of  the  Institution  are  thus'  exchanged  with  those,  of  all  other 
countries,  and  the  extensive  library  it  has  thus  acquired  forms  part  of  the  Library  of 
Congress,  where  over  70,000  of  the  volumes  of  the  most  valuable  character  are  to  be 
found.  It  will  thus  be  observed  that  the  material  result  of  these  operations  redounds 
directly  to  the  advantage  of  the  Government  in  the  improvement  and  extent  of  the 
National  Library. 

The  National  Museum,  of  which  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  present  has  charge, 
and  which  occupies  all  the  available  space  in  the  Smithsonian  building,  is  composed 
of  the  various  collections  brought  in  by  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of 
the  United  States,  including  those  of  Captain  AVilkes  and  hundreds  of  others,  with- 
out taking  into  consideration  the  special  collections  made  to  illustrate  the  industries 
pf  the  United  States  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition. 

This  National  Museum  was  originally  in  charge  of  the  Patent  Office,  and  for  its 
exhibition  there  an  appropriation  was  made  by  Congress,  from  about  1842.  "When, 
in  1857,  the  Government  collections  then  extant  were  taken  charge  of  by  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  the  appropriations  previously  made  to  the  Patent  Office  were 
continued  to  the  Institution,  and  provision  has  ever  since  been  made  for  that  pur- 
pose. It  is,  therefore,  we  conceive,  clearly  the  duty,  under  the  law,  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  to  take  charge  of  at  least  "the  collections  of  nature  and  art,  and  of 
foreign  and  curious  research,  natural  history,  and  of  mineralogy  and  geology;"  and 
as  all  the  material  property  of  this  kind  is  in  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 


FORTY-FOURTH   CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  761 

tion,  there  would  be  an  eminent  propriety  in  connecting  the  new  building  with  the 
old,  and  directing  the  Smithsonian  to  extend  over  it  and  its  contents  its  care  and 
supervision. 

Estimates  and  plans  for  a  building  of  the  kind  referred  to  have  been  prepared, 
and  it  is  thought  the  whole  work  can  be  accomplished  at  an  expense  not  to  exceed 
$260,000;  this  to  include  the  cost  of  steam  heating,  perhaps,  which  will  of  course  be 
necessary  to  render  the  building  comfortable  in  winter. 

Should  the  exhibit  of  the  "War  Department  be  included  in  this  building,  and 
machinery  in  motion  be  required,  the  same  steam  boilers  required  for  the  heating  of 
the  building  would  furnish  the  necessary  motive  power. 

To  sum  up,  therefore,  the  material  belonging  to  the  United  States  for  which  pro- 
vision is  now  required  consists  of  the  collections  at  present  stored  in  the  basement  of 
the  Smithsonian  building  and  hitherto  not  publicly  exhibited,  consisting  of  quadru- 
peds, birds,  fishes,  fossils,  minerals,  etc.,  and  requiring  nearly  20,000  square  feet  of 
floor.  Second,  the  collections  made  at  the  expense  of  the -Centennial  fund  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Commission  of  Food-fishes,  and  the  Indian  Bureau; 
for  these  a  space  of  40,000  feet  is  needed.  Third,  the  collections  presented  to  the 
United  States  by  foreign  governments,  by  States,  and  by  various  private  exhibitors, 
needing  20,000  feet.  Fourth,  allowance  for  the  completion  of  the  exhibits  of  the 
mineral  wealth  of  the  country  by  different  States  of  the  Union,  20,000  feet,  or  an 
aggregate  of  100,000  square  feet,  which  space  could  be  used  to  advantage. 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Representative  Smithsonian  and  Food-fishes 
Department  at  International  Exposition,  1876. 

Prof.  JOSEPH  HENRY, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 


[International  exhibition,  1876. — Board  on  behalf  of  United  States  Executive  Departments.] 

UNITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Januan/  31,  1877. 

SIR:  I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  relative  to  the  proposed  new  building  for 
a  National  Museum.  As  representative  of  this  Department  at  Philadelphia  last  sum- 
mer, I  became  the  official  recipient  of  a  large  quantity  of  valuable  exhibits — presen- 
tations from  foreign  governments  to  that  of  the  United  States — all  of  which  must 
remain  unopened  until  some  suitable  place  is  fitted  up  for  their  proper  arrangement, 
as  there  are  no  accommodations  in  the  Department  for  them  and  I  have  great  'dif- 
ficulty in  getting  them  stored  even  in  bulk  so  that  they  will  not  suffer  injury. 

These  donations  are  of  great  value.  Having  paid  considerable  attention  to  vege- 
table fibers  for  twenty  years,  I  feel  that  we  have  now,  in  these  donations,  a  collec- 
tion perhaps  equal  to  that  of  any  existing  museum.  The  collection  of  native  and 
foreign  woods  is  very  extensive;  that  of  the  former  has  never  been  equaled,  in  fact, 
it  never  has  been  systematically  attempted  until  we  collected  for  the  late  exposition. 
We  could  occupy  8,000  to  10,000  square  feet  of  surface  very  profitably  with  the  arti- 
cles on  hand. 

As  to  the  educational  value  of  museums  of  natural  history,  it  can  not  well  be  over- 
rated ;  as  a  means  of  diffusing  instruction  and  rational  amusement  among  the  people 
and  giving  to  the  scientific  student  every  possible  means  of  practical  examination 
and  study  of  specimens  connected  with  the  nature  of  his  researches,  museums  stand 
foremost  as  practical  educators;  their  influence  in  promoting  and  extending  manu- 
factures and  commerce  is  being  appreciated  throughout  the  world ;  they  are  the  nat- 
ural offspring  of  international  exhibitions;  they  are  permanent  exhibits  of  the 
world's  progress. 


762  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Sincerely  hoping  that  Congress  will,  through  your  committee,  make  provision  for 
these  exhibits, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  SAUNDERS, 
Representative  Agricultural  Department. 
Hon.  JAMES  H.  HOPKINS. 


List  of  the  more  important  collections  presented  by  foreign  commissioner*  to  the  United 
States  Government,  and  taken  charge  of  in  behalf  of  the  National  Museum  Ittj  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC. 

DR.  ERNESTO  OLDENDORFF,  Commissioner. 

Ores  of  metals,  minerals,  pottery,  tiles,  stuffed  animals,  leathers  and  hides,  nets, 
fishery  products,  samples  of  woods,  fibers,  seeds,  grains,  specimens  of  silk  and  wool 
in  great  variety.  This  donation  embraces  almost  the  whole  of  the  exhibit  in  Agri- 
cultural Hall  and  a  large  portion  of  that  in  the  main  building. 

AUSTRIA. 
DR.  FRANCIS  MIGERKA,  Commissioner. 

Specimens  of  mineral  wax  (ozockerite)  and  a  variety  of  mineral  and  indust.ial 
products. 

BELGIUM. 

COUNT  D'Oui/TREMONT,  Commissioner. 
Some  specimens  of  industrial  products. 

BRAZIL. 
DR.  J.  M.  DA  SILVA  COUTIXHO,  Commissioner. 

Specimens  of  iron;  coal,  hides,  leather;  tiles  and  pottery  in  great  variety;  speci- 
mens in  large  number  of  woods,  vegetable  fibers,  substances  used  as  foods;  gums, 
resins,  etc.  This  collection  embraces  nearly  the  whole  of  the  immense  display  in 
the.  agricultural  building  and  a  part  of  that  in  the  main  building. 

CHILE. 
EDWARD  SHIPPEN,  Esq.,  Commissioner. 

A  collection  of  minerals  and  ores,  artificial  stone,  tiles,  terra-cottas,  and  an  exten- 
sive variety  of  grains,  seeds,  and  other  vegetable  products,  embracing  by  far  the 
largest  part  of  the  display  of  the  Chilean  Government  in  the  main  building. 

CHINA. 
J.  L.  HAMMOND,   Commissioner. 

The  entire  exhibit  made  by  the  commissioners  of  customs  of  China  and  displayed 
in  the  mineral  annex.  It  includes  a  complete  representation  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Chinese,  such  as  samples  of  their  foods,  medicines,  clothing;  their 
domestic  and  household  utensils,  their  ornaments,  objects  used  in  their  plays  and 
festivities,  etc.  In  the  collection  are  numerous  full-sized  figures,  beautifully  executed 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  763 

and  suitably  dressed,  representing  the  different  ranks  and  classes  in  the  community. 
Many  hundreds  of  clay  figures,  about  1  foot  in  height,  illustrating  the  different 
races  of  the  Empire;  specimens  of  cotton  and  silk  in  great  variety;  samples  of  paper, 
leather,  and  the  like;  samples  of  pottery,  such  as  vases,  teapots,  pipes;  matting,  bas- 
kets, etc.  This  collection  is  of  unparalleled  interest,  and  cost  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment a  large  sum  of  money.  It  will  require  o,  space  fully  equal  to  half  of  one  of  the 
halls  of  the  National  Museum  for  its  exhibition.  There  are  also  three  ornamental 
gateways,  three  cases,  and  two  pagodas,  as  used  in  the  main  building  for  purposes  of 
exhibition;  musical  instruments,  specimens  of  wrought  iron  and  other  metals,  bam- 
boo ware,  glass;  specimens  of  tea,  oils  and  woods,  tobacco  and  sugar.  The  entire 
collection  (exclusive  of  the  ornamental  gateways  and  cases)  filled  twenty-one  large 
wagons. 

EGYPT. 

E.  BRUGSCH,  Commissioner. 

Collection  of  minerals,  tiles,  and  pottery;  garden  products  in  great  variety,  samples 
of  wood,  and  a  large  collection  of  objects  illustrating  the  habits  and  customs  of  the 
natives  of  Soudan,  Nubia,  and  Abyssinia,  such  as  musical  instruments,  weapons,  cloth- 
ing, etc. 

FRANCE. 

CAPTAIN  ANFRYE,  Commissioner. 

No  collective  exhibit  was  made  by  the  Government,  but  Messrs.  Haviland,  of 
Limoges,  France,  presented  a  pair  of  centennial  memorial  vases,  valued  at  $17,000, 
and  requiring  the  erection  of  a  special  kiln  for  their  production,  together  with  a  large 
panel  of  tiles. 

GERMANY. 

MR.  BARTELS,  Commissioner. 

Specimens  of  tiles,  cements,  asphalt  work,  fire  bricks,  manufactures  in  metals  and 
woods  from  the  commissioner,  and  from  Mr.  F.  Krupp,  of  Essen,  a  very  extensive 
display  illustrating  the  mineralogy  and  metallurgy  of  the  iron  trade  of  Germany, 
with  samples  of  the  different  manufactures  made  at  the  great  gun  works  at  Essen. 
This  collection  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  complete  at  the  exhibition,  and  attracted 
great  attention.  A  special  catalogue  of  this  collection  was. printed  by  the  exhibitor. 

HAWAII. 
H.  R.  HITCHCOCK,  Commissioner. 

Collections  of  the  volcanic  and  other  rocks  and  minerals,  ropes  and  fibers,  tobacco, 
sugar,  oils,  models  of  boats,  n.ets,  and  vegetable  products  in  large  variety. 

ITALY. 

JOSEPH  DASSI,  Commissioner. 
Samples  of  alabaster,  terra  cotta,  marbles,  etc. 

JAPAN. 
LIEI-T.  GEN.  SAIGO  TSUKMICHI,  Commissioner. 

A  valuable  series  of  tiles  and  other  pottery;  the  large  exhibit  of  the  fisheries  of 
Japan  in  the  agricultural  building,  including  both  products  and  apparatus;  skins  and 


764  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

hides  of  animals,  various  food  preparations,  and  a  series  illustrating  the  materials 
and  manipulations  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  tea  and  silks;  also  manufactures 
of  bamboo. 

MEXICO. 

DR.  MARIANO  BARCENA,  Commissioner. 

The  greater  part  of  the  exhibit  of  the  natural  products  of  the  country  as  shown  in 
the  main  building,  including  the  ores  of  gold  and  silver,  obsidian,  woods,  fibers,  and 
other  vegetable  products,  pottery,  and  terra  cotta.  Among  the  most  notable 
mineral  specimens  may  be  mentioned  an  iron  meteorite  weighing  4,000  pounds. 

NETHERLANDS. 

DR.  E.  H.  VON  BAUMHAUER,  Commissioner. 

Agricultural  products  in  considerable  variety;  specimens  illustrating  the  fisheries 
of  Holland,  including  cod-liver  oil,  etc. ;  tiles,  cements,  etc. 

NORWAY. 

WILLIAM  C.  CHRISTOPHERSEN,  Commissioner;  GENHARD  GADE,  Assistant  Commissioner. 

A  very  large  collection  of  ores  and  other  specimens  illustrating  the  metallurgy  of 
iron,  copper,  nickel,  etc. ;  collection  illustrating  the  eatable  fishes  of  northern  Europe, 
samples  of  prepared  fishes,  samples  of  food  preparations,  etc. ;  great  variety  of  agri- 
cultural products. 

ORANGE  FREE  STATE. 
CHARLES  W.  RILEY,  Commissioner. 
A  collection  of  agricultural  products. 

PERU. 

JOSE  CARLOS  TRACY,  Commissioner. 

A  series  of  the  principal  food  and  other  vegetable  products  in  that  country. 
PORTUGAL. 

M.  JAYME  BATALHO  REIS,  Agricultural  Commissioner;  M.  LOURENCO  MALHEIRO, 
Industrial  Commissoner. 

The  greater  part  of  the  very  extensive  exhibit  of  minerals,  ores,  etc. ,  in  the  main 
building;  also  pottery,  samples  of  industrial  products,  glass  work,  paper,  etc.,  and  a 
full  series  of  the  vegetable  productions  of  the  Kingdom  in  nearly  two  thousand  varie- 
ties. A  portion  only  of  this  collection  filled  60  large  boxes. 

RUSSIA. 

GEN.  CHARLES  I>E  BIELSKY,  Commissioner;  CAPTAIN  NICHOLSKY  AND  CAPTAIN 

SEMELSHKEN,  Assistant  Commissioner. 

An  enormous  collection,  illustrating  the  metallurgy  of  copper  and  iron,  including 
different  varieties  of  Russian  iron  and  steel;  the  very  extensive  collection  of  minerals 
of  Siberia,  exhibited  by  the  school  of  mines,  and  valued  at  a  high  price;  samples  of 
rope  and  cordage,  pottery,  tiles,  cement,  and  isinglass  and  other  products  of  the 
sturgeon. 


FOKTY-FOURTH   CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  765 

SPAIN. 
COL.  F.  LOPEZ  FABRA,  Commissioner. 

A  collection  of  great  magnitude,  illustrating  the  mines  and  mining  of  coal,  iron, 
copper,  and  silver,  salt,  etc.,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Spain;  a  very  large  number  of  bricks, 
tiles,  earthenware,  and  pottery;  illustrations  of  the  various  fibers  and  other  mate- 
rials for  basket  work,  cordage;  industrial  products  in  great  variety,  including  samples 
of  paper,  leather,  etc. — a  complete  series  illustrating  the  agricultural  resources  of  the 
country. 

From  the  Philippine  Islands,  as  one  of  the  colonies  of  Spain,  were  received 
samples  of  native  work  in  the  form  of  baskets,  nets,  boats,  etc.,  and  hemp  fibers. 

SWEDEN. 
C.  JUHLIN-DANFELT,  Commissioner. 

The  entire  exhibit  of  Sweden  made  in  the  agricultural  department,  illustrating  the 
fisheries  and  agriculture  of  Sweden,  including  also  specimens  of  fish,  food-fish  prep- 
arations, etc. ,  specimens  of  peat- working  machinery,  apparatus  for  deep-sea  sounding 
and  dredging,  and  also  for  collecting  specimens  of  natural  history,  photographs  of 
arctic  scenery,  etc. 

SIAM. 

No  commissioner. 

A  collection  illustrating  the  products,  the  industries,  etc.,  of  the  Kingdom  of  Siam, 
made  for  the  Centennial  Exhibition  with  the  understanding  that  it  should  be  pre- 
sented to  the  United  States  at  the  close.  This  filled  216  boxes,  and  embraces  many 
articles  of  great  pecuniary  value.  This  collection,  with  those  from  China  and  Japan, 
win  require  a  room  as  large  as  the  upper  floor  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
satisfactory  display. 

SWITZERLAND. 
Mr.  EDWARD  GUYER,  Commissioner. 
Specimens  illustrating  the  geology  of  the  Alps  and  St.  Gotthard  Tunnel. 

TURKEY. 
G.  D'ARISTARCHI  BEY,  Commissioner. 

Illustrations  of  the  metal  work  of  the  country;  of  its  mines  and  minerals,  its  tiles 
and  pottery,  domestic  and  household  utensils;  samples  of  iron  and  steel,  etc. 

TUNIS. 
G.  H.  HEAP,  Esq.,  Commissioner. 

A  thrashing  machine  such  as  has  been  used  from  the  time  of  the  ancient  Cartha- 
ginians. 

UNITED    KINGDOM    OF    GREAT   BRITAIN    AND   IRELAND,    INCLUDING 

COLONIES. 

GREAT  BRITAIN.  • 
Col.  H.  B.  SANDFORD,  Commissioner. 

A  very  large  collection  of  the  private  exhibits  of  tiles,  terra  cottas,  bricks,  and 
pottery,  sanitary  wrare,  as  also  many  industrial  products  in  great  variety.  Among 
the  more  notable  articles  in  the  series  are  collections  of  tiles  and  mosaics  from  Messrs. 


766  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

Minton  &  Ilollins,  and  many  specimens  from  Messrs.  Doulton,  of  Lambeth,  among 
them  several  large  vases.  Some  highly  important  deposits  have  als-:o  been  made, 
subject  to  recall  after  a  certain  period.  Chief  among  these  is  the  allegorical  repre- 
sentation of  America,  a  duplicate  of  that  furnished  by  the  Messrs.  Doulton  to  the 
Albert  Memorial  in  London,  embracing  several  colossal  figures.  This  group  is  val- 
ued at  $15,000.  Also  the  large  terra-cotta  pulpit  and  font,  and  many  other  speci- 
mens of  great  variety;  an  extremely  complete  and  important  collection  of  samples  of 
wools  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  presented  by  Messrs.  John  L.  Bowes  &  Brothers, 
embracing  over  three  hundred  varieties,  each  suitably  labeled,  with  prices  marked, 
etc.  A  similar  collection  of  wools  in  the  fleece  exhibited  by  Messrs.  James  Oddy  & 
Sons. 

BERMUDA. 

A.  A.  OUTERBRIDGE,  Esq.,  Commisfri.oner. 

A  great  variety  of  specimens  of  corals,  shells,  and  other  marine  objects,  models  of 
boats,  samples  of  stone  and  wood. 

CANADA. 
Prof.  A.  L.  SELWVX,  -in  Charge  of  Geological  Exhibit. 

An  extensive  collection  of  the  rocks  of  British  North  America,  many  hundreds  of 
specimens  exhibited  by  the  geological  survey;  specimens  of  coals  from  all  parts  of 
the  Dominion;  ores  of  different  kinds,  samples  of  iron,  steel,  and  copper,  stoneware 
and  pottery. 

NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 

AUGUSTUS  MORRIS,  Esq.,  Commissioner. 

The  extensive  exhibit  illustrating  the  mining  resources,  the  natural  history,  and 
the  botany  and  agriculture  of  the  province,  including  a  large  model  of  the  gold 
products  of  the  colony  up  to  the  year  1875,  and  specimens  of  coal  oil,  shale,  petro- 
leum, etc. 

NEW  ZEALAND.  „ 

JAMES  HECTOR,  Esq.,  Commissioner 

The  entire  exhibit  of  the  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms  of  the  colony, 
and  also  specimens  illustrating  its  ethnology.  Among  these  specimens  is  a  model  of 
the  gold  product  of  the  colony  and  specimens  of  its  coal. 

QUEENSLAND. 
ANGUS  MACKAY,  Esq.,  Commissioner. 

Model  of  the  gold  product  of  the  colony;  specimens  of  ores  of  copper,  iron,  and 
gold;  a  laige  collection  of  native  woods,  fibers,  and  other  products. 

SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 
£.  DAVENPORT,  Esq.,  Commissioner. 
A  full  series  of  all  the  exhibits  from  the  animal,  mineral,  and  vegetable  kingdoms. 

TASMANIA. 
II.  P.  WELCH,  Esq.,  Commissioner, 

Specimens  of  the  iron  and  other  ores;  leather,  woods,  seeds  and  grains,  libers, 
wools,  etc. 


FORTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS,   1875-1877.  767 

VICTORIA. 
SIR  REDMOND  BARRY,  Commissioner. 

The  entire  collection  of  useful  economical  minerals  of  the  country  exhibited  by  the 
mining  department;  specimens  of  stoneware  and  other  products;  extensive  collec- 
tions of  grains,  wools,  fruits,  fibers,  and  woods;  samples  of  paper,  gums,  etc. 

VENEZUELA. 
Mr.  LEON  DE  LA  COVA,  Commissioner. 

The  entire  exhibit  made  by  this  country  of  minerals,  ores,  articles  of  materia 
medica,  fruits,  fibers,  extracts,  etc. 

In  general  it  may  be  stated  that  from  the  countries  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  the 
exhibits  made  by  the  commissioners  in  behalf  of  their  respective  governments,  so 
far  as  relates  to  the  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms  and  their  applications, 
have  been  presented  to  the  United  States,  in  some  cases  without  any  exception  what- 
ever; in  others,  all  except  a  few  duplicates,  which  were  presented  to  other  foreign 
commissions  or  to  institutions  in  the  United  States.  Indeed,  tha  only  countries  from 
which  absolutely  nothing  was  received  were  Denmark,  Luxumbourg,  Bahamas, 
British  Guiana,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  Jamaica,  the  exhibits  of  these  countries 
being  either  entirely  private  property  or  borrowed  from  the  Colonial  Museum  in 
London  and  necessarily  returned. 

ACT   OF    ORGANIZATION    OF   SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION    AMENDED. 
February  27,  1877. 

Section  5579  (of  Revised  Statutes)  is  amended  by  striking  out  in  the 
fourth^  line  the  words  "the  Patent  Office,"  and  inserting  the  word 
''Patents,"  [so  that  the  section  will  read:] 

(Stat.  XIX,  253.) 

The  President,  the  Vice-President,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Kavy,  the  Postmaster-General,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Chief 
Justice,  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  and  the  governor  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  such  other  persons  as  they  may  elect  honorary 
members,  are  hereby  constituted  an  establishment,  by  the  name  of  the 
'Smithsonian  Institution,'  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men,  and  by  that  name  shall  be  known  and  have  perpet- 
ual succession,  with  the  powers,  limitations,  and  restrictions  herein- 
after contained,  and  no  other. 

(Revised  Statutes,  1878,  2d  edition,  1082.) 

FREE   POSTAGE. 
March  3,  1877. 

An  act  establishing  post  roads,  etc.,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.  : 

SEC.  5.  That  it  shall  be  lawful  to  transmit  through  the  mail,  free  of 
postage,  an}'  letters,  packages,  or  other  matters  relating  exclusively 
to  the  business  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States:  Provided, 


768  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

That  every  such  letter  or  package  to  entitle  it  to  pass  free  shall  bear 
over  the  words  "Official  business"  an  indorsement  showing  also  the 
name  of  the  Department,  and,  if  from  a  bureau  or  office,  the  names  of 
the  Department  and  bureau  or  office,  as  the  case  may  be,  whence  trans- 
mitted. And  if  any  person  shall  make  use  of  any  such  official  envel- 
ope to  avoid  the  payment  of  postage  on  his  private  letter,  package,  or 
other  matter  in  the  mail,  the  person  so  offending  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  subject  to  a  fine  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars, to  be  prosecuted  in  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction. 

SEC.  6.  That  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  this  act. into  effect,  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  each  of  the  Executive  Departments  of  the  United  States 
to  provide  for  itself  and  its  subordinate  offices  the  necessary  envel- 
opes: and  in  addition  to  the  indorsement  designating  the  Department 
in  which  they  are  to  be  used,  the  penalty  for  the  unlawful  use  of  these 
envelopes  shall  be  stated  thereon. 

(Stat.,XIX,335.)     ' 

(Extended  to  Smithsonian  Institution  by  act  of  March  3,  1879.) 


FORTY-FIFTH  CONGRESS,  1877-1879. 

NATIONAL,   MUSEUM — BUILDING   REQUIRED    FOR   GOVERNMENT 

COLLECTIONS. 
October  8,  1877. 

Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the,  Smitlisonian  Institution  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

SIR:  1  have  the  honor,  in  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Eegents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  propriety  of 
recommending  to  Congress  the  memorial  of  the  Board  of  Regents  (a 
copy  of  which  is  herewith  inclosed),  asking  that  an  appropriation  be 
made  for  a  building  to  accommodate  the  valuable  collections  presented 
to  the  United  States  through  this  Institution  at  the  late  international 
exhibition  in  Philadelphia. 

As  explanatory  of  this  request  it  may  be  proper  to  state  that  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  was  authorized  by  Congress  to  receive  and 
take  charge  of  these  collections,  and  that  they  were  presented  with  the 
expectation  on  the  part  of  the  donors  that  suitable  provision  would  be 
made  for  their  display  at  the  seat  of  government.  They  consist  of 
full  series  of  articles  illustrative  of  the  economic  products,  the  natural 
history,  and  in  many  cases  the  manners,  customs,  and  arts  of  the  for- 
eign countries  represented  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  and  are  of 
great  importance  to  the  advancement  of  science,  education,  and  manu- 
facture. Besides  these  are  the  objects  collected  by  the  Smithsonian 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS.   1877-1879.  769 

Institution  and  United  States  Fish  Commission  of  the  animal,  mineral, 
and  fishery  resources  of  the  United  States,  also  of  public  interest. 

These  articles  now  constitute,  by  law,  a  part  of  the  National  Museum, 
which  has  been  placed  by  Congress  in  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. This  Museum  has  hitherto  been  accommodated  in  the  build- 
ing erected  for  the  purpose  at  the  expense  pf  the  Smithson  fund,  in 
accordance  with  the  direction  of  Congress.  This  edifice,  however,  is 
filled  to  overflowing,  while  "there  are  elsewhere,  on  storage,  from  the 
donations  previously  mentioned,  collections  of  greater  magnitude  than 
those  in  the  Smithsonian  building. 

It  is  evident  that  an  appropriation  for  an  additional  building  can  not 
justly  be  taken  from  the  Smithson  fund,  and  therefore  the  Board  of 
Regents  have  made  the  application  mentioned  in  their  memorial.  This 
memorial1  was  presented  to  Congress  at  its  last  session,  w.hen  the 
appropriation  asked  for  was  granted  by  the  Senate  unanimously,  and 
when,  in  all  probability,  it  would  have  been  granted  by  the  House 
could  the  proposition  have  been  brought  to  the  consideration  of  that 
body. 

1  am,  with  sentiments  of  high  esteem,  your  obedient  servant. 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Hon.  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

December  3,  1877— House.  . 

Extract  from  message  of  President  JR.  J3.  Hayes.  * 

I  earnestly  commend  the  request  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  that  an  adequate  appropriation  be  made  for  the  establish- 
ment and  conduct  of  a  national  museum  under  their  supervision. 
January  21,  1878— House. 

Mr.  CASEY  YOUNG  introduced  a  bill  (H.  2662)  for  the  erection  of  a 
fireproof  building  for  the  National  Museum: 

That  for  a  fireproof  building  for  the  use  of  the  National  ^luseum,  300  feet  square, 
to  be  erected  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  Maj.  Gen.  M.  C.  Meigs,  now  on  file  with 
the  Joint  Committee  of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  sum  of  $250,000  is  hereby  appro- 
priated, out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated;  said  building 
to  be  placed  west  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  leaving  a  roadway  between  it  and 
the  latter  of  not  less  than  30  feet,  with  its  north  front  on  "a  line  parallel  with  the 
north  face  of  the  buildings  of  the  Agricultural  Department  and  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution;  and  all  expenditures  for  the  purposes  herein  mentioned,  not  including 
anything  for  architectural  plans,  shall  be  audited  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treas- 
ury Department. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 

1  See  Smithsonian  Report  for  1876,  page  129,  and  Documents  relative  to  Smithsonian 
Institution,  p.  749. 

H.  Doc.  732 49 


770  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

February  25,  1878— House. 

Mr.  CASEY  YOUNG,  from  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and 
Grounds,  submitted  a  report  (No.  244)  to  accompany  the  bill  H.  2662: 

The  National  Museum  of  the  United  States,  at  present  in  charge  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  was  firs*t  authorized  and  established  by 
the  act  of  Congress  approved  August  10,  1846,  organizing  the  Institu- 
tion, which  provides — 

That,  in  proportion  as  suitable  arrangements  can  be  made  for  their  reception,  all 
objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research,  and  all  objects  of  natural  history, 
plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogies,!  specimens,  belonging,  or  hereafter  to  belong, 
to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody 
the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such  persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be  arranged  in  such 
order  and  so  placed  as  best  to  facilitate  the  examination  and  study  of  them. 

The  same  act  also  authorized  the  reception  of  donations  generally, 
and  provides  for  the  increase  of  the  museum  by  the  exchange  of  dupli- 
cate specimens. 

This  action  of  Congress  was  in  accordance  with  the  practice  and 
policy  of  all  civilized  nations,  the  national  museums  thus  constituted 
being  maintained  at  an  expenditure  of  money  which,  however  large,  is 
considered  as  necessary  and  proper  in  the  interest  of  the  people.  Con- 
spicuous instances  of  such  museums  are  found  in  the  national  estab- 
lishments of  Great  Britain,  France,  Spain,  Germany,  Holland,  Den- 
mark, Sweden,  Russia,  Austria,  Chile,  Buenos  Ayres,  Brazil,  Mexico, 
and  many  other  countries. 

When  a  national  museum  for  the  United  States  was  authorized  in 
1846,  the  collections  belonging  to  the  Government  consisted  principally 
of  what  had  been  brought  home  by  the  Wilkes  Exploring  Expedition, 
which  at  the  time  occupied  and  tilled  the  upper  story  of  what  is  now 
the  south  wing  of  the  Patent  Office.  Appropriations  had  been  made 
for  several  years  for  the  care  and  supervision  of  these  collections  while 
in  the  Patent  Office,  and  when  they  were  transferred  to  the  Smithso- 
nian edifice  these  appropriations  were  continued,  and  increased  from 
time  to  time  as  the  material  to  be  cared  for  required. 

For  several  years  but  few  additions  were  made  to  the  National 
Museum  beyond  the  occasional  contributions  of  individuals,  but  in 
1852  a  great  influx  of  specimens  began  from  the  numerous  Govern- 
ment expeditions  which  were  then  carried  on — among  them  the  United 
States  Naval  Astronomical  Expedition  to  Chile,  under  Lieutenant 
Gilliss;  the  expedition  to  Japan,  under  Commodore  Perry;  the  Bering 
Straits  Expedition,  under  Captains  Ringgold  and  Rodgers;  the  sur- 
veys for  a  railroad  route  to  the  Pacific,  under  the  War  Department; 
the  Mexican  Boundary  Survey,  under  the  Interior  Department;  the 
numerous  wagonroad  expeditions,  etc. 

These  were  followed  a  little  later  bv  the  contributions  from  the 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGEESS,  1877-1879.  771 

Northwestern  Boundary  Survey,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Archibald  Camp- 
bell, under  the  State  Department;  and,  after  another  interval  of  a  few 
years,  by  the  results  of  the  geological  and  other  surveys  by  Professor 
Hayden,  Lieutenant  Wheeler,  Major  Powell,  and  others. 

The  number  of  important  explorations,  yielding  results  of  decided 
magnitude,  for  the  most  part  carried  on  under  Government  auspices, 
or  more  or  less  at  the  expense  of  the  Smithsonian  fund  to  the  end  of 
1877,  or  thirty-one  years  from  the  organization  of  the  National  Museum, 
amounts  to  about  250,  while  other  contributions  from  private  sources 
have  constituted  an  enormous  aggregate  during  the  same  period. 

Up  to  the  beginning  of  the  year  1875  no  appropriations  were  made 
by  Congress  for  the  purchase  of  specimens  of  any  kind  whatever,  the 
expenditures  being  for  salaries,  cases,  materials,  transportation,  etc., 
the  collections  of  the  various  Government  expeditions,  the  contribu- 
tions of  correspondents,  and  the  exchanges  with  museums  at  home  and 
abroad  constituting  the  sole  mode  of  increase.  The  National  Museum 
of  the  United  States  is  believed  to  be  the  only  one  in  the  world  which 
has  grown  from  so  small  a  beginning  to  such  magnitude  without  the 
disbursement  of  large  sums  of  money  in  the  purchase  of  collections. 

The  occasion  of,  the.  International  Exhibition,  intended  to  celebrate 
at  Philadelphia  the  one-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of 
the  United  States,  was  chosen  by  authority  of  Congress,  and  with  funds 
provided  for  the  purpose,  to  present  an  epitome  of  the  powers  and 
resources  of  the  United  States  in  peace  and  war,  the  various  Executive 
Departments  being  called  upon  to  do  their  part  to  carry  out  this  object. 
The  Smithsonian  Institution,  as  having  charge  of  the  National  Museum, 
undertook  the  labor  of  showing  the  economical  value  of  the  mineral 
and  animal  products  of  the  country,  and  the  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission to  prepare  whatever  might  illustrate  the  important  subject  of 
the  national  fisheries.  The  Agricultural  Department  prepared  to  com- 
plete the  illustration  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  United  States  so 
far  as  the  vegetable  kingdom  and  its  products  were  concerned.  In 
connection  with  the  Indian  Bureau  of  the  Interior  Department,  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  also  made  arrangements  to  display  the  condi- 
tion of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  United  States  in  both  prehistoric 
and  modern  times. 

Although,  as  the  result  of  the  various  agencies  already  referred  to, 
the  National  Museum  contained  a  large  amount  of  appropriate  material 
before  commencing  operations  for  the  purpose  in  question,  there  were 
yet  many  gaps  that  were  required  to  be  filled  up  before  the  United 
States  could  be  worthily  represented  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  necessary 
appropriations  for  the  purpose  were  made  by  Congress.  The  entire 
amount  assigned  to  the  service  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  two 
successive  appropriations  was  $100,000.  The  United  States  Fish  Com- 


772  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

mission  received  $10,000,  and  the  Indian  Bureau  $31,370.55  for  the 
purpose  referred  to,  making  a  total  of  $141,370.55.  Of  this  a  consid- 
erable portion  was  required  toward  the  construction  of  the  Govern- 
ment buildings,  the  maintenance  of  guards  and  police,  the  salaries  of 
persons  employed  in  the  building,  etc.  The  expenditures  tending 
directly  toward  the  increase  and  perfection  of  the  collection  amounted, 
however,  to  at  least  $120,000,  this  sum  being  disbursed  exclusively  in 
the  collection,  preparation,  and  display  of  objects  belonging  to  the 
Territories  of  the  United  States,  and  having  no  reference  whatever  to 
those  of  foreign  countries. 

In  the  appendix  will  be  found  a  general  statement  of  the  collections 
thus  exhibited,  although  full  details  would  be  too  extended  for  the 
present  report.  It  is  estimated  that  a  simple  enumeration  of  the 
objects  displayed. under  the  head  of  the  animal  and  fishery  division 
alone  will  occupy  a  volume  of  600  octavo  pages,  the  catalogue  of  the 
mineral  and  ethnological  divisions  requiring  scarcely  less  space  in 
addition. 

The  entire  space  in  the  Government  buildings  at  Philadelphia  occu- 
pied by  the  various  collections  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the 
United  States  Fish  Commission,  and  the  Indian  Bureau  amounted  to 
about  33,500  feet,  or  about  one-third  of  the  whole. 

It  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  the  efforts  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, with  the  cooperation  above  referred  to,  to  carry  out  the  wishes 
of  Congress  were  entirely  successful  and  that  there  was  but  one 
opinion,  both  by  Americans  and  foreigners,  as  to  the  completeness  and 
value  of  the  exhibition. 

During  the  progress  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition  it  was  intimated 
to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  that  a  number  of  foreign  collections 
would  be  presented  to  the  United  States  Government  at  its  close,  but 
the  number  and  magnitude  of  these  donations  proved  to  be  vastly  in 
excess  of  any  anticipations  that  could  have  been  formed.  Many  of  the 
foreign  commissioners  had  intended  to  divide  their  collections  among 
different  establishments  in  the  United  States,  but  as  this  promised  to 
involve  serious  complications  with  the  custom-house  authorities  it  was 
thought  expedient  by  most  of  them  to  present  the  entire  series  to  the 
United  States,  which,  of  course,  would  receive  them  free  of  duty,  and 
with  the  understanding  that  any  duplicates  not  needed  for  the  National 
Museum  might  be  distributed  among  the  various  educational  and 
scientific  establishments  of  the  country.  Accordingly,  out  of  forty 
countries  which  made  Government  exhibits  at  Philadelphia  thirty-four 
presented  the  greater  part  or  the  whole  of  their  collections  to  the 
United  States.  These  represented  an  aggregate  of  great  magnitude 
and  value,  including  a  variety  of  valuable  ores  and  samples  of  the 
metals  derived  from  them,  with  their  simpler  applications  in  art  and 
industry,  building  stones,  pottery  and  porcelain  earths,  terra  cottas, 


FOBTY-FIFTH   CONGEESS,  1877-1879.  773 

porcelain,  etc.,  samples  of  furs  and  other  animal  products,  woods, 
fibers,  grains,  vegetable  substances  used  in  dyeing,  tanning,  etc.,  appa- 
ratus for  the  pursuit  and  capture  of  wild  animals,  for  the  taking  of 
fish  and  for  fish  culture,  collections  showing  the  manners  and  customs 
of  people  of  various  degrees  of  civilization,  industrial  products,  and 
other  articles  too  numerous  to  mention,  but  referred  to  in  somewhat 
greater  detail  in  the  appendix,  thus  placing  at  the  service  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  that  portion  of  the  International  Exhibition 
which  was  considered  of  most  value,  and  permitting  the  reproduction, 
in  better  form  and  of  more  instructive  character,  of  all  the  best  part 
of  the  display. 

In  addition  to  the  collective  exhibit  of  the  foreign  commissioners 
thus  referred  to  many  specimens  were  supplied  by  individuals  and 
firms  belonging  to  various  foreign  countries.  The  cost  to  the  respec- 
tive Governments  of  the  articles  thus  turned  over  to  the  United  States 
was  at  least  half  a  million  of  dollars.  Their  value  to  the  United 
States,  in  allowing  a  comparison  of  home  product  with  fhose  of  for- 
eign countries  and  in  improving  American  methods  and  processes  by 
study  of  the  apparatus  and  results  of  those  of  the  rest  of  the  world, 
can  not  be  represented  in  figures. 

In  addition  to  the  above-mentioned  contributions  a  large  proportion 
of  the  State  displays  and  those  of  individual  American  exhibitors  at 
Philadelphia  are  also  to  be  added  to  the  list  of  acquisitions. 

It  having  become  evident  during  the  Philadelphia  exhibition  that 
the  Smithsonian  building  in  Washington  would  be  entirely  inadequate 
to  accommodate  the  expected  acquisitions,  Congress,  by  its  act  of  July 
31,  1876,  appreciating  this  fact,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Institu- 
tion the  Armory  building,  between  Sixth  and  Seventh  streets,  to  enable 
it  to  store  therein  and  to  take  care  of  the  extensive  series  of  the  ores, 
of  the  precious  metals,  marbles,  building  stones,  coals,  and  numerous 
objects  c-f  natural  history  then  on  exhibition  in  Philadelphia,  including 
other  objects  of  practical  and  economical  value  presented  by  various 
foreign  Governments,  and  appropriated  the  sum  of  $4,500  for  repair- 
ing and  fitting  it  up  for  the  purpose. 

In  addition  to  this  Congress  appropriated,  March  3,  1877,  $25,000 
for  the  expenses  of  receiving,  packing,  and  transporting  the  objects 
presented  to  the  United  States  at  the  Centennial  by  State  and  foreign 
Governments  and  for  properly  storing  and  preserving  them  until  a 
proper  disposition  can  be  made  of  the  same. 

In  accordance  with  this  arrangement  the  specimens  referred  to  were 
in  great  part  deposited,  on  reaching  Washington  from  Philadelphia,  in 
the  Armory  building.  This  is  an  edifice  100  feet  in  length  by  50  in 
breadth,  having  four  stories,  or  representing  a  whole  floor  capacity  of 
20,000  square  feet.  These  rooms  are  now  filled  from  floor  to  ceiling 
with  the  objects  referred  to,  which,  for  the  most  part,  still  remain  boxed 


774  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

up  in  the  condition  in  which  the}7  were  originally  transferred  from  Phil- 
adelphia, some  4,000  boxes  or  packages  in  all,  and  subject  to  various 
forms  of  deterioration  and  injury. 

The  museum  halls  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  prior  to  the  Phil- 
adelphia exhibition  were  filled  almost  to  their  utmost  capacity,  and 
but  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  collections  either  prepared  on  pur- 
pose for  exhibition  at  Philadelphia  or  obtained  there  are  displayed 
in  them  at  the  present  time.  Besides  the  20,000  square  feet  of  floor 
covered  with  packages  in  the  Armory  building  the  entire  basement  of 
the  Smithsonian  building  is  filled  with  other  packages,  representing 
nearly  an  equal  amount,  and  quite  as  important  in  an  educational 
point  of  view  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

The  collections  in  the  Smithsonian  building  now  open  to  the  public 
occupy  about  30,000  square  feet  of  floor  space.  It  is  quite  within 
bounds  to  estimate  that  the  articles  stored  away  will  require  for  their 
satisfactory  exhibition  between  three  and  four  times  that  area,  even 
allowing  for  a  great  reduction  of  the  objects  by  the  elimination  and 
distribution  of  the  duplicate  specimens.  There  is  no  provision  what- 
ever at  present  for  the  display  of  these  articles,  and  unless  Congress 
furnishes  the  means  this  magnificent  property  of  the  people  will  go  to 
decay  and  destruction  in  the  course  of  time,  the  animal  products  being 
destroyed  rapidly  by  insects  and  many  objects  of  a  mineral  or  metal- 
lurgical character  by  rust. 

As  every  day  of  delay  in  arranging  and  exhibiting  this  collection  is 
accompanied  with  the  question  of  erecting  a  suitable  building  for  its 
accommodation  and  has  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  a  plan  has  been  devised  which,  it  is  believed,  will  furnish 
the  facilities  required  in  the  shortest  possible  interval  of  time  and  at 
the  minimum  of  expense. 

To  erect  an  edifice  of  the  necessary  magnitude,  in  the  style  of  archi- 
tecture heretofore  adopted  by  the  Government  for  its  use  in  Washing- 
ton, would  involve  an  expenditure  of  many  millions  of  dollars,  and  it 
could  not  be  completed  and  available  for  occupation  in  a  shorter  period 
than  from  five  to  eight  years.  Nevertheless,  on  a  simple  plan  origi- 
nally suggested  by  General  Meigs,  a  building  somewhat  similar  in  char- 
acter to  those  erected  for  the  National  Exposition,  300  feet  square,  or 
having  an  area  of  90,000  square  feet — something  over  two  acres — per- 
fectly fireproof,  amply  lighted,  and  properly  adapted  for  all  its  objects, 
can  be  constructed  for  about  $250,000,  and  can  be  ready  for  occupation 
within  ten  months,  or  at  most  a  year,  from  the  time  of  its  commence- 
ment. 

By  the  plan  contemplated  everything  woidd  be  on  one  floor,  without 
any  stairways  or  second  story,  no  cellar  or  fireproof  floor  being  re- 
quired. The  single  floor  of  the  building  to  be  of  concrete,  and  thus 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  775 

water  and  vermin  proof;  the  walls  and  other  portions  of  the  building 
of  brick;  and  the  beams,  rafters,  and  framework  of  the  roof  of  iron, 
without  a  particle  of  wood. 

It  is  therefore  much  to  be  desired  that  the  means  be  furnished  at  an 
early  day  for  the  construction  of  this  building,  so  that  the  rich  material 
now  belonging  to  the  United  States  Government  can  be  utilized. 

It  is  believed  that  when  properly  arranged  the  National  Museum  of 
the  United  States  will  take  rank  as  one  of  the  great  industrial  and  eco- 
nomical displays  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  globe.  The  accommo- 
dation will  then  be  afforded  for  the  exhibition  of  the  mineral  wealth  of 
every  State  and  Territory,  and  the  display  of  samples  of  every  new 
mine,  with  all  the  appliances  for  rendering  the  study  of  the  whole  inter- 
esting and  profitable.  The  coals,  the  marbles,  and  other  ornamental 
minerals  will  be  exhibited  systematically;  the  useful  and  ornamental 
products  and  derivatives  of  the  animal  kingdom  will  be  shown — not 
only  such  as  relate  to  the  United  States,  but  with  illustrations  of  the 
whole  subject  in  other  parts  of  the  world — which  can  not  fail  to  sug- 
gest new  and  important  applications  in  this  country.  Illustrations  of 
the  food  and  other  fishes  of  this  and  other  countries,  the  best  methods 
of  securing  them  and  of  preparing  them  for  the  requirements  of  man- 
kind, and  the  varied  productions  of  the  aboriginal-  races  of  North 
America  can  also  be  displayed  on  a  proper  scale. 

To  illustrate  more  fully  the  necessity  and  importance  of  the  early 
construction  of  the  building  provided  for  by  this  bill,  the  committee 
deem  it  proper  to  embrace  in  this  report  the  following  list  of  the  more 
important  collections  presented  by  foreign  commissioners  to  the 
United  States  Government  and  taken  charge  of  in  behalf  of  the 
National  Museum  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  (Printed  in  Smith- 
sonian Report  for  1876,  pp.  131-137.) 

Ordered  to  be  printed  and  recommitted. 

March  6,  1878— House. 

Mr.  CASEY  YOUNG,  from  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and 
Grounds,  reported  favorably  the  bill  H.  2662. 

(See  January  21, 1878,  House  proceedings.) 

Mr.  JOHN  R.  EDEN  made  a  point  of  order  that  the  bill  should 
receive  first  consideration  in  the  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  SAMUEL  J.  RANDALL)  sustained  the  point  of  order, 
as  the  bill  contained  an  appropriation. 

Bill"  refer  red  to  Committee  of  the  Whole  and  placed  on  the  public 
calendar. 
May  27,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL  introduced  bill  (S.  1320)  for  fireproof  build- 
ing for  National  Museum. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings. 


776  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

December  16,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  HENRY  L.  DAWES  by  unanimous  consent  introduced  a  bill  S.  1519 
for  the  erection  of  a  fireproof  building  for  the  National  Museum. 

That  for  a  fireproof  building  for  the  use  of  the  National  Museum,  300  feet  square, 
to  be  erected  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  in  accordance  with  the  plans  now  on  file  with  the  Joint  Committee  of  Pub- 
lic Buildings  and  Grounds,  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  the  sum  of  $250,000  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money  in  the 
Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated;  said  building  to  be  placed  east  of  the  Smithson- 
ian Institution,  leaving  a  roadway  between  it  and  the  latter  of  not  less  than  50  feet, 
with  its  north  front  on  a  line  parallel  with  the  north  face  of  the  buildings  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Department  and  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  all  expenditures  for 
the  purposes  herein  mentioned,  not  including  anything  for  architectural  plans,  shall 
be  audited  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
January  7,  1879 — Senate. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRILL  introduced  a  bill  (S.  1574)  for  the  erection  of  a 
fireproof  building  for  the  National  Museum,  the  same  as  that  intro- 
duced December  16,  1878,  in  the  Senate  by  Mr.  H.  L.  Dawes,  with  the 
following  change: 

With  its  north  front  on  a  line  with  the  south  face  of  the  buildings  of  the  Agricul- 
tural Department  and  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
January  9,  1879— Senate. 

Reported  favorably  by  Committee. 
January  13,  1879 — Senate. 

Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL.  I  move  that  the  Senate  proceed  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  bill  (S.  1574)  for  the  erection  of  a  fireproof  building 
for  the  National  Museum.  It  will  not  take  five  minutes  when  the  bill 
is  explained. 

Agreed  to. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  Mr.  President,  it  will  be  remembered  that  a  bill 
similar  to  this  passed  the  Senate  unanimously  two  years  ago.  It  was 
not  reached  in  season  in  the  House  to  be  acted  upon  regularly  and 
could  only  be  considered  by  that  body  under  a  suspension  of  the  rules. 
The  motion  to  suspend  the  rules  for  that  purpose  received  a  very 
large  majority  there,  but  not  quite  a  two-thirds  vote.  The  bill  has 
been  recommended  by  the  committees  of  both  Houses,  I  believe, 
unanimously. 

It  will  also  be  remembered  that  we  made  an  appropriation  for  the 
centennial  celebration  of  a  million  and  a  half  dollars,  and  that  sum  was 
repaid  to  the  United  States,  but  the  contributions  made  by  the  United 
States  cost  the  Government  about  $150,000.  In  addition  to  these 
contributions  we  have,  of  34  States  and  nationalities  out  of  41,  their 
entire  contributions  made  at  the  centennial  celebration.  These  con- 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  777 

tributions  are  now  stored  in  the  armory  four  stories  high,  there  being 
4,000  boxes  packed  as  full  as  the  armory  can  hold.  It  was  naturally 
supposed  by  the  governments  which  made  these  very  generous  con- 
tributions to  the  United  States  that  they  would  be  placed  where  the 
public  could  see  them.  We  have  immense  riches  in  this  line.  The 
results  of  over  200  exploring  expeditions  are  now  garnered  in  this  city 
in  various  localities,  but  without  the  possibility  of  their  being  properly 
exhibited. 

Mr.  President,  I  suppose  that  the  contributions  of  some  of  these 
States  that  were  given  to  us,  say  of  Siam,  China,  and  Japan,  will  at 
the  present  moment,  when  properly  displayed,  occupy  more  space  than 
the  largest  hall  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  must  have  cost 
those  Governments  a  very  large  sum  of  money,  perhaps  over  $100,000. 
The  contributions  that  come  to  us  from  abroad  and  from  our  various 
States  and  Territories  are  specially  rich  and  valuable  in  iron,  silver, 
and  gold  ore,  especially  those  of  Norway,  Sweden,  Russia,  Spain, 
Portugal,  Brazil,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand,  and  our  own  contribu- 
tions are  exceedingly  valuable  in  ores,  metals,  coals,  building  stones, 
earth  and  clays  for  the  potter's  art,  including  all  the  economical 
products  of  the  animal  kingdom,  as  furs,  hides,  skins,  preparations  of 
fish  and  marine  products,  all  the  apparatus  with  which  these  animals 
were  captured  and  utilized,  generally  whatever  illustrates  animal  and 
mineral  nature  throughout  the  United  States,  and  also  a  complete 
illustration  of  the  Indian  tribes,  costing  about  $40,000.  These  are  not 
merely  curiosities,  but  they  are  specimens  of  objects  that  will  be 
permanently  interesting  and  useful  to  the  whole  country. 

I  may  say  that  the  contributions  from  the  extreme  eastern  states, 
from  Siam,  Japan,  and  China,  including  bronzes  of  rare  workmanship, 
could  not  have  cost  less,  as  1  have  said,  than  $100,000.  At  the  present 
time,  in  the  basement  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  there  is  three 
times  as  much  stored  away  as  is  on  exhibition.  I  may  say  also  that 
there  are  five  pieces  alone  that  were  given  to  us  from  the  Centennial 
Exposition  upon  which  the  actual  cost  or  the  estimate  of  the  custom- 
house department  upon  their  value  was  $48,000.  They  are  now  pub- 
lishing a  volume  containing  a  list  of  what  they  have  of  animal  products 
and  products  of  the  fisheries,  where  the  title,  occupying  but  a  single 
line,  will  fill  350  pages,  and  this  is  only  one  branch  of  the  extensive 
collection  which  is  to  find  a  place  in  the  new  building  proposed. 

1  suppose,  Mr.  President,  that  every  Senator  who  has  made  any 
sort  of  investigation  of  this  subject  agrees  as  to  the  propriety  of  this 
building  being  erected  for  the  purpose  of  accommodating  these  large 
results  of  our  exploring  expeditions  and  the  Centennial  Exposition, 
and  the  various  collections  belonging  to  the  Government  that  are  now 
gathered  together  in  this  city.  The  building  will  occupy  a  space  on 


778  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  east  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,   and  will  only  cost  $250,000, 
and  it  is  to  be  under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS.  I  should  like  to  call  the  attention  of  my 
colleague  to  the  seventh  and  eighth  lines  of  the  bill,  where,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  location  of  the  building,  it  reads  that  it  is  to  be  located 
"on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion.'' That,  taken  literally,  might  seem  to  require  that  it  be  located 
exactly  in  the  southeast  corner,  which  is  not  intended,  as  can  be  seen 
further  along.  But,  to  make  it  clear,  I  suggest  to  him  to  make  it  read 
to  be  located  "on  the  southeast  part  of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,"  to  save  all  possible  question. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  have  no  objection  to  that  amendment. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  W.  A.  WHEELER).  To  this  there  can  be 
nt)  objection,  and  the  amendment  is  agreed  to. 

The  bill  was  passed. 
February  28,  1879 — Senate. 

An  amendment  to  the  sundrjT  civil  bill  for  1880  was  offered: 

For  a  fireproof  building  for  the  use  of  the  National  Museum,  300  feet  square,  to  be 
erected  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, in  accordance  with  the  plans  now  on  file  with  the  Joint  Committee  on  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds,  on  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithso- 
nian Institution,  §250,000;  said  building  to  be  placed  east  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, leaving  a  roadway  between  it  and  the  latter  of  not  less  than  50  feet,  with  its 
north  front  on  a  line  with  the  south  face  of  the  buildings  of  the  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment and  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  all  expenditures  for  the  purposes 
herein  mentioned,  not  including  anything  for  architectural  plans,  shall  be  audited 
by  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department. 

Agreed  to. 
March  3,  1879.— House. 

Passed. 
March  3,  1879. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1880. 

For  a  fireproof  building  for  the  use  of  the  National  Museum,  300 
feet  square,  to  be  erected  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  accordance  with  the  plans 
now  on  file  with  the  Joint  Committee  of  Public  Buildings  and 
Grounds,  on  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithso- 
nian Institution,  $250,000:  said  building  to  be  placed  east  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  leaving  a  roadway  between  it  and  the  latter  of  not 
less  than  50  feet,  with  its  north  front  on  a  line  with  the  south  face  of 
the  buildings  of  the  Agricultural  Department  and  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution:  and  all  expenditures  for  the  purposes  herein  mentioned, 
not  including  anything  for  architectural  plans,  shall  be  audited  by  the 
proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department. 

(Stat.  XX,  3i>7.) 


FOKTY-FIFTH    CONGKESS,   1877-1879.  779 


NATIONAL   MUSEUM — GOVERNMENT    COLLECTIONS   TO    BE    DEPOSITED. 

March  3,  1879. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1880. 

All  collections  of  rocks,  minerals,  soils,  fossils,  and  objects  of  natural 
"history,  archaeology,  and  ethnology,  made  by  the  Coast  and  Interior 
Survey,  the  Geological  Survey,  or  by  any  other  parties  for  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  when  no  longer  needed  for  investigations 
in  progress  shall  be  deposited  in  the  National  Museum. 

(Stat.,  XX,  394.) 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — ESTIMATES. 

December  3,  1877— House. 

Estimates  by  the  Secretary  of   the   Smithsonian   Institution  for  1879  through  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Preservation  and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum, 
including  those  from  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $35,000. 

Expenses  of  making  up  into  sets  for  distribution  to  colleges  and 
museums,  the  duplicate  ores,  minerals,  and  objects  of  natural  history 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  $5,000. 

Preservation  of  collections,  Armory  building:  Expense  of  watching 
and  storage  of  articles  belonging  to  the  United  States,  including  those 
transferred  from  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $2,500. 

December  2,  1878— House. 

Estimates  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for   1880  through  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Preservation  and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum, 
including  those  from  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $27,500. 

Expenses  of  making  up  into  sets  for  distribution  to  colleges  and 
museums,  the  duplicate  ores,  minerals,  and  objects  of  natural  histoiy 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  $5,000. 

Preservation  of  collections,  Armory  building:  Expense  of  watching 
and  storage  of  articles  belonging  to  the  United  States,  including  those 
transferred  from  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $2,500. 

Postage:  Stamps  are  desired,  of  different  values  to  the  amount  of 
$1,000,  as  in  previous  years. 

For  printing  labels,  circulars,  and  blanks  for  the  service  of  the 
National  Museum,  $2,500. 

For  printing  bulletins  and  proceedings  of  the  National  Museum, 
$5,000. 

[These  items  were  included  in  the  estimates  asked  for  the  Department 
of  the  Interior.] 


780  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

February  17,  1879— House. 

FEBRUARY  IT,  1879. 
Hon.  A.  S.  HEWITT, 

CJiainnan,  Subcommittee  on  Appropriations. 

SIR:  I  beg  to  comply  herewith  with  your  instructions  to  furnish 
some  explanation  of  the  reasons  why  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
asked  for  an  appropriation  of  $35,000  for  the  general  purposes  of  the 
National  Museum,  when  $25,500  only  was  allowed  for  the  present 
fiscal  year. 

I  now  have  the  honor  to  inclose  a  list  of  the  appropriations  for  the 
service  of  the  National  Museum  for  the  preservation  and  maintenance 
of  the  collections  of  the  United  States'  Government  during  the  past 
seven  years,  from  which  you  will  see  that  a  very  abrupt  and  material 
reduction  in  the  amount  allowed  for  the  purpose  in  question  has  been 
made  for  two  years  past,  resulting  in  seriously  embarrassing  the 
operations  of  the  Museum  and  preventing  it  from  carrying  out  its  full 
measure  of  usefulness. 

Up  to  the  period  preceding  the  Centennial  Exhibition  the  collec- 
tions of  the  National  Museum  were  comparatively  limited  and  were 
readily  administered  by  the  appropriations  made.  In  1874,  however, 
the  appropriations  for  the  Centennial  Exhibition  were  begun,  on 
which  occasion  the  Institution  was  required  by  Congress  to  present  a 
complete  picture  of  the  animal  and  mineral  resources  of  the  United 
States  and  of  their  applications  to  human  industries. 

With  the  large  collections  made  up  for  exhibition  at  Philadelphia 
at  an  expense  of  about  $140,000,  and  the  enormous  mass  of  foreign 
contributions,  we  have  now  in  our  charge  more  than  four  times  as 
much  material  as  in  1873,  requiring  increased  force  and  expenditure 
to  keep  it  in  proper  condition. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary,  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Schedule  of  appropriations  made  for  the  service  of  the  National  Museum,  jn  charge 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  during  the  past  seven  years. 

For  1873 $25,000 

For  1874 42,  000 

For  1875 30,  000 

For  1876 40, 000 

For  1877 37, 500 

For  1878 1 25,  500 

For  1879 25,  500 

The  amount  asked  for  for  the  fiscal  year  1880  is  $35,000,  in  addition 
to  which  $3,000  are  desired  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the 
instructions  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  in  securing  the 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  781 

property  of  the  United  States  in  the  Smithsonian  building-  from  dan- 
ger by  fire.     This  is  to  be  expended  in  the  construction  of  iron  doors, 
for  extension  of  the  water  pipes,  for  the  purchase  of  hose,  etc. 
February  18,  1879— Senate. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  WINDOM, 

Chairman,  Senate  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

SIR:  I  would  respectfully  ask  the  insertion  by  the  Senate  in  the 
deficiency  bill  of  the  following  item: 

For  the  preservation  of  the  specimens  of  the  United  States  sur- 
veying and  exploring  expeditions,  $4,000. 

The  appropriation  asked  for  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in 
behalf  of  the  Government  collections  was  reduced  by  the  House  from 
$37,500  to  $18,000,  the  total  appropriation  for  the  purpose  being 
$25,000,  as  compared  with  $37,500  in  1877,  $40,000  in  1876,  $30,000 
in  1875,  and  $42,000  in  1874. 

This  reduction  rendered  it  necessary  to  discharge  a  large  part  of  the 
force  of  the  Museum  employed  in  the  preservation  and  investigation 
of  the  collections,  and  confine  the  work  simply  to  protection  of  the 
articles  against  destruction.  It  was,  of  course,  our  duty  to  accommo- 
date ourselves  to  the  will  of  Congress;  but  unexpected  expenditures 
have  been  rendered  necessary  by  various  causes,  such  as  the  destruc- 
tive storms  of  last  summer,  which  involved  extensive  repairs  to  the 
Museum  building;  the  repairs  of  damages  by  bursting  of  water  pipes 
in  consequence  of  the  severe  frosts  of  winter;  the  necessity  of  intro- 
ducing additional  registers  into  the  building  to  make  it  comfortable 
for  visitors,  and  the  carrying  out  of  instructions  of  the  Government 
committee  to  render  the  building  secure  against  fire.  For  this  pur- 
pose the  Smithsonian  Institution  was  ordered  to  insert  iron  doors, 
some  of  large  size,  in  various  openings  and  passageways  so  as  to 
accomplish  the  security  desired. 

Begging  that  the  committee,  having  given  these  reasons  due  consid- 
eration, will  make  the  appropriation  desired, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary,  Smithsonian  Institution, 

February  26,  1879 — House. 

Hon.  J.  H.  BLOUNT, 

Chairman  Subcommittee  on  the  Deficiency  Bill. 

SIR:  May  I  ask  from  the  subcommittee  a  favorable  consideration  of 
the  item  of  $4,000  introduced  by  the  Senate  into  the  deficiency  bill 
for  "Preservation  of  the  collections  of  the  United  States  surveying 
and  exploring  expeditions,  in  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution"? 

The  appropriation  by  the  House  under  that  head  for  the  fiscal  year 


782  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

ending  June  30.  LsSO  is  $23,000;  that  for  the  previous  year  was  $18,500, 
a  great  reduction  from  the  estimate.  We,  of  course,  reduced  the  scale 
and  efficiency  of  our  expenditures  for  the  National  Museum  during 
the  present  year  to  meet  the  will  of  Congress,  but  we  have  been  sub- 
jected to  a  number  of  extraordinary  and  unavoidable  expenses  that 
will,  I  fear,  seriously  embarrass  us  unless  we  obtain  the  relief  asked 
for.  The  unusual  storms  of  the  past  summer  caused  damage  which 
required  immediate  repairs,  as  did  also  the  cold  weather  of  the  winter, 
in  bursting  water  pipes  in  the  building  and  water  mains  outside. 
The  inclemency  of  the  weather  also  made  additional  radiators  neces- 
sary to  the  comfort  of  the  officers  and  of  visitors.  A  greatly  increased 
consumption  of  coal  also  involved  additional  expense. 

These  and  other  unanticipated  expenses  will,  I  trust,  be  a  sufficient 
justification  for  the  application  for  the  deficiency  item  in  question. 
Very  respectful!}", 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

NATIONAL    MUSEUM — APPROPRIATIONS. 
June'13.  1878— House. 

The  sundry  civil  bill  being  under  consideration,  the  clerk  read  as 
follows: 

Distribution  of  duplicates:  For  expenses  of  making  up  into  sets, 
for  distribution  to  colleges  and  museums,  the  duplicate  ores,  minerals, 
and  objects  of  natural  history  belonging  to  the  United  States,  85,000. 

Mr.  MARK  H.  DUNNELL  offered  the  following  amendment:  Strike 
out  the  word  ''  colleges''  and  insert  "institutions  of  learning-. " 

Mr.  ABRAM  S.  HEWITT.  We  accept  that. 

Amendment  adopted. 
June  20,  1878. 

Sundry  civil  ac-t  for  1879. 

For  the  purchase  of  relics  of  George  Washington  from  the  Lewis 
family,  of  Clarke  County.  Virginia,  the  purchase  to  be  made  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at  a  price  not  exceeding  $12,000,  or  so 
much  thereof  as  ma}"  be  necessary. 

(Stat.  XX,  218.)' 

For  preservation  and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum, 
including  those  from  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $18,000. 

For  expenses  of  making  up  into  sets,  for  distribution  to  institutions 
of  learning  and  museums,  the  duplicate  ores,  minerals,  and  objects  of 
natural  history  belonging  to  the  United  States,  $5,000. 

Armory  building:  For  expense  of  watching  and  storage  of  articles 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  including  those  transferred  from  the 
International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $2,500. 

(Stat,  XX,  233.) 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  783 

March  3,  1879. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1880. 

For  preservation  and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum, 
including-  those  from  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $23,000. 

For  expenses  of  making-  up  into  sets,  for  distribution  to  colleges 
and  museums,  the  duplicate  ores,  minerals,  and  objects  of  natural  his- 
tory belonging  to  the  United  States,  $5,000. 

Armory  building:  For  expense  of  watching  and  storage  of  articles 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  including  those  transferred  from  the 
International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $2,500. 

(Stat.,  XX,  397.) 

March  3,  1879. 

Deficiency  act  for  1879,  etc. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  the  preservation  of  the  specimens  of 
the  United  States  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions,  1879,  $4,000. 
(Stat,  XX,  417.) 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS. 

By  the  Vice- President. 
November  1,  1877— Senate. 

The  Vice- President  (Mr.  WILLIAM  A.  WHEELER)  appointed  Robert 
E.  Withers,  of  Virginia,  a  Regent  in  place  of  John  White  Stevenson, 
of  Kentucky,  whose  term  had  expired. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS. 

By  the  Speaker. 
January  U,  1878— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  SAMUEL  J.  RANDALL)  appointed  as  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  Hiester  Clymer,  of  Pennsylvania,  Alex- 
ander H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  and  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    REGENTS. 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
January  16,  1878 — Senate. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  15): 

That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
of  the  class  other 'than  members  of  Congress  shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
Noah  Porter  in  place  of  James  D.  Dana,  resigned. 

Laid  on  the  table. 
January  17,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIX  called  up  the  joint  resolution  (S.  15)  to  fill  vacancy 
in  the  Board  of  Regents. 

Mr.  HAMLIN.  Mr.  President,  it  will  be  recollected  by  Senators  that 
the  Regents  of  the  Institution  are  appointed  in  three  ways — a  certain 
number  being  appointed  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  a  certain  num- 
ber by  yourself,  and  a  certain  number  at  large  who  are  appointed  by 


784  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

joint  resolution.     There  is  a  vacancy  in  the  board  occasioned  by  the 
resignation  of  Professor  Dana,  of  Yale  College. 

Mr.  G.  F.  EDMUNDS.   By  "joint  resolution"  means  "by  law?" 

Mr.  HAMLIN.  By  law,  by  joint  resolution  having  the  force  of  law. 
The  gentleman  whose  name  is  in  the  resolution  is  the  president  of 
Yale  College,  the  same  college  of  which  the  late  member  who  has  just 
resigned  was  a  professor.  I  will  say  that  on  consultation  with  the 
Regents  of  the  Institution  we  have  all  unanimously  believed  that  the 
gentleman  whose  name  is  in  the  resolution  is  one  most  eminently  fitted 
for  the  position. 

Passed. 
January  22,  1878 — House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD,  Senate  Resolution  15,  to  fill 
vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents,  was  passed. 
January  26,  1878. 

Jtesolved,  etc, ,  That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Noah  Porter,  of  Connecticut, 
in  place  of  James  D.  Dana,  resigned. 

(Stat.,  XX,  247.) 
March  11,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN  introduced  joint  resolution — 

That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Congress,  shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
William  T.  Sherman,  of  the  city  of  Washington,  in  place  of  George  Bancroft,  of  £aid 
city,  resigned. 

Passed. 
March  19,  1878— House. 

Mr.  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD  called  up  Senate  joint  resolution  filling  a 
vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  by  the  appointment  of  William  T. 
Sherman  in  place  of  George  Bancroft,  resigned. 

Passed. 
March  25,  1878. 

Resolved*,  etc.,  That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress, shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  William  T.  Sherman,  of 
the  city  of  Washington,  in  place  of  George  Bancroft,  of  said  city, 
resigned. 

(Stat.,  XX,  249.) 

FIRE    PROTECTION    FOR   PUBLIC   BUILDINGS. 
December  6,  1877 — House. 

Mr.  BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER  introduced  a  bill  (H.  1906)  to  aid  in  the 
protection  of  the  public  records  and  property  against  loss  and  damage 
by  fire: 

That  in  all  buildings  containing  public  property  or  public  records  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  the  head  of  the  department  having  control  of  such  build- 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  785 

ing  is  hereby  authorized  to  put  up  and  use  an  automatic  signal  telegraph  of  such 
improved  kind  and  description,  adopted  and  now  in  public  use,  as  is  fitted  and 
adapted  to  transmit  signals  of  fire  by  means  of  unusual  degree  of  heat. 

SEC.  2.  A  commission  composed  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  the  Supervising 
Architect  of  the  Treasury  Department,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, are  hereby  constituted  and  authorized  to  examine  such  automatic  signal  tele- 
graph systems  as  may  be  submitted  to  them  by  the  owners  and  agents  thereof,  and 
select  such  a  one  as  is  best  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  the  earliest  transmission  by 
signal  of  the  occurrence  of  fire,  and  to  certify  to  the  heads  of  the  several  departments 
of  the  Government  such  system  of  signals  as  may  be  approved  by  them. 

SEC.  3.  And  the  head  of  each  executive  department  is  hereby  authorized  to  make 
a  requisition  on  the  Treasury  for  such  sums  as  may  be  necessarily  expended  in 
putting  up  and  using  in  such  public  buildings  as  he  may  deem  necessary  under  his 
department  such  system  of  telegraphic  signal  so  adopted,  to  be  paid,  on  proper 
vouchers  to  be  furnished  therefor,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
December  10,  1877— House. 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  R.  B.  Hayes,  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  Congress  transmitting  the  report  of  the  commission  appointed 
by  him  on  the  27th  of  September,  1877  [Lieut.  Col.  Thos.  L.  Casey, 
U.  S.  A.,  James  G.  Hill,  Supervising  Architect,  United  States  Treas- 
ury, and  Edward  Clark,  Architect  of  the  Capitol],  to  examine  the 
several  public  buildings  in  this  city  (including  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution), and  determine  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  security  against 
conflagrations  and  the  measures  to  be  taken  to  guard  the  buildings  and 
their  contents  from  destruction  or  damage  by  fire. 

The  President  said: 

The  records  of  the  Government  constitute  a  most  valuable  collection  for  the  coun- 
try, whether  we  consider  their  pecuniary  value  or  their  historical  importance,  and  it . 
becomes  my  duty  to  call  your  attention  to  the  means  suggested  for  securing  these 
valuable  archives,  as  well  as  the  buildings  in  which  they  are  stored.  The  commis- 
sioners have  performed  their  duties  intelligently  and  faithfully.  Their  recommenda- 
tions are  fully  concurred  in  by  me,  and  commended  to  the  favorable  consideration  of 
Congress. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds 
The  following  were  the  recommendations  of  the  commission: 

SPECIFIC    RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Smithsonian  Institution. — All  the  combustible  materials  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  museum  portion  of  the  building  should  be  removed,  and  the  parts  renewed  of 
fireproof  construction,  and  the  openings  connecting  with  other  parts  of  the  building 
should  be  supplied  with  fireproof  doors. 

In  addition  to  the  special  recommendations  contained  under  section  1,  the  follow- 
ing general  recommendations  that  may  be  applicable  to  all  the  public  buildings  are 
offered: 

First.  That  ample  apparatus  for  extinguishing  fires,  such  as  water  mains,  pumps, 
hose,  ladders,  axes,  water  buckets  constantly  filled  with  water,  be  supplied  upon  each 
floor;  that  a  thorough  system  of  police  and  guard  by  day  and  night  be  established 
H.  Doc.  732 50 


780  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

in  each  building;  that  all  woodwork  touching  flues  be  removed,  and  that  guards  be 
used  around  all  pipes,  whether  for  smoke  or  for  steam,  wherever  they  pass  through 
woodwork. 

Second.  The  removal  of  all  combustible  shelving  and  the  use  in  their  stead  of 
metal  shelving,  the  files  arranged  upon  them  to  be  protected  by  metal  doors  or  metal 
files  cases. 

Third.  The  use  in  all  rooms  for  storage  purposes  and  in  those  which  have  not  to 
be  visited  frequently  of  some  electrical  communicator,  to  be  placed  so  that  unusual 
degrees  of  heat  may  be  signaled  to  the  watchmen;  thus  making  known  the  fact  of 
the  presence  of  fire,  should  any  occur  in  these  apartments. 

Fourth.  The  use  of  electrical  recording  signals  to  be  turned  in  by  the  watchmen 
at  fixed  intervals  of  time  through  the  night  and  day  from  given  stations  in  the 
building. 

Fifth.  The  establishment  of  regulations  in  the  several  departments  limiting  the 
number  of  files  to  be  stored  in  any  apartment. 

Sixth.  That  the  large  apartments  and  spaces  devoted  to  files  in  the  fireproof 
structures  be  divided  into  moderately  sized  compartments,  so  as  to  lessen  the  degrees 
of  heat  that  would  be  generated  by  the  combustion  of  the  materials,  and  the  conse- 
quent injury  to  the  building  and  difficulty  of  subduing  the  conflagration. 

Seventh.  That  where  practicable  all  power  steam  boilers  be  removed  from  the 
basements  of  the  buildings  to  structures  exterior  to  the  main  building. 

In  conclusion,  this  commission  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  the  buildings  herein 
described  as  wholly  or  in  part  fireproof  are  those  built  of  thick  masonry  walls,  with 
stone  or  iron  stairways,  having  the  stories  separated  by  groined  arches  of  brick,  or  by 
arches  of  the  same  material  resting  on  iron  beams,  in  which  wood  is  used  only  for 
sash  and  doors,  and  in  some  cases  for  floors  laid  on  the  brick  arches. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  these  are  absolutely  fireproof,  nor  do  they  know  of  any 
attainable  construction  which  will  resist  without  injury  high  degrees  of  heat,  such 
as  might  be  generated  by  overcrowding  large  rooms  with  combustible  materials. 
They  are,  however,  of  the  opinion  that  with  the  measures  of  caution  herein  sug- 
gested the  public  records  and  buildings  will  be  well  protected  from  loss  or  damage 
by  fire. 

December  10,  1877— House. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  (Mr.  CARL  SCHURZ)  submitted  to  Con- 
gress the  following  estimate,  in  accordance  with  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee to  examine  the  public  buildings  in  regard  to  their  security 
against  fire,  appointed  September  27,  1877: 

:     To  provide  additional  security  against  fire  in  the  Smithsonian  building 
for  the  Government  collections,  $3,000.     * 

March  27,  1878. 

Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Joseph  Henry, 
to  lion.  A..  A.  Sargent,   United  States  Senate. 

1  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  shortly  after  the  fire  at  the 
Patent  Office  the  Smithsonian  building  was  visited  by  the  Govern- 
ment Committee  of  Inspection,  and  suggestions  made  by  them  as  to 
the  fireproofing  of  the  portion  of  the  edifice  devoted  to  the  collections 
of  the  National  Museum.  These  suggestions  were  at  once  acted  upon, 
at  an  expense  of  $2,803.29,  as  per  detailed  memorandum  herewith,  and 
I  write  to  beg  that  you  will  kindly  consider  the  propriety  of  having 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  787 

an  item  introduced  into  the  deficiency  bill  whereby  the  Smithson  fund 
may  be  reimbursed  for  this  outlay. 

Expenditures  incurred  by  the  Smitlisonian  Institution  for  the  protection  of  the  United  States 
Government  collections';  1877-78. 

Brick  and  laying $635.  60 

Hose - 325.  75 

Cement,  lime,  sand 83.  74 

Hardware,  lumber,  and  labor 298. 25 

Plumbing 452. 95 

Fireproof  iron  doors,  530  square  feet,  at  $1.90 1, 007. 00 


2, 803. 29 
June  5,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  L.  DAWES,  from  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and 
Grounds,  reported  a  bill  (S.  1367)  to  aid  in  the  protection  of  the 
public  buildings  and  property  against  loss  and  damage  by  fire: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  a  commission,  composed  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents, 
the  Supervising  Architect  of  the  Treasury  Department,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  is  hereby  constituted  and  authorized  to  examine  such  auto- 
matic signal- telegraph  systems  as  may  be  ^submitted  to  them  by  the  owners  and 
agents  thereof,  and  to  ascertain  which  of  the  same  is  best  adapted  for  the  purpose  of 
the  earliest  and  most  certain  transmission  by  signal  of  the  occurrence  of  fire;  and 
also  the  adaptability,  usefulness,  and  need  of  the  same  for  the  further  protection  of 
the  buildings  and  property  of  the  Government  in  the  several  Departments  in  Wash- 
ington, and  to  report  the  results  of  their  examination  to  the  next  session  of  Con- 


Placed  on  the  Calendar. 
June  11,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  AMBROSE  E.  BURNSIDE  proposed  to  take  up  S.  1367,  for  the 
purpose  of  testing  the  fire  signals  in  the  different  Departments. 

""It  authorizes  the  Supervising  Architect  of  the  Treasury 
and  the  Superintendent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  as  a  commis- 
sion to  experiment  on  these  fire  signals.  It  is  a  thing  in  which  we  are 
all  concerned,  for  it  is  a  matter  that  relates  to  the  public  buildings  and 
the  public  property.  I  am  sure  there  will  be  no  objection  to  the 
measure.  Not  a  penny  of  money  will  be  expended  by  it.  I  think  it 
will  be  right  for  the  Senate  to  take  it  up  and  pass  it,  in  order  that  the 
commission  may  sit  during  the  recess  of  Congress." 

The  motion  was  not  entertained. 
June  13,  1878— Senate. 

Passed. 
June  19,  1878— House. 

Mr.  E.  J.  ELLIS.  1  ask  unanimous  consent  to  have  taken  up  and 
passed  a  bill  of  great  public  interest  (S.  1367),  to  aid  in  the  protection 
of  public  buildings  and  other  property  against  loss  and  damage  by 
fire.  This  bill  has  been  unanimously  passed  by  the  Senate,  and 
reported  unanimously  from  the  appropriate  committee  of  this  House. 


788  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

It  does  not  propose  to  expend  one  dollar;  it  simply  provides  the  ways 
and  means  for  protecting  public  buildings  and  other  property  of  the 
United  States  from  fire.  Within  the  past  six  months  the  Patent 
Office  in  this  citv  was  greatly  injured  by  fire — 

(Cries  of  "Object!") 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore  (Mr.  W.  M.  SPRINGER).  Gentlemen  will 
resume  their  seats. 

Mr.  JOHN  R.  EDEN.  I  want  to  stay  on  my  feet  to  prevent  legislation 
going  through  in  this  way. 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore.  The  gentlemen  from  Louisiana  asks 
that  the  bill- 
Several  members  objected. 

Later  the  objection  was  withdrawn  and  the  bill  passed. 
December  2,  1878— House. 

Estimate  presented  by  Department  of  the  Interior:  For  providing 
additional  security  against  fire  in  the  Smithsonian  building  for  the 
Government  collections,  in  accordance  with  report  of  the  commissions 
appointed  to  examine  the  public  buildings,  December  10, 1877,  $3,000. 
December  13,  1878.  • 

Act  to  aid  in  the  protection  of  public  buildings,  etc. 

lie  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  a  commission,  composed  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents, 
the  Supervising  Architect  of  the  Treasury  Department,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  is  hereby  constituted  and  authorized  to  examine  such  auto- 
matic signal  telegraph  systems  as  may  be  submitted  to  them  by  the  owners  and  agents 
thereof,  and  to  ascertain  which  of  the  same  is  best  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  the 
earliest  and  most  certain  transmission  by  signal  of  the  occurrence  of  fire,  and  also 
the  adaptability,  usefulness,  and  need  of  the  same  for  the  further  protection  of  the 
buildings  and  property  of  the  Government  in  the  several  Departments  in  Washington, 
and  to  report  the  results  of  their  examination  to  the  next  session  of  Congress. 

(Stat.,  XX,  257.) 

March  3,  1879. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1880. 

For  providing  additional  security  against  fire  in  the  Smithsonian 
building  for  the  Government  collections,  in  accordance  with  report  of 
the  commission  appointed  to  examine  the  public  buildings,  December 

10,  1877,  $3,000. 
(Stat.,  XX,  397.) 

ORDER   OF   ST.    OLAF   FOR   PROF.   S.   F.  BAIRD. 
December  10,  1877— House. 

Mr.  SAMUEL  A.  BRIDGES  introduced  a  bill  (H.  1989)  to  authorize 
Spencer  F.  Baird,  assistant  secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to 
receive  a  diploma  and  medal  constituting  him  a  member  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Order  of  St.  Olaf . 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs. 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,  1877-1879.  789 

January  22,  1878— House. 

Passed. 
June  19,  1878— Senate. 

Passed. 
June  20,  1878. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  be,  and  he  hereby  is,  authorized  and 
empowered  to  receive  a  diploma  and  medal,  constituting  him  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Norwegian  Order  of  St.  Olaf,  tendered  him  by  the  King  of 
Sweden  as  a  testimonial  of  distinguished  scientific  service. 

(Stat.,  XX,  584). 

WOODRUFF   SCIENTIFIC    EXPEDITION. 

December  12,  1877— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  E.  MCDONALD  introduced  a  bill  (S.  447)  to  aid  the  Woodruff 
Scientific  Expedition. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Commerce. 

Among  the  recommendations  of  this  expedition  was  the  following: 

Letter  of  June  5,  1877,  from  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Joseph  Henry, 
approving  of  Woodruff  scientific  expedition. 

J.  O.  WOODRUFF,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

DEAR  SIR:  We  have  examined  your  circular  proposing  a  voyage  around  the  world 
for  educational  and  scientific  purposes,  and  are  free  to  say  that  we  heartily  approve 
of  the  enterprise. 

With  a  corps  of  students  directed  by  the  teachers  you  have  selected,  and  visiting 
regions  hitherto  but  little,  if  at  all,  explored,  you  can  scarcely  fail  to  collect  materials 
which  will  give  the  expedition  reputation  in  the  history  of  science. 

With  our  best  wishes  for  the  entire  success  of  the  expedition,  etc. 

January  14,  1878— House. 

Mr.  H.  F.  PAGE  introduced  H.  2409,  similar  bill  to  S.  447. 
January  29,  1878— House. 

H.  2409  passed. 

March  19,  1878— Senate. 

H.  2409  passed. 
March  23,  1878. 

An  Act  approved,  to  grant  for  the  purposes  of  the  "Woodruff 
Scientific  Expedition  around  the  World,"  a  register  for  a  foreign 
built  steamship  *  *  *  to  be  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  *  *  *  a  school  to  be  maintained  thereon  with  a  capacity  for 
at  least  200  students,  together  with  a  competent  faculty  for  the  pro- 
motion of  scientific  and  nautical  knowledge.  *  *  *  In  no  case 
shall  mercantile  or  commercial  ventures  form  any  part  of  said  expedi- 
tion, or  the  Government  of  the  United  States  be  subjected  to  any 
expense  on  account  thereof. 

(Stat.,  XX,  31.) 


790  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDIMGS. 


PLATES    OF    FRACTIONAL    CURRENCY. 

December  13,  1877— Senate. 

Alv.  A.  S.  PADDOCK  introduced  a  resolution  (S.  10): 

That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and  hereby  is,  authorized  and  directed  to 
withhold  from  destruction  and  deliver  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  to  be  held  by  that  Institution  as  objects  of 
interest,  the  following-described  canceled  plates  heretofore  used  in  the  printing  of 
United  States  fractional  currency: 

One  fifty-cent  faceplate,  fifth  issue,  series  1875. 

One  fifty-cent  backplate,  fifth  issue,  series  1875. 

One  twenty-five-cent  faceplate,  fifth  issue,  series  1874. 

One  twenty-five-cent  backplate,  fifth  issue,  series  1874. 

One  ten-cent  faceplate,  fifth  issue,  series  1874. 

One  ten-cent  backplate,  fifth  issue,  series  1874. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Finance. 

Mr.  PADDOCK.  I  will  state  that  I  have  recently  served  on  a  commit- 
tee appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  upon  which  both 
Houses  of  Congress  were  represented,  to  witness  the  counting  of  these 
plates  and  to  examine  the  cancellation  thereof.  They  are  the  plates 
upon  which  all  the  fractional  current-}'  was  printed.  They  are  very 
elegant  specimens  of  workmanship,  and  they  are  all  to  be  destroyed  in 
pursuance  of  law  very  shortly.  It  occurred  to  the  committee  that  it 
might  be  well  to  preserve  one  of  each  series  and  have  them  lodged  in 
the  Smithsonian  Institute  as  objects  of  interest  hereafter. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  W.  A.  WHEELER).  The  joint  resolution  will 
be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

Mr  PADDOCK.  I  ask  for  the  present  consideration  of  the  joint  reso- 
lution. 

Mr.  H.  G.  DAVIS,  of  West  Virginia.  I  think  the  Senator  had  better 
let  it  be  printed  and  referred.  It  is  a  matter  of  some  importance  to 
know  just  what  should  be  done  with  the  plates  that  have  gone  out  of 
use  in  the  Treasury  Department. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  joint  resolution  will  be  printed  under  the 
rule.  It  goes  over  under  objection. 

Mr.  PADDOCK.  It  is  provided  by  law  that  those  plates  shall  be 
destroyed,  and  the}"  are  all  ready  now  for  destruction.  They  are  to  go 
to  the  navy -yard  and  be  there  melted  in  the  furnace,  and,  as  the  work 
is  very  shortly  to  be  completed,  it  seems  to  me  it  is  a  matter  of  inter- 
est which  should  be  considered  at  once. 

Mr.  H.  L.  DAWES.  If  this  were  only  a  question  of  interest,  as 
suggested  by  the  Senator  from  Nebraska,  there  would  be  no  trouble 
about  it;  but  the  question  of  safety  is  so  considerable  that  it  does  not 
seem  to  me  that  it  is  quite  safe  to  pass  the  joint  resolution  without 
consideration. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  Under  objection  the  joint  resolution  has 
already  gone  over. 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  791 

May  28,  1878— Senate. 

Reported  adversely  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Merrill,  for  Committee  on  Finance, 
and  postponed  indefinitely. 

DOCUMENTS. 
December  15,  1877. 

Congress  in  providing  for  printing  and  distributing  the  "Biennial 
Register,"  ordered  four  copies  of  each  issue  to  be  delivered  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

(StatXX.,  13.) 
May  22,  1878. 

A  joint  resolution  (No.  23)  approved  to  distribute  the  new  edition 
of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  provided  that  two  copies 
be  furnished  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

(Rev.  Stat.,  Supp.,  vol.  1,  2nd  eel., 387.) 
June  7,  1878 — House. 

The  sundry  civil  bill  as  reported,  included  provisions  relative  to  the 
public  printing,  among  the  items  being — 

"That  of  reports  of  committees  of  a  private  nature  on  pensions, 
claims,  reliefs,  and  desertions,  one  copy  should  be  sent  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  also  other  documents  not  specifically  provided  for 
in  the  bill,  one  copy  to  the  Smithsonian; 

"Of  'regular  documents,'  35  sets  for  exchanges  with  foreign  gov- 
ernments, and  one  set  to  the  Smithsonian; 

"Of  the  daily  edition  of  the  Congressional  Record,  one  copy  to  the 
Smithsonian ; 

"Of  the  bound  edition  of  the  Congressional  Record,  one  set  to  the 
Smithsonian; 

"Of  the  pamphlet  laws  of  each  session,  one  copy  to  the  Smithsonian; 

"Of  the  Statutes  at  Large,  bound  in  sheep,  one  copy  to  the  Smith- 
sonian ; 

"Of  the  reports  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  one  copy 
to  the  Smithsonian." 

.[While  the  bill  was  considered  in  the  House  June  13,  1878,  all  the 
sections  in  regard  to  public  printing  were  ruled  out  by  the  Chair  as 
not  belonging  to  an  appropriation  bill.] 

GEOLOGICAL   AND    GEOGRAPHICAL    SURVEY   REPORTS. 

June  17,  1878— House. 

A  concurrent  resolution  was  adopted  to  print  of  volumes  4  and  12 
of  the  final  reports  of  the  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of  the 
Territories,  in  quarto  form,  with  the  necessary  illustrations,  3,000 
copies  of  each  volume;  1,500  for  the  House,  500  for  the  Senate,  500 
for  the  Survey,  500  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
June  18,  1878— Senate. 

Adopted. 


792  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

December  4,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  DAVID  DAVIS,  of  Illinois,  offered  concurrent  resolution  to  print 
3,000  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Geographical  and  Geological  Survey 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  relating  to  the  geology  of  the  Black 
Hills,  in  quarto,  with  the  necessary  illustrations  and  charts;  1,500 
copies  for  the  House,  500  copies  the  Senate,  500  copies  for  the  Sur- 
vey, 500  copies  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Also  to  print  3,000  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Geographical  and 
Geological  Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  relating  to  the 
geology  of  the  high  plateaus  of  Utah,  in  quarto,  with  necessary 
illustrations  and  charts;  1,500  for  the  House,  500  for  the  Senate,  500 
for  the  Survey,  500  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
December  4,  1878 — House. 

Mr.  JOHN  R.  EDEN  submitted  concurrent  resolution.     (Same  reso- 
lution as  offered  by  Mr.  Davis  in  Senate,  December  4,  1878.) 
December  18,  1878— House. 

Passed  for  Plateaus  of  Utah,  500  copies  for  Smithsonian  Institution. 
December  20,  1878— Senate. 

Passed  with  amendments  to  give  375  copies  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 
January  25,  1879— House. 

Passed  as  amended. 

EXPOSITIONS. 

Part*  Exposition,  1878. 

December  15,  1877. 

Joint  'resolution. — Whereas,  the  United  States  have  been  invited  by 
the  Republic  of  France  to  take  part  in  a  universal  exposition  of  the 
productions  of  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  the  fine  arts,  to  be  held 
in  Paris  in  1878:  Therefore, 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  said  invitation  is  accepted,  and  that  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  several  States  and  Territories  be,  and  are  hereby, 
requested  to  invite  the  people  of  their  respective  States  and  Terri- 
tories to  assist  in  the  proper  representation  of  the  productions  of 
our  industry,  and  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country,  and  to  take 
such  further  measures  as  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  secure  to  their 
respective  States  and  Territories  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
this  beneficent  undertaking. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  President,  \>y  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  shall  appoint  a  commissioner-general  to  represent  the 
United  States  in  the  proposed  exposition,  and,  under  the  general  direc- 
.  tion  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  make  all  needful  rules  and  regula- 
tions in  reference  to  the  contributions  from  this  country,  and  to 
control  the  expenditures  incident  to  the  proper  installation  and  exhi- 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  793 

bition  thereof,  and  to  the  preparation  of  the  reports  on  the  exposition; 
and  that  the  President  may  also  appoint  twenty  additional  commis- 
sioners, no  two  of  whom  shall  be  appointed  from  any  one  State,  of 
whom  three  shall  be  practical  artisan  experts,  three  shall  be  skilled 
representatives  of  commerce  and  manufactures,  and  four  shall  be  prac- 
tical agriculturalists,  nine  shall  be  scientific  experts,  corresponding  to 
and  specifically  assigned  to  report  upon  the  nine  groups  into  which 
the  exposition  will,  under  the  official  regulations,  be  divided,  and  one 
who  shall  be  assistant  commissioner-general  and  shall  perform  the 
duties  of  commissioner-general  in  case  of  his  death  or  disability,  and 
shall  report  upon  the  exhibition  at  large  and  the  general  results 
thereof;  that  the  allowance  to  said  commissioner-general  for  salary 
and  personal  expenses  shall  not  exceed  $5,000  for  his  whole  term  of 
office;  and  the  allowance  of  the  twenty  additional  commissioners  for 
salary  and  personal  expenses  shall  not  exceed  $1,200  each,  not  includ- 
ing such  clerical  service  as  may  be  allowed  by  the  commissioner- 
general,  which  shall  not  exceed  $15,000;  and  the  governors  of  the 
several  States  may  nominate  and  the  President  appoint  two  honorary 
commissioners  from  each  of  the  several  States,  and  the  President  may 
appoint  twenty-four  additional  honorary  commissioners,  among  whom 
there  shall  be  at  least  one  resident  of  each  of  the  Territories  of  the 
United  States,  which  said  honorary  commissioners  may  report  upon 
such  special  sirbjects  as  the  commissioner-general  may  direct,  and  shall 
serve  without  pay  or  other  expense  to  the  United  States:  And  provided 
further,  That  in  case  the  authorities  of  any  State  or  Territory  shall 
appoint  a  commissioner  or  commissioners  to  represent  the  interests  of 
such  State  or  Territory  at  said  exhibition,  said  commissioner  or  com- 
missioners so  appointed  shall  have  the  same  status  in  the  commission 
as  the  honorary  commissioners  provided  for  herein,  but  shall  not  be 
entitled  to  either  pay  or  compensation  out  of  the  money  hereby  appro- 
priated: Provided  always,  That  no  person  appointed  by  virtue  of  this 
resolution  shall  have  any  pecuniary  interest,  directly  or  indirectly,  in 
any  article  exhibited  for  competition  or  act  as  the  agent  for  any 
exhibitor.  And  not  more  than  one  of  the  commissioners  entitled  to 
compensation  nor  more  than  five  of  the  honorary  commissioners  shall 
be  appointed  from  an}7  one  State  or  Territory. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  President  be  authorized,  in  his  discretion,  to  assign 
one  or  more  of  the  public  vessels  to  transport  to  and  from  France,  free 
of  cost,  under  regulations  to  be  prescribed  by  the  commissioner- 
general,  such  articles  as  may  be  offered  for  exhibition  by  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  4.  That  in  order  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses  above 
authorized,  and  for  the  proper  installation  of  the  exhibition,  and  the 
expenditures  of  the  commissioner-general  made  under  the  direction 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  with  his  approval,  and  not  otherwise, 


794  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

there  be,  aim  nereby  is,  appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States  not  otherwise  appropriated,  the  sum  of  $150,000, 
or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  purposes  herein 
specified;  which- sum  shall  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the 
Secretary  of  State;  and  out  of  such  amount  the  Commissioner 'of 
Agriculture  is  hereby  authorized  to  collect  and  prepare,  as  far  as 
practicable  and  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  suitable  specimens  of 
the  agricultural  productions  of  the  several  States  and  Territories  of 
the  Union  for  exhibition  at  the  Paris  Exposition. 

SEC.  5.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  trans- 
mit to  Congress  a  detailed  statement  of  the  expenditures  which  may 
have  been  incurred  under  the  provisions  of  this  resolution,  together 
with  all  reports  called  for  under  section  two  of  this  resolution,  which 
reports  shall  be  prepared  and  arranged  with  a  view  to  concise  state- 
ment and  convenient  reference. 

(Stat.,  XX,  245.) 
June  20,  1878. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1879. 

To  enable  the  Secretary  of  State  tp  defray  additional  expenses  neces- 
sarily incurred  b}^  the  Commissioner-General  of  the  United  States  to 
the  International  Industrial  Exposition  in  Paris  in  erecting  a  special 
building  for  exhibits  of  agricultural  machinery  and  products,  in  erect- 
ing a  facade,  or  frontage,  to  the  space  allotted  to  the  United  States  in 
the  main  building,  in  making  necessary  alterations  and  repairs,  and 
for  transportation,  $10,000,  to  be  available  immediately. 

(Stat.,  XX,  218.) 

February  27,  1879— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY  submitted  concurrent  resolution  to  print  reports 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States  to  the  Paris  Exposition  of 
1878. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  28,  1879 — Senate. 

Passed. 
March  3,  1879— House. 

Passed. 

l^hiladelphi  a  Centennial  Exposition. 

March  3,  1879— House. 

The  President  (RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES)  sent  a  message  to  Congress, 
transmitting  the  final  report  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Commis 
sion,  and  remarked : 

I  have  received  from  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  their  final  report, 
presenting  a  full  exhibit  of  the  results  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Celebration 
and  Exhibition  of  1876,  as  required  by  the  act  of  June  1,  1872. 

In  transmitting  this  report  for  the  consideration  of  Congress,  I  express,  I  believe, 
the  general  judgment  of  the  country,  as  well  as  my  own,  in  assigning  to  this  exhibi- 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  795 

tion  a  measure  of  success  gratifying  to  the  pride  and  patriotism  of  our  people  and 
full  of  promise  to  the  great  industrial  and  commercial  interests  of  the  nation.  The 
very  ample  and  generous  contributions  which  the  foreign  nations  made  to  the  splendor 
and  usefulness  of  the  exhibition  and  the  cordiality  with  which  their  representatives 
took  part  in  our  national  commemoration  deserve  our  profound  acknowledgments. 
At  this  close  of  the  great  services  rendered  by  the  United  States  Centennial  Commis- 
sion and  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  commend  to 
your  attention  and  that  of  the  people  of  fhe  whole  country  the  laborious,  faithful, 
and  prosperous  performances  of  their  duties  which  have  marked  the  administration 
of  their  respective  trusts. 

HOWGATE  ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

January  22,  1878 — House. 

Mr.  B.  A.  WLLLIS,  from  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  reported  (No. 
96)  on  H.  447,  to  authorize  and  equip  an  expedition  to  the  arctic  seas. 

[Extracts.] 

This  plan  is  known  as  "  polar  colonization,"  and  has  received  hearty  indorsement 
from  such  distinguished  experts,  scientists,  students,  and  explorers  as  Prof.  Joseph 
Henry,  president  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences;  Professor  Loornis,  of  Yale 
College;  President  Potter,  of  Union  College;  Admiral  Porter;  Rear- Admiral  Davis, 
Superintendent  of  the  National  Observatory;  Hon.  Charles  P.  Daly,  president  of  the 
American  Geographical  Society;  Dr.  Isaac  I.  Hayes,  the  explorer,  and  others,  while 
it  is  heartily  approved  also  by  the  honorable  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  and  your  com- 
mittee are  inclined  to  commend  it  to  the  favor  of  Congress,  more  especially  if  its 
execution  be  intrusted,  as  the  bill  provides,  to  the  President,  under  the  direction  of 
the  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  January  31,  1877. 

SIR:  Your  letter  of  the  30th  instant,  asking  my  opinion  as  to  the  plan  of  Captain 
Howgate  for  explorations  in  the  arctic  regions,  and  its  utility  in  regard  to  scientific 
and  commercial  results,  has  been  received,  and  I  have  the  honor  to  give  you  the  fol- 
lowing reply: 

From  my  connection  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  I  am,  of  course,  interested  in  every  proposition  which  has  for  its  object 
the  extension  of  scientific  knowledge,  and  therefore  I  am  predisposed  to  advocate 
any  national  plan  for  exploration  and  continued  observations  within  the  arctic 
circle. 

Much  labor  has  been  expended  on  this  subject,  especially  with  a  view  to  reach  the 
pole;  yet  many  problems  connected  with  physical  geography  and  science  in  general 
remain  unsolved. 

(1 )  With  regard  to  a  better  determination  of  the  figure  of  the  earth,  pendulum 
experiments  are  required  in  the  region  in  question. 

(2)  The  magnetism  of  the  earth  requires  for  its  better  elucidation  a  larger  number 
and  more  continued  observations  than  have  yet  been  made. 

(3)  To  complete  our  knowledge  of  the  tides  of  the  ocean,  a  series  of  observations 
should  be  made  at  least  for  an  entire  year. 

(4)  For  completing  our  knowledge  of  the  winds  of  the  globe,  the  results  of  a 
larger  series  of  observations  than  those  we  now  possess  are  necessary,  and  also  addi- 
tional observations  on  temperature. 

(5)  The  whole  field  of  natural  history  could  be  enriched  by  collections  in  the  line 
of  botany,  mineralogy,  geology,  etc.,  and  facts  of  interest  obtained  with  regard  to  the 
influence  of  extreme  cold  on  animal  and  vegetable  life. 

All  of  the  above-mentioned  branches  of  science  are  indirectly  connected  with  the 


796  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

well-being  of  man  and  tend  not  only  to  enlarge  his  sphere  of  mental  pleasures  but  to 
promote  the  application  of  science  to  the  arts  of  life. 

As  to  the  special  plan  of  Captain  Howgate— that  of  establishing  a  colony  of 
explorers  and  observers  to  be  continued  for  several  years — I  think  favorably. 

The  observations  which  have  previously  been  made  in  the  arctic  regions  have 
usually  been  of  a  fragmentary  character  and  not  sufficient  in  any  one  case  to  estab- 
lish the  changes  of  the  observed  phenomena  during  an  entire  year,  whereas  to 
obtain  even  an  approximation  to  the  general  law  of  changes  a  number  of  years  are 
required. 

It  may  be  proper  to  state,  in  behalf  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  that 
should  Congress  make  the  necessary  appropriation  for  this  enterprise  the  Academy 
will  cheerfully  give  a  series  of  directions  as  to  the  details  of  the  investigations  to  be 
made  and  the  best  methods  to  be  employed. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution, 
President  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 
Hon.  BENJ.  A.  WILLIS, 

House  of  Representatives. 

Recommitted. 
February  28,  1878— House. 

Report  No.  96  referred  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
June  18,  1878— House. 

Rejected.     Yeas  86,  nays  127. 

VENTILATION    OF    HALL    OF   HOUSE    OF    REPRESENTATIVES. 

February  4,  1878 — House. 

Mr.  CASEY  YOUNG,  from  the  Select  Committee  on  Ventilation  of  the 
Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  submitted  a  report  (No.  191): 

[Extract.] 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  January  26,  187 S. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor,  in  behalf  of  the  advisory  commission  on  the  heating 
and  ventilation  of  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  appointed  by  your 
honorable  committee,  to  transmit  to  you  herewith  the  final  report  of  the  commis- 
sion, accompanied  by  sundry  papers  received  from  your  committee,  and  also  a  report 
on  the  heating  and  ventilation  of  the  British  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  a  report  on 
the  original  plan  of  heating  and  ventilating  the  Capitol.  The  report  of  the  commis- 
sion herewith  transmitted  has  involved  much  original  investigation  and  the  examina- 
tion of  the  most  reliable  authorities  on  the  subject.  The  members  of  the  commission 
have  inspected  the  buildings  in  this  country  most  celebrated  for  effective  ventilation, 
and  have  availed  themselves  of  a  visit  to  Europe,  on  other  business,  made  by  Dr. 
Billings,  one  of  the  members  of  the  commission,  to  obtain  the  latest  information  on 
the  same  subject  from  that  country. 

It  is  hoped,  therefore,  that  this  report,  with  its  appendices,  will  be  deemed  of 
sufficient  importance  to  warrant  its  publication  in  full,  with  proper  illustrations,  for 
the  use  of  the  public.  The  subject  is  one  of  great  difficulty,  and  in  regard  to  which 
much  general  misconception  prevails,  as  well  as  a  want  of  a  knowledge  of  the  estab- 
lished principles  upon  which  the  art  of  heating  and  ventilation  depends. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  HENRY,  Chairman. 
Hon.  CASEY  YOUNG, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ventilation  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  797 

Final  report  of  a  board  of  United  States  officers  convened  by  request 
of  a  special  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Forty- 
fourth  Congress  to  advise  with  regard  to  the  ventilation  of  the  main 
Hall  of  the  House. 

*****  *  * 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 

President  of  the  Board. 
THOS.  LINCOLN  CASEY, 

Lieut.  Col.,  Coi^s  of  Engineers,  Jfember  oftlie  Board. 
EDWARD  CLARK, 

Member  of  the  Board. 
F.  SCHUMANN, 
Civil  Engineei*,  Member  of  the  Board. 

J.  S.  BILLINGS, 

Surgeon,  U.'S.  Army,  Secretary  of  the  Board. 
February  21,  1879 — House. 

Mr.  CASEY  YOUNG,  from  the  Select  Committee  on  Ventilation  of  the 
Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  presented  report  No.  116, 
including  the  report  of  the  board  of  United  States  officers  made  in 
the  Forty-fourth  Congress,  second  session  (Report  No.  462),  and 
House  report  No.  119,  Forty-fifth  Congress,  second  session,  and 
offered  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  Lieut.  Col. 
Thomas  L.  Casey,  of  the  Corps  of  Army  Engineers;  Mr.  Edward  Clark,  Architect  of 
the  Capitol;  Mr.  F.  Schumann,  civil  engineer  Treasury  Department,  and  Prof.  John  S. 
Billings,  surgeon  United  States  Army,  be,  and  they  are  hereby  constituted  an  advis- 
ory board,  without  additional  pay  or  compensation,  with  power  and  authority  to 
make  and  carry  out  through  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol  Extension,  during  the 
approaching  recess  of  Congress,  all  the  changes  and  alterations  in  the  heating,  light- 
ing, and  ventilating  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  that  are  set  out  and 
recommended  in  the  report  submitted  by  them  and  adopted  by  the  select  committee 
appointed  by  resolution  of  the  House  to  inquire  into  the  present  method  of  heating, 
lighting,  and  ventilating  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives;  and  the  said 
board  may  employ  a  clerk  during  the  time  they  are  engaged  in  the  performance  of 
such  work. 

And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  cost  of  said  changes 
and  alterations  the  sum  of  $30,000,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated  out  of  the  contingent  fund  of  the  House,  to  be 
expended  under  the  direction  of  said  board. 

Recommitted. 
February  27,  1879 — House. 

Mr.  CASEY  YOUNG,  from  the  Select  Committee  on  Ventilation  of  the 
Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  submitted  a  report: 

The  select  committee  charged  with  the  duty  of  inquiring  into  the  present  method 
of  heating,  lighting,  and  ventilating  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
whether  or  not  its  acoustic  properties  can  be  improved,  have  given  the  subject  a 


798  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

most  patient  and  careful  investigation,  aided  by  all  the  information  attainable  from 
any  source  within  their  reach,  as  well  as  by  the  assistance  and  advice  of  the  most 
experienced  and  competent  scientists  with  whom  they  have  been  able  to  confer. 

The  defects  in  the  structure  of  the  Hall  of  Representatives  in  respect  to  heat,  light, 
ventilation,  and  acoustics  have  been  the  subject  of  grave  and  serious  complaint  ever 
since  its  completion,  and  the  difficulties  in  overcoming  them  have  never  yet  been 
solved  in  a  manner  entirely  satisfactory  to  those  who  have  undertaken  it  with  any- 
thing of  a  correct  apprehension  of  the  character  and  magnitude  of  the  task.  Many 
efforts  have  been  made  in  the  past  fifteen  years  to  accomplish  this  result,  and  at  a 
considerable  cost;  and  while  those  who  have  conducted  some  of  them  were  of  the 
opinion  that  no  improvements  in  the  particulars  mentioned  were  either  necessary  or 
practical,  and  while  others  of  them  believed  that  they  had  succeeded  in  effecting  all 
that  was  desired,  your  committee  have  concluded  that  both  classes  were  mistaken 
and  that  the  most  radical  changes  and  improvements  are  urgently  demanded  for  the 
comfort  and  health  of  Members,  and  that  but  few,  if  any,  have  been  made  since  the 
original  completion  of  the  Hall  until  within  n  very  recent  period. 

The  committee  do  not  believe  that  the  Hall  with  its  present  architectural  structure 
can  ever  be  ventilated  so  as  to  be  entirely  healthy  or  free  from  many  objections  and 
inconveniences,  but  they  are  of  opinion  that  it  may  be  so  greatly  improved  that  the 
health  of  those  who  occupy  it  will  not  be  subjected  to  any  serious  danger.  The  same, 
too,  i.-j  true,  but  in  ;i  less  degree,  as  to  light  and  its  acoustic  capacity,  though  they 
think  that  these  latter  may  be  so  remedied  that  little  inconvenience  will  result  from 
them  in  the  future. 

The  committee  referred  to  a  report  May  4,  1876  (No.  380),  of  a  sub- 
committee from  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  during 
the  second  session  of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress. 

In  this  report  it  is  stated  that  after  having  carefully  examined  a 
great  number  of  plans  and  propositions  submitted  to  them  upon  the 
subject  they  referred  "the  entire  matter  to  a  board  composed  of 
scientific  Government  officers,  viz:  Prof.  Joseph  Henry,  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution;  Lieut.  Col.  Thomas  L.  Casey,  of  the  Army  Engi- 
neer Corps;  Prof.  J.  S.  Billings,  of  the  Medical  Department,  U.  S.  A.; 
Mr.  F.  Schumann,  Assistant  Supervising  Architect  of  the  Treasury 
Department,  and  Mr.  Edward  Clark,  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  to 
advise  the  subcommittee  of  the  most  practical  and  economical  method  of 
attaining  the  object  in  view." 

This  board,  of  which  Prof.  Joseph  Henry  was  president,  made  reports 
April  30,  1876,  and  January  26,  1878. l 

Mr.  Young  further  reported  that  the  recommendations  made  by  the 
board  were  only  partially  carried  out  and  that  his  committee  after  the 
death  of  Professor  Henry,  in  May,  1878,  had  appointed  Prof.  Spencer 
F.  Baird,  his  successor  as  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to 
succeed  him  as  chairman  of  the  board. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Young  resolutions  were  adopted  '"that  Abram  S. 
Hewitt;  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  Lieut. 
Col.  Thomas  L.  Casey,  U.  S.  A. ;  Mr.  Edward  Clark,  Architect  of  the 
Capitol;  Mr.  F.  Schumann,  civil  engineer.  Treasury  Department;  and 

1  See  Congressional  Record,  February  28,  1879,  p.  30. 


FORTY-FIFTH' CONGRESS.   1877-1879.  799 

Prof.  John  S.  Billings,  U.  S.  A.,  be  constituted  an  advisory  board 
without  additional  pay  or  compensation,  to  make  through  the  Architect 
of  the  Capitol  Extension,  all  the  changes  and  alterations  in  the  heating, 
lighting,  and  ventilating  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
recommended  by  them  in  their  report. 

By  special  vote  the  names  of  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Frank  Jones,  and 
George  B.  Loring  were  added  to  the  commission. 

(See  Congressional  Record,  February  27,  1879,  pp.  29,  42.) 

REPORT   OF   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

February  15,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN  offered  a  resolution  to  print  10,500  copies 
of  the  Smithsonian  Report  for  1877 — 1,000  for  the  Senate,  3,000  for 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  6,500  for  the  Institution — not  to 
exceed  500  pages,  and  the  Institution  to  furnish  the  illustrations. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
March  6,  1878— Senate. 

Passed. 
April  24,  1878— House. 

Passed. 
February  8,  1879— Senate. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN  submitted  concurrent  resolution  to  print 
10,500  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1878 — 
1,000  copies  for  the  Senate,  3,000  copies  for  the  House,  6,500  copies 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  10,  1879— Senate. 

Passed. 

March  3,  1879— House. 
Passed. 

INTERNATIONAL    EXCHANGES APPROPRIATIONS. 

April  10,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.   TIMOTHY  O.  HOWE  offered  amendment  to  deficiency  bill  for 

1878: 

To  repay  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  expenses  incurred  in  the  transportation  of 
public  documents  under  the  joint  resolution  approved  July  25,  1868,  $1,781. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  May  £3,  1878. 

SIK:  I  have  the  honor  to  call  your  special  attention  to  an  item  inserted  by  the 
Senate  in  the  recent  deficiency  bill,  but  omitted  in  the  conference  report,  which  is 
of  importance  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

We  have  advanced  to  pay  freight  and  costs,  or  the  transmission  on  the  publica- 
tions of  the  United  States  Government  sent  by  the  Library  Committee  of  Congress 
to  foreign  governments,  the  sum  of  $1,781,  and  this  amount  is  now  due  to  the 
Institution 


800  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

We  trust  that  you  will  have  this  item  placed  in  one  of  the  appropriation  bills  now 
under  consideration  by  the  committee. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obed't  serv't, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary. 
Hon.  J.  D.  C.  ATKINS, 

House  of  Representatives. 

June  14,  1878. 

Deficiency  a*;t  for  1878,'  etc. 

To  repay  to  tne  Smithsonian  Institution  expenses  incurred  in  the 
transportation  of  public  documents  under  the  joint  resolution  approved 
July  25,  1868,  $1,781. 

(Stat.,  XX,  124.) 
June  19,  1878. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1879. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 
(Stat.,  XX,  182.) 

THE    SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION   A    CORPORATION? 

May  6,  1878— House. 

In  considering  a  bill  (H.  3259)  providing  for  a  permanent  form  of 
government  for  the  District  of  Columbia, 

Mr.  JOSEPH  C.  S.  BLACKBURN  remarked  that  he  was  astonished  that 
the  gentleman  from  Ohio  [Mr.  J.  A.  Garfield]  should  have  raised  the 
question  of  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  [to  elect  a  Commis- 
sioner for  the  District].  He  referred  to  section  6,  of  article  1,  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  continued:  Now,  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio  [Mr.  Garfield],  I  apprehend,  found  no  difficulty  in  receiving 
and  accepting  an  appointment,  which  I  believe  he  holds  to-day,  as  one 
of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  HORATIO  C.  BURCHARD  argued  that  the  Commissioners  proposed 
for  the  District  of  Columbia  were  officers  of  the  United  States  and 
.said:  The  appointment  of  a  commission  by  Congress — for  instance,  the 
silver  commission — to  ascertain  certain  facts,  or  the  appointment  of  a 
person  as  a  trustee,  or  as  one  of  the  persons  named  to  represent  the 
corporation  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  does  not  present  a  parallel 
case.  These  [the  Commissioners  of  the  District]  are  persons  who  are 
required  to  perform  duties  that  are  executive  duties.  They  have  to 
execute  the  law,  etc. 

Mr.  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  In  regard  to  the  position  of  Regent  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  *  *  that  Institution  is  a  private  cor- 

poration and  the  House  is  invited,  merely  as  a  matter  of  courtesy,  to 


FOETY-FIFTH   CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  801 

help  that  private  corporation,  organized  for  a  public  purpose,  by 
assigning  men  to  serve  as  its  trustees  or  Regents.  But  a  Regent  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  does  not  become  a  United  States  officer 
at  all. 

Mr.  J.  PROCTOR  KNOTT.  [Mr.  James  A.  Garfield]  assumes  that  there 
is  a  marked  difference  between  the  corporation  to  be  formed  by  this 
bill  [for  the  government  of  the  District  of  Columbia]  and  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution;  but,  sir,  in  principle  there  is  not  a  particle.  When 
the  Congress  assumed  the  administration  of  the  Smithson  legacy  it 
took  upon  itself  the  execution  of  a  public  trust,  which  it  seeks  to  per- 
form through  its  Board  of  Regents  precisely  as  it  would  discharge  a 
similar  trust  through  these  Commissioners  should  the  bill  now  pend- 
ing become  a  law.  One  is  a  corporation,  so  is  the  other.  If,  there- 
fore, a  Commissioner  of  the  District  of  Columbia  is  an  officer,  as 
contemplated  by  the  Constitution,  so  is  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  and  my  friend,  who  is  a  distinguished  and  useful  member 
of  that  Board,  occupies  the  singular  position  of  holding  an  office  under 
the  United  States  while  a  member  of  this  House,  which  is  expressly 
interdicted  by  the  Constitution.  But  that  is  not  all.  Leaving  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  entirely  out  of  view,  there  was  an  act  passed 
during  the  last  Congress  which  will  be  memorable,  etc.  [The  electoral 
commission.] 

Mr.  NATHANIEL  P.  BANKS.  I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  the  House 
and  of  gentlemen  to  what  has  been  said  about  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. The  officers  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  are  not  public 
officers,  are  not  executive  officers  of  the  United  States.  A  man  by 
the  name  of  Smithson  left  to  this  Government  a  fund  of  money  for  a 
specific  use,  and  that  fund  is  this  day  and  hour  administered  according 
to  his  original  ideas.  The  two  Houses  of  Congress  have  assumed, 
under  their  instructions  and  directions,  the  power  to  provide  arrange- 
ments for  the  execution  of  that  trust.  It  is  their  work.  It  does  not 
belong  to  the  President.  It  does  not  belong  to  the  executive  depart- 
ment of  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a  matter  between 
Smithson  and  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  representing  the  Govern- 
ment, and  the  men  that  are  appointed  to  discharge  the  duties  connected 
with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  are  appointed  under  his  will. 

DEATH   AND   MEMORIAL   SERVICES   OF   JOSEPH   HENRY. 

May  13,  1878— House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL)  announces  with  great  sorrow — a 
feeling  all  will  experience — the  death  of  Professor  Henry,  an  American 
whose  scientific  attainments  are  of  world-wide  fame,  and  who  has 
devoted  a  lifetime  to  the  interests  of  science,  regardless  of  personal 
comfort  or  emolument. 

H.  Doc.  732 51 


802  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

May  U,  1878— Senate. 

The  President  pro  teniporc  (Mr.  THOMAS  W.  FERRY)  laid  before 
the  Senate  the  following  announcement  of  the  death  of  Prof.  Joseph 
Henry: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION', 

Washington,  May  14,  1878. 

SIR:  I  am  requested  by  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  inform  you, 
and  through  you  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  of  the  death  of  Prof.  Joseph 
Henry,  the  Secretary  and  Director  of  the  Institution,  which  occurred  in  this  city  on 
Monday,  May  13,  at  12.10  p.  in.  His  funeral  will  take  place  at  the  Ne\v  York 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  on  Thursday,  May  16,  at  half  past  4  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  the  Senate  is  respectfully  invited  to  attend. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

M.  R.  WAITE, 
Chancellor  of  the  Institution. 
lion.  AV.  A.  WHEELEK, 

Vice-President  of  (lie  United  States. 

Mr.  A.  A.  SARGENT.  I  offer  the  following  resolution  and  ask  for  its 
present  consideration. 

Resoh-ed,  etc.,  That  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  adjourn  their  respective  Houses  at  4  o'clock  on  Thursday,  the 
16th  instant,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  Senators  and  Representatives  to  attend  the 
funeral  of  the  late  Joseph  Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Agreed  to  unanimously. 

May  16,  1878. 

Funeral  of  Professor  Henry  attended  by  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives. 

December  9,  1878— House. 

Mr.  HIESTER  CLYMER  offered  concurrent  resolution: 
That  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  will  take  part  in  the  services  to  be  observed 
on  Thursday  evening,  January  16,  1870,  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  Joseph  Henry, 
late  secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Regents 
thereof,  and  for  that  purpose  the  Senators  and  Representatives  will  assemble  on  that 
evening  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Vice-President,  supported 
by  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  to  preside  on  that  occasion. 

Adopted. 
December  10,  1878 — Senate. 

Passed. 
January  16,  1879 — Senate. 

On  motion  of  Air.  li.  E.  WITHERS,  the  following  resolution  was 
considered: 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  will  now  take  a  recess  until  7.45  p.  in.,  at  which  time 
they  will  meet  in  this  Chamber  and  proceed  to  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives to  participate  in  the  ceremonies  commemorative  of  the  life  and  services  of  Pro- 
fessor Henry,  late  secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Agreed  to. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  \V.    A.  WHEELER).   Senators  now  present 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  803 

will  proceed  to  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  to  participate 
in  the  ceremonies  commemorative  of  the  life  and  services  of  Professor 
Henry,  late  secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
January  16,  1879— House. 

Mr.  H.  CLYMER.  This  evening,  memorial  services  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  late  Prof.  Joseph  Henry  are  to  take  place  in  this  hall,  and 
I  desire  to  offer  a  resolution  in  relation  to  that  matter,  and  if  it  should 
be  adopted  by  the  House  I  shall  follow  it  with  a  motion  that  the 
House  take  a  recess  until  a  quarter  to  8  o'clock. 

The  resolution  was  read: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  at  the  session  to-night  the  Doorkeeper  he  directed  to  admit  to 
the  floor  all  persons,  public  bodies,  and  societies  indicated  by  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  also  the  wives  and  daughters  of  members. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL).  The  Chair  thinks  that  the  space 
in  the  House  will  hardly  suffice. 

Mr.  CLYMER.  I  would  say  in  reply  to  the  suggestion  of  the  Chair 
that  the  Doorkeeper  is  of  opinion  that  they  might  be  accommodated 
upon  one  side  of  the  hall,  not  in  the  seats  of  members,  and  the  public 
bodies  might  be  accommodated  on  the  other  side.  I  have  confined  the 
resolution  expressly  to  the  wives  and  daughters  of  members,  because 
if  I  put  in  the  wives,  and  families  the  number  would  bo  indefinite. 

Mr.  JOHN  M.  THOMPSON.  Is  the  meeting  to-night  a  legislative  meet- 
ing in  any  sense? 

The  SPEAKER.  It  is  not;  but  the  House  and  Senate  have  voted  to 
participate  in  this  ceremon}-. 

Mr.  THOMPSON.  Is  it  to  be  in  any  sense  an  official  meeting  of  the 
body? 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Clerk  will  read  the  order  made  upon  the  subject. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  (the  Senate  concurring) ,  That  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  will  take  part  in  the  services  to  be  observed  on  Thursday  evening, 
January  16,  1879,  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  Joseph  Henry,  late  secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Regents  thereof,  and  for  that 
purpose  the  Senators  and  Representatives  will  assemble  on  that  evening  in  the  Hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Vice-President,  supported  by  the  Speaker  of 
the  House,  to  preside  on  that  occasion. 

Mr.  HIRAM  PRICE.  But  no  legislative  business  to  be  transacted? 

The  SPEAKER.  No  legislative  business  can  be  done  at  any  rate  in 
joint  session. 

Mr.  PRICE.  But  the  presumption  is  that  when  the  House  takes  a 
recess  it  meets  again  as  a  House  for  business. 

The  SPEAKER.  That  is  usually  a  reasonable  presumption. 

Mr.  CLYMER.  The  Senate  has  taken  a  recess,  and  I  suggest  that  we 
should  pursue  the  same  course. 

The  resolution  of  Mr.  Clymer  was  then  adopted, 


804  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  CLYMER.  I  move  that  the  House  now  take  a  recess. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to;  and  accordingly  (at  5  o'clock  p.  m.)  the 
House  took  a  recess  until  7  o'clock  and  45  minutes  p.  m. 
January  16,  1879— Evening  Session. 

At  five  minutes  before  8  o'clock  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
preceded  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  and  the  Chaplain,  and  headed  by 
the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  with  the  Secretary  of  the 
Senate,  entered  the  Hall  and  were  properly  announced,  and  the  Vice- 
President  took  his  seat  on  the  right  of  the  Speaker,  and  the  Senators 
took  the  seats  assigned  them. 

At  8  o'clock  the  Chief  Justice  and  the  Associate  Justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Cabinet  entered  the  Hall,  were  properly  announced,  and 
were  conducted  to  the  seats  assigned  them. 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL) 
then  called  the  assembly  to  order,  and,  after  announcing  the  occasion 
of  the  meeting,  presented  his  official  gavel  to  the  Vice-President,  who 
thereupon  presided,  supported  by  the  Speaker. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  W.  A.  WHEELER).  The  Senators  and 
Members  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  pursuance  of  the 
resolutions  of  their  respective  bodies,  have  assembled  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  part  in  the  services  to  be  observed  in  memory  of  Joseph 
Henry,  late  secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Regents  of  that  Institution. 

The  Vice-President  then  announced  that  the  exercises  would  be  com- 
menced by  prayer  from  Rev.  Dr.  McCosh,  the  president  of  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton. 

The  memorial  services  were  then  proceeded  with,  the  Vice-President 
announcing  each  of  the  speakers  by  name,  in  accordance  with  the  order 
of  exercises  arranged  and  adopted  by  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Board  of  Regents. 

The  Vice-President,  after  the  concluding  prayer  by  the  Chaplain  of 
the  Senate  (at  11  o'clock  p.  m.),  announced  that  the  exercises  of  the 
evening  were  closed;  whereupon  the  President  of  the  United  States  with 
his  Cabinet,  the  Chief  Justice  and  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  with  the  Vice-President, 
retired  from  the  Hall. 

The  Speaker.  The  object  of  this  evening's  session,  as  provided  for 
by  the  order  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  having  been  fittingly  realized, 
the  duty  remains  to  me  to  declare  this  House  adjourned  until  to-morrow 
at  12  o'clock. 

NOTE. — Memorial  exercises  at  the  Capitol. 

Announcement  by  executive  committee  of  the  Regents. 

Introductory  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  James  McCosh. 

Hon.  Hannibal  Hamlin'a  address  (read  by  Vice-President  Wheeler). 


FOETY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   18/7-1879.  805 

Address  by  Hon.  Robert  E.  Withers. 

Address  by  Prof.  Asa  Gray. 

Reading  of  telegrams  by  Hon.  Hiester  Clymer. 

Address  by  Prof.  William  B.  Rogers. 

Address  by  Hon.  James  A.  Garfleld. 

Address  by  Hon.  Samuel  S.  Cox. 

Address  by  Gen.  William  T.  Sherman. 

Concluding  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Byron  Sunderland. 

By  authority  of  the  Speaker,  reserved  seats  were  provided  on  the 
floor  of  the  House  for  the  following  bodies,  with  which  Professor 
Henry  had  been  associated: 

The  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  orators  of  the 
evening,  who  met  in  the  room  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House. 

The  National  Academy  of  Sciences. 

The  Washington  Philosophical  Society. 

The  Light-House  Board,  who  met  in  the  room  of  the  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means. 

The  Alumni  Association  of  Princeton  College. 

The  trustees  of  the  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art. 

The  Washington  Monument  Association,  who  met  in  the  room  of 
the  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

HENRY   MEMORIAL   VOLUME. 

January  22,  1879— House. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS,  of  Georgia.  I  submit  a  resolution, 
upon  which  I  ask  immediate  action. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  memorial  exercises  in  honor  of  Professor  Henry,  held  in 
the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  16th  of  January,  1879,  be  printed 
in  the  Congressional  Record,  and  that  15,000  extra  copies  of  the  same  be  printed  in 
a  memorial  volume,  together  with  such  articles  as  may  be  furnished  by  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  7,000  of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  3,000  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  5,000  copies 
for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  STEPHENS,  of  Georgia.  I  ask  the  previous  question  upon  the 
adoption  of  this  resolution. 

The  SPEAKER,  (Mr.  S.  J.  KANDALL).  The  Chair  suggests  that  the 
resolution  does  not  designate  the  proper  proportion  of  copies  as  be- 
tween the  Senate  and  the  House.  The  House  ought  to  have  four 
times  as  many  as  the  Senate. 

Mr.  HORATIO  C.  BURCHARD.  Should  not  the  resolution  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Printing? 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  does  not  suppose  that  the  expense  con- 
templated in  the  resolution  would  reach  $500;  but  if  it  would,  then 
under  the  law  the  resolution  must  go  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 

Mr.  STEPHENS,  of  Georgia.  This  is  precisely  similar  to  the  resolu- 
tion adopted  in  the  case  of  the  memorial  exercises  of  Professor  Morse. 


800  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  SPEAKER.  Of  course  the  printing  in  the  Congressional  Record 
is  not  taken  into  consideration  in  determining  this  question  of  ex- 
pense. The  Chair  is  not  advised  whether  these  15,000  extra  copies  to 
be  published  in  book  form  would  cost  $500.  If  they  would,  then, 
under  the  requirement  of  the  law,  the  resolution  must  be  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Printing.  The  Chair  is  advised  it  would  cost  over 
$500,  and  therefore  it  had  better  go  to  the  Committee  on  Printing 
under  the  law.  That  committee  has  a  right  to  report  at  any  time. 

Mr.  STEPHENS,  of  Georgia.  Let  it  take  that  reference. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
January  25,  1879— House. 

Committee  reported  favorably.     House  passed. 
January  28,  1879— Senate. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  6,  1879— Senate. 

Reported  by  Mr.  H.  B.  AnthomT,  and  passed. 

(This  memorial  volume  forms  No.  356  of  the  series  of  Smithsonian 
publications,  and  also  Vol.  XXI  of  Smithsonian  Miscellaneous  Col- 
lections.    Svo.     532  pp.     1  portrait  of  Joseph  Henry.     1880.) 
February  12,  1879 — Senate. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN  submitted  concurrent  resolution  "that  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  have  printed  the  portrait  of  Prof.  Joseph 
Henry,  to  accompany  the  memorial  volume  already  ordered  by  Con- 
gress." 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  13,  1879 — Senate. 

Passed. 
February  28,  1879— House. 

Passed. 

(This  resolution  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress,  but  failed  to 
receive  approval  of  the  President  (Mr.  R.  B.  Hayes),  and  was  intro 
duced  again  in  the  Senate  April  7,  1879,  by  Mr.  H.  B.  Anthony,  and 
passed  April  9.  It  passed  the  House  April  11,  and  was  approved  by 
the  President  April  18,  1879.) 

SERVICES   OF   JOSEPH    HENRY   TO   THE    GOVERNMENT. 

June  4,  1878 — House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL)  laid  before  the  House  a  letter 
from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  relative  to  the  services  of  Profes- 
sor Henry  on  the  Light-House  Board,  and  recommending  compensa- 
tion for  said  services. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 
June  5,  1878— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  THOMAS  W.  FERRY)  laid  before  the 
Senate  a  communication  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  (Ex.  Doc. 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  807 

94)  recommending  an  appropriation  of  $500  for  each  year  that  the  late 
Professor  Henry  was  employed  as  a  member  of  the  Light-House  Board, 
for  the  benefit  of  his  family. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 


TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

June  4,  1878. 

SIR:  In  view  of  the  very  great  services  rendered  by  Prof.  Joseph  Henry,  lately 
deceased,  as  a  member  of  the  Light-House  Board,  the  length  of  his  services,  and  the 
value  to  the  Government  of  the  duties  performed  by  him,  and  considering  the  just 
claims  of  his  family  for  some  compensation  therefor,  I  respectfully  recommend  that 
there  be  appropriated  the  moderate  sum  of  $500  for  each  year  of  his  employment  as 
a  member  of  the  board. 

Professor  Henry  served  as  a  member  of  the  Light-House  Board  without  compen- 
sation from  October  9, 1852,  until  the  date  of  his  death,  May  13, 1878,  beingtwenty-five 
years  and  eight  months.  During  that  period  he  was  engaged  in  the  practical  busi- 
ness of  the  Government,  in  the  highest  branches  of  scientific  inquiry,  on  an  aver- 
age, two  months  in  each  year,  and  was  chairman  of  the  board  over  six  years,  having 
been  elected  to  that  position  in  October,  1871.  He  received  during  that  time  only 
expenses  while  actually  engaged  in  the  business  of  the  Government. 

I  inclose  copies  of  two  letters  from  the  Light-House  Board  of  the  date  of  May  21 
and  28,  giving  the  nature  of  his  services. 

Very  respectfully,  JOHN  SHERMAN, 

Secretary. 
Hon.  W.  A.  WHEELER, 

President  of  the  Senate. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 
OFFICE  OF  THE  LIGHT-HOUSE  BOARD, 

Washington,  May  88,  1878. 

SIR:  Respectfully  referring  to  your  indorsement  of  the  letter  of  the  Light-House 
Board  of  May  21,  1878,  relative  to  the  services  and  duties  rendered  by  Prof.  Joseph 
Henry  as  a  member  of  said  board,  I  have  the  honor  to  state  that  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  from  October  9,  1852,  until  the  date  of  his  death,  May  13,  1878, 
being  twenty-five  years  and  eight  months. 

During  that  period  he  was  engaged  in  the  business  of  the  Government,  on  an 
average,  two  months  in  each  year,  and  served  as  chairman  of  the  board  over  six 
years,  having  been  elected  to  that  position  in  October,  1871. 

The  letter  of  the  board  of  May  21,  with  your  indorsement  thereon,  is  respectfully 
returned. 

Very  respectfully,  GEO.  DEWEY, 

Naval  Secretary. 
Hon.  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 
OFFICE  OF  THE  LIGHT-HOUSE  BOARD, 

Washington,  May  21,  1878. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  this  date,  asking 
a  statement  of  the  services  and  the  duties  rendered  by  Professor  Henry  as  a  member 
of  the  Light-House  Board,  the  number  of  years  of  service,  and,  if  practicable,  the 
number  of  days  in  each  year,  etc.;  also,  the  amount  and  nature  of  the  expenses 
incurred  by  him,  and  whether  they  were  or  were  not  refunded. 


808  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

In  reply,  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  the  services  and  duties  rendered  by  Professor 
Henry  as  a  member  of  the  Light-House  Board  consisted  of  his  attendance  on  the 
meetings  of  the  board,  his  participations  in  its  discussions,  and  in  his  performance  of 
the  duties  of  chairman  of  the  committee  on  experiments. 

As  chairman  of  this  committee,  Professor  Henry  acted  as  the  scientific  adviser  of 
the  board.  But,  in  addition,  it  was  his  duty  to  conduct  the  experiments  made  by 
the  board,  not  only  in  the  matter  of  original  investigation  and  testing  the  material 
used,  but  in  examining  and  reporting  on  the  models,  plans,  and  theories  presented 
by  others  to  the  board. 

The  value  of  the  services  he  rendered  in  this  position  is  simply  inestimable. 

He  prepared  the  formula  for  testing  our  oils,  and,  until  the  infirmities  of  age  ren- 
dered it  difficult,  he  usually  applied  them  with  his  own  hands.  He  conducted  the 
series  of  experiments  resulting  in  the  substitution  of  lard  oil  for  sperm,  which 
effected  an  immense  saving  in  cost;  and  he  also  conducted  the  experiments  which 
have  resulted  in  making  it  possible  to  substitute  mineral  oil  for  lard,  when  another 
economy  will  be  made. 

His  original  investigation  into  the  laws  of  sound  have  resulted  in  giving  us  a  fog- 
signal  service  conceded  to  be  the  best  in  the  world. 

His  examinations  into  the  action  of  electricity  has  enabled  the  board  to  almost 
completely  protect  its  stations  from  the  effect  of  lightning. 

The  result  of  his  patient,  continuous,  practical  experimentation  is  visible  every- 
where in  the  service.  No  subject  was  too  vast  for  him  to  undertake;  none  too  small 
for  him  to  overlook.  And  while  he  has  brought  into  the  establishment  so  many  prac- 
tical applications  of  science,  he  has  done  almost  as  much  service  by  keeping  out 
Tvhat,  presented  by  others,  seemed  plausible,  but  which  on  examination  proved 
impracticable. 

Every  theory,  plan,  or  machine  which  was  pressed  on  the  board,  as  for  the  inter- 
ests of  commerce  and  navigation,  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  experiments, 
when  it  was  examined  by  its  chairman,  and  was  formally  reported  upon.  If  it  had 
no  practical  value,  the  report  on  record  simply  stated  the  inexpediency  of  its  adoption; 
but  the  professor  often  verbally  pointed  out  to  the  presenter  its  fallacy,  and  sent  him 
away,  if  not  satisfied,  at  least  feeling  that  he  had  been  well  treated. 

He  thus  prevented  not  only  the  adoption  of  impracticable  plans,  but  avoided  the 
enmity  of  their  inventors. 

Professor  Henry  made  many  valuable  reports  containing  the  results  of  his  elaborate 
experiments  into  matters  which  were  formally  referred  to  him,  which  are  spread  on 
the  records  of  the  board,  and  the  reports  were  drawn  in  such  form  that  his  sugges- 
tions were  capable  of  and  received  practical  application.  But,  in  addition  to  this,  he 
was  constantly  extending  his  scientific  researches  for  the  benefit  of  the  service  in  all 
directions.  His  summer  vacations  were,  as  a  rule,  passed  in  experimentation  at  the 
laboratory  of  the  establishment  at  Staten  Island,  on  its  steamers,  or  at  its  light  sta- 
tions, pushing  his  inquiries  to  their  last  results. 

To  experimentation  in  the  interests  of  this  service  Professor  Henry  seemed  to  give 
his  whole  heart.  It  occupied  a  portion  of  all  his  thoughts,  it  was  present  with  him 
at  all  times,  it  was  woven  into  all  his  other  duties,  and  it  will  be  found  running 
through  many  of  the  speeches  and  papers  submitted  not  only  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  but  to  the  National  Academy  of  Science  and  the  Philosophical  Society,  of 
which  he  was  head,  and  to  the  electrical  and  other  societies  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber. It  appeared  as  if  he  never  lost  sight  of  the  needs  of  the  establishment,  and  as 
if  he  never  neglected  an  opportunity  to  advance  its  interests. 

In  addition  to  his  other  duties,  Professor  Henry  presided  as  chairman  of  the  Light- 
House  Board  for  the  last  seven  years  at  its  weekly  meetings,  when  he  did  much  to 
infuse  into  the  different  members  of  the  board  his  own  spirit  of  labor  for  and  devo- 
tion to  its  interests. 


FOKTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  809 

In  reply  to  the  question  as  to  the  number  of  years  of  service  Professor  Henry  has 
spent  in  the  Light-House  Board,  I  have  to  say  that  he  was  one  of  the  original  mem- 
bers appointed  in  1852,  and  that  he  served  as  such  continuously  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  giving  a  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  to  its  duties. 

In  reply  to  the  question  as  to  the  number  of  the  days  in  each  year  which  Professor 
Henry  gave  to  the  Light-House  Service,  I  have  to  say,  the  whole  of  each  summer 
vacation  from  his  duties  as  director  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  say  from  six  weeks 
to  two  months,  were  devoted  to  it;  but  apart  from  that,  few,  if  any,  days  were  entirely 
given  up  to  it,  except  when  he  was  sent  by  the  board  to  make  special  examinations 
and  reports,  making,  perhaps,  a  month  more  in  each  year.  Otherwise,  while  no 
day  was  free  from  it  entirely,  no  day  was  wholly  given  up  to  the  Light-House 
Service. 

As  to  the  amount  and  nature  of  the  expenses  incurred  by  Professor  Henry,  I  have 
to  report  that  they  were  simply  and  solely  actual  traveling  expenses  when  absent 
from  this  city  on  duty,  for  which  due  itemized  accounts  were  made,  and  which  were 
paid  on  presentation  of  his  sworn  account,  under  the  rules  of  the  Department.  All 
such  expenses  were  refunded,  but  no  other  payments  were  made  to  him  or  could  be 
made  to  him  under  the  organic  law  of  the  board. 

Very  respectfully,  GEO.  DEWEY, 

Naval  Secretary. 

The  Hon.  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

[Indorsement  on  letter.] 

State  the  number  of  years  Professor  Henry  served  as  a  member  of  the  board,  the 
number  as  chairman  of  the  board,  and  what  number,  or  months,  or  days  in  each 
year,  on  an  average,  he  was  employed  for  business  of  the  Government. 

JOHN  SHERMAN,  Secretary. 

MAY  24,  1878. 

June  20,  1878. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1879. 

To  pay  to  the  legal  representatives  of  the  late  Joseph  Henry,  for 
services  rendered  by  him  as  member  and  president  of  the  Light-House 
Board,  $11,000. 

(Stat.  XX,  214.) 

ACTING    SECRETARY   OF   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

June  7,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN  asked,  and  by  unanimous  consent  obtained, 
leave  to  introduce  a  bill  (S.  1374)  authorizing  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  to  appoint  an  Acting  Secretary  in  certain 
cases. 

Mr.  HAMLIN.  There  is  no  entirely  appropriate  committee,  and  I 
move,  therefore,  that  the  bill  be  referred  to  a  select  committee  con- 
sisting of  the  three  Senators  who  are  Regents  of  that  Institution. 

Agreed  to. 
June  8,  1878— Senate. 

Mr.  HAMLIN.  The  select  committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  bill 
(S.  1374)  authorizing  the  Chancellor  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to 


810  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

appoint  an  Acting  Secretary  in  certain  cases,  has  directed  me  to  report 
the  bill  without  amendment.  I  wish  my  colleague  [Mr.  Blaine]  would 
let  the  bill  be  put  on  its  passage.  It  will  not  take  more  than  a  few 
minutes. 

Mr.  BLAINE.  Very  well. 

By  unanimous  consent  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
proceeded  to  consider  the  bill,  and  it  was  passed. 
December  13,  1878— House. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Library. 
January  21,  1879— House. 

Passed. 
January  24,  1879. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  in  the  case  of  the  death,  resignation,  sickness,  or  absence  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Chancellor  thereof  shall  be,  and 
he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  appoint  some  person  as  Acting  Secretary,  who  for  the 
time  being  shall  be  clothed  with  all  the  powers  and  duties  which  by  law  are  devolved 
upon  the  Secretary,  and  he  shall  hold  said  position  until  an  election  of  Secretary 
shall  be  duly  made,  or  until  the  Secretary  shall  be  restored  to  his  health,  or,  if  absent, 
shall  return  and  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  office. 

(Stat,  XX,  264.) 

PROTECTION    OF    PUBLIC   LIBRARIES. 
June  19,  1878. 

Act  to  protect  public  libraries  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  etc. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  any  person  who  shall  steal,  wrongfully 
deface,  injure,  mutilate,  tear,  or  destroy  any  book,  pamphlet,  or  man- 
uscript, or  any  portion  thereof,  belonging  to  the  Libraiy  of  Congress, 
or  to  any  public  library  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  whether  the 
property  of  the  United  States  or  of  any  individual  or  corporation  in 
said  District,  or  who  shall  steal,  wrongfully  deface,  injure,  mutilate, 
tear,  or  destroy  any  book,  pamphlet,  document,  manuscript,  print, 
engraving,  medal,  newspaper,  or  work  of  art,  the  property  of  the 
United  States,  shall  be  held  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and,  on  convic- 
tion thereof,  shall,  when  the  offense  is  not  otherwise  punishable  by 
some  statute  of  the  United  States,  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less 
than  ten  dollars  nor  more  than  one  thousand  dollars,  and  by  imprison- 
ment for  not  less  than  one  nor  more  than  twelve  months,  or  both,  for 
every  such  offense. 

(Stat.  XX,  171.) 

SCIENTIFIC   SURVEYS. 
June  20,   1878. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1879. 

And  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  is  hereby  required,  at  their 
next  meeting,  to  take  into  consideration  the  methods  and  expenses 


FORTY-FIFTH   CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  811 

of  conducting  all  surveys  of  a  scientific  character  under  the  War  or 
Interior  Department,  and  the  surveys  of  the  Land  Office,  and  to 
report  to  Congress  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be  practicable  a  plan  for 
survejdng  and  mapping  the  Territories  of  the  United  States  on  such 
general  system  as  will,  in  their  judgment,  secure  the  best  results  at 
the  least  possible  cost;  and  also  to  recommend  to  Congress  a  suitable 
plan  for  the  publication  and  distribution  of  the  reports,  maps,  and 
documents,  and  other  results  of  said  surveys,  not  exceeding  one  acre 
now  occupied  by  them  for  a  period  of  ten  years  unless  otherwise  pro- 
vided by  law  at  an  annual  rental  of  $1,000. 

(Stat.,  p.  230.) 

(See  act  of  March  3,  1879,  transferring  ethnology  to  Smitnsonian 
Institution. 

ETHNOLOGY — CONTRIBUTIONS. 

December  4,   1878. — Senate. 

Mr.  DAVID  DAVIS,  of  Illinois,  offered  concurrent  resolution  to  print 
3,000  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Geographical  and  Geological  Survey 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  being  Volume  2,  contributions  to  North 
American  Ethnology,  in  quarto  form;  1,500  for  the  House;  500  for 
the  Senate;  500  for  the  Survey;  500  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
December  4,  1878.— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  R.  EDEN  submitted  concurrent  resolution. 

(Same  resolution  as  offered  by  Mr.  Davis  in  Senate  December  4, 

1878.) 

December  18,  1878 — House. 

Passed  for  Volume  II  of  Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnol- 
ogy, 500  copies  for  Smithsonian  Institution. 
December  20,  1878— Senate. 

Passed   with  amendment   to  give  375   copies  to  the   Smithsonian 
Institution. 
January  25,  1879— House. 

Passed  as  amended. 

LAND  OFFICE   MUSEUM. 
January  16,  1879 — House. 

Mr.  O.  D.  CONGER  offered  bill  (H.  5812)  making  compensation  to 
Mrs.  Joseph  S.  Wilson,  the  widow  of  the  late  Joseph  S.  Wilson,  for 
collecting  the  scientific  museum  for  the  General  Land  Office.1 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

1  This  museum  was  transferred  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  July  9,  1872. 


812  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

GLOVER   ENTOMOLOGICAL   PLATES. 
January  21,  1879 — Senate. 

Petition  of  Prof .  Tmimend  Glover.     (Senate  Misc.  Doc.  No.  38.) 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represenatives: 

Your  memorialist  respectfully  represents  that  during  the  past  fif 
teen  years  he  has  been  the  entomologist  of  the  Agricultural  Depart 
ment  of  the  Government;  that  prior  to  his  connection  with  the  sal 
Department  he  had  commenced  a  work  on  entomology;  that  durinj 
his  professional  connection  with  said  Department  he  has  employed  hi 
time,  exclusive  of  that  exacted  by  official  duties,  in  the  prosecution  o 
this  work;  that  he  has  completed  said  work,  which  consists  of  a  numbe 
of  manuscript  volumes  and  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  engrave 
copperplates  illustrating  the  work,  which  engraved  plates  represen 
the  figures  of  over  ten  thousand  insects. 

Your  memorialist  further  represents  that  the  preparation  of  th 
manuscript  volumes  and  the  engraving  of  the  copperplates  are  th 
result  of  his  individual  labor,  done  at  his  own  residence  out  of  offic 
hours;  that  the  work  so  accomplished  has  caused  him  intense  stud 
and  investigation;  that  during  all  the  years  of  his  connection  with  th 
Agricultural  Department  and  the  progress  of  the  work  he  has  prepare 
and  produced  for  the  benefit  of  said  Department  books  of  reference  an 
colored  illustrative  plates,  exclusive  of  and  in  addition  to  his  profession* 
duties;  that  he  possesses  the  evidence,  in  the  shape  of  a  vast  amoun 
of  correspondence,  of  the  advantages  accruing  to  the  agricultural  dit 
tricts  of  the  country  from  the  possession  and  use  by  the  Governmen 
of  such  information  in  practical  form. 

Your  memorialist  further  represents  that  his  object  in  commencin 
and  prosecuting  so  extensive  and  comprehensive  a  work  was  to  furnis 
a  series  of  volumes  for  reference,  with  full  and  accurate  illustrations 
which,  when  published  in  proper  form,  will  serve  as  a  text-book  fo 
scientists,  for  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  Government,  fo 
local  organizations,  and  for  individual  convenience. 

Your  memorialist  further  represents  that  the  preparation  of  th 
manuscript  volumes,  the  procuring,  figuring,  and  engraving  of  s 
large  a  variety  of  insects,  have  imposed  unremitting  study  and  labo 
and  the  expenditure  of  a  large  amount  of  his  own  money;  that  at 
time  of  life  when  rest  and  comfort  are  desirable  he  finds  himsel 
broken  in  health  and  a  constant  sufferer.  Of  this  he  makes  no  con 
plaint.  It  is  the  inevitable  consequence  of  overtaxed  powers  in  th 
persistent  pursuit  of  a  profession  which  has  been  the  absorbing  objec 
of  his  life. 

Your  memorialist  further  represents  that  he  greatly  desires  that  th 
Government  should  become  the  possessor  of  this  work,  not  only  o 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  813 

account  of  its  practical  utility,  but  because  during  all  the  years  of  its 
preparation  it  has  been  progressively  identified  with  the  Government 
in  the  protection  it  has  extended  to  the  agricultural  interests  of  the 
country  and  is,  to  a  very  large  extent,  familiar  to  the  agricultural 
people;  but,  in  his  pecuniary  circumstances,  it  would  be  unjust  to 
himself — nay,  impossible — to  donate  in  full  what  has  been  produced  at 
so  great  a  sacrifice  of  time,  labor,  money,  and  health.  He  therefore 
respectfully  proposes  a  compromise  that  will  doubtless  be  recognized 
as  liberal  on  his  part  and  satisfactory  to  all  concerned. 

The  intrinsic  value  of  the  copperplates,  including  their  purchase, 
preparation,  and  the  work  of  engraving  them,  is,  at  the  lowest  esti- 
mate, $100  each,  and  this  would  be  the  charge  of  an  engraver  for  the 
plates  and  mechanical  labor  after  having  the  insects  figured  for  his 
use.  Your  memorialist  asks  no  compensation  for  the  manuscript  vol- 
umes; these  he  proposes  to  donate  entire;  but  he  respectfully  suggests 
that  it  would  be  just  to  give  him  an  equivalent  to  what  would  be 
exacted  by  any  skilled  engraver  at  the  rates  which  govern  for  such 
work  and  which  the  Government  would  have  to  pay  for  the  illustra- 
tions requisite  for  a  work  of  this  kind:  Therefore, 

Your  memorialist  prays  that  your  honorable  bodies  appropriate  the 
sum  of  $27,900,  to  be  paid  to  him  on  his  delivery  to  the  Commissioner 
of  Agriculture  all  his  manuscript  volumes  on  entomology  and  two 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  engraved  copperplates  illustrating  the  same. 

And  he  will  ever  pray. 

TOWNEND  GLOVER 


ACCOMPANYING    LETTER. 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 

The  undersigned  begs  leave  to  accompany  his  memorial  to  your  honorable  bodies 
with  some  explanations  and  suggestions  that  may  more  properly  and  explicitly  be 
presented  in  a  communication  of  this  kind  than  in  a  memorial. 

A  protracted  experience  in  his  profession  has  demonstrated  that  his  work  has  been 
greatly  appreciated  by  students  in  agricultural  colleges,  by  the  farming  people  of  all 
sections  of  the  country,  and  by  all  who  are  interested  in  this  branch  of  natural  science, 
as  its  accurate  and  correctly  colored  figures,  drawn  from  the  insects  themselves, 
enable  any  person  of  ordinary  education  and  capacity  to  identify  the  principal  inju- 
rious species  known  to  affect  our  agriculture,  as  well  as  the  beneficial  species  which 
prey  upon  them. 

In  many  cases  the  species  are  so  marked  that  persons  having  little  or  no  knowl- 
edge of  entomology  as  a  science  are  enabled  to  recognize  the  name  of  a  given 
insect,  and,  by  referring  to  the  text  of  the  work,  to  trace  its  larval  or  other  stages, 
the  food  plants  upon  which  it  thrives,  the  time  the  eggs  are  deposited,  the  length  of 
time  consumed  by  the  insect  in  going  through  its  changes,  and  lastly,  the  means  by 
which  they  may  be  destroyed.  As  the  habits  of  insects  do  not  change  with  their 
nomenclature,  and  as  their  forms  remain  the  same,  the  work  must  always  be  found 
invaluable  for  reference  and  identification.  In  the  few  instances  in  which  names 
have  been  changed  during  the  past  two  years  the  new  names  can  be  substituted  with 
slight  trouble  when  the  work  is  finally  revised  for  publication. 


814  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  proposition  contained  in  my  memorial  I  can  not  l>elieve  will  he  regarded  in  the 
light  of  one  of  the  many  applications  to  Congress  for  personal  relief  hy  appropriation. 
Even  a  superficial  examination  of  what  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  must  convince 
any  member  of  your  honorable  bodies  that  I  am  not  asking  for  relief ;  that  I  only 
ask  to  be  reimbursed  for  the  cost  of  over  270  plates  illustrating  my  work ;  that  I 
should  give  to  the  Government  double  the  value  I  should  receive  provided  you  should 
favorably  consider  my  proposition.  I  offer  to  transfer  for  a  nominal  sum  property 
that  $50,000  would  be  no  compensation  for — property  that  the  Government  has  had 
the  use  and  benefit  of  during  a  protracted  period  of  time;  property  that  comprises 
the  most  extensive  work  on  entomology,  with  the  most  numerous  illustrations,  that 
has  ever  been  produced  in  this  or  any  country. 

As  precedents  for  appropriations  of  this  kind,  I  need  only  refer  to  the  liberality  of 
Congress  in  providing  for  Arctic  explorations  and  the  purchase  and  publication  of 
valuable  reports,  to  the  annual  appropriations  for  geological  surveys  and  specific 
investigations,  and  to  its  favor  and  encouragement  of  a  great  number  of  meritorious 
objects.  In  view  of  these  facts  I  have  no  hesitation  in  resorting  to  this  alternative 
for  the  permanent  and  practical  benefit  of  the  agricultural  interests,  for  the  reason 
that,  if  my  proposition  is  accepted  by  your  honorable  bodies,  it  will  enable  me  to 
become  a  more  liberal  contributor  than  the  Government  to  an  object  which,  more 
than  any  other,  has  consumed  my  time,  strength,  and  substance. 

I  respectfully  ask  attention  to  the  accompanying  original  letters,  bearing  testimony 
to  the  character  and  value  of  my  work,  from  the  late  Professor  Agassiz;  Dr.  Hagen, 
of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology,  Cambridge,  and  others. 
Very  respectfully, 

TOWNEND  GLOVER. 

CAMBRIDGE,  February  17,  1871. 

MY  DEAR  DOCTOR:  I  have  duly  received  your  letter  concerning  Mr.  Glover's  museum 
and  collections  of  drawings  in  the  Patent  Office  at  Washington.  I  have  seen  them 
myself  and  agree  with  every  word  you  say  about  their  excellence  and  great  impor- 
tance, both  in  a  scientific  and  economical  point  of  view,  and  would  consider  the  pub- 
lication of  his  observations  and  of  the  delineations  of  insects  injurious  to  vegetation 
as  most  desirable  and  likely  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  creditable  to  the  United 
States  Government.  Were  I  a  special  student  of  insects  I  would  urge  this  publication 
upon  the  proper  authorities;  but  it  would  be  ill  fitting  for  me  to  allow  my  opinion  to 
go  before  yours,  whom  all  the  world  recognizes  as  a  master  in  entomology.  I  woul  I 
therefore  recommend  to  you  to  send  a  copy  of  your  letter  to  me  to  Mr.  Glover,  with 
full  authority  to  make  any  use  he  pleases  of  the  same,  adding,  perhaps,  these  lines, 
which  may  secure  a  reading  of  your  letter  among  those  who  know  me  already  and 
may  not  yet  know  that  you  are  among  us. 
Ever  truly,  your  friend, 

L.  AGASSIZ. 
Dr.  H.  HAGEN, 

Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology,  Cambridge. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  February  9,  1871. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  GLOVER:  I  was  very  happy  to  hear  from  Mr.  Sanborn  that  you  have 
the  intention  to  publish,  by  aid  of  the  Congress,  your  excellent  work.  Next  day  I 
told  Professor  Agassiz  the  happy  news,  and  he  asked  instantly  from  me  a  very  circum- 
stantial report  on  your  work,  because  he  has  the  intention  to  do  all  in  his  power  to 
help  you  and  your  publication. 

I  tell  you  I  am  somewhat  ashamed  to  hear  that  an  aid  by  the  Congress  is  not  with- 
out any  doubt. 


FOETY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  815 

After  I  had  the  pleasure  to  see  your  museum  and  your  work  I  have  seen  a  great 
part  of  Europe,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  your  museum,  your  work,  and  even  the 
whole  plan  after  which  all  is  arranged,  is  rarely  unsurpassed  at  this  time  by  any  one 
in  the  world. 

The  plan  adopted  by  you  to  publish  your  beautiful  drawings  and  to  put  them  near 
the  shelves  as  explications  is  analogous  to  the  excellent  manner  adopted  in  the  Hun- 
terian  Museum  in  London. 

You  can  be  sure  at  this  time  there  exists  no  similar  museum  to  yours  in  England, 

France,  Germany,  or  Belgium.     I  believe  America  could  be  proud  to  have  such  a 

treasure,  and  I  believe  the  money  necessary  for  your  publication  must  be  given  very 

happily,  or,  if  not,  it  would  be  a  peculiar  standard  for  the  education  of  the  Congress. 

Yours,  very  truly. 

Prof.  H.  A.  HAGEN. 


834  THIRTEENTH  STREET,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE, 

Washington,  I).  C.,  January  26,  1878. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  Seeing  complimentary  mention  of  your  scientific  labors,  past  and 
present,  I  am  reminded  of  an  unfulfilled  resolution,  long  in  mind,  to  communicate 
to  you  a  remark  by  the  lamented  xigassiz,  on  the  occasion  of  his  last  visit  to  this  city. 

The  professor  had  called  at  my  hotel  to  talk  of  the  proposed  National  University, 
and  mentioned  having  just  come  from  an  interesting  visit  lo  you  at  the  Agricultural 
Department,  whereupon  I  inquired  his  opinion,  saying,  "Well,  professor,  no  man  in 
the  world  is  better  qualified  to  pronounce  judgment  than  yourself;  tell  me,  what  sort 
of  work  is  Professor  Glover  doing?"  His  quick  response,  accompanied  by  that  illu- 
mination of  countenance  which  no  one  can  forget  who  ever  heard  him  speak  upon  a 
pleasant  theme,  was  in  these  exact  words:  "Magnificent!  His  services  are  extremely 
valuable,  and  should  he  ever  have  occasion  to  leave  the  Department  he  can  have  a 
place  in  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  on  his  own  terms." 

This  is  testimony  of  which  any  scientist  in  the  world  might  be  proud,  and  I  doubt 
not  that  even  one  more  indifferent  than  most  men  to  the  commendation  of  his  fel- 
lows will  have  pleasure  in  receiving  it. 

Immediately  after  the  interview  referred  to  I  was  absent  in  Europe  for  a  year,  and 
since  my  return,  the  pressure  of  duties  has  been  such  as  to  have  delayed  the  execu- 
tion of  my  friendly  purpose  until  this  moment. 

With  assurances  of  sincere  regard,  I  remain,  my  dear  professor,  very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  W.  HOYT. 

Prof.  TOWNEND  GLOVER, 

Agricultural  Department. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  February  12,  187 1. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  the  May  of  1870  I  had  the  opportunity  of  visiting  the  Agricultural 
Museum  in  Washington,  and  to  admire  the  plan  upon  which  it  is  founded  and  the 
unsurpassed  manner  in  which  the  plan  is  carried  out,  solely  by  the  power  and  work 
of  one  man,  Mr.  Townend  Glover. 

As  I  have  ascertained  by  my  late  trip  through  a  considerable  part  of  Europe,  the 
Museum  in  Washington  seems  to  be  the  only  one  in  the  world  following  a  plan  so 
important  for  science  and  agriculture.  The  idea  to  represent  in  the  same  room  all 
the  products  of  the  individual  States  of  the  Union,  the  minerals  and  different  kinds 
of  earths,  the  animals  and  plants  growing  spontaneously  or  by  culture  in  each,  and 
the  products  useful  for  men  and  animals,  for  trade  and  manufactures,  is  in  itself  a 
great  one,  and  of  special  interest  for  science  and  its  applications. 


816  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  manner  in  which  Mr.  T.  Glover  is  carrying  out  his  plan  is  in  every  way  satis- 
factory and  deserves  the  highest  commendation.  By  way  of  a  certain  combination 
of  labels  or  marks  the  useful  and  noxious  are  easily  distinguished.  The  fruits  repre- 
sented by  casts  made  by  Mr.  Glover  himself,  in  an  unsurpassed  manner  the  different 
kinds  of  seeds,  their  products,  etc.,  give  to  everybody  clear  indications  of  which  kind 
of  culture  is  best  adapted  for  any  State  or  even  for  a  part  of  earth. 

The  insects,  noxious  and  useful,  with  their  products,  are  largely  exhibited,  and 
form  in  this  manner  an  unrivaled  museum.  Mr.  Glover  has  adopted  for  them  a  plan, 
so  far  as  I  know,  only  comparable  in  a  certain  sense  to  the  excellent  catalogues  in  the 
Hunterian  Museum  in  the  College  of  Surgeons  in  London.  Mr.  Glover  has  figured 
all  the  insects,  as  most  of  them  are  too  small  otherwise  to  be  recognized  by  the  naked 
eye  or  to  be  understood  by  visitors  not  initiated  in  the  technicalities  of  the  science. 

If  necessary,  figures  of  the  transformation  or  product  are  added. 

These  figures,  mostly  very  superior  to  any  thus  far  published,  are  engraved  by  him- 
self, and  as  the  catalogues  of  the  Hunterian  Museum  form  for  the  visitors  and  stu- 
dents a  sure  and  excellent  guide  to  the  drawers  in  which  the  specimens  are  exhibited. 

I  confess  I  have  no  idea  how  one  man  had  the  power  alone  to  accomplish  so  much 
work  in  such  a  superior  manner.  I  have  seen  in  the  papers  it  would  perhaps  be 
possible  to  have  the  extensive  entomological  works  of  Mr.  Glover  published.  With- 
out any  doubt  such  a  publication  would  not  only  be  of  the  greatest  use  for  Ameri- 
can students,  but  even  accepted  by  the  whole  scientific  world  with  the  greatest  satis- 
faction. 

Respectfully,  yours, 

Prof.  H.  A.  HAGEN,  M.  D.,  Ph.  D. 

Professor  AGASSIZ. 


COALBURG,  W.  VA.,  December  28,  1878. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  that  an  effort  is  making  to  secure  for  the  coun- 
try Professor  Glover's  copperplates  of  the  insects  of  the  United  States,  and  his  manu- 
script relating  thereto.  These  materials  are  invaluable  to  us,  and  should  Professor 
Glover  dispose  of  them  in  England  or  elsewhere  the  loss  could  never  be  made  good. 
Being  an  enthusiastic  entomologist,  as  well  as  artist,  these  plates  have  been  to  him  a 
labor  of  love,  and  he  has  given  to  them  the  better  part  of  a  lifetime  and  executes 
them  with  the  greatest  fidelity.  His  work  on  the  cotton  insects  is  beyond  all  praise. 
I  know  of  nothing  comparable  to  it  on  the  range  of  entomological  illustrated  litera- 
ture, and  the  plates  of  this  work  and  notes  belonging  to  them  are  worth,  in  my  opin- 
ion, to  the  country  the  full  sum  that  Professor  Glover  requires  for  the  entire  lot  of 
plates  and  manuscript.  This  work  ought  to  be  circulated  broadcast  over  the  cotton 
States  for  the  instruction  of  the  planters  and  growers.  So  the  insects  that  infest  the 
sugar  cane,  the  orange  trees,  the  grains,  roots,  etc.,  and  the  several  forest  trees  are 
nearly  all,  so  far  as  they  are  known,  figured  on  these  plates.  It  is  of  very  little  use 
attempting  to  convey  knowledge  of  the  insects  injurious  to  agriculture  to  the  people 
at  large  unless  colored  figures  of  the  insects  accompany  the  text.  Such  figures 
appeal  to  the  understanding  and  memory,  and  for  instruction  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary. The  loss  to  the  nation  by  the  ravages  of  insects  is  annually  hundreds  of  millions 
of  dollars,  and  the  agriculturists  everywhere  need  to  be  instructed  as  to  the  appear- 
ance of  their  enemies  before  they  can  intelligently  comprehend  advice  as  to  over- 
coming or  counteracting  them.  By  all  means  let  us  have  those  plates  of  Professor 
Glover  as  the  first  step  in  proper  education  on  this  subject. 
Yours,  truly, 

W.  H.  EDWARDS. 

CHARLES  R.  DODGE,  Esq.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture. 


FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS,   1877-1879.  817 

January  21,  1879— Senate. 

Memorial  (Seriate  Misc.  Doc.  No.  40)  in  favor  of  the  purchase  of  the 
engraved  plates  prepared  by  Prof  .  Toionend  Glover. 

Learning  that  the  lifelong  work  on  North  American  insects  of  Prof. 
Townend  Glover,  late  entomologist  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
is  offered  to  the  Government  at  the  mere  cost  of  engraving  the  plates, 
we  take  pleasure  in  recommending  its  purchase,  knowing  that  such  a 
publication  would  prove  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  literature  of 
science,  and  that  the  work  will  be  found  most  useful  in  the  libraries  of 
colleges  and  other  institutions  of  learning,  agricultural  societies,  and 
of  scientific  men. 

We,  the  working  entomologists  of  the  United  States,  therefore  urge 
its  speedy  possession  by  the  Government,  that  the  value  of  the  work 
may  be  recognized  during  the  life  of  the  author,  and  that  the  cause  of 
American  entomology  may  be  advanced. 

SAM.  H.  SCUDDER. 
Dr.  H.  A.  HAGEN, 
Professor  at  Harvard  University. 

B.  PICKMAN  MANN. 
GEO.  DIMMOCK. 

E.  P.  AUSTIN. 
S.  I.  SMITH, 
Professor  of  Comparative  Anatomy,  Yale  College. 

A.  E.  VERRILL, 
Professor  of  Zoology,  Yale  College. 

J.  L.  LECONTE. 

E.  T.  CRESSON. 
GEORGE  H.  HOWE,  M.  D. 
CHAS.  A.  BLAKE. 
P.  R.  UHLER, 

President  of  the  Maryland  Academy  of  Sciences. 
JNO.  G.  MORRIS. 

C.  V.  RILEY, 

Chief  U.  S.  Entomological  Commission, 
Entomologist  Department  of  Agriculture. 
CHAS.  R.  DODGE, 

Editor  Field  and  Forest, 
Referred  to  Committee  on  Agriculture, 
H.  Doc.  732 52 


818  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY — ESTIMATES. 
February  28,  1879— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL)  laid  before  the  House  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Hon.  C.  Schurz,  dated 
February  21,  1879: 

Among  the  estimates  submitted  to  Congress  by  this  Department  for  the  ensuing 
fiscal  year  is  the  following  item  (see  page  167,  Book  of  Estimates) :  Prosecution  of 
researches  in  North  American  ethnology,  $20,000. 

Inasmuch  as  this  line  of  inquiry  is  not  contemplated  as  an  element  of  the  pro- 
posed consolidation  of  the  scientific  surveys,  and  as  the  work  has  heretofore  been 
well  advanced  under  the  direction  of  its  projector,  Prof.  J.  W.  Powell,  and  at  his 
request  (see  copy  of  his  letter  herwith) ,  I  have  the  honor  to  respectfully  recommend 
that  the  appropriation  for  this  work  be  placed  under  the  direction  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY — APPROPRIATIONS. 
March  3,  1879. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1880. 

For  completing  and  preparing  for  publication  the  contributions 
to  North  American  Ethnology,  under  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
$20,000:  Provided,  That  all  the  archives,  records,  and  materials  relat- 
ing to  the  Indians  of  North  America,  collected  by  the  Geographical 
and  Geological  Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  shall  be  turned 
over  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  that  the  work  may  be  completed 
and  prepared  for  publication  under  its  direction;  Provided  That  it 
shall  meet  the  approval  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  $20,000. 

(Stat.,  XX,  397.) 

FREE    POSTAGE. 
March  3,  1879. 

Post-Office  Act  for  1880. 

SEC.  20.  That  mailable  matter  of  the  fourth  class  shall  embrace  all 
matter  not  embraced  in  the  first,  second,  or  third  class,  which  is  not  in 
its  form  or  nature  liable  to  destroy,  deface,  or  otherwise  damage  the 
contents  of  the  mail  bag,  or  harm  the  person  of  anyone  engaged  in 
the  postal  service,  and  is  not  above  the  weight  provided  by  law,  which 
is  hereby  declared  to  be  not  exceeding  four  pounds  for  each  package 
thereof,  except  in.  case  of  single  books  weighing  in  excess  of  that 
amount,  and  except  for  books  and  documents  published  of  circulated 
by  order  of  Congress,  or  official  matter  emanating  from  any  of  the 
Departments  of  the  Government  or  from  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
or  which  is  not  declared  nonmailable  under  the  provision  of  sec- 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881. 


I*™  statutes  "  amended  by  thc  «*  «*  **•  12, 

1876,  or  Matter  appertaining  to  lotteries,  gift  concerts,  or  fraudulent 

schemes"  or  devices. 

f!iC'/uAThe  Pr°visions  of  the  fifth  ^d  sixth  sections  of  the  act 
entitled  An  act  establishing  post  routes,  and  for  other  purposes  » 
approved  March  3,  1877,'  for  the  transmission  of  official  mail  matter 
be,  and  they  are  hereby,  extended  to  all  officers  of  the  U  S  Govern' 
ment,  and  made  applicable  to  all  official  mail  matter  transmitted 
between  any  of  the  officers  of  the  United  States,  *  *  *  and 
to  all  official  mail  matter  sent  from  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. 

(Stat,  XX,  360,  362.) 


FORTY-SIXTH  CONGRESS,  1879-1881. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 
March  21,  1879— Senate. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT  (Mr.  W.  A.  WHEELER)  appointed  Newton  Booth 
as  Regent,  on  behalf  of  the  Senate,  vice  Aaron  A.  Sargent,  whose 
term  had  expired. 

February  21,  1881— Senate. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT  (Mr.  W.  A.  WHEELER)  laid  before  the  Senate 
the  following: 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE  CHAMBER, 

Washington,  February  21,  1881. 

SIR:  I  hereby  resign  the  position  of  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to 
which  I  was  appointed  January  18,  1870. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  H.  HAMLIN. 

Hon.  W.  A.  WHEELER, 

Vice- President  of  the  United  States  and  President  of  Hie  Senate. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  Chair  appoints  to  fill  this  vacancy  the 
Senator  from  Massachusetts  (George  F.  Hoar). 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
April  4,  1879— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL)  stated  that  he  had  received  a 
letter  from  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  ask- 
ing that  he  make  appointment  of  Regents.  In  accordance  with  tihs 
request  he  appointed  Hiester  Clymer,  of  Pennsylvania,  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  of  Virginia,  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio. 

1  See  Stat.,  XIX,  336. 


820  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Iii  this  connection  the  SPEAKER  stilted  that  Alexander  H.  Stephens, 
of  Georgia,  who  had  been  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
absolutely  declined  to  serve  further  as  such,  because,  owing  to  the 
state  of  his  health,  he  was  unable  to  attend  the  sessions  of  the  Board. 

APPOINTMENT    OF    REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
December  8,  1879— Senate. 

Mr.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  50)  that 
Asa  Gray,  of  Massachusetts,  Henry  Coppee,  of  Pennsylvania,  John 
Maclean,  of  New  Jersey,  and  Peter  Parker,  of  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, be  reappointed  as  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

By  unanimous  consent,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
proceeded  to  consider  the  joint  resolution. 

Mr.  HAMLIN.  I  will  state  the  reasons  for  the  passage  of  this  resolu- 
tion. Before  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Regents  of  the  Institution 
shall  take  place  in  January,  the  term  of  office  of  these  four  persons 
will  expire,  and  they  are  to  be  reappointed  by  resolution  of  the  House 
and  Senate.  If  we  take  a  recess,  as  we  probably  shall,  before  the  Board 
will  convene,  it  will  be  destitute  of  these  four  Regents.  I  take  it  there 
can  be  no  opposition  to  the  reappointment  of  these  four  gentlemen, 
who  have  rendered  eminent  and  distinguished  service  to  the  Institu- 
tion. I  believe  the  reappointment  meets  the  concurrence  of  all  the 
Regents  as  well  as  of  Professor  Baird. 

Passed. 
December  9,  1879 — House. 

Passed. 
December  19,  1879. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  other  than  members  of  Con- 
gress, shall  be  filled  by  the  reappointment  of  Asa  Gray  of  Massachu- 
setts, Henry  Coppee  of  Pennsylvania,  John  Maclean  of  New  Jersey 
and  Peter  Parker  of  the  city  of  Washington,  whose  terms  have  expired. 

(Stat,  XXI,  299.) 

JOSEPH    HENRY — PORTRAIT    FOR   MEMORIAL   VOLUME. 

April  7,  1879— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY  introduced  joint  resolution  (S.  17)  author- 
izing the  printing  of  a  portrait  of  the  late  Joseph  Henry,  to  accom- 
pany the  memorial  volume  heretofore  ordered.  (Same  as  passed  by 
both  Houses  in  the  third  session  of  Forty-fifth  Congress.) 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
April  9,  1879— Senate. 

Reported  by  Committee  and  passed.. 


FORTY-SIXTH   CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  821 

April  11,  1879— House. 

Passed. 

April  18,  1879. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  have  printed 
the  portrait  of  Professor  Joseph  Henry,  to  accompany  the  memorial 
volume  already  ordered  by  Congress;  and  the  sum  of  $500  is  hereby 
appropriated,  to  defray  the  cost  thereof,  out  of  any  moneys  in  the 
Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  48.) 

JOSEPH    HENRY — STATUE. 

December  16,  1879— Senate. 

Mr.  NEWTON  BOOTH  introduced  bill  (S.  875)  for  the  erection  of  a 
statue  of  Joseph  Henry.     Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Build- 
ings and  Grounds. 
May  3,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL  introduced  bill  (S.  1702): 

That  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be,  and  are  hereby,  authorized  to 
contract  with  W.  W.  Story,  sculptor,  for  a  statue  in  bronze  of  Joseph  Henry,  late 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  be  erected  upon  the  grounds  of  said 
Institution;  and  for  this  purpose,  and  for  the  entire  expense  of  the  foundation  and 
pedestal  of  the  monument,  the  sum  of  $15,000  is  hereby  appropriated,  out  of  any 
moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
May  6,  1880—  Senate. 

Reported  by  Committee. 
May  24,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  B.  BECK.  1  ask  the  Senate  now  to  take  up  for  consideration 
House  bill  No.  48*12. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRFLL.  I  ask  the  Senator  from  Kentucky  to  allow  me 
to  call  up  a  bill  that  will  receive,  I  have  no  doubt,  the  unanimous 
assent  of  the  Senate.  It  will  not  take  five  minutes,  and  as  the  bill  the 
Senator  proposes  to  take  up  will  probably  occupy  all  the  morning,  I 
ask  him  to  allow  me  to  get  up  the  bill  for  a  monument  to  Joseph 
Henry,  to  be  erected  in  the  Smithsonian  grounds. 

Mr.  BECK.  I  hope  I  shall  not  lose  my  place  by  giving  way. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore  (Mr.  A.  G.  THURMAN).  The  Senator 
from  Vermont  asks  that  the  Senate  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the 
bill  (S.  1702)  for  the  erection  of  a  monument  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton to  the  memory  of  Joseph  Henry,  late  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution.  Is  there  objection  ? 

Mr.  D.  W.  VOORHEES.  Let  the  bill  be  read  for  information. 

The  CHIEF  CLERK  read  the  bill. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  Is  there  objection  to  proceeding  to 
the  consideration  of  this  bill  ? 


822  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  G.  F.  EDMUNDS.  I  hope  tho  Chair  on  all  such  occasions  will  put 
tho  question,  for  I  do  not  wish  to  stand  unanimous  sponsor  for 
anything  from  this  time  to  the  end  of  the  session. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  the  motion  to 
proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  bill  named  by  the  Senator  from 
Vermont  [Mr.  Merrill]. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to;  and  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the 
Whole,  proceeded  to  consider  the  bill. 

Mr.  VOORHEES.  Mr.  President,  I  am  oppose.d  to  legislating  a  contract 
into  any  one  man's  hands  on  a  subject  where  competition  ought  to  take 
place.  I  do  not  know  how  often  it  has  been  done  heretofore,  but  in  every 
instance  where  it  has  been  done  it  is  wrong.  A  work  of  this  kind 
ought  to  be  open  to  competition.  Every  artist  ought  to  be  allowed  to 
compete  for  a  work  of  this  character.  [A  pause.]  The  Senator  from 
Vermont  very  justly  reminds  me  that  Mr.  Story  is  an  eminent  artist. 
I  know  that.  There  are  other  eminent  artists  in  the  country,  and  all 
of  them  think  they  are.  Every  one  of  them  desires  to  put  his  skill  on 
exhibition,  and  it  is  his  right  to  do  so.  I  think  that  the  bill  ought  to  be 
amended  by  making  this  work  subject  to  competition  rather  than  a 
direct  contract  with  Mr.  Story. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  hope  my  friend  from  Indiana  will  not  move  any 
amendment.  Mr.  Story  is  the  son  of  the  late  Chief  Justice  Story,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  eminent  artists  of  this  country  or  any  other,  and  has 
never  received  an  order  from  the  Government.  He  is  eminent  in 
very  many  other  respects  than  as  a  sculptor.  T  trust  there  will  be  no 
amendment  offered. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  There  is  too  much  conversation  in  the 
Chamber  [rapping  with  his  gavel]. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  merely  was  appealing  to  my  friend,  the  Senator 
from  Indiana,  not  to  offer  any  amendment  to  this  bill.  It  is  no  more 
than  justice  to  the  very  eminent  men,  the  living  as  well  as  the  dead, 
to  both  the  person  to  whom  we  propose  to  erect  the  monument  and 
the  artist  whom  it  is  proposed  to  employ,  and  the  sum  offered  is  a 
very  small  one  indeed. 

Mr.  VOORHEES.  It  is  difficult  for  me  to  withstand  an  appeal  or 
request  preferred  by  the  Senator  from  Vermont,  but  I  am  satisfied 
that  tho  bill  ought  to  be  amended  so  as  to  allow  competition. 

Mr.  MORRILL.   I  hope  not. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  Does  the  Senator  from  Indiana  move 
an  amendment? 

Mr.  VOORHEES.  I  have  not  done  so. 

The  bill  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment  and  passed. 

The  title  was  amended  so  as  to  read:  "A  bill  for  the  erection  of  a 
bronze  statue  of  Joseph  Henry,  late  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution." 


FOBTY-SIXTH    CONGKESS,   1879-1881.  823 

May  24,  1880—  House. 

objectio^011  °f   Ml*'   CLYMEK'   biU  C°n8idered  and  I*»ed  without 
June  1,  1880. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
be,  and  are  hereby,  authorized  to  contract  with  W.  W.  Story  sculptor 
for  a  statue  in  bronze  of  Joseph  Henry,  late  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  to  be  erected  upon  the  grounds  of  said  Institution- 
and  for  this  purpose,  and  for  the  entire  expense  of  the  foundation  and 
pedestal  of  the  monument,  the  sum  of  $15,000  is  hereby  appropriated 
out  of  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated 

(Stat.,  XXI,  154.) 

JOSEPH    HENRY—  PORTRAIT   FOR  THE    INSTITUTION. 
February  24,  1880—  Senate. 

Mr.  A.  H.  GARLAND  offered  a  resolution  that  the  Committee  on  the 
Library  be  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  and  propriety  of 
securing  an  accurate  likeness  of  Prof.  Joseph  Henry,  late  Secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  the  same  in 
the  Institution.  * 

Agreed  to. 

LAND   OFFICE   MUSEUM. 
May  10,  1879—  House. 

Mr.  O.  D.  CONGER  introduced  a  bill  (H.  1845)  making  compen- 
sation to  Mrs.  Joseph  S.  Wilson,  widow  of  the  late  Joseph  S.  Wilson, 
for  collecting  the  scientific  museum  for  the  Public  Land  Office  .* 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 


EXPOSITIONS. 

Sydney  and  Melbourne 


June  10,  1879. 

Joint  resolution  No.  4  provided  for  participation  by  the  United 
States  in  an  international  exhibition  "of  products,  manufactures,  and 
arts,"  at  Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  and  Melbourne,  Victoria,  in  1879 
and  1880,  and  appropriated  $20,000  to  be  expended  "  in  the  discretion 
of  the  Secretary  of  State." 

(Stat.,  XXI,  49.) 
June  16,  1880. 

In  the  deficiency  act  for  1880,  etc.  ,  the  Secretary  of  State  was  allowed 
the  sum  of  $8,000  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  international 
exhibition  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  Government  at  Melbourne, 
Australia,  in  addition  to  the  sum  already  appropriated. 

(Stat,  XXI,  239.) 

1  See  p.  811. 


824  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition. 
June  20,  1879. 

Joint  resolution  No.  10  approved  to  print  and  bind  5,000  final 
reports  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  upon  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  of  1876,  1,000  for  Senate,  3,000  for  the  House, 
500  for  State  Department,  and  500  for  the  Centennial  Commission. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  50.) 
June  27,  1879. 

Appropriation  made  by  joint  resolution  for  the  purchase  from  the 
Centennial  Board  of  Finance  of  the  stereotype  plates  of  the  final 
reports  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission,  $8,600,  the 
plates  and  copyright,  duly  assigned,  to  be  delivered  to  the  Public 
Printer. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  53.) 
June  16,  1880. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1881. 

For  the  preparation  of  an  index  to  the  Official  Reports  of  the  Cen- 
tennial Exhibition,  now  in  press,  $300,  to  be  expended  under  the 
direction  of  the  Public  Printer. 

(Stat,  XXI,  281.) 
March  3,  1881. 

Deficiency  act  for  1881,  etc. 

For  international  exhibition  of  1876,  $1.19. 
(Stat.,  XXI,  428.) 

Berlin  Fishery  Exposition. 

January  15,  1880— House. 

Mr.  P.  V.  DUESTER  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (H.  170).     Referred 
to  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs. 
January  29,  1880 — House. 

Mr.  L.  P.  MORTON  reported.     Referred  to  Committee  of  Whole. 
February  4,  1880— House. 

Passed. 
February  10,  1880— Senate. 

Passed. 

February  16,  1880. 

Joint  resolution. 

Whereas  all  civilized  nations  take  part  in  the  International  Fishery  Exhibition  to 
be  held  in  the  city  of  Berlin,  Germany,  in  April,  1880,  it  is  deemed  both  right  and 
expedient  that  the  prominent  and  effective  action  of  the  United  States  in  the  line  of 
the  artificial  propagation  of  fish  and  the  stocking  of  depleted  fishing  waters  should 
be  conspicuously  and  well  exhibited  on  the  occasion:  Therefore, 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  to  enable  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries 
to  exhibit  America  in  Berlin,  in  April,  r880,  a  fair  and  full  collection  of  the  different 
specimens  of  American  food-fishes,  casts  thereof,  models  of,  and  implements,  etc., 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS.  1879-1881.  825 

used  in  the  prosecution  of  American  fisheries,  the  sum  of  $20,000  is  hereby  appro- 
priated, out  of  any  moneys  not  otherwise  appropriated  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  purpose,  tb  be  immediately 
available  on  the  passage  of  this  resolution,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the 
Secretary  of  State. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  be,  and  is 
hereby,  authorized  to  represent  the  United  States,  either  in  person  or  by  a  deputy 
to  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and  that,  at  his  discretion,  he 
may  use  any  portion  of  the  collections  at  present  forming  part  of  the  National 
Museum  in  making  up  the  proposed  exhibition  by  the  United  States. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  be,  and  is 
hereby,  instructed  to  present  to  Congress,  through  the  Department  of  State,  a  report 
upon  the  Berlin  exhibition,  showing  the  recent  progress  and  present  condition  of  the 
fisheries  and  of  fish-culture  in  foreign  countries. 

(Stat,  XXI,  301.) 

Berlin  Fishery  Exposition — Baird  prize. 

December  17,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS  introduced  a  bill  (S.  1928)  to  provide  for 
remitting  the  duties  on  the  object  of  art  awarded  by  the  Berlin  Inter- 
national Fishery  Commission  to  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird. 

Mr.  EDMUNDS.  I  move  that  the  bill  be  referred,  as  usual  in  such 
cases,  to  the  Committee  on  Finance;  but  I  wish  to  say  (I  think  it  is 
perhaps  to  the  public  interest  that  1  should  say)  what  the  circum- 
stances were,  for  usually  I  am  rather  opposed  to  remitting  dutias. 

At  this  great  international  exhibition,  although  Professor  Baird 
was  not  personally  present,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  juries  Pro- 
fessor Baird  was  personally  awarded  the  highest  prize  of  honor,  con- 
sisting of  an  object  of  art,  made  of  silver,  I  believe,  which  had  been 
given  by  the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  King  of  Prussia  to  the  exhi- 
bition beforehand,  as  several  other  objects  were  given,  to  be  awarded, 
according  to  their  discretion,  by  the  juries  to  the  most  deserving  per- 
sons. Professor  Baird,  so  well  known  in  this  country,  as  I  say, 
received  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  great  juries  of  the  exhibition  as 
being  best  entitled  of  all  the  people  of  the  civilized  world  to  this 
great  honor. 

A  great  many  other  prizes  and  premiums  were  awarded;  -but  in 
respect  of  three  or  four  of  these  objects  they  were  called  prizes  of 
honor.  This  particular  prize  has  been  sent  to  this  country,  so  well 
deserved,  as  I  think  it  is,  and  under  the  circumstances  it  appears  to  me 
that  it  would  be  right  that  the  United  States  should  allow  the  Pro- 
fessor to  receive  it  without  being  applied  to  to  pay  a  tax  upon  it, 
inasmuch  as  I  think  his  service  to  the  United  States  entitles  him  to 
that  consideration. 

In  this  connection,  Mr.  President,  I  beg  to  have  read  a  letter  to  me 
from  Mr.  Goode,  who  had  charge  of  our  interests  at  the  exhibition, 
if  it  is  agreeable  to  the  Senate. 


826  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  VICK-PKKSIDKXT  (Mr.  W.  A.  WHEELKR).  The  letter  will  be  read. 
The  CHIEF  CLERK  read  as  follows: 

U.  S.  COMMISSION  OF  FISH  AND  FISHERIES, 
INTERNATIONALE  FISCHEREI-ACSSTELLUNG  IN  BERLIN, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  December  14, 1880. 

SIR:  I  t>eg  leave  to  submit  the  following  memoranda  in  regard  to  the  distribution 
of  the  prizes  at  the  close  of  the  International  Fishery  Exhibition  in  Berlin,  and 
especially  with  reference  to  the  award  of  the  first  honor  prize  to  Prof.  Spencer  F. 
Baird,  C.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries. 

The  ceremony  of  awarding  the  prizes  took  place  in  the  great  hall  ot  the  exhibi- 
tion building  on  the  20th  of  June,  1880.  His  Excellency  Dr.  Lucius,  minister  of 
agriculture,  in  an  opening  address,  stated  to  the  Crown  Prince  of  Germany,  who  was 
present  as  the  protector  of  the  exhibition,  the  object  of  the  gathering.  The  list  of 
prizes  was  then  read  by  the  director  of  the  exhibition,  Ministerial  Director  Marcard, 
from  the  printed  catalogue,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  inclosed  (Verzeichniss  der 
gelegentlich  der  Internationalen  Fischerei-Ausstellung  zu  Berlin,  1880,  Zuerkannten 
Auszeichnungen).  After  the  reading  he  turned  to  the  protector  of  the  exhibition 
and  received  from  him  an  approval  of  the  awards  upon  the  schedule.  A  list  of  the 
prizes  received  by  American  exhibitors  is  appended  to  this  letter.  An  examination 
will  show  that  the  highest  award,  an  address  of  thanks  signed  by  His  Imperial  High- 
ness the  Crown  Prince,  was  awarded  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States;  that 
distinguished  awards,  consisting  of  gold  medals,  with  special  diplomas  of  honor, 
were  assigned  to  the  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  and  the  U.  S.  Coast 
Survey  for  their  collective  exhibits,  while  the  Fish  Commission  also  received  gold 
medals  in  class  1  and  class  6  for  special  exhibits,  and  the  U.  S.  Hydrographic  Office 
and  the  U.  S.  Engineer  Bureau  received  honorable  mention  for  collective  exhibits  of 
charts.  In  the  various  classes  special  exhibitors  in  the  United  States  section  car- 
ried away  a  full  quota  of  gold,  silver,  and  bronze  medals.  The  number  may  be 
tabulated  as  follows:  Gold  medals,  11;  silver  medals,  22;  bronze  medals,  15;  honor- 
able mention,  16.  It  should  be  stated  that  a  much  larger  number  of  medals  would 
have  been  received  by  the  United  States  but  for  the  fact  that  a  very  large  part  of 
the  display  in  this  section  was  collective,  and  only  such  articles  as  had  been  con- 
tributed directly  by  the  exhibitors  were  entered  for  special  competition.  Exhibits, 
however  meritorious,  which  had  been  purchased  with  funds  derived  from  the 
appropriation,  were  entered  as  a  part  of  the  general  display  of  the  Government,  and, 
according  to  the  policy  which  had  been  previously  decided  upon,  the  Commissioner 
refused  to  receive  separate  awards  for  them.  The  gold  medal  with  special  honorary 
diploma,  already  mentioned  as  awarded  to  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission,  was  intended 
as  a  recognition  of  all  exhibits  of  this  description. 

There  were  thirteen  grand  prizes  of  honor,  a  list  of  which  and  the  names  of  their 
recipients  are. herewith  presented.  The  highest,  the  grand  prize,  the  gift  of  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  and  King  of  Prussia,  was  awarded  to  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird, 
U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fisheries.  At  the  meeting  of  the  grand  jury,  at  which  the 
disposition  of  these  prizes  was  decided  upon,  it  was  first  proposed  that  this  prize 
should  be  assigned  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  This  proposition  was 
voted  down,  and  it  was  agreed  that  it  should  be  given  to  Professor  Baird,  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  efforts  as  the  official  head  of  the  American  department  and  especially  of 
his  personal  attainments  and  services  as  a  scientific  investigator  of  the  fisheries,  and 
as  a  fish-culturist.  In  a  speech  made  on  another  occasion,  Chamberlain  Behr,  presi- 
dent of  the  Deutsche  Fischerei  Verein,  stated  that  Professor  Baird  was  recognized 
throughout  Europe  as  the  first  fish-culturist  of  the  world.  As  will  be  seen  by  refer- 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  827 

ence  to  the  prize  list,  this  prize  was  awarded  in  exactly  the  same  manner  a.«  ..thorn 
of  less  importance  to  various  exhibitors  of  apparatus  and  fishery  pnxlurt-. 
Very  respectfully,. 

G.  BROWN  GOODS,  Deputy  Commissioner. 
Hon.  GEOKGE  K   EDMUNDS. 

December  21,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL,  from  Committee  on  Finance,  reported  hack 
favorably  S.  1928.  Passed. 

February  15,  1881— House. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  J.  G.  CARLISLE,  S.  1928  was  passed. 
February  21,  1881. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and  he  hereby  is, 
directed  to  remit  the  customs  duties  chargeable  upon  the  object  of  art  given  by  His 
Majesty  the  German  Emperor  and  King  of  Prussia  to  the  Berlin  International 
Fishery  Exhibition,  and  by  it  awarded  as  the  first  grand  prize  of  honor  to  Professor 
Spencer  F.  Baird,  at  the  exhibition  held  in  the  city  of  Berlin,  Prussia,  in  the  month 
of  June,  1880. 

(Stat,  XXI,  608.) 

Philadelphia  Sheep  and  Wool  Exposition. 
April  1,  1880. 

Act  was  approved  providing  for  the  participation  by  the  Government 
in  the  International  Sheep  and  Wool  Show  at  Philadelphia,  September, 
1880,  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  to  attend  in  person  or  by 
deputy  and  to  make  a  full  and  complete  report  of  the  same. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  70.) 

June  16,  1880. 

Agricultural  Department  act  for  1881. 

For  the  purpose  of  testing  by  scientific  examination  the  textile 
strength,  felting  capacity,  and  other  peculiarities  of  the  different 
wools  and  animal  fibers  on  exhibition  at  the  International  Sheep  and 
Wool  Exposition  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia,  in  1880,  $4,000. 

(Stat,  XXI,  295.) 
March  3,  1881. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
provided  for  testing  the  textile  strength,  felting  capacity,  and  other 
peculiarities  of  the  different  wools  and  animal  fibers  collected  at  the 
Philadelphia  International  Exhibition  of  Sheep  and  Wool  Products, 
$5,000,  including  $5dO  to  John  L.  Hayes  for  his  report  on  Sheep 
Husbandry  in  the  South,  published  by  resolution  of  Congress. 

(Stat,  XXI,  384.) 

New  York  Exposition. 
April  23,  1880. 

Act  was  approved  to  provide  for  celebrating  the  one  hundredt 
anniversary  of  the  treaty  of  peace  and  the  recognition  of  American 
independence,  by  holding  an  international  exposition  of  arts,  manu- 
factures, and  the  products  of  the  soil  and  mine  in  the  city  of  New  York 
in  1883.  - 


828  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

A  commission  was  appointed  with  authority  to  issue  stock  for 
$12,000,000.  Not  less  than  $1,000,000  was  to  be  subscribed  and  not 
less  than  10  per  cent  paid  in  before  said  corporation  could  do  any 
corporate  act  other  than  organize. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  77.) 

March  1,  1881. 

Joint  resolution. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  whenever  the  President  shall  deem  the  preparations  which 
shall  have  l>een  made  therefor  adequate  he  is  herehy  authorized  and  requested, 
in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  to  invite  all  foreign  governments  to  be  represented 
at  and  take  part  in  the  international  exhibition  of  arts,  manufactures,  and  products 
of  the  soil  and  mine  to  be  held  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States  Interna- 
tional Commission  at  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  in  the  year 
1883:  Provided,  however,  That  the  United  States  shall  not  be  liable,  directly  or 
indirectly,  for  any  of  the  expenses  attending  such  exhibition,  or  by  reason  of  the 
invitation  hereby  authorized. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  520.) 

NATIONAL    MUSEUM TRANSPORTATION. 

July  1,  1879. 

GENERAL  ORDERS,  \  HEADQUARTERS  or  THE  ARMY, 

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

No.  65.  )  Washington. 

By  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  War: 

The  Quartermaster's  Department  is  authorized  to  receive  from  par- 
ties living  at  or  near  military  posts  any  articles  intended  for  the 
National  Museum,  and  forward  them  to  Washington,  under  the  regu- 
lations governing  transportation  of  military  property,  and  on  the  same 
forms  of  bills  of  lading.  The  packages  to  be  marked,  "National 
Museum,  care  Depot  Quartermaster,  Washington,  D.  C.,"  and  settle- 
ment to  be  made  by  the  Quartermaster's  Department. 
By  command  of  General  Sherman: 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 
Adjutant-  General. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — USE    OF    BUILDING. 

February  9,  1880— House. 

Mr.  A.  M.  BLISS  introduced  a  joint  resolution: 

That  the  use  of  the' new  National  Museum  building,  now  in  process  of  erection,  be 
granted  to  the  Democratic  National  Convention  of  1880,  under  regulations  to  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
February  28,  1881— House. 

Mr.  PHILIP  COOK  presented  House  concurrent  resolution: 

That  permission  is  granted  to  the  Washington  Light  Infantry  Corps  of  the  District 
of  Columbia  to  use  the  Museum  building  on  Monday  evening,,  the  7th  of  March,  1881, 
provided  that  no  expense  shall  be  thereby  incurred  to  the  United  States. 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  Xi><) 

Mr.  OMAR  D.  CONGER.  Let  that  lie  over  a  day. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  desires  to  state  that  a  committee  of  the" 
company  called  upon  him  in  respect  to  this  matter.  Their  object  is  to 
give  a  public  reception  to  the  visiting  military  companies  from  abroad 
who  are  expected  to  be  here  at  the  inauguration.  It  is  represented 
that  there  is  no  other  place  in  the  city  large  enough  for  the  purpose 
of  such  a  reception,  and  this  request  is  made  in  consequence  thereof. 

Mr.  CONGER.  I  withdraw  the  objection. 

Adopted. 

March  1,  1881— Senate. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR.  I  rise  to  ask  unanimous  consent  that  the 
resolution  just  sent  over  from  the  House  [adopted  February  28,  1881] 
relating  to  the  use  of  a  certain  public  building  for  the  inauguration 
ceremonies  may  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings 
and  Grounds. 

Mr.  JOHN  A.  LOGAN.  With  that  reference  I  ask  to  have  referred 
an  amendment  to  strike  out  the  words  "Light  Infantry  of  the  District 
of  Columbia"  and  insert  ''military  organizations  of  the  District  of 
Columbia;"  and  I  hope  the  committee  will  give  it  consideration. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.  A.  G.  THURMAN).  The  Chair  will  lay 
before  the  Senate  the  concurrent  resolution  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

The  resolution  was  read,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  permission  is  granted  to  the  Washington  Light  Infantry  Corps  • 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  to  use  the  Museum  building  on  Monday  evening,  the  7th 
of  March,  1881,  provided  that  no  expense  shall  be  thereby  incurred  to  the  United 


The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Senator  from  Massachusetts  moves 
the  reference  of  the  resolution  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings 
and  Grounds,  and  tHe  Senator  from  Illinois  proposes  an  amendment 
which  he  asks  to  be  referred  with  it.  Is  there  objection  ?  The  Chair 
hears  none,  and  it  is  so  ordered. 

March  2,  1881— Senate. 
Reported  adversely  and  Committee  discharged  from  consideration. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM— SUNDAY   AND   NIGHT   OPENING. 

May  17,  1880— House. 

Mr.  SAMUEL  S.  Cox  presented  petition  of  1,000  citizens  "that  Con- 
gress give  the  laboring  classes,  who  are  employed  six  days  in^the 
week,  an  opportunity  for  mental  improvement  by  opening  the  Con- 
gressional Library,  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  Medical  Museum 
on  Sundays  and  at  night."  Referred  to  Committee  on  Library. 


830  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

NATIONAL  MUSEUM  BUILDING.      . 

June  10,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  G.  ELAINE.  I  want  the  attention  of  the  honorable  Senator 
from  Kentucky  [Mr.  James  B.  Beck]  to  an  amendment  I  am  going  to 
offer,  because  I  appeal  to  him  to  give  it  his  support,  much  as  he  thinks 
the  bill  may  be  weighted. 

The  building  now  going  up  known  as  the  National  Museum  build- 
ing is  one  which  has  been  constructed  at  unusually  small  expense, 
especially  so  for  a  Government  building.  They  set  out  to  build  it  for 
$250,000.  It  is  a  very  large  building  in  area,  as  all  Senators  who 
have  visited  it  know.  They  are  finishing  it  with  a  common  concrete 
floor,  just  such  as  you  have  on  the  street  to  drive  on.  The  floor  that 
is  now  designed  and  that  they  must  adopt  if  kept  within  the  appro- 
priation which  is  now  granted  them  will  be  a  simple  ordinary  rough 
concrete  floor  on  which  they  propose  to  put  strips  of  boards  for  walk- 
ing. I  think  that  would  be  a  great  disfigurement  to  a  building  which 
will  be  greatly  visited,  which  will  be  an  object  and  center  of  interest 
to  all  the  visitors  to  Washington  and  to  the  whole  people  of  the 
country.  I  think  the  beauty  of  the  building,  the  beautiful  design  for 
which  it  is  intended,  and  all  connected  with  it  deserve  at  least  that 
there  should  be  a  good  floor  in  it. 

I  had  a  conference  with  the  chairman  of  the  commission  who  are 
building  it,  and  they  would  be  very  glad,  if  they  had  the  money,  to 
put  in  that  building  a  marble-tile  floor.  I  appeal  to  every  Senator, 
before  it  is  too  late,  not  to  disfigure  that  fine  building  by  making  the 
floor  there  nothing  more  than  the  common  street  way  that  leads  up  to 
it.  It  will  require  to  put  a  marble-tile  floor  in  that  building  $25,000, 
and  I  appeal  to  the  honorable  Senator  from  Kentucky  to  allow  it  to 
be  done.  At  all  events  I  shall  offer  the  amendment.  It  is  a  matter 
in  which  no  one  Senator  has  a  particle  more  interest  than  another 
Senator.  It  is  a  matter  that  concerns  the  utility  and  in  a  very  high 
degree  the  beauty  and  comfort  of  a  great  national  building. 

Therefore  I  offer  the  amendment  to  come  in  after  line  1005,  under 
the  heading  of  "  National  Museum."  I  have  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Cluss, 
the  superintendent  architect,  in  my  hand,  that  it  will  require  $25,000 
to  put  down  a  marble-tile  floor  bedded  in  hydraulic  cement. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.  A.  G,  THURMAN).  The  Secretary  will 
report  the  amendment. 

The  CHIEF  CLERK.  It  is  proposed,  after  line  1005,  to  insert:  For 
laying  of  marble-tile  floor  bedded  in  hydraulic  cement,  $25,000. 

Mr.  J.  B.  BECK.  I  shall  raise  the  question  of  order  that  that  is  not 
in  order,  not  estimated  for,  not  reported  by  any  committee,  and  not 
sent  to  the  Committee  on  Appropriations.  Professor  Baird  has  been 
before  us  and  we  have  given  him  eveiy  dollar  that  he  has  asked  in 
every  form  on  that  building,  and  he  never  even  suggested  this  to  us. 


FOKTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  831 

Mr.  ELAINE.  He  did  not  suggest  it  because  there  was  a  sort  of 
implied  contract  that  the  building  was  to  be  put  up  for  just  this  lim- 
ited amount.  It  was  stated,  possibly  a  little  boastfully,  that  it  could 
be  done  for  that  amount.  I  do  not  think  the  point  of  order  would 
apply  to  the  amendment.  It  is*  an  item  under  a  head  for  which  appro- 
priations are  made  in  the  bill,  and  they  may  be  made  more  or  less.  I 
think  it  ought  to  be  left  to  the  Senate  to  decide  that. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Chair  will  submit  the  question  of 
order  to  the  Senate. 

Mr.  H.  G.  DAVIS,  of  West  Virginia.  I  hope  the  Chair  will  hear  mi- 
one  moment. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  Chair  to  submit 
the  question  of  order  that  it  may  be  debated. 

Mr.  DAVIS,  of  West  Virginia.  There  can  not  be  any  question  about 
the  amendment  being  out  of  order,  and  I  hope  the  Chair  is  not  in 
doubt  about  it.  It  is  out  of  order,  I  understand,  for  three  reasons: 
First,  it  is  not  estimated  for;  second,  the  Committee  on  Appropria- 
tions did  not  receive  the  one  day's  notice  which  is  required  of  any 
amendment  going  upon  this  bill;  and  in  the  third  place,  as  I  under- 
stand, it  comes  from  no  standing  committee.  For  each  of  these 
three  reasons  it  is  out  of  order. 

Mr.  BLAINE.  I  hoped  I  might  have  unanimous  consent. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  before  the  Senate  is,  Is  the 
amendment  offered  by  the  Senator  from  Maine  in  order  ? 

Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY.  I  am  in  favor  of  this  amendment,  but  I  can 
not  imitate  the  example  so  often  set  bv  Senators  of  voting  upon 
parliamentary  questions  with  reference  to  the  merit  of  the  proposition 
upon  which  the  question  of  order  is  raised.  I  think  it  is  out  of  order, 
although  I  am  in  favor  of  the  amendment. 

Mr.  BLAINE.  The  only  reason  for  my  urgency  about  it  is  that  it  is 
just  one  of  those  things  that  must  be  done  now  or  it  is  too  late.  .  They 
will  go  on  making  this  floor,  and  if  we  ever  attempt  afterwards  to 
change  it,  all  that  will  have  to  be  undone.  Indeed,  I  am  sure  that 
next  autumn  when  Congress  reassembles  they  will  see  how  unfit  it  is 
to  use  a  mere  stable  floor,  a  mere  barn  yard  floor.  There  is  not  a 
modern  stable  in  this  city,  there  is  not  what  would  be  called  a  decent 
and  comfortable  stable  built  in  this  city,  that  will  not  have  a  floor  as 
carefully  made  as  the  present  estimate  will  give  to  the  National 
Museum. 

Mr.  BECK.  I  have  only  to  add  in  explanation  that  Professor  Baird 
has  conducted  this  building  with  great  care.  We  have  great  confi- 
dence in  him.  He  has  never  asked  us  for  anything  that  we  have  not 
given  him.  We  have  added  to  the  appropriation  for  the  National 
Museum  $5,000  for  heating  apparatus,  $12,500  for  water  and  gas  fix- 
tures, and  for  the  construction  of  relieving  sewer  and  other  things. 


832  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

We  have  adopted  every  suggestion  he  has  made,  and  he  is  entirely 
content,  so  far  as  we  know,  with  the  building  as  it  is. 

Mr.  ELAINE.  I  do  not  say  that  I  know  anything,  but  I  should  be 
very  glad  to  have  the  question  referred  to  Prof.  Spencer  Baird  as  to 
what  he  thinks  is  the  proper  thing  to  be  done. 

Mr.  BECK.  I  have  stated  what  he  said  before  the  committee. 

Mr.  BLAINE.  Upon  further  reflection,  and  realizing  myself  that  the 
amendment  is  not  in  order — I  hoped  that  I  might  get  the  consent  of 
the  gentlemen  who  are  in  charge  of  the  bill — I  will  withdraw  it,  and 
I  give  notice  to  the  Senate  that  on  the  general  deficiency  bill  I  will 
ask  the  judgment  of  the  Senate  upon  this  amendment. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  If  there  is  no  objection  the  amendment 
will  be  withdrawn. 
December  10,  1880— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  SAMUEL  J.  RANDALL)  laid  before  the  House  a 
letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  dated  Decem- 
ber 9,  1880. 

1  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  new  National  Museum  building,  for  the 
erection  of  which  Congress  appropriated  $250,000,  has  been  substantially  and  satis- 
factorily completed  with  the  exception  of  the  floors  of  the  main  halls.  These  origi- 
nal estimates  provided  for  floors  of  concrete  and  cement.  So  many  remonstrances, 
however,  have  been  made  against  the  use  of  this  material,  instead  of  marble  or  tile 
for  the  flooring,  as  not  being  in  accordance  with  the  architectural  beauty  and  design 
of  the  building,  that  at  a  called  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  on  the  8th  instant,  the  subject  was  considered  and  the  following  resolu- 
tion adopted: 

Resolved,  That  for  the  purpose  of  substituting  a  marble  or  tile  flooring  instead  of 
concrete  as  originally  designed,  for  the  large  halls  in  the  National  Museum,  an 
appropriation  of  $25,000  be  requested  o'f  Congress,  to  be  expended  according  to  the 
plans  and  under  the  direction  of  the  building  commission  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  under  whose  supervision  the  Museum  has  been 
constructed. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 
January  31,  1881— House. 

.Mr.  JOSEPH  C.  S.  BLACKBURN.  With  the  consent  of  the  gentleman 
from  Indiana  [Mr.  Cobb]  I  will  report  from  the  Committee  on  Appro- 
priations a  bill  which  should  be  passed  now. 

Mr.  T.  R.  COBB.  I  will  yield  for  that  purpose. 

Mr.  BLACKBURN,  from  the  Committee  on  Appropriations,  reported 
a  bill  (H.  7098)  making  an  appropriation  for  the  flooring  of  the 
National  Museum;  which  was  read  a  first  and  second  time,  referred  to 
the  Committee  of  the  Whole,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  AMOS  TOWNSEND.  I  ask  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  [Mr. 
Blackburn]  to  yield  to  me  for  a  moment. 

Mr.  BLACKBURN.  I  am  a  trespasser  upon  the  floor  myself,  with  the 
courtesy  of  the  gentleman  from  Indiana  [Mr.  Cobb].  I  move  that  the 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,  1879-1881.  833 

House  now  resolve  itself  into  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  state  of 
the  Union  to  consider  the  bill  just  reported  by  me  from  the  Com- 
mittee on  Appropriations. 

Agreed  to,  and  the  House  accordingly  resolved  itself  into  Committee 
of  the  Whole,  Mr.  SIMONTON  in  the  chair. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  House  is  now  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  for 
the  purpose  of  considering  the  bill  (H.  7098)  making  an  appropriation 
for  the  flooring  of  the  National  Museum.  The  bill  will  now  be  read. 

The  bill  was  read.  It  appropriated  the  sum  of  $26,000,  or  so  much 
thereof  as  might  be  necessary,  to  place  a  flooring  of  marble  or 
encaustic  tiles  in  the  large  halls  of  the  National  Museum  building,  to 
be  expended  according  to  the  plan  and  under  the  direction  of  the 
building  commission  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  under  whose  supervision  the  Museum  had  been  constructed. 

Mr.  BLACKBURN.  I  will  state  that  this  National  Museum  building  is 
now  about  completed,  and  it  is  simply  a  question  whether  the  matter 
of  flooring  shall  be  according  to  the  original  plan,  of  asphalt  or  con- 
crete, or  whether  a  change  should  be  made  in  the  plan  so  far  as  to 
substitute  a  marble  or  tile  flooring.  The  concrete  pavement  would 
cost  about  $9,000.  The  cost  of  the  encaustic  tile  or  marble  pavement 
will  be  not  to  exceed  $25,000.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  letter  from  Pro- 
fessor Baird,  which  is  indorsed  unanimously  by  the  Board  of  Regents, 
recommending  that  an  appropriation  of  $26,000  be  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  flooring  the  main  halls  of  the  National  Museum  building  with 
marble  or  tiling.  It  is  indorsed,  I  believe,  by  every  member  on  the 
Committee  on  Appropriations.  Unless  some  member  desires  it,  I  will 
not  ask  to  have  the  letter  read- 

Mr.  J.  R.  HAWLET.  Let  it  be  printed  in  the  Record  as  a  part  of  your 
remarks. 

Mr.  BLACKBURN.  I  will  make  that  request. 

There  was  no  objection,  and  it  was  so  ordered. 

Mr.  BLACKBURN.  If  no  one  desires  to  move  an  amendment  to  the 
bill,  I  will  move  that  the  committee  now  rise  and  report  it  favorably 
to  the  House. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to.     Reported  and  passed. 
February  4,  1881— Senate. 

Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL.  I  am  directed  by  the  Committee  on  Pub- 
lic Buildings  and  Grounds,  to  whom  was  referred  the  bill  (H.  7098) 
making  an  appropriation  for  the  flooring  of  the  National  Museum,  to 
report  it  without  amendment.  The  bill  has  already  passed  the  House, 
and  I  desire  that  it  may  be  read,  and  I  ask  for  its  immediate  con- 
sideration. 

Mr.  HENRY  G.  DAVIS,  of  West  Virginia.  Let  the  bill  be  read  for 
information. 

The  CHIEF  CLERK  read  the  bill. 
H.  Doc.  732 53 


834  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  will  say  that  this  bill  should  have  been  considered 
yesterday.  It  is  important  to  have  its  immediate  consideration, 
because,  although  the  sum  appropriated  is  no  more  than  will  be 
required  for  putting  tiles  in  the  Museum,  it  is  thought  to  be  exceed- 
ingly desirable  that  the  bill  should  pass  now,  in  order  that  a  certain 
portion  of  the  building  may  be  available  for  the  4th  of  March. 

Mr.  DAVIS,  of  West  Virginia.  I  recognize  the  necessity  for  imme- 
diate action,  and  therefore  do  not  object;  but  I  should  like  to  ask  the 
Senator  if  this  appropriation  covers  the  entire  expense  for  tiling  the 
Museum  ? 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  so  understand  it. 

By  unanimous  consent,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
proceeded  to  consider  the  bill. 

Mr.  DAVIS,  of  West  Virginia.  I  notice  from  the  reading  of  the  bill 
that  it  provides  for  only  one  room,  which  is  a  large  part  of  the  build- 
ing. I  do  not  know  why  there  should  be  two  parts  of  the  appropria- 
tion. I  ask  the  Senator  how  that  is  ? 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  must  say  that  I  have  not  made  particular  inquiries 
as  to  that.  A  portion  of  the  building,  I  understand,  is  to  be  covered 
with  a  pine  floor  or  concrete.  This  appropriation  is  all  that  is  asked 
for,  and  it  is  all  1  know  anything  about. 

Mr.  EGBERT  E.  WITHERS.  I  will  state  to  the  Senator  from  West 
Virginia,  with  the  permission  of  the  Senator  from  Vermont,  that  this 
is  designed  simply  to  provide  a  paving  for  the  central  hall  of  the 
Museum  building.  Other  portions  of  it  are  to  be  floored  with  plank. 
The  central  building  is  now  completed  with  a  flooring  merely  accord- 
ing to  the  original  plan.  It  is  designed  to  pave  it  with  marble  and 
tiles.  That  is  the  whole  of  it. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  And  if  the  bill  passes  to-day,  I  understand  there  is 
some  chance  for  the  completion  of  the  flooring  in  time  for  the  inaugu- 
ration.    Passed. 
Februarys,  1881. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  the  sum  of  $26,000,  or  so  much  thereof  as 
may  be  necessary  be,  and  the  same  hereby  is,  appropriated  out  of  any 
money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  place  a  flooring 
of  marble  and  encaustic  tiles  in  the  large  halls  of  the  National  Museum 
building,  to  be  expended  according  to  the  plans  and  under  the  direction 
of  the  building  commission  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  under  whose  supervision  the  Museum  has  been  constructed.1 

(Stat.,  XXI,  324.) 

1  Building  commission:  William  T.  Sherman,  Peter  Parker,  and  S.  F.  Baird.  After 
competitive  bids,  marble  tiles  were  furnished  by  Emil  Fritsch  of  New  York,  and 
encaustic  tiles  by  the  United  States  Encaustic  Tile  Company,  of  Indianapolis. 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  835 

STREET   RAILROAD   TO   NATIONAL   MUSEUM. 

December  16.  1880— Senate. 

A  bill  (S.  257)  to  amend  the  act  incorporating  the  Capitol,  North 

0  Street,  and  South  Washington  Railway  Company,  considered. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS.  It  was  suggested  to  me  the  other  day  by 
gentlemen  connected  with  the  National  Museum,  that  in  the  public 
interest  it  might  be  well  to  allow  this  company  to  run  a  track  along  B 
street  south,  which  would  bring  the  public  by  this  cheap  method  of 
transportation  directly  to  the  door  of  the  National  Museum.  As  the 
tracks  are  now,  it  requires  a  walk  of  what  would  amount  probably  to 
two  squares  or  so  from  the  nearest  point  where  the  cars  run  to  reach 
the  Museum. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  P.  WHYTE.  The  subject  of  the  proximity  of  the 
National  Museum  to  this  route  has  been  suggested  and  considered, 
and  I  am  about  to  offer  to  the  amendment  of  the  committee  another 
amendment,  different  in  its  character,  to  take  the  place  of  matter  in 
the  amendment  of  the  committee,  and  with  it  will  have  read  for  the 
information  of  the  Senate  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  Mr.  Baird,  upon  the  subject,  and  I  think  it  will  be 

satisfactory. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  May  21,  1880. 
SIR:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  20th  instant,  and  in  reply  beg  to  say  that 

1  would  earnestly  commend  to  the  favorable  attention  of  the  proper  authorities  the 
proposed  plan  of  extension  of  your  line  of  street  railway.     Passing  along  Fourteenth 
to  B  street  South,  the  line  would  accommodate  visitors  to  and  employees  of  the 
United  States  carp  ponds,  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing,  the  Washington 
Monument,  the  Agricultural  Department,  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the  new 
National  Museum  building.     One  of  the  principal  entrances  of  the  last-mentioned 
establishment  will  be  on  B  street,  the  entire  north  side  of  which  belongs  to  the  Gen- 
eral Government. 

Although  B  street  is  not  among  the  widest  streets  of  the  city,  ample  room  would 
be  left  for  a  railroad  were  a  single  railway  track  laid  near  its  north  curb.  There 
could  be  sidings  or  turnouts  at  Ninth  or  Twelfth  street. 

Very  respectfully,  SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary. 

CHARLES  WHITE,  Esq., 

President  of  the  Columbia,  North  0  Street 

and  South  Washington  Railway  Company. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — ESTIMATES. 

December  1,  1879 — House. 

Estimates  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1881,  through  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
collections  of  geology,  mineralogy,  natural  history,  ethnology,  tech- 
nology, etc.,  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and  those  presented  to 


836  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

the  Government  at  the  Centennial  in  1876,  to  be  immediately  availa- 
ble, $75,000. 

For  steam-heating  apparatus  and  fuel  for  new  National  Museum 
building,  to  be  immediately  available,  $20,000. 

For  water  and  gas  fixtures  and  electrical  apparatus  for  new  National 
Museum  building,  to  be  immediately  available,  $10,000. 

For  the  preservation  and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying  and 
exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  and  the  objects  presented 
to  the  United  States  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  1876,  $50,000. 

Preservation  of  collections,  Armory  building:  For  watching,  care, 
and  storage  of  articles  belonging  to  the  United  States,  including  those 
from  the  Centennial,  and  transfer  to  the  new  National  Museum,  $2,500. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

September  23,  1879. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  the  estimates  for  the  National  Museum 
in  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1881, 
with  the  following  explanations: 

The  appropriations  made  by  Congress  for  the  ' '  Preservation  and  care  of  the  col- 
lections and  the  distribution  of  duplicates  "  for  1878-79  were  $23,000,  and  for  1879-80, 
$28,000. 

These  sums  were  required  for  the  proper  care  and  exhibition  of  the  collections 
then  and  now  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  During  the  coming  year,  however, 
arrangements  must  be  made  for  unpacking,  cleaning,  assorting,  putting  in  order,  and 
exhibiting  the  extensive  and  additional  collections  received  at  the  Centennial  in  1876, 
and  now  stored  in  boxes  in  the  Armory  and  elsewhere. 

Congress  having  made  provision  for  a  new  and  large  building,  covering  nearly  2£ 
acres,  for  the  suitable  exhibition  of  the  mineral  wealth,  the  animal  and  vegetable 
resources,  the  fisheries,  and  the  ethnology  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  for  the 
valuable  donations  made  at  the  Centennial  by  foreign  Governments,  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  have  carried  out  the  law,  proceeded  with  the  erection  of 
the  National  Museum,  and  will  soon  have  it  ready  for  occupancy. 

No  appropriation  having  been  made  for  furniture,  cases,  fixtures,  heating,  light- 
ing, water,  signal,  and  other  arrangements  required  for  the  new  building,  the  accom- 
panying schedule  includes  the  estimates  of  what  is  considered  necessary  for  these 
purposes. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  C.  SCHURZ, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior. 


October  14,  1879. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  circular  of  the  llth 
instant  instructing  me  to  report  to  the  Department  estimates  of  the  amounts  which 
will  be  required  for  postage  and  for  printing  and  binding  for  the  National  Museum 
during  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1881. 

For  postage:  Stamps  are  desired  of  different  values,  to  the  amount  of  $1,000,  as 
in  previous  years. 

For  printing  and  binding:  For  printing  labels,  circulars,  and  blanks  for  the  service 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  837 

of  the  National  Museum,  $2,500.     For  printing  "Bulletins"  and  "Proceedings  of  the 
National  Museum,"  $7,500. 
.  Very  respectfully, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD. 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  C.  SCHURZ, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

February  13,  1880. 

SIB:  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  asking  estimate  for  amounts  of 
foreign  postage  that  will  be  required  by  the  National  Museum  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1881,  and  the.  remainder  of  the  present  fiscal  year,  I  have  to  say, 
$700  for  the  former  and  $300  for  the  latter  period. 
I  am,  very  truly,  yours, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary. 
GEORGE  M.  LOCKWOOD, 

Chief  Clerk,  Department  of  the  Interior. 

May  28,  1880. 

SIR:  In  the  interest  of  the  National  Museum,  I  would  respectfully  submit  to  your 
consideration  the  propriety  of  introducing  the  accompanying  amendments  into  the 
sundry  civil  bill. 

When  the  estimates  for  the  cost  of  the  steam  heating  apparatus  and  that  of 
plumbing  and  gas  fitting  for  the  National  Museum  were  transmitted  last  autumn  to 
the  Treasury  Department  we  had  had  no  carefully  determined  details  of  the  work, 
but  merely  reported  provisionally.  Since  then,  however,  we  have  had  competitive 
offers  from  various  parties  and  find  that  I  underrated  the  amount  and  character  of 
the  material  and  labor  involved. 

The  lowest  estimate  for  the  steam  heating  is  $19,500,  and  this  does  not  include  the 
cost  of  making  and  walling  up  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  brick  trenches. 

A  similar  understatement  exists  in  regard  to  the  plumbing,  gas  fitting,  and  elec- 
trical apparatus. 

I  have  asked  that  the  amount  be  made  immediately  available,  as  the  continuation 
and  completion  of  the  regular  work  on  the  building  awaits  the  receipt  of  this  appro- 
priation. 

The  third  item  is  for  the  relieving  sewer,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  prevent 
the  basement  of  the  new  building  from  being  flooded  by  backwater  during  heavy 
rains.  We  have  found  by  experience  that  the  pipe  already  inserted  is  insufficient, 
and  that  serious  injury  to  the  foundations  and  basement  of  the  building  will' result 
without  this  relief  is  afforded. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIBD. 

Hon.  JAMES  B.  BECK, 

Cliairman  Subcommittee  on  Appropriations,  United  Stolen  Senate. 

Heating  apparatus:  Steam  heating  apparatus  and  fuel  for  new  National  Museum 
building,  $22,500,  to  be  immediately  available. 

Water  and  gas  fixtures:  Water  and  gas  fixtures  and  electric  apparatus  for  new 
National  Museum  building,  $12,500,  to  be  immediately  available. 

For  construction  of  relieving  sewer,  with  the  necessary  manholes  and  traps,  from 
the  new  National  Museum  building  to  the  Seventh  street  sewer,  $1,000. 


838  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

October  7,  1880. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  October  7,  1880. 

Sm:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  circular  of  September 
30,  instructing  me  to  report  to  the  Department  estimates  of  the  amounts  that  will  be 
required  for  postage  and  for  printing  and  binding  for  the  National  Museum  during 
the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1882. 

For  postage:  Stamps  are  desired  of  different  values  to  the  amount  of  $1,000,  as  in 
previous  years. 

For  printing  and  binding:  For  printing  labels,  circulars,  and  blanks  for  the  service 
of  the  National  Museum,  $4,000.  For  printing  "Bulletins"  and  "Proceedings  of  the 
National  Museum,"  $10,000. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  CARL  SCHURZ, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

December  6,  1880 — House. 

Estimates  for  1882. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
collections  of  geology,  mineralogy,  natural  history,  ethnology,  tech- 
nology, etc.,  belonging  to  the  United  States,  $75,000. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  telephonic  and  electrical  service 
for  the  new  Museum  building,  $6,000. 

For  the  preservation  and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying 
and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $55,000. 

Armory  building:    For  watching,  care,  and   storage  of   duplicate 
Government  collections  and  of  property  of  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission, 
Armory  building,  $2,500. 
December  21,  1880. 

NATIONAL  MUSEUM  BUILDING  COMMISSION, 

OFFICE  OF  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  December  21,  1880. 

SIR:     I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  herewith  an  estimate  for  a  deficiency  in  the 
appropriation  for  the  sewer  of  the  National  Museum  building,  and  to  request  that  it 
be  introduced,  if  possible,  into  the  pending  bill. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD. 
Hon.  JOHN  SHERMAN, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

National  Museum  relieving  sewer:  Additional  amount  required  for  running  reliev- 
ing sewer  into  North  B  street  sewer  instead  of  into  Seventh  street  sewer,  $700. 

NOTE. — An  appropriation  of  $1,000  was  made  at  the  last  session  of  Congress  to  con- 
struct a  relieving  sewer  from  the  National  Museum  building  to  Seventh  street.  It  is 
f^und,  however,  that  this  will  not  answer  the  purpose  and  that  the  relieving  sewer 
must  be  carried  into  the  North  B  street  sewer  directly  instead  of  indirectly  by  way 
of  Seventh  street.  The  distance  is  two-thirds  greater  and  the  additional  amount  of 
$700  is  required  to  effect  the  desired  result,  the  sewer  being  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  safety  of  the  new  Museum  building. 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  839 

January  18,  1881.— House. 

Deficiency  estimates  for  1881,  etc.,  from  the  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

National  Museum  relieving  sewer:  Additional  amount  required  for 
running  the  relieving  sewer  of  the  National  Museum  building  into  the 
North  B  street  sewer  instead  of  into  the  Seventh  street  sewer,  $900. 

NOTE. — The  South  B  street  sewer  being  entirely  insufficient  for  the  drainage  of 
the  new  National  Museum  building  and  involving  serious  injury  to  the  foundations 
and  to  the  floors,  an  appropriation  of  $1,000  was  made  at  the  last  session  of  Congress 
for  making  a  connection  with  the  sewer  of  Seventh  street.  A  careful  investigation, 
during  last  summer's  rains,  showed  this  equally  inadequate  to  the  test,  and  the 
appropriation  was  not  expended.  The  alternative  is  to  make  a  sewer  connection 
direct  to  North  B  street,  and  as  the  distance  to  be  traversed  is  nearly  twice  as  great 
as  that  originally  estimated  for,  the  additional  amount  of  $900  is  required. 

Preservation  of  collections,  Smithsonian  Institution:  For  expense  of 
transfer  to  and  arrangement  in  the  new  National  Museum  building  of 
the  collections  of  the  United  States  surveying  and  exploring  expedi- 
tions and  of  the  specimens  presented  to  the  United  States  at  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  of  1876,  $10,000,  being  for  the  service  of  the 
current  fiscal  year. 

To  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  pay  the  commission  not 
to  exceed  three-eighths  of  1  per  cent  for  disbursing  the  appropriations 
made  for  the  construction  of  a  fireproof  building  for  the  National 
Museum,  $1,081.87. 

NOTE. — The  disbursements  referred  to  were  made  under  an  appointment  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  but  a  doubt  having  arisen  as  to  whether  a  commission 
can  be  allowed  on  payments  made  for  this  class  of  public  buildings,  the  question  is 
submitted  for  the  determination  of  Congress. 

(Reference  to  act,  March  3,  1875;  Stat.  XVIII,  p.  415,  sec.  4,  and  Revised  Statutes, 
p.  42,  sec.  255,  and  p.  719,  sees.  3657-3658;  Ex.  Doc.  44.) 

February  23,  1881. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  February  23,  1881. 

SIR:  One  of  the  most  important  of  the  proposed  exhibits  in  the  new  National 
Museum  building  will  be  a  series  illustrating  the  economical  geology  of  North 
America,  to  include  all  the  varieties  of  ores,  of  metals— from  even-  noted  mine  in 
the  United  States;  building  stones;  combustibles— as  coal,  petroleum,  etc.;  and  pot- 
tery earth,  clays,  etc.  These  will  be  supplemented  by  the  very  extensive  collec- 
tions of  foreign  minerals  presented  to  the  United  States  at  the  Philadelphia  Exhibi- 
tion of  1876.  One-fourth,  or  more,  of  the  entire  building,  including  a  space  of  more 
than  25,000  square  feet  of  floor,  will  be  devoted  to  these  series. 

Mr.  George  W.  Hawes,  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  department  of  mineralogy  of 
the  Institution,  has  been  charged  with  the  preparation  of  a  report  upon  the  build- 
ing materials  of  the  United  States.  For  this  purpose  samples  of  building  material 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  have  been  asked  for  and  are  being  gathered,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  very  extensive  collection  already  in  the  Museum. 

The  great  question  in  connection  with  this  subject  is  the  resistance  of  the  building 
material  to  atmospheric  influences  and  to  superincumbent  pressure.     The  former 
qualities  can  be  determined  in  the  laboratory  of  the  National  Museum  by  the  exist- 
ing facilities,  but  the  latter  quality  requires  a  machine  specially  constructec 
purpose. 


840  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

Desirous  of  ascertaining  whether  such  a  machine  was  already  available  in  this  city, 
I  made  inquiry  of  the  various  Departments  and  am  informed  that  there  is  nothing 
extant  which  meets  the  requirements  of  the  case,  and  that  while  the  tensile  strength 
of  iron  and  steel  can  be  readily  ascertained,  there  is  nothing  by  which  the  resistance 
of  pressure  of  stone  and  wood  can  be  determined  with  precision  and  convenience. 

As  the  investigation  of  Dr.  Hawes  will  involve  a  critical  consideration  of  a  vast 
amount  of  material  intended  to  be  used  or  available  for  the  construction  of  public 
buildings  in  the  United  States,  I  would  respectfully  ask  an  appropriation  of  $7,000 
for  the  purpose  in  question,  the  machine  to  be  arranged  in  the  geological  department 
of  the  National  Museum,  and  in  addition  to  its  special  application,  to  be  used  in 
behalf  of  any  applicant  who  shall  forward  samples  of  stone  to  be  tested  of  proper 
sizes. 

The  information  gained  by  a  single  experiment  in  connection  with  selecting  mate- 
rial for  a  public  building  may  be  worth  many  times  the  cost  of  the  machine. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary,  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  H.  G.  DAVIS, 

Chairman  Senate  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

Test  machine:  For  the  construction  of  a  machine  for  determining  the  strength  of 
building  stone  and  wood,  in  connection  with  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum, 
$7,000. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — APPROPRIATIONS. 

March  31,1880— Senate. 

In  the  deficiency  bill  (H.  4924)  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1880, 
etc.,  were  the  following: 

For  steam  heating  apparatus  and  fuel  for  the  new  National  Museum  building, 
$20,000. 

For  water  and  gas  fixtures  and  electrical  apparatus  for  the  new  National  Museum 
building,  $10,000. 

Mr.  W.  W.  EATON.  This  is  a  very  large  increase  over  the  appropri- 
ations made  by  the  other  House,  and  therefore  I  feel  that  it  is  proper 
that  I  should  make  a  very  brief  explanation  of  it. 

Professor  Baird  came  before  us  and  satisfied  your  committee  that  it 
would  be  a  very  great  saving  of  expense  to  the  Government  if  the 
steam  heating  apparatus,  the  water  and  gas  fixtures  and  electrical 
apparatus  can  be  put  into  the  new  Museum  building  between  this  time 
and  the  1st  of  July.  The  building  can  not  be  finished  until  that  is 
done.  They  have  arrived  at  a  point  in  the  construction  of  the  build- 
ing when  it  becomes  necessary  to  add  these  features  to  it.  Therefore 
the  committee  were  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  this  appropria- 
tion ought  to  be  made.  I  will  read  a  letter  from  Professor  Baird. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  March  10,  1880. 

SIR:  I  would  respectfully  ask  the  Appropriation  Committee  of  the  Senate  to  insert 
in  the  special  deficiency  bill,  whenever  it  may  come  before  the  committee,  certain 
items  herewith  inclosed  in  reference  to  the  National  Museum,  now  included  in  the 
estimates  of  the  next  fiscal  year.  The  appropriation  made  by  Congress  of  $250,000 


FORTY-SIXTH   CONGRESS,  1879-1881.  841 

for  the .bonding  itself  will  be  eufficient  to  complete  it.     The  heating  apparatua  ho* 

:;;:;^ 

The  building  is  now  nearly  completed  and  will  probably  be  out  of  the  contractor's 
hands  by  the  1st  of  June.  It  will  greatly  facilitate  its  prompt  occ-unadonTf  he 
appropriation  asked  for  can  be  made. 

Very  respectfully, 
Hon.  H.  G.  DAVIS,  'BNCER  R  BAIR"' 

Chairman  Appropriation  Committee,  United  Stales  Senate. 
Amendment  agreed  to. 
June  16,  1880. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1881. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  for  the  reception,  care,  and  exhi- 
bition of  the  collections  of  geology,  mineralogy,  ethnology,  technology 
and  natural  history,  presented  to  the  Government  by  foreign  nations! 
$50,000. 

For  a  steam  heating  apparatus  and  for  fuel,  $25,000,  to  be  immedi- 
ately available. 

For  water,  gas-fixtures,  and  electrical  apparatus,  $12,500,  to  be 
immediately  available. 

For  construction  of  relieving  sewer,  with  the  necessary  man-holes 
and  traps,  from  the  new  National  Museum  building  to  the  Seventh- 
street  sewer,  $1,000. 

(Stat.,XXI,  272.) 

For  preservation  and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying  and 
exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government  and  the  objects  presented 
to  the  United  States  at  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $45,000. 

Armory  building:  For  expense  of  watching,  care,  and  storage  of 
articles  belonging  to  the  United  States,  including  those  transferred 
from  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  and  for  transfer  to  the  new 
National  Museum,  $2,500. 

(Stat.,XXI,  276.) 

February  26,  1881— House. 

In  considering  the  sundry  civil  bill  for  1882,  an  item  ($60,000)  for 
cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of  the  collec- 
tions of  geology,  mineralogy,  natural  history,  ethnology,  and  tech- 
nology belonging  to  the  United  States  was  passed. 

Mr.  VAN  H.  MANNING.  I  do  not  want  to  arraign  the  gentleman 
from  Georgia  [Mr.  Blount]  *  *  *  but  I  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  we  have  just  appropriated,  under  the  leadership  of  the  gentleman 
from  Georgia,  $25,000  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological 
researches  among  the  North  American  Indians.  The  question  of  what 
races  of  the  human  family  have  inhabited  this  country  in  years  gone 
by  is  interesting  and  affords  intellectual  pleasure,  but  that  is  all.  The 
masses  will  hardly  keep  up  with  ethnological  researches,  and  would 
receive  no  pecuniary  benefit  if  they  did.  On  a  proposition  involving 


842  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

simply  an  intellectual  feast  for  certain  classes  of  men  this  bill  gives 
$25,000.     *     *     * 

Mr.  JAMES  H.  BLOUNT.  The  gentleman  [Mr.  Manning]  started  out 
by  saying  that  he  did  not  propose  to  attack  me,  but  he  calls  attention 
to  the  appropriation  in  this  bill  for  ethnology- 
Mr.  MANNING.  And  I  call  attention  also  to  the  paragraph  just 
passed,  appropriating  $60,000  for  displaying  upon  the  shelves  of  the 
National  Museum  "the  collections  of  geology,  mineralogy,  natural 
history,  ethnolog}T,  and  technology,"  which  contribute  nothing  at  all 
to  anybody's  material  advancement. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  If  I  had  my  own  way  about  it,  ethnology  and  a  good 
many  other  things  would  not  be  in  this  bill.  I  do  not  stand  here  as 
the  representative  of  my  individual  views,  but  I  have  charge  of  the 
bill  as  the  organ  of  the  committee,  and  as  such  I  propose  to  stand  by 
their  conclusions. 

March  3,  1881. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1882. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of 
the  collections  of  geology,  mineralogy,  natural  history,  ethnology, 
and  technology,  belonging  to  the  United  States,  $60,000. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  telephonic  and  electrical  service 
for  the  new  Museum  building,  $6,  000. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  449.) 

For  preservation  and  care  of  the  collections  of  the  surveying  and 
exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  $55,000. 

Armory  building:  For  expense  of  watching,  care,  and  storage  of 
duplicate  Government  collections,  and  of  property  of  the  United  States 
Fish  Commission,  $2,500. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  452.) 

March  3,  1881. 

Deficiency  act  for  1881,  etc. 

For  additional  amount  required  for  running  the  relieving  sewer  of 
the  National  Museum  building  into  the  north  B  street  sewer  instead 
of  into  the  Seventh  street  sewer,  $900. 

For  expense  of  transfer  to  and  arrangement  in  the  new  National 
Museum  building  of  the  collections  of  the  United  States  surveying 
and  exploring  expeditions,  and  of  the  specimens  presented  to  the 
United  States  at  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876,  $10,000,  being 
for  the  service  of  the  current  fiscal  year. 

(Stat,  XXI,  418.) 

LIBRARY    OF   CONGRESS — NEW   BUILDING. 
December  1,  1879. 

Iii  his  message  to  Congress,  the  President  (Rutherford  B.  Hayes) 
said: 

To  preserve  and  perpetuate  the  national  literature  should  be  among  the  foremost 
cares  of  the  National  Legislature.  The  library  gathered  at  the  Capitol  still  remains 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  843 

unprovided  with  any  suitable  accommodations  for  its  rapidly  increasing  stores.  The 
magnitude  and  importance  of  the  collection,  increased  as  it  is  by  the  deposits  made 
under  the  law  of  copyright,  by  domestic  and  foreign  exchanga«,  and  by  the  scien- 
tific library  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  call  for  building  accommodations  which 
shall  be  at  once  adequate  and  fireproof.  *  *  *  It  is  earnestly  recommended  as  a 
measure  which  shall  unite  all  suffrages  and  which  should  no  longer  be  delayed. 

STANDARD   WEIGHTS   AND   MEASURES. 

January  26,  1880— House. 

A  joint  resolution  (H.  186)  was  introduced  by  Mr.  THOMAS  UPDE- 
GRAFF.     Referred. 
February  12,  1880— House. 

Mr.  A.  H.  STEPHENS  reported,  with  amendment.     Passed. 
February  16,  1880— Senate. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Finance. 
June  1,  1880— Senate. 

Reported  with  amendments. 
June  H,  1880 — Senate. 

Passed. 
March  3,  1881. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  directed  to 
cause  a  complete  set  of  all  the  weights  and  measures  adopted  as  standards  to  be 
delivered  to  the  governor  of  each  State  in  the  Union,  for  the  use  of  agricultural  col- 
leges in  the  States,  respectively,  which  have  received  a  grant  of  lands  from  the 
United  States,  and  also  one  set  of  the  same  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion: Provided  That  the  cost  of  each  set  shall  not  exceed  $200,  and  a  sum  sufficient 
to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  resolution  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money 
in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  521.) 

ETHNOLOGY — CONTRIBUTIONS. 

February  6,  1880— House. 
Mr.  P.  KNOTT  submitted  concurrent  resolution: 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  5,000  copies 
each  of -volumes  4  and  5  of  Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology,  uniform 
with  the  preceding  volumes  of  the  series  and  with  the  necessary  illustrations,  2,000 
copies  of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1,000  for  the 
use  of  the  Senate,  and  2,000  for  distribution  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  9,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  L.  DAWES  introduced  above  resolution.     Referred. 
February  19,  1880— Senate. 

Reported  adversely  and  postponed. 
May  5,  1880— House. 

Mr.  KNOTT'S  resolution  passed  amended. 
May  26,  1880— Senate. 

Passed  as  amended,  to  give  3,000  to  House,  1,000  to  Senate,  and 
1,000  to  Smithsonian  Institution. 


844  CONGRESSIONAL   PEOCEEDINGS. 

February  3,  1881 — House. 

Mr.  J.  C.  S.  BLACKBURN  offered  concurrent  resolution  to  print 
6,000  each  of  volumes  6,  7,  8,  9,  and  10  of  Contributions  to  North 
American  Ethnology,  3,000  for  the  House,  1,000  for  Senate,  and  2,000 
for  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  28,  1881 — House. 

Reported  and  adopted  resolution  amended,  3,030  for  House,  1,000 
for  Senate,  1,970  for  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Mr.  BENJAMIN  WILSON.  The  object  of  the  amendments  is  to  increase 
the  number  to  each  member  of  the  House,  giving  each  member  ten 
copies. 

Mr.  HARRY  WHITE.  Of  what  Congress  will  the  members  be  entitled 
to  copies? 

Mr.  WILSON.  Those  who  are  members  of  Congress  at  the  time  the 
report  is  printed  will  be  entitled  to  copies. 

Adopted. 

March  2,  1881— Senate. 
Passed. 

ETHNOLOGY REPORT. 

June  1,  1880— House. 

Mr.  J.  FLOYD  KING  submitted  concurrent  resolution  to  print  15,000 
copies  of  the  [first]  Annual  Report  of  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  with  the  necessary  illustra- 
tions, 7,000  for  the  House,  3,000  for  the  Senate,  and  5,000  for  distribu- 
tion by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 

Mr.  OTHO  H.  SINGLETON.  I  desire  to  state  that  this  is  one  of  the 
books  which  have  been  published  from  year  to  year. 
June  9,  1880 — House. 

Passed. 

June  14,  1880— Senate. 
Passed. 

February  3,  1881 — House. 

Mr.  J.  C.  S.  BLACKBURN  offered  concurrent  resolution  to  print 
15,000  copies  of  the  second  and  third  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnol- 
ogy, 7,000  for  the  House,  3,000  for  the  Senate,  and  5,000  for  Bureau 
of  Ethnology. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  U,  1881 — House. 

Reported  amended,  to  give  7,272  copies  to  the  House,  3,000  to  the 
Senate,  and  4,728  to  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology.     Agreed  to. 
February  19,  1881— Senate. 

Passed. 


FORTY-SIXTH   CONGRESS,  1879-1881.  845 

SMITH80N   FUN 
March  5,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  G.  DAVIS,  from  Committee  on  Appropriations,  reported 
(S.  334)  on  bill  (S.  1424),  relative  to  placing  under  the  direct  supervision 
and  control  of  Congress  the  appropriations  known  as  permanent  and 
indefinite. 

A  table  showed  the  amount  paid  on  the  Smithson  fund  as  interest- 
In  1877,  $39,060;  1878,  $40,841;  1879,  $39,060. 

A  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  John  Sherman, 
recommended  excepting  the  Smithson  trust  from  any  act  repealing 
the  present  laws. 

REPORT   OF   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

March  11,  1880— Senate. 

Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1879  presented  and  ordered 
to  be  printed. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN  offered  concurrent  resolution  to  print  10,500  copies 
of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1879,  1,000  for  the 
Senate,  3,000  for  the  House  of  Representatives,  6,500  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
March  22,  1880— Senate. 

Reported  by  Mr.  H.  B.  ANTHONY,  and  passed. 
April  21,  1880— House. 

Mr.  BENJAMIN  WILSON.  I  rise  to  make  a  privileged  report  from  the 
Committee  on  Printing.  That  committee  has  directed  me  to  report 
back,  with  a  recommendation  that  the  House  concur,  a  resolution  of 
the  Senate  for  printing  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring),  That  10,500  copies  of 
the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1879  be  printed,  1,000  copies 
of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  3,000  copies  for  the  use  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  6,500  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  M.  DUNNELL.  I  wish  the  gentleman  from  West  Virginia  [Mr. 
Wilson]  would  consent  to  an  amendment.  I  would  like  to  amend  this 
resolution  by  striking  out  the  word  "  ten"  and  inserting  kk  fifteen,"  so 
as  to  provide  for  printing  15,500  copies  of  this  report. 

Mr.  WILSON.  This  resolution  proposes  the  number  which  has  been 
printed  every  year  for  a  long  series  of  years,  and  which  I  believe  has 
been  found  sufficient. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  This  Smithsonian  Report  is  a  very  valuable  document. 
Members  of  the  House  are  in  the  habit  of  getting  seven  or  perhaps 
nine  copies  each.  There  are  more  than  that  number  of  public  libraries 
in  every  Congressional  district  in  the  country.  This  is  a  report  which 


846  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

we  may  well  print  in  larger  number  than  i.s  here  proposed.  1  have 
already  very  man}7  calls  for  it.  After  the  document  has  been  printed 
and  stereot}rped  the  expense  of  a  few  thousand  additional  copies  is 
very  trifling  indeed.  It  costs  more  to  print  the  reports  which  are  sent 
around  to  members  only  to  fill  up  their  rooms  than  it  would  to  print 
5,000,  yes,  10,000,  additional  copies  of  the  Smithsonian  Report. 

I  move  to  amend  by  striking  out  "ten"  and  inserting  "fifteen,"  so 
as  to  provide  for  printing  15,500  copies  and  then  the  distribution  can 
be  arranged  so  as  to  give  the  House  and  the  Senate  this  additional 
5,000—3,500  to  the  House  and  1,500  to  the  Senate. 

Mr.  WILSON.  I  do  not  feel  authorized  to  accept  the  amendment  for 
the  reason — 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  Well,  I  understand  that  it  is  my  right  to  move  the 
amendment. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL).  It  is,  if  the  gentleman  from 
West  Virginia  yields  for  that  purpose  before  demanding  the  previous 
question. 

Mr.  WILSON.  I  have  not  yielded  except  to  hear  the  suggestion. 

Mr.  J.  D.  NEW.  I  rise  to  a  question  of  order.  I  wish  to  inquire 
whether  this  matter  is  or  is  not  now  before  the  House  in  contraven- 
tion of  the  call  for  the  regular  order  made  by  the  gentleman  from 
Michigan. 

The  SPEAKER.  Under  the  rules,  the  Committee  on  Printing  has  the 
right  to  report  at  any  time  touching  matter — 

Mr.  NEW.  I  do  not  care  to  hear  the  rule  read. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  West  Virginia  has  the  right  to 
report  from  the  Committee  on  Printing  under  the  rules;  and  because 
of  that  right  he  has  been  recognized. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  I  presume  that  my  motion  is  in  order. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  West  Virginia  is  on  the  floor 
and  states  that  he  does  not  yield  for  the  amendment. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  I  did  not  ask  him  to  yield.  I  addressed  the  Chair 
and  made  my  motion  to  amend.  The  previous  question  has  not  been 
called. 

The  SPEAKER.  Until  an  adverse  vote  by  the  House,  the  resolu- 
tion is  under  the  control  of  the  gentleman  from  West  Virginia  who 
reports  it. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  Does  the  Chair  undertake  to  say  that  a  resolution 
reported  here  is  not  open  to  amendment? 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  states  that  the  gentleman  reporting  a 
measure  has  the  right  to  test  the  sense  of  the  House  as  to  cutting  off 
amendments  by  calling  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  The  gentleman  has  not  demanded  the  previous  ques- 
tion. 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  847 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  is  still  on  the  floor  and  declines  to 
yield  for  an  amendment. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  I  was  recognized  to  make  a  motion  to  amend;  I  have 
made  such  a  motion,  and  I  was  heard  upon  that  motion. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  West  Virginia  states  that  he 
yielded  for  a  suggestion,  not  for  an  amendment.  The  Chair  uniformly 
recognizes  the  right  of  a  member  reporting  a  measure  to  retain  its 
control  until  an  adverse  vote  by  the  House. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  I  can  not  understand  why  the  gentleman  from  West 
Virginia  should  object  to  allowing  an  amendment. 

The  SPEAKER.  That  is  another  question — a  question  with  which  the 
Chair  has  nothing  to  do. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  The  gentleman  is  not  under  instructions  of  the  com- 
mittee not  to  allow  an  amendment  to  be  offered. 

Mr.  WILSON.  I  can  not  yield  further.  This  subject  has  undergone 
investigation  by  the  Committee  on  Printing  in  the  Senate.  The  Sen- 
ate passed  it  without  objection.  It  has  come  to  the  House  and  gone 
to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  Because  it  passed  the  Senate  without  objection  is 
no  reason  why  we  should  pass  it  without  objection. 

Mr.  WILSON.  I  beg  to  say  this  amount  has  been  recommended  by 
the  Department,  and  it  is  all  that  is  asked.  I  demand  the  previous 
question. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  We  are  not  legislating  for  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, but  we  are  legislating  for  the  country  at  large.  The  Smithsonian 
gets  two-thirds  of  what  we  vote  here.  I  hope  the  previous  question 
will  be  voted  down,  so  we  may  test  this  question  in  behalf  of  the 
people. 

The  demand  for  the  previous  question  was  not  seconded. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  I  move  to  strike  out  "ten  thousand  five  hundred" 
and  insert  "fifteen  thousand  five  hundred,"  and  to  provide  that  5,000 
copies  be  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  8,000  for  the 
House,  and  2,500  for  the  Senate. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  resolution,  if  amended,  will  read  as  follows: 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring  therein),  That  15,500 
copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1879  be  printed; 
2,500  copies  of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  8,000  copies  for  the  use  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  5,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  RICHARD  W.  TOWNSHEND,  of  Illinois.  What  will  be  the  addi- 
tional cost? 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  I  am  unable  to  say. 

Mr.  RICHARD  W.  TOWNSHEND,  of  Illinois.  Would  it  be  small  ? 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  Very  small;  as  the  expense  will  only  be  for  print- 
ing and  paper,  the  plates  being  stereotyped. 


848  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  JOHN  H.  REAGAN.  What  is  the  use  of  5,000  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution? 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  Five  thousand  is  enough  for  the  use  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.  I  demand  the  previous  question  on  the  concurrent 
resolution  and  amendment. 

Adopted. 
April  22,  1880— Senate. 

Passed  as  amended  by  House. 
April  23,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN  moved  that  the  House  of  Representatives  be 
requested  to  return  to  the  Senate  the  resolution  for  printing  the  Smith- 
sonian report  for  1879,  upon  which  he  entered  a  motion  to  reconsider. 

Agreed  to. 
April  26,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN.  On  Friday  I  entered  a  motion  to  reconsider  the 
vote  by  which  this  body  concurred  in  the  House  amendment  to  the 
resolution  ordering  the  printing  of  the  Smithsonian  report.  I  was 
very  sure  there  was  some  misapprehension  about  it.  I  have  con- 
ferred with  the  Senator  from  Maryland  [Mr.  W.  P.  Whyte],  the  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Printing,  and  he  concurs  with  me.  I  hope 
therefore  that  the  vote  will  be  reconsidered,  and  the  resolution 
referred  to  that  committee.  1  will  say  action  in  both  Houses  was  had 
without  a  reference. 

The  VICE-PKESIDENT  (Mr.  W.  A.  WHEELER).  The  Chair  hears  no 
objection  to  the  request  of  the  Senator  from  Maine.  The  vote  will 
be  regarded  as  reconsidered  and  the  resolution  will  be  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Printing,  with  the  amendment  of  the  House  of 
Representatives. 
April  27,  1880— Senate. 

House  amendments  nonconcurred  in. 
April  28,  1880— Senate. 

Conferees  appointed. 

May  21,  1880— House. 

Mr.  B.  WILSON,  from  conference  committee  on  resolution  to  print 
Smithsonian  Report  for  1879,  submitted  the  following: 

;  The  committee  of  conference  on  the  disagreeing  votes  of  the  two  Houses  on  the 
amendments  of  the  House  of  Representatives  to  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  to  print 
extra  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year  1879,  having 
met,  after  a  full  and  free  conference  have  agreed  to  recommend  and  do  recommend 
to  their  respective  Houses  as  follows: 

That  the  Senate  recede  from  its  disagreement  to  the  amendments  of  the  House 
numbered  1  and  2,  and  agree  to  the  same. 

That  the  Senate  recede  from  its  disagreement  to  the  amendment  of  the  House 
numbered  3,  and  agree  to  the  same  with  the  following  amendment:  Strike  out 
"eight"  and  insert  "six;"  and  the  House  agree  to  the  same. 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,  1879-1881.  849 

That  the  Senate  recede  from  its  disagreement  to  the  amendment  of  the  House 
numbered  4,  and  agree  to  the  same  with  the  following  amendment:  Strike  out  "  five 
thousand"  and  insert  "seven  thousand;"  and  the  House  agree  to  the  same 

B.  WILSON, 
P.  C.  HAYES, 

Managers  on  the  part  of  tlie  House. 
M.  W.  RANSOM, 
H.  B.  ANTHONY, 
Managers  on  the  part  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  J.  D.  C.  ATKINS.  Will  the  gentleman  from  West  Virginia  give 
us  some  explanation  of  this  report? 

Mr.  WILSON.  There  is  a  written  explanation  accompanying  the 
report.  I  ask  the  Clerk  to  read  it. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

The  Committee  on  Printing  present  the  following  statement  to  accompany  the 
report  of  the  conference  committee  on  the  Senate  concurrent  resolution  to  print  the 
Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1879: 

The  original  resolution,  with  the  House  amendment  thereto,  made  the  following 
distribution: 

Copies. 
Whole  number  ordered 15, 500 


For  the  use  of  the  Senate 2,500 

For  the  use  of  the  Hxmse 8,000 

For  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 5, 000 

The  conference  report,  if  adopted,  will  reduce  the  number  of  copies  for  the  use  of 
the  House  by  2,000,  which  will  transfer  to  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 

making  the  distribution  as  follows: 

Copies. 

Whole  number  ordered...  15,500 


For  the  use  of  the  Senate 2,500 

For  the  use  of  the  House 6, 000 

For  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 7, 000 

Mr.  ROGER  Q.  MILLS..  I  want  to  ask  the  gentleman  from  West 
Virginia  [Mr.  Wilson]  why  the  committee  give  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  a  larger  number  of  these  volumes  than  they  give  to  the 
entire  House  of  Representatives? 

Mr.  WILSON.  Because  we  are  informed  by  officers  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  that  a  large  number  of  these  reports  are  sent 
abroad  in  exchange  for  rare  scientific  books,  which  can  not  be  bought, 
which  are  not  in  the  market;  and  the  value  to  our  libraries  of  the 
books  which  we  thus  receive  is  much  greater  than  the  cost  of  these 
reports. 

Mr.  MARK  H.  DUNNELL.  It  will  be  noticed  upon  examining  the  con- 
ference report  and  the  accompanying  statement  that  by  the  adoption 
of  this  report  we  shall  lose  all  the  benefit  of  the  additional  number 
voted  by  the  House,  while  the  Senate  retains  the  full  benefit  of  that 
addition.  The  conference  report,  while  giving  to  the  Senate  the  whole 
number  that  the  House  agreed  to,  reduces  our  share  by  2,000. 
H.  Doc.  732 54 


850  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  WILSON.  It  is  very  necessary  that  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
should  have  7,000  copies  of  this  document.  As  I  have  already  stated, 
we  are  informed  by  an  officer  of  the  Institution  that  rare  scientific 
books  from  Europe  are  received  in  exchange  for  these  reports. 

Mr.  MILLS.  Do  we  exchange  one  book  for  one  ? 

Mr.  WILSON.  Yes,  sir;  one  for  one. 

Mr.  ATKINS.  How  many  of  these  reports  will  the  House  receive? 

Mr.  WILSON.  Six  thousand. 

Mr.  ATKINS.  And  the  Senate  how  many  ? 

Mr.  WILSON.  Twenty-five  hundred. 

Mr.  ATKINS.  Is  that  in  accordance  with  the  numerical  proportion 
of  the  two  bodies  ? 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  My  objection  to  the  report  of  the  committee  of 
conference  is  that  the  House  conferees  have  conceded  everything  to  the 
Senate  and  reserved  nothing  to  the  House.  They  have  given  up  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  the  2,000  copies  which  we 
added  to  our  proportion,  while  the  Senate  receives  the  full  number 
that  we  originally  agreed  on.  There  is  no  proper  proportion  between 
the  number  granted  to  the  House  and  the  number  granted  to  the 
Senate. 

Mr.  WILSON.  I  wish  to  say  that  the  present  Committee  on  Print- 
ing has  broken  through  the  rule  heretofore  established;  and  under  the 
action  of  the  committee  the  members  of  the  House  will  get  a  very 
much  larger  number  of  reports  than  they  have  received  heretofore. 

Mr.  DUNNELL.  Certainly  not  by  this  report. 

Mr.  WILSON.  That  is  the  best  conclusion  we  can  come  to. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER  H.  COFFROTH.  Then  reject  it. 

The  House  divided;  and  there  were  ayes,  47;  noes,  45. 

So  the  conference  report  was  adopted. 

May  22,  1880— Senate. 

Conference  report  adopted. 
January  10,  1881— House. 

Mr.  M.  P.  O'CONNOR  introduced  joint  resolution  (H.  364): 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  3,000  copies  of  each  of  the  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, together  with  the  documentary  history  and  journals  and  life  and  writings  of 
James  Smithson,  with  illustrations,  be  printed  from  the  stereotype  plates  now  in  the 
Congressional  Printing  Office,  of  which  1,500  shall  be  for  the  iise  of  the  House,  500 
for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  1,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
January  28,  1881— House. 

Mr.  PHILIP  C.  HAYES,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
with  amendments  joint  resolution  (H.  364)  for  printing  Smithsonian 
reports : 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  3,000  copies  of  each  of  the  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, together  with  the  documentary  history  and  journals  and  life  and  writings  of 


FORTY-SIXTH   CONGRESS,  1879-1881.  851 

James  Smithson,  with  illustrations,  be  printed  from  the  stereotype  plates  now  in  the 
Congressional  Printing  Office,  of  which  1,500  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  House  500 
for  the  Senate,  and  1,000  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  amendments  were  to  strike  out  "documentary  history  and 
journals  and;"  after  the  words  "  five  hundred"  to  insert  "and  fifteen-" 
and  to  strike  out  "one  thousand"  and  insert  "nine  hundred  and 
eighty -five." 

Adopted. 
February  1,  1881— Senate. 

Reported  adversely  and  postponed  indefinitely. 
January  20,  1881— Senate. 

Mr.  ROBERT  E.  WITHERS  submitted  concurrent  resolution  to  print 
15,500  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1880, 
2,500  for  the  Senate,  6,000  for  the  House,  and  7,000  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
January  25,  1881 — Senate. 

Reported  and  amended  to  print  15,560  copies,  2,500  for  Senate, 
6,060  for  the  House,  and  7,000  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution' 

Passed. 

February  3,  1881— House. 
Concurrent  resolution  adopted. 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
March  16,  1880— Senate. 

Mr.  THOMAS  F.  BAYARD  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  93)  to 
enable  Ainsworth  R.  Spofford,  Librarian  of  Congress,  to  visit  and 
inspect  European  public  libraries: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  Ainsworth  R.  Spofford,  Librarian 
of  Congress,  to  make  arrangements  for  the  more  complete  interchange  of  publications 
by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  those  of  foreign  nations,  as  well  as  to 
inspect  the  systems  and  methods  under  which  public  libraries  in  Europe  are  con- 
ducted and  maintained,  the  sum  of  $2,500  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated, 
out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  Ainsworth  R.  Spofford  in  a  visit  to  the  libraries  of  Europe  during  the  summer 
vacation  of  Congress,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  and  that  he  make  a  report  to  Con- 
gress at  its  next  session,  embodying  such  recommendations  in  regard  to  the  Library 
of  Congress  as  he  may  deem  proper. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT  (Mr.  W.  A.  WHEELER).  The  joint  resolution 
will  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library. 

Mr.  BAYARD.  Mr.  President,  I  desire,  if  I  may  be  permitted,  before 
the  reference  of  the  joint  resolution  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library, 
to  state  my  reasons  for  its  introduction.  It  is  wholly  with  a  view  to 
the  public  service. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  by  laws  of  remote  date,  and  last 
by  the  act  of  July  25, 1868,  provided  for  the  delivery  by  the  Congres- 


852  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

sional  Printer  of  50  copies  of  all  books  and  other  publications  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  exchange  with 
foreign  governments  for  similar  public  documents.  The  system,  how- 
ever, for  want  of  oversight  and  attention,  has  worked  very  imperfectly. 
The  foreign  governments  with  whom  the  exchange  list  has  been  formed 
are  some  26  in  number,  and  of  those  the  most  voluminous  receipts  by 
the  Library  of  Congress  are  so  utterly  irregular  as  to  destroy  any 
value  arising  from  their  continuity  and  completeness. 

The  Government  of  Great  Britain  sends  but  few,  or  none,  of  its 
publications  to  our  Library,  and  that  is  simply  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  details  and  machinery  for  making  such  exchange  can  not  be  effi- 
ciently managed  through  the  medium  of  mere  epistolary  correspond- 
ence. It  will  require  the  active  supervision  of  an  intelligent  person 
to  establish  a  practical  system  of  proper  exchange  of  these  public 
documents  in  the  manner  designed  by  Congress,  and  it  would  be 
exceedingly  useful  and  valuable  to  our  Library. 

In  addition  to  the  matter  of  the  interchange  of  governmental  pub- 
lications, there  have  been  great  improvements  of  which  we  should 
avail  ourselves  in  the  construction,  supervision,  classification,  and 
arrangement  of  European  libraries  within  the  last  twenty-five  years. 
The  very  preservation  of  the  books  themselves,  their  methods  of 
classification,  arrangement,  and  cataloguing,  are  all  matters  in  which 
great  advance  has  been  made,  the  benefit  of  which  I  desire  should 
accrue  to  our  own  Library. 

The  erection  of  a  national  library  is  every  day  becoming  a  matter 
of  greater  necessity.  There  is  in  this  country  no  one  whose  intelli- 
gence and  capacity  to  inform  Congress  properly  upon  this  subject 
exceeds  that  of  the  modest,  accomplished,  and  worthy  gentleman  who 
fills  the  post  of  Librarian  so  acceptably  to  all  of  those  who  have  occa- 
sion to  need  his  services  or  who  are  at  all  competent  to  judge  of  their 
value. 

It  is  therefore,  in  my  opinion,  exceedingly  proper  and  highly 
expedient  that  a  visit  to  and  an  inspection  of  the  public  libraries  of 
Europe  should  be  made  in  behalf  of  the  American  people  and  their 
Library  as  soon  as  may  be. 

As  I  said,  there  is  no  one  fitter  for  this  mission,  nor  who  would 
more  creditably  represent  the  American  Government,  than  the  gentle- 
man named  in  this  resolution.  I  may  say,  also,  as  a  matter  which  is 
not  without  weight  with  me,  I  think  it  would  not  only  be  a  duty  to 
him,  but  a  well-earned  pleasure  and  delight.  To  make  such  a  tour  of 
inspection  would  be  to  Mr.  Spofford  a  labor  of  love  as  well  as  the  per- 
formance of  a  most  important  duty — a  season  of  relaxation  and  release 
from  very  confining  labors,  which  his  industry  and  devotion  to  public 
service  have  heretofore  rendered  impossible. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that,  except  so  far  as  inquiry  made  by  me  into 


FOBTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,  1879-1881.  853 

the  irregular  condition  of  our  exchanges  of  governmental  publications 
with  those  of  foreign  countries,  Mr.  Spofford  has  had  no  intimation 
whatever  of  the  introduction  of  this  joint  resolution  or  of  my  inten- 
tion to  offer  it.  It  has  proceeded  entirely  on  my  own  motion,  after  a 
comparison  of  views  with  several  other  gentlemen. 

1  make  these  remarks  trusting  that  the  proposition  may  commend 
itself  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  Committee  on  the  Library 
and  of  the  Senate  and  to  obtain  their  ready  approval. 

Mr.  G.  F.  EDMUNDS.  I  should  like  to  say  a  word  about  the  matter  of 
exchanges.  I  believe  that  the  system  of  exchanges  is  now  regulated 
by  law,  and  is  consolidated  in  practice  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  where,  if  I  am  correctly  advised  (not 
in  reference  to  this  question  of  course,  but  if  my  information  and 
knowledge  about  it  in  general  is  correct),  the  system  is  as  perfect  and 
systematic  as  any  such  system  can  ever  be.  The  United  States 
exchange,  under  authority  of  law  and  through  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, with  every  foreign  government  that  is  willing  to  reciprocate. 
Every  single  public  document  that  is  printed  under  the  authority  of 
Congress  or  at  public  expense,  every  valuable  and  important  docu- 
ment that  is  printed  in  the  Departments  out  of  the  appropriations  for 
the  expenditures  of  those  Departments,  and  which  are  not  printed  by 
order  of  Congress  in  the  direct  sense  so  as  to  be  distributed  by  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives,  or  of  which  Senators  and  Representatives, 
for  public  interests,  can  have  even  a  single  copy  for  their  own  inspec- 
tion, is  furnished  to  every  foreign  government  regularly,  systematic- 
ally, at  stated  periods,  as  fast  as  they  come  forth,  in  just  the  degree 
that  the  foreign  government  is  willing  to  reciprocate  by  furnishing 
the  United  States  with  its  own  documents  and  publications.  That 
operation  of  international  exchange  produces  a  stream,  and  the  only 
one  that  regularly  and  systematically  could  be  produced  to  flow  into 
the  Library  of  Congress. 

In  addition  to  that,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  authorized  by  its 
foundation  under  the  acts  of  Congress  to  exchange  publications  of  any 
kind  that  it  makes  itself  or  comes  in  possession  of  with  foreign  and 
domestic  literary  societies,  colleges,  institutions,  in  the  United  States 
and  in  foreign  countries.  That  sends  out  from  our  workshop  of  intel- 
lect and  progress  the  whole  product  of  the  nation,  so  to  speak,  and  it 
brings  back  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe  the  similar  products  of 
the  intellect  and  activity,  and  discovery  and  progress,  and  social 
science  of  all  civilized  peoples. 

So  I  do  not  imagine  that  as  far  as  the  mere  subject  of  inspecting 
and  arranging  international  exchanges  of  books  is  concerned  an  expe- 
dition by  anybody  to  a  foreign  country  would  be  of  any  great  service. 
In  respect  of  the  other  part  of  it,  the  subject  of  inspecting  libraries, 
classification,  arrangement,  and  completing  sets,  and  all  that  sort  of 


854  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

thing,  there  is  very  great  force  in  what  the  Senator  from  Delaware 
has  said;  and  I  certainly  should  unite  with  him  in  all  that  he  has  said 
in  respect  of  the  capacity  and  worth  of  the  gentleman  named  in  the 
resolution. 

Mr.  H.  HAMLIN.  I  wish  to  say  one  word  on  this  subject  before  the  joint 
resolution  is  referred.  I  wish  to  corroborate  what  has  been  so  well 
said  by  the  Senator  from  Vermont  in  relation  to  the  manner  in  which 
these  exchanges  are  effected  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  I  am 
inclined  to  agree  with  the  Senator  that  very  little  can  be  done  in  that 
direction,  and  if  anything  can  be  done  it  should  be  by  the  Secretary 
of  that  institution.  If  this  resolution  is  looking  in  the  future  to  trans- 
fer the  practical  administration  of  that  law  from  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, where  it  is  so  well  done,  to  the  Library  of  Congress,  where  it 
can  not  be  as  well  done,  1  certainly  hope  it  will  not  receive  the  consid- 
eration of  this  body.  I  have  great  fears  that  this  is  an  entering  wedge 
to  effect  that  change,  and  it  would  be  a  change  which  I  think  in  its 
results  would  be  injurious  and  disastrous. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 

FRENCH  EXCHANGES. 

December  10,  1880— House. 

DEPARTMENT  OK  STATE, 
Washington,  December  7,  1880. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  for  your  information  a  translation  of  a 
letter,  dated  the  22d  of  July  last,  from  Mr.  Le"on  Gambetta,  President  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  in  France,  to  the  American  minister  at  Paris,  in  relation  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  exchange  of  documents  between  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  of  the 
French  Republic  and  the  corresponding  legislative  body  in  this  country.  In  accord- 
ance with  Mr.  Gambetta's  request,  I  inclose  a  letter  addressed  to  the  President  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  American  Republic,  and  I  likewise  forward  a  pack- 
age of  documents  which  accompanied  the  letter  just  named. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  M.  EVARTS. 
Hon.  SAMUEL  J.  RANDALL, 

•  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

[Inclosures.] 

1.  Mr.  Le"on  Gambetta  to  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  in  France,  dated  July 
22,  1880— translation. 

2.  A  sealed  letter  addressed  "Monsieur  le  President  de  la  Chambre  des  Representa- 
tives de  la  R4publique  Am6ricaine." 

Accompaniment:  A  package  of  documents. 

[Translation.] 

CHAMBER  OF  DEPUTIES  (PRESIDENCE), 

Paris,  July  22,  1880. 

SIR:  Exchanges  of  parliamentary  documents  have  for  a  long  time  been  organized 
between  the  political  assemblies  of  most  of  the  European  States. 

I  believe  it  would  be  useful  to  establish  analogous  exchanges  between  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  of  the  French  Republic  and  that  of  the  American  Republic.  In  con- 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  855 

sequence  I  have  the  honor  to  address  to  you  a  case  containing  what  has  been  pub- 
lished by  the  French  Parliament  during  the  session  of  1880. 

I  would  be  obliged  to  you  if  you  would  please  forward  this  case,  together  with  the 
inclosed  letter,  to  the  President  of  House  of  Representatives  of  the  American  Republic. 
Accept,  Mr.  Minister,  the  assurances  of  my  high  consideration, 

LEON  GAMBETTA, 

President  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 
The  MINISTER  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  FRANCE. 


CHAMBRE  DBS  DEPUTES  (PRESIDENCE), 

Paris,  le  VOjuillet  1880. 

Bordereau  des  publications  faites  pendant  le  cours  de  la  session  ordinaire  de  1880, 
offertes  par  la  Chambre  des  Brute's  de  la  R4publique  Francaise. 
Tomes  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,  7, 8, 9  des  annales  de  1879. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs. 
January  8,  1881— House. 

Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  transmitting  a  letter  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  relative  to  the  interchange 
of  documents  between  the  United  States  Government  and  the  Republic 
of  France. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs. 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES — ESTIMATES. 

March  19,  1879— House. 

Estimates  for  1880. 

Library  of   Congress:    For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  docu- 
ments for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 
December  1,  1879— House. 

Estimates  for  1881. 

War  Department:  Transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to  foreign 
countries  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $500. 

NOTE. — Publications  as  donations  or  exchanges  sent  to  foreign  countries  were  for- 
merly transported  free  of  charge  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  On  the  1st 
of  January,  1879,  the  Institution  issued  a  circular  giving  notice  that  a  charge  for  such 
transportation  would  thereafter  be  made  at  the  rate  of  5  cents  per  pound.  The 
Smithsonian  Institution  is  the  most  convenient  and  advantageous  medium  for  trans- 
mitting publications  to  institutions,  scientists,  etc.,  abroad,  as  donations  or  exchanges. 
In  nearly  all  cases  the  books  and  maps  exceed  the  weight  and  dimensions  allowed 
in  the  foreign  mails.  Express  charges  are  greatly  in  excess  of  5  cente  per  pound. 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES — APPROPRIATIONS. 

June  21,  1879. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1880. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 
(Stat.,  XXI,  23.) 


856  CQNGEESSIONAL    PKOCEEDINGS. 

May  3,  1880. 

Naval  service  act  for  1881. 

Naval  Observatory:  For  payment  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  freight  on  Observatory  publications  for  1880,  to  be  shipped  in  1880, 
$236.25,  *  *  *  in  1881,  $236.25. 

(Stat,  XXI,  84.) 

June  15,  1880. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1881. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 
(Stat,  XXI,  215.) 

June  16,  1880. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1881. 

War  Department:  For  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to  foreign 
countries,  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $500. 
(Stat.,  XXI,  269.) 

February  23,  1881. 

Naval  service  act  for  1881. 

Naval  Observatory :  For  payment  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
freight  on  Observatory  publications  to  be  shipped  to  foreign  countries 
during  the  fiscal  year  1882,  $336.25. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  333.) 

March  3,  1881. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1882. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 
(Stat.,  XXI,  390.) 

March  3,  1881. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1882. 

War  Department:  For  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to  foreign 
countries  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $500. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  447.) 

For  the  expense  of  exchanging  literary  and  scientific  productions 
with  all  nations  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $3,000. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  452.) 

THE    SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION   A    CORPORATION? 

March  24,  1880— Senate. 

In  debate  on  bill  to  establish  a  national  educational  association 
(S.  1282)  Mr.  MATT.  H.  CARPENTER,  of  Wisconsin,  said: 

Indeed,  Mr.  President,  in  every  view  of  it  that  I  can  take,  the  bill 
in  the  first  place  is  unconstitutional,  totally  beyond  our  power  to  pass, 
and  in  the  next  place  it  is  a  burlesque  upon  the  charter  of  a  cor- 
poration. 


FORTY-SIXTH   CONGRESS,  1879-1881.  857 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR.  Will  the  Senator  from  Wisconsin  allow  me 
to  ask  him  whether  the  act  founding  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
is  unconstitutional? 

Mr.  CARPENTER.  I  have  not  any  particular  opinion  on  that  subject, 
never  having  thought  of  it  or  investigated  it. 

Mr.  HOAR.  It  occurred  to  me  that  possibly  in  forming  the  opinion 
he  has  now  expressed  the  Senator  might  have  considered  that  question 

Mr.  CARPENTER.  It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  justify  any  action  that 
Congress  wants  to  take,  if  it  is. a  sufficient  justification  to  say  that 
Congress  has  done  such  a  thing.  *  *  *  As  to  the  constitutionality 
of  the  bill  in  regard  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  I  have  nothing 
to  say.  I  have  had  no  connection  with  that  subject;  1  never  thought 
of  it  and  never  examined  it,  and  have  no  opinion  to  express  upon  it. 

ETHNOLOGY — ESTIMATES. 
April  17,  1880— House. 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore  laid  before  the  House  a  letter  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  (Misc.  Doc.  35): 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  April  15,  1880, 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  statement  by  Maj.  J.  "W.  Powell 
relative  to  the  subject  of  investigations  into  the  past  and  present  condition  of  the 
Indian  tribes  of  the  United  States— a  work  in  which  he  has  been  engaged  during  the 
past  ten  years,  and  commenced  under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
in  accordance  with  an  enactment  of  Congress.  Subsequently  it  was  continued  by 
Major  Powell  as  director  of  the  United  States  geographical  and  geological  survey  o"f 
the  Eocky  Mountain  region,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  assisting  by  placing  in  his 
hands  all  the  materials  collected  by  its  collaborators  in  this  branch  of  science. 

By  act  of  Congress  approved  March  3,  1879,  the  work  was  again  placed  under  the 
control  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  Major  Powell  charged  with  its  immediate 
supervision  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  the  systematic  investigations  he  had  pre- 
viously organized. 

From  the  first  the  researches  in  question  have  been  carried  on  with  vigor,  and  the 
results  already  obtained,  as  shown  in  numerous  publications  and  the  large  collec- 
tions deposited  in  the  National  Museum,  are  of  great  scientific  and  general  interest. 

The  plan  proposed  by  Major  Powell  provides  for  a  systematic  and  complete 
account  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  country — a  work  of  importance  from  the 
fact  that  at  no  distant  time  the  opportunity  will  disappear,  as  the  Indian  tribes  in 
their  primitive  condition  are  rapidly  passing  away  before  the  advance  of  civilization. 

A  further  argument  for  immediate  action  is  furnished  by  the  fact  that  exhaustive 
researches  are  now  being  prosecuted  within  our  own  territory  by  foreign  nations. 
Collectors,  amply  provided  with  means,  have  been  engaged  for  several  years  in 
securing  objects  from  the  modern  tribes  and  in  disinterring  the  contents  of  aboriginal 
graves  and  mounds,  the  results  being  carried  away — almost  in  shiploads — to  foreign 
museums.  An  immense  collection  from  the  coasts  of  California,  Oregon,  and  Alaska 
has  recently  been  transmitted  to  a  government  museum  in  Paris  by  an  agent  sent  to 
the  United  States  for  the  purpose.  Another  French  expedition  will  soon  be  under 
way  for  the  almost  virgin  archaeological  fields  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

The  retention  by  a  country  of  its  own  historical  monuments  has  been  considered  of 
such  moment  that  laws  have  been  passed  by  several  foreign  governments  prohibiting 


858  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

the  exportation  of  antiquities.  Such  laws  prevail  in  Denmark,  Greece,  Mexico,  and 
elsewhere;  and  while  it  may  not  be  practicable  or  desirable  for  the  United  States  to 
follow  their  example,  we  may  at  least  anticipate  foreigners  by  collecting  such  objects 
and  transferring  them  to  the  National  Museum  in  Washington.  Unless  some  such 
action  be  taken  at  an  early  day  it  will  be  necessary  to  depend  upon  European  mu- 
seums for  the  material  for  investigating  the  antiquities  of  the  United  States. 

For  the  foregoing  reasons  I  would  respectfully  urge  the  careful  consideration  of 
Major  Powell's  suggestions,  and  that  such  appropriations  be  made  as  Congress  in  its 
wisdom  may  think  proper. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 
Hon.  SAMUEL  J.  RANDALL, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
BUREAU  OF  ETHNOLOGY  (J.  W.  POWELL  IN  CHARGE), 

Washington,  D.  C.,  April  2,  1880. 

DEAR  SIR:  Ethnographic  researches  among  the  North  American  Indians  have 
been  carried  on  by  myself  and  under  my  direction  for  the  last  ten  years.  During  the 
second  session  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  the  various  geographical  and  geological 
surveys  were  consolidated  and  reorganized  by  the  establishment  of  a  geological  bureau 
in  the  Interior  Department.  In  the  act  effecting  this  change  it  was  provided  that  the 
ethnographic  researches  previously  conducted  by  myself  should  be  continued  under  the 
direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  an  appropriation  was  made  therefor. 
These  ethnographic  studies  have  heretofore  embraced  the  following  subjects: 

1.  That  portion  of  somatology  relating  to  the  skeleton,  and  especially  to  the  crania, 
of  the  North  American  Indians.     In  this  department  large  collections  have  been 
made. 

2.  Philology.     Under  this  head  a  great  number  of  the  languages  of  the  North 
American  Indians  have  been  studied,  and  a  tentative  classification  of  the  linguistic 
stocks  has  been  made. 

In  connection  with  this  work  a  map  of  the  United  States  has  been  prepared,  exhib- 
iting the  original  homes  of  the  several  linguistic  families. 

Much  has  also  been  done  in  the  study  of  the  sign  language  of  the  Indians,  and 
large  collections  of  pictographs  have  been  made. 

3.  Mythology.     A  very  large  collection  has  been  made  of  the  myths  of  the  various 
tribes  of  Indians  scattered  throughout  the  United  States. 

4.  Sociology.     The  line  of  investigation  originally  pursued  by  Mr.  Lewis  H.  Mor- 
gan, the  results  of  which  were  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  has  been 
continued  under  my  direction,  and  a  large  body  of  material  relating  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  family,  clan,  tribe,  and  confederacy  among  our  North  American  Indians 
has  been  collected. 

5.  Habits  and  customs.     In  this  field  also  much  has  been  done,  especially  in  rela- 
tion to  their  mortuary  customs  and  religious  observances. 

6.  Technology.     In  this  field  extensive  investigations  have  been  pursued  relating 
especially  to  the  pristine  dwellings  of  the  Indians,  beginning  in  caves  and  lodges 
made  of  brush  and  bark  and  culminating  in  the  pueblo  structure  of  the  southwestern 
portion  of  the  United  States.     This  rude  architecture  has  been  studied  with  special 
reference  to  the  domestic  life  of  the  Indians.     Their  arts,  as  exhibited  in  their  stone 
implements,  their  pottery,  their  bows  and  arrows,  their  clothing,  ornaments,  etc., 
have  been  studied,  and  a  large  collection  made  for  the  National  Museum. 

7.  Archaeology.     Much  has  been  done  in  this  branch  of  investigation,  especially 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  -£59 

in  California,  where  the  works  of  extinct  races  are  buried  in  great  profusion. 
Throughout  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Utah,  and  a  part  of  Wyoming  ruins 
of  ancient  pueblos  are  also  found  in  great  abundance..  The  researches  in  this  field 
have  been  of  wide  extent. 

8.  History  of  Indian  affairs,  including  treaties,  cessions  of  land  by  the  Indians, 
removals,  the  progress  of  the  Indians  in  industrial  arts,  and  especially  the  efforts 
made  to  induce  them  to  become  agriculturists  and  manufacturers,  the  distribution  of 
lands  among  them  in  severalty,  and  the  efforts  made  to  establish  schools  among  the 
Indians  and  elsewhere  for  their  education. 

A  large  number  of  persons,  including  missionaries  and  teachers  among  the  Indians, 
Indian  agents,  army  officers,  scholars  connected  with  the  colleges  of  the  United 
States,  and  others,  are  assisting  in  this  general  work. 

In  the  progress  of  settlement  the  western  portion  of  the  United  States  is  being 
rapidly  filled  by  people  from  the  eastern  portion,  so  that  at  present  there  is  no  valley 
of  magnitude  uninhabited  by  white  men.  Rapidly  the  Indians  are  being  gathered 
on  reservations,  where  their  original  habits  and  customs  disappear,  their  languages 
are  being  modified  or  lost,  and  they  are  abandoning  their  savagery  and  barbarism 
and  accepting  civilization.  If  the  ethnology  of  our  Indians  is  ever  to  receive  proper 
scientific  study  and  treatment  the  work  must  be  done  at  once. 

In  view  of  the  facts  briefly  set  forth  above  I  would  respectfully  request  that  you 
forward  to  Congress  this  statement,  with  an  estimate  for  "fifty  thousand  dollars 
($50,000)  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnologic  researches  among  the  North 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion," if  the  same  meets  with  your  approval. 

I  am,  with  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  W.  POWELL. 

Prof.  S.  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

December  6,  1880— House. 

Estimates  for  1882. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
North  American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  $50,000. 

ETHNOLOGY — APPROPRIATIONS. 

April  17,  1880— House. 

In  considering  the  deficiency  bill,  Mr.  JOHN  A.  McMAHON  said: 
There  is  an  amendment  to  appropriate  $50,000  for  ethnological 
researches,  in  reference  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  recommended 
by  Professor  Baird.  I  expect  it  would  have  been  put  in  by  the 
House  committee  if  the  committee  had  been  asked  to  do  so.  I  think 
at  the  time  we  prepared  this  bill  the  request  was  not  made  and  the 
urgency  and  need  of  it  were  not  understood.  The  committee  unani- 
mously agreed  that  it  should  be  concurred  in. 

May  28,  1880— House. 

The  sundry  civil  bill  for  1881  under  consideration— 
For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the  North  American 

Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $20,000. 


860  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  A.  E.  STEVENSON.  I  move  to  amend  the  paragraph  just  read  by 
striking  out  "$20,000"  and  inserting  "$40,000,  to  be  immediately 
available." 

Mr.  Chairman.  I  have  offered  the  amendment  increasing  this  appro- 
priation for  the  sole  reason  that  the  amount  proposed  by  the  commit- 
tee is  wholly  inadequate.  The  letters  which  I  will  have  printed  with 
my  remarks  will  show  that  even  a  larger  amount  than  I  have  proposed 
is  considered  necessary  to  the  efficient  prosecution  of  this  work. 

During  the  last  few  years  Major  Powell  has  made  many  valuable 
contributions  to  our  stock  of  information  pertaining  to  the  North 
American  Indians.  The  object  of  the  present  appropriation  is  to 
enable  him  efficiently  to  continue  the  work.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  in  a  recent  official  communication  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  House,  says: 

From  the  first  the  researches  in  question  have  been  carried  on  with  vigor,  and  the 
results  already  obtained,  as  shown  in  numerous  publications  and  the  large  collections 
deposited  in  the  National  Museum,  are  of  great  scientific  and  general  interest. 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  plan  proposed  by  Major  Powell,  and  which,  with 
his  well-known  energy  and  ability,  will  be  successfully  carried  out, 
embraces  a  discussion  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  North 
American  Indians,  of  their  religion  and  language.  It  will  likewise 
embrace,  in  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  trace  it,  a  history  of  each  tribe, 
with  its  dealings  with  the  white  race  to  the  present  time. 

Under  his  supervision  catalogues  have  been  made  of  all  that  has 
been  written  touching  the  history,  literature,  religion,  and  customs  of 
this  race.  His  atlas  shows  the  location  of  the  various  tribes  when  the 
white  race  first  took  possession  of  this  continent,  the  sites  of  the 
ancient  villages,  the  successive  cessions  of  lands  to  the  whites,  the 
various  removals  of  the  tribes,  whether  compulsory  or  voluntary,  the 
localities  where  agricultural  pursuits  have  been  most  extensively  fol- 
lowed and  schools  for  them  have  been  established. 

Another  important  service  has  been  the  collection  of  the  necessary 
data,  including  copies  of  all  reports,  treaties,  and  other  official  docu- 
ments, with  a  view  to  the  preparation  of  a  legislative  history  of  the 
Indian  race.  The  interest  and  value  of  such  a  work  will  be  great. 

Much  attention  has  been  given  by  Major  Powell  to  the  study  of  the 
different  Indian  languages.  This  includes  a  study  of  their  various 
sign  and  picture  languages.  Much  curious  and  interesting  informa- 
tion of  this  character  has  already  been  accumulated.  In  addition  to 
this  the  discussion  of  the  unwritten  laws  and  customs  of  this  people, 
the  ties  which  hold  them  together  in  barbarous  or  semicivilized  rela- 
tions, of  their  habits,  arts  of  war,  marriage,  etc.,  all  these  can  not 
fail  to  be  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  the  more  favored  race 
which  now  holds  undisputed  sway  over  this  continent. 


FOBTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  861 

Mr.  Chairman,  few  of  us  fully  realize  the  immense  material  there  is 
upon  the  western  confines  of  our  continent  for  the  study  of  primitive 
man.  There  are  to  be  found  the  pueblos,  mounds,  and  ruins,  all  tell- 
ing of  a  race  which  once  occupied  portions  of  this  continent.  Many  of 
these  antiquities  have  been  removed  to  foreign  countries  as  valuable 
additions  to  their  libraries  and  museums.  Professor  Baird,  in  the 
letter  to  which  I  have  referred,  says: 

Collectors  amply  provided  with  means  have  been  engaged  for  several  years  hi 
securing  objects  from  the  modern  tribes  and  in  disinterring  the  contents  of  aboriginal 
graves  and  mounds,  the  results  being  carried  away  almost  in  shiploads  to  foreign 
museums.  An  immense  collection  from  the  coasts  of  California,  Oregon,  and  Alaska 
has  recently  been  transmitted  to  a  government  museum  hi  Paris  by  an  agent  sent  to 
the  United  States  for  that  purpose.  Another  French  expedition  will  soon  be  under 
way  for  the  almost  virgin  archaeological  fields  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

Mr.  Chairman,  we  will  all  agree  with  the  distinguished  Secretary 
that  this  Government  should  retain  and  preserve  the  historical  monu- 
ments of  our  aborigines.  Great  services  in  this  as  well  as  in  other 
departments  of  learning  have  been  rendered  by  Major  Powell  and  his 
associates.  The  small  appropriation  asked  will  enable  them  to  make 
still  greater  contributions  to  our  history,  contributions  of  great  inter- 
est to  the  present,  but  of  untold  value  to  coming  generations. 

This,  sir,  is  one  of  the  many  ways  in  which  can  be  executed  the  will 
of  the  generous  founder  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  which  he 
gave  to  our  country  the  magnificent  bequest  for  "the  increase  and 

diffusion  of  useful  knowledge  among  mankind." 

*  ****** 

The  Committee  of  the  Whole  resumed  its  session. 

The  question  was  upon  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Stevenson  to  amend 
the  clause  in  relation  to  ethnological  researches  among  the  North 
American  Indians  by  increasing  the  appropriation  from  $20,000  to 
$40,000. 

Mr.  J.  H.  BLOUNT.  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  is  a  very  interesting 
subject,  and  I  should  have  been  very  glad  to  have  listened  longer  to 
iny  friend  from  Illinois  [Mr.  Stevenson].  I  have  only  this  to  say,  how- 
ever: These  investigations  have  been  going  on  for  a  series  of  years 
without  authority  of  law,  for  ten  years,  and  their  expenses  have  to  a 
great  extent  been  paid  out  of  the  appropriations  for  surveys,  which  I 
regard  as  an  improper  diversion  of  that  fund.  Nevertheless,  the 
investigations  have  been  in  progress  for  a  long  time. 

There  is  no  estimate  at  all  for  this  purpose.  There  was  a  communi- 
cation from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  asking  for  an 
appropriation,  and  the  majority  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations 
thought  it  best  to  fix  the  sum  at  $20,000,  and  they  have  so  reported. 
I  hope  my  friend  from  Illinois  and  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  will 
be  content  with  that  sum,  which  is  a  larger  amount  than  has  ever  here- 
tofore been  appropriated  for  this  purpose. 


862  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  C.  E.  HOOKER.  I  think  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentle- 
man from  Illinois  [Mr.  Stevenson]  ought  to  receive  the  favorable  con- 
sideration of  this  committee.  If  the  argument  made  against  it  by  the 
gentleman  from  Georgia  [Mr.  Blount]  is  made  on  good  and  sufficient 
grounds,  then  he  and  his  committee  should  not  have  reported  anything 
for  this  purpose.  If,  as  he  asserts,  there  has  been  a  malapplication  of 
the  money  heretofore  appropriated  for  surveys  during  the  last  ten 
years,  then  clearly  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  have  committed 
a  great  error.  If  his  position  is  at  all  correct  that  this  great  and 
important  work  should  be  abandoned — 

Mr.  BLOTJNT.  The  gentleman  certainly  misapprehends  me. 

Mr.  HOOKER.  I  understood  the  gentleman  to  say  that  the  money 
appropriated  for  the  last  ten  years  for  surveys  had  been  misapplied  to 
this  purpose,  and  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  it  at  all.  I  say  to 
the  gentleman  if  his  premises  are  correct  his  conclusions  are  erroneous. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  I  have  no  doubt  the  gentleman  is  right  about  that. 

Mr.  HOOKER.  I  send  to  the  Clerk's  desk  to  be  read  a  letter  on  this 
subject  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  [See 

Estimates,  April  17,  1880.] 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  I  move  that  the  House  again  resolve  itself  into  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole  to  resume  the  consideration  of  the  sundry  civil 
appropriation  bill. 

Agreed  to. 

The  House  accordingly  resolved  itself  into  Committee  of  the  Whole 
(Mr.  J.  T.  HARRIS,  of  Virginia,  in  the  chair),  and  resumed  the  consid- 
eration of  the  sundry  civil  bill  for  1881. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  I  have  before  me  the  sundry  civil  appropriation  act 
of  1879,  which  contains  an  appropriation  in  this  language: 

For  the  completion  of  the  reports  of  the  Geographical  and  Geological  Survey  of 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  with  the  necessary  maps  and  illustrations,  $20,000;  to 
be  immediately  available. 

This  is  the  sort  of  appropriation  under  which  this  work  has  been 
going  on.  When  an  effort  was  made  to  abolish  these  surveys,  the 
Committee  on  Appropriations  recommended  and  Congress  passed  in 
the  sundry  civil  appropriation  act  of  1879  the  following  provision: 

For  completing  and  preparing  for  publication  the  Contributions  to  North  American 
Ethnology,  under  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $20,000:  Provided,  That  all  the 
archives,  records,  and  materials  relating  to  the  Indians  of  North  America,  collected 
by  the  Geographical  and  Geological  Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  shall  be 
turned  over  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  that  the  work  may  be  completed  and 
prepared  for  publication  under  its  direction:  Provided,  That  it  shall  meet  the 
approval  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

This,  in  the  past,  has  been  the  language  of  the  appropriations  for 
the  surveys  of  which  Major  Powell  has  had  charge.  Yet  these  ethno- 


FOKTY-SLXTH   CONGRESS,  1879-1881.  863 

logical  investigations  have  been  going  on  all  the  while  for  the  last  ten 

years.     I  think  that  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  is  quite  ample 
The  question  being  taken  on  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Steve'nson 

there  were — ayes  37,  noes  44. 

Mr.  STEVENSON.  I  make  the  point  that  no  quorum  has  voted 
Tellers  were  ordered;   and  Mr.  Blount  and  Mr.  Stevenson  were 

appointed. 

The  committee  divided;  and  the  tellers  reported— ayes  73,  noes  78 
Amendment  not  agreed  to. 
June  16,  1880. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1881. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnologic  researches  among  the 
North  American  Indians  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  $20,000. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  275.) 

February  24,  188 1— House. 

In  considering  the  sundry  civil  bill  for  1882  (H.  7203);  the  Clerk 
read  the  following: 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the  North  American 
Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $25,000. 

Mr.  J.  WARREN  KEIFER.  I  offer  the  amendment  which  I  send  to 
the  desk. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

At  the  end  of  line  493,  add  the  following:  "Five  thousand  dollars  of  which  shall 
be  expended  in  continuing  archaeological  investigations  relating  to  mound-builders, 
and  prehistoric  mounds. " 

Mr.  KEIFER.  This  amendment  does  not  increase  the  appropriation. 

Mr.  JAMES  H.  BLOUNT.  I  submit  it  is  new  legislation. 

Mr.  KEIFER.  It  simply  gives  directions  how  a  portion  of  the  appro- 
priation shall  be  spent. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  I  raise  the  point  of  order. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  Chair  would  like  the  gentleman  from  Georgia 
to  show  wherein  the  amendment  changes  existing  law. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  It  provides  for  a  new  line  of  inquiry  not  hitherto 
undertaken  by  the  Government.  This  is  a  continuing  investigation 
which  has  been  going  on  for  several  years  for  the  purpose  stated  in 
the  paragraph.  The  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  is  to 
divert  part  of  this  fund  to  other  investigations  not  provided  for  and 
that  have  not  been  commenced. 

Mr.  KEIFER.  The  researches  and  investigations  that  the  proposed 
amendment  alludes  to  have  been  going  on  for  a  number  of  years  in  a 
feeble  wajr  under  the  appropriations  made  by  Congress.  A  portion 
of  the  money  that  has  been  appropriated  from  time  to  time  for  ethno- 
logical researches  has  been  devoted  to  investigations  of  the  character 
indicated  by  the  proposed  amendment.  Indeed,  the  amendment  itself 


864  CONGKESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

proposes  only  to  dedicate  a  certain  sum  of  money  to  that  special  inves- 
tigation and  to  continue  that  investigation.  Last  year  a  portion,  a 
very  small  portion,  of  the  money  thus  appropriated  was  used  in  this 
way.  In  no  sense  does  the  amendment  change  existing  law.  It  does 
not  conflict  with  existing  law  in  any  sense.  It  is  simply  a  dedication 
of  a  portion  of  this  appropriation.  I  trust  the  gentleman  from 
Georgia  will  not  press  his  point  of  order. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  Clerk  will  again  report  the  amendment. 

The  amendment  was  again  read. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  Chair  does  not  think  this  changes  existing  law, 
but  is  in  the  line  of  investigation  authorized  by  law.  The  Chair  there- 
fore overrules  the  point  of  order. 

Mr.  KEIFER.  The  point  of  order  having  been  overruled,  let  me  say 
a  word  now  on  the  amendment.  It  might  well  perhaps  be  left  ordi- 
narily to  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
to  determine  how  this  $25,000  of  money  should  be  expended.  But 
that  leaves  him  possibly  exposed  to  trouble  with  various  persons  who 
are  employed  in  making  these  very  important  investigations.  Last 
year  we  gave  him  but  $20,000  for  these  researches,  while  this  year  it 
is  proposed  to  give  $25,000.  The  amount  appropriated  last  3Tear  was 
not  sufficient  and  therefore  this  particular  matter  of  investigation  was 
largely  neglected. 

I  want  to  call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  the  fact  that  these 
investigations  have  to  be  made  in  the  settled  portions  -of  the  country 
east  mainly  of  the  Mississippi  River,  largely  in  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
but  not  confined  to  that. 

There  are  places  where  these  investigations  should  go  on  in  North 
Carolina  especially,  and  in  Georgia.  In  Tennessee  there  is  a  very  inter- 
esting field  for  investigation.  Arkansas  and  Texas  are  full  of  these 
mounds,  and  they  are  found  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  Being  in  the  settled 
portion  of  the  country,  they  are  disappearing. 

Of  such  importance  are  they  regarded  in  England  and  France  that 
those  countries  are  sending  here  scientific  bodies  of  men  to  investigate 
our  mounds,  these  evidences  of  prehistoric  races.  They  are  devoting 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  to  do  the  very  thing  that  we  ought  to 
have  done  long  ago.  This  small  sum  of  money  can  be  used  very 
advantageously  during  the  coming  summer  in  making  surveys  and 
investigations,  and  finally  completing  a  work  that  has  already  been 
commenced  that  is  of  very  great  importance.  I  would  like  to  have 
added  a  great  many  things  that  I  think  are  of  vast  importance  on  this 
subject,  but  I  have  not  time.  I  hope  the  committee  will  not  object  to 
giving  a  portion  of  the  appropriation  this  special  direction. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  I  think  we  had  better  leave  this  fund  where  it  has 
been  all  the  while — under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution — 
leaving  the  special  directions  given  to  it  discretionary.  There  may  be 
investigations  more  important  than  the  one  my  friend  from  Ohio  sees 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  865 

fit  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  committee  to,  and  1  think  we  had  bet- 
ter leave  this  as  it  is.  I  care  very  little  about  it.  But  it  does  seem  to 
me  that  the  diversion  of  the  fund  in  this  way  tends  to  introduce  new 
objects  of  inquiry,  very  many  of  which  may  be  useless. 

Mr.  JOHN  D.  C.  ATKINS.  I  wish  to  make  a  single  remark  that  in  my 
judgment  the  application  of  this  fund  can  be  made  already  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  way  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  proposes, 
without  the  adoption  of  his  amendment. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  So  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  claimed  himself,  and  I 
have  said  it  would  be  better  to  leave  it  to  the  discretion  of  the  Insti- 
tution. 

Mr.  KEIFER.  I  admit  it  can  be  done;  but  it  may  not  be  done.  And 
the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  [Mr.  Atkins]  will  admit  that  in  his  own 
district  there  are  some  very  interesting  investigations  that  should  be 
made,  or  the  time  will  soon  come  when  they  can  not  be  made. 

Mr.  ATKINS.  I  do  not  want  to  be  understood  as  opposing  it  at  all. 

The  question  was  taken  upon  the  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Keifer, 
and  on  a  division  there  were:  ayes,  51;  noes,  29.  No  further  count 
being  called  for,  the  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  JAMES  B.  WEAVER.  I  give  notice  that  I  shall  ask  for  a  separate 
vote  on  this  amendment  in  the  House. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  That  is  the  gentleman's  right. 

March  3,  1881. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1882. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
North  American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  $25,000;  $5,000  of  which  shall  be  expended 
in  continuing  archaeological  investigations  relating  to  mound-builders 
and  prehistoric  mounds,  and  be  available  immediately. 

(Stat.  XXI,  443.) 

BESSELS'S   SCIENTIFIC   REPORT. 
May  24,  1880— Senate. 

Communication  from  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  (of  May  22,  1880)  transmitting  a  communication  from  Dr. 
Emil  Bessels,  chief  of  the  scientific  department  of  the  Arctic  expe- 
dition under  Capt.  C.  F.  Hall: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  May  22,  1880. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  herewith  a  communication  from  Dr.  Emil  Bessels, 
chief  of  the  scientific  department  of  the  Arctic  expedition  under  the  late  Capt  OF. 
Hall,  and  would  earnestly  recommend  that  the  appropriation  suggested,  of  $8,000, 
for  completing  the  preparation  of  the  scientific  results  of  said  expedition,  be 
by  Congress. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAJRD,  Secretary. 

Hon.  A.  G.  THURMAN, 

Acting  President  Untied  States  Senate. 
H.  Doc.  732 55 


866  CONGKESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

WASHINGTON-,  D.  C.,  May  20,  1880. 

SIR:  I  beg  to  inform  you  that  it  will  not  be  possible  to  complete  the  report  on  the 
scientific  results  of  the  United  States  Arctic  Expedition,  under  the  late  Capt.  C.  F. 
Hall,  without  assistance  from  Congress. 

The  reason  for  a  request  for  assistance  at  thia  time  lies  in  the  fact  that  of  the 
$15,000  appropriated  in  1875,  at  the  instance  of  the  late  Professor  Henry,  and  to  be 
expended  under  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  only  about  $3,000  has  ever 
been  available  for  the  purpose,  the  remainder  having  been  used  for  purposes  not  in 
keeping  with  those  for  which  the  money  was  granted. 

On  drafts  being  made  upon  the  Navy  Department,  after  about  $3,000  had  been 
spent,  Professor  Henry  was  informed  that  there  was  no  more  money  available. 

At  the  time  this  information  was  received  the  preparation  of  the  volumes  in  ques- 
tion was  being  vigorously  prosecuted.  Contracts  were  outstanding  with  engravers, 
lithographers,  and  others  to  the  amount  of  about  $4,000,  for  which  sum  Professor 
Henry,  as  he  informed  the  Navy  Department,  held  himself  personally  responsible. 
As  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  artists  making  the  plates  to  illustrate  the 
volumes  should  be  sufficiently  interested  in  the  work  to  induce  them  to  await  indefi- 
nite payment  of  their  respective  bills,  and  being  repeatedly  urged  to  settle  the  same, 
I  felt  in  honor  bound  to  satisfy  these  demands;  and  the  more  especially  so  since 
Professor  Henry  had  assumed  personal  responsibility  for  obligations  incurred  on 
account  of  the  work.  I  therefore  at  once  paid  from  my  private  means  all  outstand- 
ing indebtedness. 

As  at  present  there  remain  two  volumes  of  the  scientific  results  unpublished,  viz, 
Volumes  II  and  III,  it  is  estimated  that  $8,000  will  be  required  to  complete  the  series 
and  fulfill  the  purpose  contemplated  by  Congress  when  making  the  appropriation 
in  1875. 

Should  Congress  think  proper  to  make   the  appropriation   desired,  I  trust  the 
money  will  be  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

EMIL  BESSELS, 
Chief  of  Scientific  Department,  United  States  Arctic  Expedition. 

Prof.  S.  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

June  16,  1880. 

Deficiency  act  for  1880,  etc. 

For  completing  the  preparation,  with  the  necessary  illustrations,  of 
the  report  of  Dr.  Emil  Bessels,  of  the  scientific  results  of  the  Arctic 
Expedition  under  the  late  Captain  C.  F.  Hall,  to  be  expended  under 
the  control  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $8,000. 

(Stat,  XXI,  238.) 

REIMBURSEMENT   OF    EMIL  BESSELS. 
February  18,  1881— House. 

Mr.  HIRAM  BARBER,  jr.,  from  Committee  on  Claims,  submitted  a 
report  (H.  306)  on  a  bill  (H.  4718)  for  the  relief  of  Dr.  Emil  Bessels: 

It  appears  from  the  examination  of  this  claim  that  the  North  Polar  Expedition 
was  authorized  by  a  special  act  of  Congress  March  8,  1870.  The  steamer  Polaris 
sailed  for  the  arctic  regions  June  10, 1871.  The  claimant,  Dr.  Bessels,  was  the  chief 
of  the  scientific  division  of  this  expedition,  having  been  designated  for  that  position 


FORTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS,   1879-1881.  867 

by  the  order  ot  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  June  7, 1871,  at  a  salary  of  $100  per  month 
and  subsistence. 

The  Polaris  was  wrecked  on  the  north  coast  of  Greenland  in  1872.     Her  voyage, 
loss,  and  the  marvelous  experiences  of  the  heroic  souls  comprising  the  expedition^  • 
are  matters  of  history,  and  comprise  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the 
annals  of  arctic  exploration. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  survivors,  in  October,  1873,  the  claimant  was  directed  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  prepare  the  preliminary  report  of  the  voyage,  and  sub- 
sequently ordered  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  there  engaged  in  working  out 
the  scientific  results  of  the  expedition. 

The  claimant  appears  to  have  been  thus  engaged  until  May,  1875,  when  he  was 
ordered  by  the  Navy  Department  to  repair  to  San  Francisco  and  embark  on  the 
United  States  steamer  Saranac  for  Alaskan  waters  to  complete  the  ethnological  vol- 
ume of  the  Arctic  Expedition.  The  Saranac,  after  being  at  sea  about  two  weeks,  was  ' 
wrecked  between  Vancouvers  Island  and  the  mainland. 

The  claimant  immediately  returned  to  Washington,  and  was  again  ordered  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  to  continue  the  preparation  of  the  scientific  report  of  the 
Polaris  expedition,  and  where  he  remained  so  employed  until  March,  1880. 

The  claimant  now  alleges  (1)  that  he  had  a  large  amount  of  personal  property  on 
board  of  the  Polaris,  which  was  lost  with  the  vessel,  and  for  which  he  ought  to  be 
reimbursed;  (2)  that  he  had  a  large  amount  of  personal  property  on  board  the 
Saranac,  which  was  lost  with  the  vessel,  and  for  which  he  ought  also  to  be  reim- 
bursed; (3)  that  he  has  made  large  advances  of  money  upon  the  work  now  in  prog- 
ress from  his  own  private  means,  for  which  he  ought  to  be  reimbursed;  (4)  that  he 
has  been  paid  no  salary  for  the  period  from  August  30,  1876,  to  March  1,  1880. 

In  regard  to  the  first  item  for  which  relief  is  claimed,  viz,  articles  lost  on  board 
the  Polaris,  it  appears  from  the  evidence  submitted  to  your  committee  that  a  large 
portion  of  the  outfit  of  scientific  instruments  and  apparatus  deemed  necessary  for  the 
use  of  the  expedition  could  not  be  furnished  by  the  Government,  owing  to  the  short 
space  of  time  intervening  between  the  appointment  qf  Dr.  Bessels  and  the  day  fixed 
for  the  departure  of  the  expedition.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  date  of  the  order 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  designating  Dr.  Bessels  for  the  position  of  chief  of  the 
scientific  division  of  the  expedition  is  June  7, 1871,  and  that  the  Polaris  sailed  July 
10, 1871,  too  short  a  time  for  the  Government  to  procure  or  prepare  the  scientific 
instruments  and  apparatus. 

In  this  emergency  Dr.  Bessels  supplied  this  deficiency  by  ordering  a  large  amount 
of  his  own  personal  property  on  board  of  the  Polaris  for  the  use  of  the  expedition. 
This  seems  to  have  been  done  upon  consultation  with  Professor  Henry,  the  then 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  one  of  the  joint  directory  of  the  expe- 
dition. The  claimant  produces  an  inventory  of  this  property  thus  furnished,  pre- 
pared by  himself  and  Professor  Henry,  and  having  upon  it  the  following  indorsement: 
"Inventory  of  articles  lent  to  the  North  Polar  Expedition  by  Dr.  E.  Bessels,  for 
which  the  Government  of  the  United  States  ought  to  pay  in  case  they  are  lost 
(Signed)  Joseph  Henry,  July  7, 1871." 

This  document,  with  the  indorsement  of  Professor  Henry  as  above  given,  was 
deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  Dr.  Bessels  before  the 
sailing  of  the  Polaris.  The  articles  were  lost  with  the  vessel,  and  there  would  seem 
to  be  no  question  about  the  duty  and  obligation  of  the  Government  to  indemnify  Dr. 
Bessels  therefor.  The  value  of  these  articles  your  committee  find  to  be  the  sum  of 
$1,378.50. 

Your  committee  also  find  the  value  of  the  articles  lost  on  board  the  Saranac  by  Dr. 
Bessels  to  be  the  sum  of  $1,022.50,  and  that  the  claimant  is  entitled  t< 
therefor. 


868  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

It  further  appears  from  the  evidence  submitted  to  your  committee  that  the  claim- 
ant has  made  advances  in  money  for  the  work  now  in  preparation,  in  continuation 
of  the  history  of  the  Polaris  expedition,  amounting  to  the  sum  of  $3,632.70.  The 
chief  item  of  the  sum  so  advanced  is  a  receipted  bill  as  follows,  viz: 

NEW  YORK,  March  29,  1877. 
Dr.  Emil  Bessels  to  Julius  Bien,  lithographer,  Dr. 

Photolithographing,  printing  in  black  and  tint,  and  paper  for  2,000  copies 

of  52  plates  of  skulls,  at  $60 $3,120.00 

13  packing  boxes,  at  $1. 25 16.  25 

3, 136.  25 
Received  payment. 

JULIUS  BIEN. 

The  claimant  also  produces  other  vouchers,  swelling  his  advances  to  the  sum  of 
$3,632.70  above  named.  It  appears  to  your  committee  that  these  advances  have 
been  in  fact  made  by  the  claimant;  that  the  work  upon  which  expended  was  prose- 
cuted under  the  sanction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the  officers  of  the  same 
recognized  the  propriety  of  reimbursing  the  claimant. 

It  appears  further,  from  the  evidence  submitted  to  your  committee,  that  the  claim- 
ant has  not  received  anything  in  the  way  of  salary  for  his  services  from  August  30, 
1876,  to  March  1, 1880.  By  the  original  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  the  com- 
pensation of  the  claimant  was  fixed  at  $100  per  month.  At  this  rate  there  is  now 
due  the  claimant  for  unpaid  salary  the  sum  of  $4,200. 

RECAPITULATION. 

1.  Articles  lost  on  board  of  the  Polaris $1,378.50 

2.  Articles  lost  on  board  the  Saranac 1, 022.  50 

3.  Advances  by  Dr.  Bessels  on  work  now  in  preparation 3,  632.  70 

4.  Salary  from  August  30,  1876,  to  March  1,  1880 4,200.00 


Total 10,233.70 

After  a  careful  consideration  of  all  the  evidence  submitted,  your  committee  are  of 
the  opinion  that  he  is  justly  entitled  to  the  said  sum  of  $10,233.70,  and  therefore 
report  back  said  bill  with  the  recommendation  that  said  amount  be  inserted  therein 
and  the  same  passed. 

In  conclusion,  your  committee  invite  the  attention  of  the  House  to  the  following 
documents,  herewith  submitted,  viz: 

1.  Letter  of  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  under  date  of 
February  8,  1881,  and  inclosures  A,  B,  0,  D,  E. 

2.  Original  memoranda  by  Dr.  Bessels. 

3.  Letter  of  Secretary  of  Navy,  under  date  of  May  21,  1880,  with  divers  inclos- 
ures. 

4.  Documentary  evidence  submitted  by  claimant,  consisting  of  original  letter  of 
appointment,  correspondence,  and  vouchers. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
March  3,  1881. 

Deficiency  act  for  1881. 

To  pay  Dr.  Emil  Bessels  for  articles  lost  on  board  of  the  Polaris, 
$1,378.50;  for  articles  lost  on  board  of  the  Saranac,  $1,022.50;  to  reim- 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1881-1883.  869 

burse  him  for  payments  made  by  him  in  the  preparation  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Polaris  expedition,  $3,632.70;  for  salary  from  August  30 
1876,  to  March  1,  1880,  $4,200;  in  all,  $10,233.70. 
(Stat.,XXI,  420.) 


DOCUMENTS. 


June  7,  1880. 

By  joint  resolution  No.  44,  providing  "for  the  publication  and  dis- 
tribution of  a  Supplement  to  the  Revised  Statutes,"  two  copies  were 
ordered  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

(Stat.,  XXI,  308.) 


FORTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS,  1881-1883. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 

May  19,  1881— Senate. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT  (Mr.  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR)  appointed  Nathan- 
iel P.  Hill,  of  Colorado,  and  Samuel  B.  Maxey,  of  Texas,  Regents,  on 
the  part  of  the  Senate,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  fill  the  vacan- 
cies caused  by  the  expiration  of  the  terms  of  service  as  Senators  of 
Newton  Booth  and  Robert  E.  Withers. 

January  19,  1883— Senate. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore  (Mr.  DAVID  DAVIS)  laid  before  the  Sen- 
ate the  following  communication: 

SENATE  CHAMBER,  January  19,  1883. 

SIR:  I  desire  to  inform  you  that  I  have  resigned  the  office  of  Regent  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  yours,  GEORGE  F.  HOAR. 

To  Hon.  DAVID  DAVIS, 

President  of  the  Senate. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  Chair,  in  pursuance  of  the  statute, 
appoints  the  Senator  from  Vermont  [Mr.  George  F.  Edmunds]  in 
place  of  Mr.  Hoar. 

February  26,  1883— Senate. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore  (Mr.  DAVID  DAVIS)  laid  before  the 
Senate  the  following  communication,  which  was  read: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  February  £1,  188S. 

SIR-  With  grateful  thanks  for  the  honor  you  have  done  me,  I  respectfully  decline 
the  appointment  as  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  announced 
short  time  since. 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 
Hon.  DAVID  DAVIS, 

President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate. 


870  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  communication  will  be  filed. 
The  Chair  appoints  Mr.  Justin  S.  Morrill  in  place  of  Mr.  Edmunds. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   .REGENTS     . 

By  the  Speaker. 
January  9,  1882— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  WARREN  KEIFER)  appointed  Nathaniel  C. 
Deering,  of  Iowa,  Ezekiel  B.  Taylor,  of  Ohio,  and  Samuel  S.  Cox, 
of  New  York,  as  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  date 
from  the  fourth  Wednesday  of  December,  1881. 

ETHNOLOGY — ESTIMATES. 

December  5,  1881 — House. 

Estimates  for  1883. 

Ethnological  researches,  $50,000. 

December  4,  1882— House. 

Estimate  for  1884. 

Ethnological  researches,  $50,000. 

ETHNOLOGY — APPROPRIATIONS. 
June  26,  1882. 

[H.  Report  No.  1520.] 

Amount  paid  for  salaries  from  appropriation  for  ethnologic  researches  during  1880-81, 
$20,000.     (Act  approved  June  30,  1880. ) 

1  Director,  at  $3,600  per  annum;  2  months  and  17  days $760.  00 

1  chief  clerk  and  disbursing  agent,  10  months,  at  $2,100  per  annum 1,  748. 10 

1  executive  officer,  2  months,  at  $250  per  month,  $500;  6  months,  at  $3,000 

per  annum,  $1,500 2,  000.  00 

1  photographer,  1  year,  at  $1,800  per  annum 1,  798.  30 

1  assistant  photographer,  2  months,  at  $45  per  month,  $90;  11  months,  at 

$540  per  annum,  $495.50 585. 50 

1  stenographer,  4  months  and  13  days,  at  $900  per  annum 330.  80 

1  ethnologist,  10  months,  at  $1,500  per  annum 1, 248. 60 

1  assistant  ethnologist,  2  months  and  6  days,  at  $100  per  month 219.  32 

1  assistant  ethnologist,  4  months,  at  $50  per  month 200. 00 

1  assistant  ethnologist,  3  months,  at  $50  per  month 150. 00 

1  assistant  ethnologist,  2  months,  at  $600  per  annum 99.  50 

1  assistant  ethnologist,  1  month,  at  $30  per  month 30.  00 

1  assistant  ethnologist,  1  month,  at  $37.50  per  month 37.  50 

1  assistant  ethnologist,  3  months,  at  $480  per  annum  ^ 120. 00 

1  philologist,  2  months,  at  $125  per  month 250.  00 

1  draftsman,  8  days,  at  $4  per  day 32. 00 

1  copyist,  10  months,  at  $600  per  annum 499.50 

1  copyist,  2  months,  at  $30  per  month,  $60;  11  months,  at  $360  per  annum, 

$330.30 390.30 

1  copyist,  6  days,  at  $600  per  annum 9. 89 

1  copyist,  2  months,  at  $50  per  month 100. 00 

1  clerk,  2  months, at  $100  per  month 200.00 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1881-1883.  87 1 

1  clerk,  1  month,  at  $75  per  month $75  00 

1  messenger,  11  months,  at  $480  per  annum 440  40 

1  messenger,  2  months  and  14  days,  at  $180  per  annum 36. 50 

1  messenger,  2  months,  at  $240  per  annum 40  20 

1  messenger,  4  months  and  12  days,  at  $425  per  annum 155. 02 

1  watchman,  11  months,  at  $480  per  annum 440  40 

1  cook,  2  months,  at  $40  per  month 80.00 

1  cook,  1  month  and  23  days,  at  $45  per  month 78. 75 

1  laborer,  1  month  and  23  days,  at  $50  per  month 87. 50 

1  laborer,  17  days,  at  $1.50  per  day 25. 50 

1  teamster,  1  month,  at  $30  per  month 30. 00 

1  foreman,  1  month  and  23  days,  at  $75  per  month 131. 25 

Services  procuring  Indian  vocabulary  (job) 11. 00 

Services  backing  map  (job) 5. 00 

Total 12, 445. 83 

August  7,  1882. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1883. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
North  American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  including  salaries  and  compensation  of  all 
necessary  employees,  $35,000. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  332.) 

March  3,  1883. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1884. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
North  American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  including  salaries  and  compensation  of  all 
necessary  employees,  $40,000,  of  which  $3,000  shall  be  expended  for 
continuing  and  completing  the  compilation  and  preparation  of  a  sta- 
tistical atlas  of  Indian  affairs  by  C.  C.  Royce,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Smithsonian  Institution,  which  shall  be 
immediately  available. 

(Stat,  XXII,  628.) 

THOMSON    SIAMESE   DEPOSIT. 
January  12,  1882— House. 

A  bill  (H.  2810)  introduced  by  Mr.  J.  F.  C.  TALBOTT. 

(See  Report  No.  65  from  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  Forty-seventh 
Congress,  first  session,  House.  Presented  in  House  January  24, 1882.) 
August  8,  1882. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  Mary  E.  Thomson,  mother  of  Passed  Assist- 
ant Paymaster  Curtis  H.  Thomson,  U.  S.  N.,  deceased,  be,  and  is 
hereby,  authorized  to  accept,  first,  a  portrait,  in  frame,  of  Her  Royal 
Highness  the  Princess  of  Siam;  second,  a  silver  enameled  cigar-case; 
third,  a  matchbox  and  tray  of  Siamese  work,  the  same  being  pre- 
sented to  said  Curtis  H.  Thomson,  in  his  lifetime,  by  the  King  of 
Siam,  and  now  on  deposit  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  738.) 


872  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

EXPOSITIONS. 

Atlanta  Exposition. 
February  13,  1882. 

Act  approved  appropriating  $5,000  to  pack  and  transport  to  Wash- 
ington agricultural  and  mineral  specimens  from  the  Atlanta  (Georgia) 
Exposition  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  3.) 

Denver  Exposition. 
April  7,  1882. 

Act  approved  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  for  exhibition  at  the 
National  Mining  and  Industrial  Exposition  to  be  held  in  Denver, 
Colorado,  in  1882. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  41.) 
March  3,  1883. 

Act  approved  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  intended  for  the  National 
Mining  and  Industrial  Exposition  in  Denver,  Colorado,  in  1883. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  481.) 

London  Fishery  Exhibition. 
June  15,  1882— House. 

Mr.  CHARLES  G.  WILLIAMS,  of  Wisconsin,  from  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Affairs,  reported  joint  resolution  (H.  237)  concerning  an  inter- 
national fishery  exhibition  to  be  held  at  London  in  May  of  the  follow- 
ing }-ear. 

Referred  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
June  19,  1882 — House. 

Mr.  CHARLES  G.  WILLIAMS,  of  Wisconsin.  I  am  instructed  by  the 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  to  move  to  suspend  the  rules  so  as  to 
discharge  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  on  the  state  of  the  Union 
from  the  further  consideration  of  H.  Res.  No.  237,  and  to  pass  the 
same. 

The  joint  resolution  was  read. 

Mr.  J.  H.  BLOUNT.  I  demand  a  second  on  the  motion  to  suspend  the 
rules. 

The  SPEAKER.  If  there  be  no  objection,  the  motion  will  be  consid- 
ered as  seconded.  The  Chair  hears  no  objection.  The  gentleman 
from  Georgia  [Mr.  Blount]  will  be  recognized  to  control  the  time  in 
opposition  to  the  motion. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  I  suppose  the  gentleman  from  Wisconsin  [Mr.  Wil- 
liams] desires  to  be  heard  first. 

Mr.  WILLIAMS,  of  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Speaker,  these  international 
exhibitions  are  the  great  object-teaching  schools  of  the  world.  They 
have  changed  the  character  and  turned  the  currents  of  trade  frequently 
more  in  ninety  days  than  private  enterprise,  however  combined,  could 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1881-1883.  873 

do  in  years.  At  Berlin  the  United  States  carried  off  the  first  prize  in 
competition  with  all  other  nations.  It  is  virtually  conceded  or  at 
least  certainly  assured,  that  if  the  invitation  to  London  next  year  be 
accepted  and  preparation  properly  made,  this  country  will  surpass  all 
others  combined  in  the  display  of  those  things  which  pertain  to  fish- 
culture  and  the  practical  results  connected  therewith. 

The  resources  of  this  country  for  the  production  of  fish  and  all  that 
pertains  thereto,  the  Commissioner  informs  us,  are  greater  than  in  all 
the  countries  of  Europe  combined.  The  actual  production  is  four 
times  greater  than  that  of  Norway,  the  greatest  fish  producing  coun- 
try on  that  continent.  The  products  of  fish  and  fisheries  in  the  United 
States  in  the  census  year  1880  in  the  hands  of  producers  amounted  to 
$45,000,000,  and  at  wholesale  prices  to  $90,000,000.  By  means  of 
artificial  appliances  now  in  use— not  tentative,  but  which  have  been 
practically  tested  and  their  utility  demonstrated— the  Commissioner 
informs  us  that  the  product,  including  all  things  pertaining  to  it,  may 
be  increased  ten  times,  which  would  give  the  enormous  annual  pro- 
duction of  $900,000,000.  We  can  scarcely  realize  this.  So  accus- 
tomed are  we  to  look  to  the  land  for  wealth  that  we  overlook  the 
resources  of  our  American  waters,  and  we  forget  how  God  maintained 
the  red  man  till  he  fulfilled  his  allotted  mission.  We  do  indeed  culti- 
vate the  land,  but  we  have  civilized  the  waters  with  baseness.  *  *  * 

The  Commissioner  sends  to  the  committee  this  memorandum: 

In  1875  Congress  made  an  appropriation  for  expenditure  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  and  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  of  over  $100,000  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  an  exhibit  of  the  animal  and  mineral  resources  of  the  United  States.  Of 
this  sum  about  $30,000  was  expended  in  connection  with  the  fisheries  branch  of  the 
subject.  The  display  made  in  consequence  was  complete  and  satisfactory. 

At  the  close  of  the  exhibition  these  specimens  were  boxed  up  and  transferred  to 
Washington,  where  they  remained  stored  in  the  Armory  building  until  1880.  In 
that  year  Congress  passed  an  act  for  participation  by  the  United  States  in  the  fishery 
display  at  Berlin,  and  appropriated  $20,000  for  the  purpose.  This  amount  would 
have  been  entirely  inadequate  but' for  the  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  the  display 
was  already  prepared,  leaving  comparatively  little  additional  matter  to  be  procured. 
There  was  also  in  readiness  a  series  of  portable  cases,  which  had  been  constructed  at 
an  additional  cost  of  some  $6,000,  and  which  were  forwarded  to  Germany  with  the 
exhibits  and  used  in  the  installation  and  display  of  the  collection.  Owing  to  the  great 
liberality  of  the  Bremen  Steamship  Company,  the  collection  of  boxes,  occupying  some 
12,000  cubic  feet  of  capacity,  was  taken  to  Bremen  and  brought  back  again  free  of 
charge.  The  railroad  companies  between  Washington,  New  York,  and  Boston 
acted  in  a  similarly  liberal  spirit. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  use  any  considerable  portion  of  the  articles  exhibited  at 
Philadelphia  and  Berlin  for  the  London  display.  Many  of  them  were  ruined  by 
the  transfer,  so  as  to  require  renewal,  and  the  collection  generally  has  become  so 
well  known  by  its  double  exhibition  as  to  be  what  may  be  called  shopworn.  For 
this  reason  an  entirely  new  series  of  presentation  will  be  required;  also  the  fishery 
industries  have  been  greatly  extended  since  1880. 

The  packing  boxes  in  which  the  collections  were  sent  to  Berlin  and  back  have  all 
been  destroyed,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  greater  part  of  the  cases.  The 
expenditures  therefore  necessary  will  be  as  follows: 


874  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

1.  The  preparation  of  the  new  exhibit  in  all  its  details,  and  of  the  most  perfect 
character. 

2.  The  preparation  of  the  specimens,  and  mounting  them  on  suitable  boards  or 
tablets. 

:>.  The  construction  of  cases  in  which  they  may  be  exhibited  on  reaching  London. 

4.  The  construction  of  packing  boxes  necessary  for  holding  the  exhibits. 

5.  The  freight  charges  to  London  and  back  on  not  less  than  20,000  cubic  feet  of 
packages. 

6.  The  salaries,  traveling  expenses,  and  subsistence  in  London  of  the  party  neces- 
sary to  take  charge  of  the  display. 

The  following  schedule  of  expenditures  is  given  as  an  approximate  estimate: 

The  collection  of  the  materials  for  exhibit $8,  000 

The  general  preparation  for  exhibition 5, 000 

The  construction  of  .cases  for  exhibition 8, 000 

The  construction  of  packing  boxes  for  an  estimated  bulk  of  20,000  cubic  feet. .     3,  000 

The  freights  on  20,000  cubic  feet  from  Washington  to  London  and  back 20,000 

Expenses  of  party  in  charge  of  display 6, 000 

There  is  no  sum  of  $30,000  nor  $20,000  in  this  bill  for  junketing 
expenses — 

A  total  of  $50,000,  allowing  nothing  for  incidentals,  nothing  for  unexpected  expenses, 
and  nothing  for  acquiring  articles  of  economical  value  to  the  United  States  by  the 
National  Museum. 

The  sum  mentioned  is  the  very  lowest  with  which  the  work  can  be  done  to  any 
advantage.  It  will  indeed  require  a  great  deal  of  economy  to  bring  a  suitable  out- 
lay within  the  figures  mentioned. 

Sir,  there  is  something  due  to  the  courtesy  of  nations.  Great 
Britain  has  politely  invited  us,  though  she  is  aware  with  what  she  has 
to  compete.  The  amount  appropriated  is  reasonable;  the  object  in 
view  is  prudent  and  practicable.  I  sincerely  hope  the  House  will  pass 
the  resolutions,  as  it  will  be  too  late  if  not  done  at  this  session  of 
Congress. 

Mr.  Speaker,  how  much  time  have  I  remaining? 

The  SPEAKER.  Four  minutes. 

Mr.  WILLIAMS,  of  Wisconsin.  I  yield-  for  a  moment  to  the  gentle- 
man from  New  York  [Mr.  Cox]. 

Mr.  S.  S.  Cox,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Speaker,  prior  to  the  Centennial 
exhibition  in  1876  comparatively  little  was  known  in  regard  to  the 
greatness  of  our  fish  resources,  while  the  important  factor  fish  played 
in  our  domestic  economy  was  but  little  appreciated.  At  that  time  a 
hurried  collection  of  specimens  was  jointly  made  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  and  the  Fish  Commission,  which  in  diversity  and  size  sur- 
prised all  those  who  saw  it  at  Philadelphia.  The  development  in  this 
line  has  observably  increased  since  that  time,  until  1880,  when  on  a 
three-weeks'  notice  a  collection  was  gotten  together  by  the  untiring 
Commissioner,  Professor  Baird,  and  shipped  to  Berlin,  under  the 
supervision  of  Prof.  G.  Brown  Goode. 

This  exhibit  again  proved  a  surprise,  this  time  not  only  to  Ameri- 
cans, but  also  to  the  exhibitors  of  Europe,  who  saw  us  bear  off  the 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1881-1883.  875 

honors,  including  the  epergne,  the  magnificent  gift  of  Kaiser  Wilhelm, 
which  was  presented  to  our  commissioner.  It  was  a  fit  token  that  he 
had  done  more  for  the  fishing  interests  of  his  country  than  an}-  other 
man.  Since  the  Berlin  exhibition,  when  the  attention  of  foreign 
countries  had  been  called  to  the  cheapness  and  excellence  of  the  vari- 
ous products"  of  the  fisheries,  new  markets  have  been  found  for  dried, 
salted,  and  prepared  fish  of  different  kinds,  and  also  for  the  apparatus 
used  by  the  fishermen.  The  exports  have  increased  correspondingly 
in  value  and  in  kind.  Let  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Affairs  speak: 

One  of  the  immediate  results  of  the  participation  by  this  Government  in  the  exhi- 
bition at  Berlin,  in  1880,  was  the  establishment  of  agencies  for  the  sale  of  American 
fish  products  in  nearly  every  country  in  Europe.  As  another  result,  American 
boneless  codfish  has  been  adopted  as  a  standard  article  of  food  by  some  seventeen  or 
more  of  the  regiments  of  the  German  army,  and  its  introduction  into  the  commissary 
department  of  the  navies  of  Germany  and  Russia  is  seriously  contemplated. 

The  foreign  trade  in  this  commodity  has  but  just  begun,  and  its  possibilities  for 
the  future  are  almost  without  limit.  The  Commissioner  states  that  the  value  of  the 
products  of  the  fisheries  of  the  United  States  in  the  census  year  1880  was  about 
$45,000,000.  This  was  the  estimated  price  paid  to  the  producer,  but  the  value  of  the 
same  products  at  wholesale  rates  would  not  be  less  than  $90,000,000. 

The  export  trade,  owing  to  a  strong  home  demand,  in  the  year  1880  amounted  to 
only  $5,744,580.  Professor  Baird  states  that  under  the  processes  now  being  success- 
fully employed,  the  resources  of  the  waters  of  the  United  States  available  for  this 
purpose  may  be  made  to  produce  a  quantity  of  useful  products  at  least  ten  times  as 
great  as  they  now  produce,  which  would  amount  to  the  enormous  sum  of  $900,000,000 
per  annum.  He  also  estimates  that  at  the  rate  at  which  oysters  are  now  being  con- 
sumed ten  years  will  exhaust  the  natural  supply  in  this  country,  but  states  that 
under  artificial  methods  now  employed  the  supply  will  soon  be  restored.  In  view 
of  the  growing  scarcity  and  high  prices  for  meat  food  these  things  become  of  vital 
importance.  The  exports  of  oysters  from  the  United  States  to  England  have  risen 
in  value  from  $33,661  in  1875  to  $403,629  in  1881. 

This  country  excels  all  others  in  the  preparation  of  the  cheapest  and  best  quali- 
ties of  dried  cod  and  pollock.  These  are  prepared  with  skin  and  bones  removed,  and 
packed  in  neat  boxes  for  transportation.  It  has  also  an  almost  unexampled  pro- 
duction of  superior  grades  of  smoked  herring,  sturgeon,  halibut,  and  mullet,  all  of 
which,  if  placed  upon  foreign  markets,  would  meet  an  immense  sale.  The  display 
of  these  and  similar  articles  in  the  exhibition  would  tend  directly  to  their  introduc- 
tion into  European  markets. 

Certainly,  then,  if  these  results  have  followed  the  Berlin  exhibition 
it  is  of  great  commercial  interest  to  expand  our  markets,  which  are 
now  only  10  per  cent  of  what  they  really  ought  to  be,  could,  and  will 
be  if  Professor  Baird  is  assisted  in  his  endeavors,  for,  as  he  truthfully 
says  in  his  report: 

Many  countries  of  Europe  have  already  reached  that  period  when  they  look  to 
foreign  nations  for  their  supply  of  animal  food.  America  furnishes  a  great  part;  the 
less  populated  regions  of  Europe  the  remainder.  The  increase  in  the  price  of  what 
is  called  "butchers'  meat,"  though  gradual,  is  inevitable,  and  every  year  a  larger 
and  larger  percentage  of  the  population  will  be  unable  to  secure  it.  In  this  . 
gency  we  must  look  to  the  water  for  the  means  of  supply. 


876  CONGEESSIONAL    PKOCEEDINGS. 

America  has  the  supply,  Europe  furnishes  the  demand.  It  would  therefore  seem 
that  all  reasonable  opportunities  should  be  improved  to  bring  her  productions  to  the 
attention  of  foreign  countries. 

The  President  approves  this  bill,  as  does  also  the  honorable  Secre- 
tary of  State,  who  says: 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  the  fisheries  interests  of  this  country,  the  widely 
extended  and  growing  exportation  of  our  maritime  products  as  food  and  for  use  in 
the  arts  and  manufactures,  and  the  constantly  increasing  attention  which  our  citizens 
are  giving  to  the  subject  of  fish  culture,  it  wrould  undoubtedly  be  a  wise  and  profita- 
ble measure  for  Congress  to  make  such  provision  as  would  enable  the  United  States 
to  take  a  part  in  the  proposed  exhibition  at  London  commensurate  with  the  interest 
of  the  country  in  the  subject. 

It  is  therefore  recommended  that  an  appropriation  of  $50,000  be  made  to  enable 
the  Secretary  of  State  to  take  the  necessary  steps  for  securing  the  representation  of 
this  country  at  the  London  International  Fisheries  Exhibition  of  1883,  by  contrib- 
uting illustrations  of  the  condition  and  products  of  our  domestic  and  ocean  fisheries, 
and  of  the  progress  of  fish-culture  in  this  country,  and  also  by  sending  competent 
persons  to  the  exhibition  to  study  the  exhibits  and  to  exchange  the  latest  views  upon 
this  important  subject  with  the  delegates  of  other  countries. 

For  these  reasons,  and  to  enlarge  our  commerce  for  the  increase  of 
the  comforts  and  needs  of  life  at  home  and  abroad,  I  cheerfully  sus- 
tain the  measure  reported  by  my  honorable  friend,  the  chairman  of 
the  Foreign  Affairs  Committee. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  summarize: 

1.  Exports  can  be  increased  immensely,  with  corresponding  stimulus 
to  fish  production  in  this  country.* 

2.  Increase  of  the  knowledge  of  our  productions  while  we  hold  our 
place  against  all  competitors. 

3.  Rivalry  with  Great  Britain  and  the  best  single  display. 
In  other  words,  and  briefly,  we  stimulate — 

1.  Exports. 

2.  Production. 

3.  Patriotic  pride. 

Mr.  F.  HISCOCK.  Is  it  in  order  to  congratulate  my  colleague  [Mr. 
Cox]  that  he  addresses  the  House  from  this  side  of  the  Hall? 

Mr.  Cox,  of  New  York.  On  a  matter  like  this,  entirely  apostolic  in 
its  character,  I  recognize  no  party  divisions. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  Mr.  Chairman,  two  years  ago  we  appropriated  money 
for  the  purpose  of  attending  the  Berlin  fish  exhibition,  which  was 
probably  the  first  movement  of  that  character  on  the  part  of  the  peo- 
ple of  this  country.  Contrary  to  what  was  customary  a  few  years 
ago,  there  are  constant  efforts  to  press  through  Congress,  on  various 
excuses,  appropriations  for  junketing  expeditions  to  Europe.  I  regard 
this  as  one  of  the  same  class  of  schemes. 

Now,  what  are  the  reasons  urged  for  the  passage  of  the  pending 
bill?  We  have  been  presented  with  an  array  of  figures  as  to  our 
wealth  in  the  matter  of  fish  culture.  The  statistics  are  exceedingly 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGEESS,   1881-1883.  877 

interesting,  no  doubt,  and  they  are  very  complimentary  to  the  peo- 
ple, but  the  Fish  Commission  has  had  but  little  to  do  with  the  pro- 
duction of  that  wealth  on  the  part  of  our  people  who  are  engaged  in 
various  fisheries.  It  is  to  our  own  capital,  to  our  own  energy,  to  our 
own  intelligence,  this  wealth  is  due.  It  has  been  built  up  by  the  indus- 
try and  courage  of  our  own  people,  and  not  from  anything  done  by 
this  Fish  Commission  in  attending  international  displays  of  the  kind 
now  proposed. 

Why,  then,  all  this  parade  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  in  connec- 
tion with  an  appropriation  for  a  fish  exhibition  abroad?  Do  you  pro- 
pose to  rob  the  people  connected  with  these  fish  industries  of  the  rep- 
utation they  are  justly  entitled  to,  and  gather  it  all  up  for  this  Fish 
Commission  in  a  movement  of  this  sort? 

You  have  been  told  that  some  seventeen  regiments  of  the  German 
army  are  now  being  fed  with  boneless  codfish,  and  that  during  the 
Berlin  exhibition  the  fact  was  constantly  before  the  German  people 
that  these  were  American  fish,  and  that  for  the  first  time  the  people 
who  had  charge  of  the  commissary  department  of  the  German  army 
learned  our  American  soldiers  were  being  fed  on  codfish.  Such  a 
reason  as  this  is  so  empty,  is  so  absurd,  it  can  invite  nothing  else  but 
the  suggestion  that  there  is  no  real,  substantial  reason  why  this  thing 
-should  be  done.  The  report  fails  to  show  how  the  Fish  Commissioner 
obtained  the  information  upon  which  this  statement  has  been  based, 
and  the  gentleman  having  charge  of  the  bill  has  failed  to  show  it. 

Every  possible  fact  which  can  be  gathered  together  in  reference  to 
the  production  of  fish  in  this  country  has  been  collated  in  this  report 
for  the  purpose  of  furthering  this  exhibition.  I  do  not  see,  however, 
one  solitary  reason  in  the  report  which  can  be  considered  as  tenable. 
Are  not  our  New  England  fishermen  enterprising?  Are  they  not 
awake  to  their  interests  ?  If  there  is  a  market  abroad  for  their  pro- 
duction, who  will  sooner  find  it  out  than  they?  Is  there  a  market 
there,  and  are  we  to  learn  in  reference  to  it  for  the  first  time  by  this 
exhibition  ? 

The  Commissioner  says  in  this  report: 

Many  countries  of  Europe  have  already  reached  that  period  when  they  look  to 
foreign  nations  for  their  supply  of  animal  food.  America  furnishes  a  great  part;  the 
less  populated  regions  of  Europe  the  remainder.  The  increase  in  the  price  of  what 
is  called  "butcher's  meat,"  though  gradual,  is  inevitable,  and  every  year  a  larger 
and  larger  percentage  of  the  population  will  be  unable  to  secure  it.  In  this  emer- 
gency we  must  look  to  the  water  for  the  means  of  supply. 

Europe  is  now  looking  out  over  the  face  of  the  globe  for  products 
of  this  kind,  in  order  to  purchase  them.  She  is  looking  to  America, 
and  everywhere  else. 

Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  agree  with  the  sentiment  that  the  supply  o 
food  fish  should  be  increased,  and  I  am  willing  to  vote  as  liberally  to 


878  CONGEESSIONAL    PKOCEEDINGS. 

the  Fish  Commission  for  the  purpose  of  filling  our  rivers  and  streams 
with  fish  as  any  other  member  of  Congress.  I  am  as  willing  as  any 
other  to  contribute  to  the  increase  of  this  wealth  ;  but  that  is  another 
thing  from  this  fish  exhibition.  The  multiplying  of  food-fishes  in  this 
country  by  artificial  means  is  quite  a  different  thing  from  going 
abroad  and  spending  $50,000  at  an  exhibition.  We  can  take  that 
appropriation  and  go  on  with  our  fish-culture. 

The  Fish  Commission  went  before  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Afiairs 
and  stated  we  had  gone  further  than  all  the  countries  in  Europe  in  the 
matter  of  fish-culture,  and  that  they  were  constantly  resorting  to  this 
country  to  study  our  methods.  Therefore  there  can  be  no  benefit  to 
be  gained  by  this  exhibition,  and  there  can  be  no  suggestion  of  any 
improvement  to  come  from.  it.  There  can  be  no  successful  allegation 
that  those  people  are  blind  to  our  products  and  we  must  therefore  go 
to  this  exhibition  at  a  cost  of  $50,000  to  advertise  our  fish  production. 
The  Fish  Commissioner  tells  you  their  interest  as  well  as  their  intelli- 
gence are  constantly  advising  them  to  look  in  this  direction  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  their  supply. 

As  I  said  in  the  outset,  in  1880  we  attended  one  of  these  exhibitions 
at  Berlin.  Now  we  are  asked  to  provide  for  another  exhibition.  One 
seems  to  beget  the  other.  So  we  are  to  get  up  in  various  Depart- 
ments of  the  Government  upon  this  sort  of  sophistical  reasoning  from 
time  to  time  all  sorts  of  junketing  expeditions,  for  they  are  nothing 
more  or  less. 

I  challenge  any  gentleman  to  find  a  well-founded  fact  in  the  report 
to  show  that  our  attendance  at  Berlin  has  increased  the  demand  for 
our  fish  production.  I  submit  there  is  an  absence  of  any  such  ground. 
There  is  a  good  deal  of  declamation  about  American  fish  production. 
There  is  a  deal  of  assumption  without  a  single  report  from  any  official 
source  to  base  it  on  ;  but  we  are  expected  to  take  it  for  granted  that 
all  these  statements  are  correct  and  to  vote  money  toward  this  exhibi- 
tion. There  can  not  come,  I  apprehend,  the  slightest  difficulty  if  we 
fail  to  do  it.  The  world  will  still  want  fish,  and  the  mercantile  world 
and  the  interest  involved  in  fish  production  will  take  care  of  all  these 
matters. 

We  need  not  concern  ourselves  so  much  with  the  affairs  of  the 
American  people  in  relation  to  their  foreign  commerce  or  their  asso- 
ciations with  foreign  countries  in  matters  of  trade.  We  had  better 
confine  our  attention  to  their  fish  and  other  industries  and  see  to  build- 
ing them  up,  if  we  have  anything  to  do  with  the  subject.  They  do 
not  ask  any  such  assistance  as  this  bill  contemplates.  If  they  are  left 
alone  they  will  do  in  the  future  as  they  have  done  in  the  past,  with 
their  industr}7  and  intelligence  take  care  of  all  of  these  interests  for 
themselves. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  am  getting  fatigued  with  the  idea  that  on  every 


FORTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  879 

occasion  we  are  invited  to  see  what  other  countries  are  doing  in  par- 
ticular lines.  When  anything  is  said  about  the  American  Army  we 
are  at  once  shown  the  great  disproportion  between  our  Army  and  that 
of  European  countries.  Whenever  a  criticism  on  the  American  Navy 
is  made,  it  brings  out  a  presentation  of  the  fact  that  certain  European 
nations  have  vast  numbers  of  powerfully  armed  ships,  as  if  all  of  these 
were  intended  as  an  argument  why  we,  occupying  our  position,  should 
do  the  same.  We  are  constantly  shown  these  things.  I  would  turn 
away  from  them.  I  would  turn  to  the  history  of  the  past;  I  would 
follow  our  own  time-honored  policy,  and  let  these  interests  remain  in 
the  hands  of  the  people,  where  they  ought  to  be,  instead  of  in  a  fish 
commission.  Vote  this  down,  but  give  every  dollar  necessary  to  mul- 
tiply the  fish  supplies  for  the  people  of  this  country. 

I  will  reserve  the  remainder  of  my  time. 

Mr.  C.  G.  WILLIAMS,  of  Wisconsin.  I  yield  now  two  minutes  to  the 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Rice]. 

Mr.  W.  W.  RICE,  of  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Speaker,  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  Government  our  mechanics  and  manufacturers  have  com- 
peted in  national  expositions  with  the  citizens  of  the  Old  and  the  New 
Worlds,  and  even  with  those  wonderful  communities  which  have  sprung 
up  on  the  continental  islands  beneath  the  Southern  Cross,  and  they  have 
always  won  glory,  honor,  and  profit  from  such  competitions. 

Now,  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  comes  here  and  would  have  us 
believe  that  all  of  these  are  but  mere  junketing  expeditions.  I  trust, 
sir,  that  the  men  who  are  pushing  to  the  front  the  industry  of  Geor- 
gia will  teach  him  that  there  is  something  else  in  these  international 
contests  than  mere  pleasure  trips  or  junketing  expeditions.  This 
exposition  differs  from  the  others  only  in  that  it  has  a  bearing  upon  a 
single  special  interest  and  industry.  What  is  that?  It  is  the  fish 
industry;  it  is  an  industry  which  is  maintained  by  the  men  who  won 
the  fishing  grounds  to  the  country  in  the  early  days  of  this  nation's 
existence,  and  whose  rights  were  protected  by  the  statesmen  of  the 
Revolution,  and  who  to-day  in  their  hardy  pursuits  are  ready,  with 
our  flag  at  the  masthead,  to  bear  it  out  in  triumph  over  the  seas 
against  any  power.  These  are  the  men  whose  interests  are  at  stake. 

[Here  the  hammer  fell.] 

Mr.  WILLIAMS,  of  Wisconsin.  I  now  yield  the  remainder  of  the 
time  to  the  gentleman  from  Iowa  [Mr.  Kasson]. 

Mr.  J.  A.  KASSON.  I  will  yield  to  the  gentleman  from  Massachu- 
setts to  conclude  his  remarks. 

Mr.  RICE,  of  Massachusetts.  I  desire  simply  to  call  your  attention 
to  another  matter  in  connection  with  this  subject  at  this  time,  and  that 
is  to  its  interest  to  the  scientific  men  whose  skill  has  brought  to  light 
the  secrets  of  fish-culture,  and  whose  investigations  have  pushed  this 
countrv  to  the  front  in  the  matter  of  fish  propagation  and  their 


880  CONGEESSIONAL    PKOCEEDINGS. 

curing.  Is  there  to  be  an  exhibition  of  the  fishing  interests  of  the 
world,  ana  is  Professor  Baird  and  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  be 
excluded  from  that  exhibition  by  the  parsimony  of  the  Government 
that  they  serve? 

Mr.  Speaker,  in  behalf  of  the  fishermen  of  the  country,  in  behalf  of 
the  business  men  who  are  sending  out  shoals  of  fishes  to  supply  all 
the  waters  of  our  country,  who  have  shown  us  how  to  take  the 
plunder  of  the  seas  and  convert  to  the  services  of  man  the  otherwise 
wasted  treasures  of  the  ocean,  I  am  in  favor  of  the  passage  of  this 
bill,  and  trust  it  will  receive  the  support  of  the  House. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  speech  of  my  friend  from  Massa- 
chusetts is  but  an  illustration  of  what  I  stated  a  while  ago,  that  when- 
ever you  come  to  talk  of  any  exposition,  or  any  fact  in  connection 
with  such  matters,  instead  of  confining  themselves  to  the  subject  gen- 
tlemen will  wander  off  to  the  glorification  of  the  American  people  and 
the  importance  of  competing  with  foreign  nations  on  such  questions. 
But  my  friend  from  Massachusetts  has  taken  occasion  to  say  that  the 
people  of  Georgia  would  probably  teach  me  better  ideas  in  reference 
to  this  question.  Now  I  want  to  say  to  my  friend  that  the  people  of 
Georgia,  I  think,  are  quite  intelligent,  and  do  not  need  any  spurring 
from  him  for  the  purpose  of  considering  their  own  industries  or  the 
welfare  of  this  country. 

So  far  as  the  fishermen  of  New  England  are  concerned,  in  whom 
my  friend  is  interested  and  in  whose  behalf  he  appeals  for  this  fish 
show,  I  have  simply  to  say  in  their  behalf  that  I  would  rather  give 
them  the  money  to  enable  them  to  multiply  their  fish  products  than 
to  enable  the  commission  to  go  to  England  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering the  various  products  of  other  countries.  That  is  a  matter  in 
which  they  can  have  but  little  interest.  It  is  a  matter  that  does  not 
merit  our  attention  when  other  questions  of  vital  importance  are 
urging  themselves  upon  us,  and  I  think  we  had  better  direct  our 
energies  to  the  multiplying  of  our  own  fish  product  in  this  way  than 
wasting  our  time  in  such  expeditions. 

There  was  appropriated  in  the  last  bill  $200,000  for  fish-culture, 
double  what  had  been  appropriated  for  some  years  past;  and  this  has 
been  growing  continually,  and  yet  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  that  so 
important  do  I  regard  it  for  the  interests  of  our  own  people  that  I 
have  been  always  willing  and  in  favor  of  it,  and  propose  to  continue 
it  so  far  as  lies  in  my  power.  But  that  is  a  different  thing  from  what 
is  proposed  in  this  bill. 

I  trust  the  House  will  not  be  misled  by  any  sentiment  about  Ameri- 
can industries  to  sanction  this  proposition.  Allow  this  thing  to  be 
done  this  year  and  it  will  be  demanded  from  year  to  year,  and  every 
time  it  comes  up  a  stump  speech  is  to  be  interjected  into  this  report 
in  support  of  the  measure,  and  the  people  will  be  called  upon  to  bear 
the  expense. 


FOBTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  881 

The  SPEAKER.  The  question  is  on  the  motion  of  the  gentleman  from 
Wisconsin  [Mr  Williams]  to  suspend  the  rules  and  pafs  the  joint  ™ 
olution  which  has  been  read. 

Mr.  BLOUNT  called  for  a  division. 

The  House  divided;  and  there  were— ayes  89,  noes  36. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  No  quorum. 

The  SPEAKER.  Does  the  gentleman  insist  on  the  point  as  to  a 
quorum? 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  I  ask  for  the  yeas  and  nays. 

On  the  question  of  ordering  the  yeas  and  nays  there  were— aves  18 
noes  88. 

So  (the  affirmative  not  being  one-fifth  of  the  whole  vote)  the  yeas 
and  nays  were  not  ordered. 

Mr.  BLOUNT.  I  make  the  point  that  a  quorum  did  not  vote. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  point  is  made  too  late.  Two-thirds  having  voted 
in  the  affirmative,  the  rules  are  suspended  and  the  joint  resolution  is 
passed. 

Mr.  WILLIAM^,  of  Wisconsin.  I  ask  unanimous  consent  that  my 
colleague  [Mr.  Deuster]  have  leave  to  print  some  remarks  on  this  joint 
resolution. 

There  was  no  objection. 
July  12,  1882— Senate. 


July  18,  1882. 

Joint  Kesolution. 

Whereas  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  received  official 
intimation  from  that  of  Great  Britain  that  it  is  proposed  to  hold  an 
international  Exhibition  of  Fish,  Fisheries,  and  Fish  Products  at  Lon- 
don in  May,  1883,  whereat  the  representation  of  the  United  States  is 
invited;  and 

Whereas,  also,  by  its  action  as  a  Government,  and  by  the  active 
enterprise  of  merchants,  fishermen,  and  inventors  and  the  researches 
of  men  of  science  in  this  country,  the  United  States  has  attained  and 
holds  a  prominent  place  in  all  that  relates  to  the  development  of  the 
great  fisheries  industries,  the  extension  of  the  great  commercial  rela- 
tionship with  other  countries  based  on  the  exportation  of  prepared  fish 
products;  which  now  forms  an  important  factor  in  the  national  wealth, 
the  artificial  propagation  of  food  fishes,  and  the  re-stocking  of  depleted 
fishing  waters,  and  it  is  expedient  that  the  industries  and  interests  thus 
concerned  should  be  adequately  represented  on  the  occasion :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  invitation  of  the  British  Government  be 
accepted,  and  that,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Department  of  State, 
the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  be,  and  he 
H.  Doc.  732 56 


882  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

hereby  is,  instructed  to  prepare  or  cause  to  be  prepared  a  complete 
and  systematic  representative  exhibition  of  the  fisheries  of  the  United 
States,  in-  which  shall  be  shown  the  following:  A  series  of  models, 
maps,  and  charts  showing  the  location  and  extent  of  the  various 
fishing  grounds;  a  full  series  of  the  principal  sea  and  fresh-water 
fishes,  shellfish,  sponges,  etc.,  and  other  useful  inhabitants  of  the 
waters  of  the  country  (either  as  specimens,  casts,  or  illustrations); 
specimens  of  models  of  the  Various  kinds  of  gear,  apparatus,  boats, 
etc.,  used  in  their  capture;  a  full  collection  of  articles  showing  the 
commercial  and  economic  uses  of  the  fishes  and  other  water  animals, 
which  shall  include,  besides  the  samples  and  specimens,  models  and 
other  representations  of  appliances  used  in  their  preparation  and  pres- 
ervation for  food,  as  well  as  for  purposes  of  use  and  ornament,  such  as 
dried,  smoked,  and  canned  fish,  etc.;  oils,  fertilizers,  manufactured 
shells,  corals,  sponges,  etc. ;  also  a  full  series  of  articles,  or  models 
thereof,  showing  the  economic  condition  of  our  fishermen,  such  as 
clothing  and  other  personal  outfit,  models  of  dwelling  houses,  etc. ;  a 
collection  of  documents  showing  the  present  condition  of  fishery 
legislation;  also  specimens,  models,  and  illustrations  of  the  apparatus 
used  in  artificial  hatching  and  breeding  of  fish,  oysters,  etc. ;  models 
of  hatcheries,  ponds,  fish  ways,  transportation  cars,  vessels,  etc. ;  statis- 
tical maps  showing  the  range,  abundance,  etc.,  of  our  fishes,  etc.;  also 
such  other  facts,  apparatus,  models,  .specimens,  etc. ,  as  may  be  needed 
to  convey  a  correct  idea  of  this  branch  of  the  nation's  industries. 

SEC.  2.  That  with  the  approval  of  the  Director  of  the  National 
Museum,  any  cognate  portion  of  the  collections  thereof  may  be  used 
in  the  preparation  of  the  exhibit  herein  provided  for,  permission  to 
remove  the  same  from  the  National  Museum  being  hereby  granted. 
And  the  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  is  hereby  authorized  to, 
obtain,  b}r  exchange  or  otherwise,  such  procurable  objects  from  other 
exhibits  in  London  as  may  tend  to  perfect  the  permanent  fishery 
exhibit  of  the  United  States  National  Museum. 

SEC.  3.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  United  States  Commissioner 
of  Fish  and  Fisheries  to  present  to  Congress  a  detailed  report  of  the 
present  condition  of  the  European  fisheries,  with  information  as  to 
any  methods  by  which  those  of  the  United  States  can  be  modified  or 
improved,  as  well  as  any  suggestions  he  may  deem  pertinent  in  regard 
to  increasing  the  exportation  of  fishery  products  from  the  United 
States  to  foreign  countries. 

SEC.  4.  That  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries 
is  hereby  authorized  to  represent  the  United  States  at  the  exhibition 
in  question,  either  in  person  or  by  a  deputy  to  be  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  together  with  such  assistants  as  he  may 
recommend  as  useful  in  carrying  out  the  proposed  participation  of  the 
United  States  at  the  exhibition. 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  883 

SEC.  5.  That  in  order  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  collection  prep- 
aration and  packing  of  the  exhibit  authorized,  its  transfer  from  and 
to  the  United  States,  its  installation  and  supervision  in  London  and 
such  other  incidental  expenses  as  may  of  necessity  arise,  there  is  hereby 
appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States 
not  otherwise  appropriated,  the  sum  of  $50,000,  or  so  much  thereof 
as  may  be  required,  to  be  immediately  available,  and  to  be  expended 
by  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  under  the 
direction  and  regulations  of  the  Department  of  State. 

(Stat,  XXII,  387.) 

March  3,  1883. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1884. 

For  the  use  of  the  United  States  exhibit  at  the  International  Fishery 
Exhibition,  to  be  held  in  London  in  May,  1883,  to  be  expended  by  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  under  the  direction 
and  regulations  of  the  Department  of  State,  $10,000,  which  shall  be 
immediately  available. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  603.) 

Boxtmi  Exposition. 
June  28,  1882. 

Act  approved  to  admit  free  of  duty  articles  for  the  "Exhibition  of 
Art  and  Industry  in  Boston,  in  1883." 
(Stat.,  XXII,  116.) 

Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition. 
Augusts,  1882— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  M.  SPRINGER.  There  is  deposited  with  the  Clerk  of. 
the  House  a  large  box  containing  reports  of  the  boards  on  behalf  of 
the  Executive  Departments  of  the  United  States  at  the  Centennial 
Exhibition  at  Philadelphia  in  1876.  Among  them  are  a  large  number 
of  photographs  illustrative  of  the  articles  exhibited  there  on  behalf  of 
the  Government.  In  response  to  a  petition  sent  to  the  Committee  on 
Printing  by  one  of  those  boards  that  these  documents  should  be  sent 
to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  safe-keeping,  and  also  that  Professor 
Baird  be  requested  to  report  upon  which  of  them  are  valuable  for 
publication,  I  submit  this  resolution: 

Resolved-  That  the  Clerk  of  the  House  be  directed  to  transmit  to  the  Director  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  the  reports  of  the  boards  on  behalf  of  the  United  States 
Executive  Departments  as  represented  at  the  International  Exhibition  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1876,  for  preservation  in  the  National  Museum;  and  that  Prof.  Spencer  F. 
Baird  be  requested  to  report  to  the  House  of  Representatives  as  to  the  propriety  and 
cost  of  the  publication  of  said  reports  and  accompanying  illustrations. 

Adopted. 
February  15,  1883— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  WARREN  KEIFER)  laid  before  the  House  a 
letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  response 


884  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

to  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  August  8, 1882,  relative  to  the  printing 
of  the  report  of  the  board  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Executive 
Departments  at  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876. 
Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  January  13,  1883. 

SIR:  A  resolution  was  passed  on  the  8th  day  of  August,  1882,  by  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, to  the  following  effect: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  of  the  House  be  directed  to  transmit  to  the  Director  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  the  reports  of  the  boards  on  behalf  of  the  United  States 
Executive  Departments  as  represented  at  the  International  Exhibition  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1876,  for  preservation  in  the  National  Museum,  and  that  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird 
be  requested  to  report  to  the  House  of  Representatives  as  to  the  propriety  and  cost  of 
the  publication  of  said  reports  and  accompanying  illustrations." 

In  accordance  therewith,  the  aforesaid  report  of  the  boards  on  the  United  States 
Executive  Departments  at  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876  was  placed  in  my 
hands  by  the  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives  for  the  purpose  in  question. 

The  report  was  originally  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  011  February  9, 1877,  and  referred  to  the  House  Committe  on  Public  Buildings 
and  Grounds  and  ordered  to  be  printed.  (House  Journal,  1876-77,  p.  110. ) 

On  February  10, 1877,  the  reference  was  changed  from  the  Committee  on  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds  to  the  House  Committee  on  Printing.  (House  Journal, 
1876-77,  p.  411.) 

On  March  1, 1877,  a  resolution  was  introduced  in  the  House  directing  the  printing 
of  the  report.  This  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing.  (House 
Journal,  1876-77,  p.  583. ) 

The  session  closed  without  action  upon  the  subject. 

The  report  was  resubmitted  to  Congress  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  in  his 
annual  message  of  December  3,  1877.  (House  Journal,  1877-78,  p.  24.) 

On  December  10,  1877,  so  much  of  the  message  as  related  to  the  report  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Printing.  (House  Journal,  1877-78,  p.  82.) 

No  action  was  ever  taken  after  this  last  reference  until  the  reception  of  the 
memorial  of  the  chairman  of  the  board  at  the  last  session  of  Congress  (first  session 
Forty-seventh  Congress). 

[Memorial  of  Col.  S.  C.  Lyford,  U.  S.  A.,  late  chairman  of  the  board  on  United  States  Executive 
Departments  at  the  International  Exhibition,  1876.] 

Tfie  honorable  the  House  of  Representatives: 

Your  memorialist,  late  chairman  of  the  board  on  United  States  Executive  Depart- 
ments at  the  International  Exhibition,  1876,  respectfully  represents  that  the  report 
of  said  board  on  the  participation  of  the  several  Executive  Departments  of  the  Gov- 
ernment in  said  exhibition  was  transmitted  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
the  House  of  Representatives  on  February  9,  1877,  and  the  message  of  the  President 
being  read,  it  was 

"Ordered,  That  the  said  message  and  accompanying  documents  be  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  and  printed. "  (Journal  H.  R.,  1876-77, 
p.  410.) 

That  subsequently,  at  the  same  session,  to  wit,  March  1,  1877,  a  resolution  to 
print  extra  copies  of  said  report  was  introduced  in  the  House,  and  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Printing. 

That  the  transmission  of  said  report  and  the  introduction  of  said  resolution  was 
during  a  period  of  great  political  excitement  in  the  House,  growing  out  of  the  doubt- 
ful results  of  the  late  Presidential  election,  and  the  institution  of  the  Electoral  Com- 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1881-1883.  885 

mission  for  deciding  said  result;  and  that  before  any  report  could  be  made  by  said 
Committee  on  Printing  upon  the  resolution  referred  to  them,  the  then  pending  ses- 
sion of  Congress  expired,  leaving  the  resolution  for  printing  extra  copies  unacted 
upon  by  the  House. 

That  at  the  expiration  of  said  session  the  message  and  accompanying  documents 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  Public  Printer,  by  reference  of  said  Committee  on  Printing, 
for  the  purpose  of  having  estimates  made  of  the  cost  of  printing  under  the  resolu- 
tion; and  that  not  having  been  referred  to  the  Public  Printer  by  proper  authority 
under  the  order  of  the  House  of  February  9,  1877,  to  be  printed  as  a  public  docu- 
ment, the  Public  Printer  did  not  have  such  message  and  accompanying  documents 
printed,  but  turned  them  over  to  the  chairman  of  the  board  during  the  summer  of 
that  year,  who  caused  them  to  be  retransmitted  to  Congress  at  the  ensuing  session. 
No  action,  so  far  as  your  memorialist  is  aware,  has  ever  been  taken  since  that  time 
looking  to  the  printing  of  said  papers. 

In  submitting  the  report  of  the  board  to  Congress  on  February  9, 1877,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  said: 

"The  labors  performed  by  the  members  of  the  board,  as  evinced  by  the  volumi- 
nous mass  of  information  found  in  the  various  papers  from  the  officers  charged  with 
their  preparation,  have  been  in  the  highest  degree  commendable;  and  believing  that 
the  publication  of  these  papers  will  form  an  interesting  memorial  of  the  greatest  of 
international  exhibitions,  and  of  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  independence  of 
our  country,  I  recommend  that  they  be  printed  in  a  suitable  form  for  distribution 
,  and  preservation." 

In  his  annual  message  of  December  3,  1877,  the  President  said: 

"The  board  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Executive  Departments  at  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  of  1876  has  concluded  its  labors.  The  final  report  of  the  board 
was  transmitted  to  Congress  by  the  President  near  the  close  of  the  last  session.  Aa 
these  papers  are  understood  to  contain  interesting  and  valuable  information,  and  will 
constitute  the  only  report  emanating  from  the  Government1  on  the  subject  of  the 
Exhibition,  I  invite  attention  to  the  matter,  and  recommend  that  the  report  be  pub- 
lished for  general  information." 

In  consideration  of  which,  your  memorialist  prays  that  said  message  and  accom- 
panying documents  be  now  transmitted  to  the  Public  Printer,  to  be  printed  in 
accordance  with  the  order  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  February  9,  1877. 

And  your  memorialist  will  ever  pray,  etc. 

S.  C.  LYFORD, 

Brevet  Lieutenant- Colmel  United  States  Army,  Late  Chairman,  and 
Representative  War  Department,  International  Exhibition,  1876,  etc. 

With  the  assistance  of  Mr.  W.  A.  DeCaindry,  late  secretary  of  the  board  on  the 
United  States  Executive  Departments,  I  have  given  the  entire  manuscript  and  its 
accompanying  illustrations  a  careful  examination;  and  with  the  concurrence  of  Colo- 
nel Lyford,  late  chairman,  I  have  taken  out  quite  a  considerable  amount  of  matter 
which  appeared  to  us  to  be  irrelevant.  We  have  also  concluded  to  recommend  the 
entire  omission  of  the  series  of  photographic  views,  as  involving  very  great  cost 
without  any  commensurate  advantage.  We  have,  'however,  retained  the  figures 
illustrating  the  text,  and  which,  if  reproduced  by  the  photo-engraving  procea^  will 
cost  but  a  very  small  amount. 

It  had  been  originally  contemplated  to  publish  this  report  in  quarto,  but  with  th 
omission  of  the  large  photographic  views,  the  octavo  form  seems  to  be  the  B 

lThe  report  of  the  Centennial  Commission  connected  with  the  International 
Exhibition,  1876,  has  since  been  printed  by  Congress,  but  does  not  include  the 
details  of  the  governmental  participation. 


886  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

convenient,  especially  as  it  will  then  be  possible  to  print  the  volumes  uniform  with 
those  of  the  report  of  the  Centennial  Commission,  of  which  an  edition  of  5,000 
copies  has  been  published  by  order  of  Congress. 

The  Public  Printer,  at  my  request,  caused  a  careful  examination  to  be  made  of  the 
manuscript  and  the  illustrations,  and  reports  as  follows: 

OFFICE  OF  THE  PUBLIC  PRINTER, 

Washington,  D.  C. ,  January  9,  1883. 

SIR:  The   estimated    cost  of    1,900  copies  of  the  final  report  of  the  Centennial 
Exhibition,  estimated  to  make  1,544  pages,  including  268  pages  of  photo-engraving, 
printed  on  tinted  paper,  unbound,  will  cost  about  $5,590.53,  and  each  additional 
1,000  copies,  bound  in  two  cloth  volumes,  about  $1,532.43. 
Very  respectfully, 

CADET  TAYLOR,  Chief  Clerk. 
Prof.  S.  F.  BAIRD, 

Smithsonian  Institution. 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE,  OFFICE  OF  THE  CHIEF  CLSRK, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  January  12,  1883. 

DEAR  SIR:  Your  favor  of  January  11  received,  in  which  you  ask  if  the  estimate 
sent  you  on  the  9th  instant  includes  the  actual  cost  of  making  the  engraving  of  the 
268  pages,  or  only  the  presswork  and  paper.  I  beg  to  say  that  in  the  estimate  sent 
you  we  figured  on  9,112  square  inches  photo-engraving,  at  18  cents  per  square  inch, 
making  a  total  cost  of  engraving  $1,640.16. 

Very  respectfully,  CADET  TAYLOR,   Chief  Clerk. 

Prof  S.  F.  BAIRD. 

From  these  it  will  be  seen  that  the  work  will  make  three  volumes  of  about  600 
pages  each,  and  that  the  regular  edition  of  1,900  copies  will  cost  about  $5,590,  and 
that  each  additional  set  will  cost  $1,532.  The  total  cost,  therefore,  of  the  regular 
edition  of  1,900  copies,  and  of  5,000  extra  copies,  of  three  bound  volumes  each,  will 
amount,  according  to  the  estimate  of  the  Printer,  to  $13,252.78. 

A  considerable  amount  of  careful  clerical  and  other  revision  will  be  necessary  to 
prepare  the  manuscript  for  the  use  of  the  Public  Printer,  and  to  avoid  unnecessary 
expense  and  delay  in  his  office  I  would  therefore  recommend  an  allowance  of 
$300  for  this  purpose  as  being  strictly  in  the  interest  of  economy  and  dispatch. 
There  is  at  present  no  one  whose  official  business  it  is  to  do  the  very  indispensable 
work  in  question. 

In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  submit  the  following  suggestion,  in  the  form  of  a  joint  reso- 
lution, in  regard  to  the  publication  of  the  report: 

"Resolved,  etc.,  That  there  be  printed  and  bound,  in  continuation  of  the  series  of 
volumes  heretofore  published  by  Congress  under  joint  resolution  of  June  20,  1879, 
containing  the  final  report  of  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  on  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  of  1876,  and  uniform  therewith,  5,000  copies  of  the  report  of  the 
board  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Executive  Departments  at  said  exhibition, 
being  the  report  which  was  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  by  special  message  of  February  9,  1877,  and  again  in  his  annual  message  of 
December  3,  1877,  of  which  number  3,000  copies  shall  be  for  the  House,  1,000  copies 
for  the  Senate,  200  copies  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  distribution  to  such 
foreign  governments  and  others  as  made  contributions  from  such  exhibition  to  the 
National  Museum,  300  copies  for  the  late  members  of  said  board,  and  500  copies  for 
distribution  by  the  late  president  of  the  Centennial  Commission,  the  printing  to  be 
done  by  the  Public  Printer,  under  the  supervision  of  the  late  chairman  of  said  board, 
upon  whose  order  may  be  allowed  by  the  Public  Printer  to  the  late  secretary  of  the 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1881-1883.  887 

board  not  exceeding  $300  for  services  to  be  performed  and  incidental  expenses  to 
be  incurred  in  connection  therewith:  Provided,  That  the  photographic  views  of  the 
Government  exhibit  accompanying  the  manuscript  report  shall  not  be  printed  or 
reproduced  for  the  publication  herein  authorized." 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

'  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  J.  W.  KEIPER, 

Speaker  House  of  Representatives. 
March  3,  1883. 

Joint  resolution. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  there  be  printed  and  bound,  in  continuation  of 
the  series  of  volumes  heretofore  published  by  Congress  under  joint 
resolution  of  June  20, 1879,  containing  the  final  report  of  the  United 
States  Centennial  Commission  on  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876, 
and  uniform  therewith,  5,000  copies  of  the  report  of  the  board  on 
behalf  of  the  United  States  Executive  Departments  at  said  exhibition, 
being  the  report  which  was  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States  by  special  message  of  February  9,  1877,  and  again 
in  his  annual  message  of  December  3, 1877,  of  which  number  3,000 
copies  shall  be  for  the  House,  1,000  copies  for  the  Senate,  200  copies 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  distribution  to  such  foreign  gov- 
ernments and  others  as  made  contributions  from  such  exhibition  to 
the  National  Museum,  300  copies  for  the  late  members  of  said  board, 
and  500  copies  for  distribution  by  the  late  president  of  the  Centennial 
Commission,  the  printing  to  be  done  by  the  Public  Printer,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  late  chairman  of  said  board,  upon  whose  order  may 
be  allowed  by  the  Public  Printer  to  the  late  secretary  of  the  board  not 
exceeding  $300  for  services  to  be  performed  and  incidental  expenses 
to  be  incurred  in  connection  therewith:  Provided,  That  the  photo- 
graphic views  of  the  Government  exhibit  accompanying  the  manu- 
script report  shall  not  be  printed  or  reproduced  for  the  publication 
herein  authorized. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  p.  640.) 

New  Orleans  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition. 

February  10,  1883. 

An  act,  etc. 

Whereas  it  is  desirable  to  encourage  for  celebration  the  100th 
anniversary  of  the  production,  manufacture,  and  commerce  of  cot- 
ton by  holding,  in  the  year  1884,  in  some  city  of  the  Union,  to  be 
selected  by  the  executive  committee  of  the  National  Cotton  Plant 
ers'  Association  of  America,  an  institution  for  the  public  welfare 
incorporated  under  the  laws  of  Mississippi,  a  World's  Industrial  and 
Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  to  be  held  under  the  joint  auspices 
of  the  United  States,  the -said  National  Cotton  Planters'  Association 
of  America,  and  of  the  city  in  which  it  may  be  located,  and  in  which 


888  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

cotton  in  all  its  conditions  of  culture  and  manufacture  will  be  the 
chief  exhibit,  but  which  is  designed  also  to  include  all  arts,  manu- 
factures, and  products  of  the  soil  and  mine;  and 

Whereas  such  an  exhibition  should  be  national  and  international  in 
its  character,  in  which  the  people  of  this  country  and  other  parts  of 
the  world  who  are  interested  in  the  subject  should  participate,  it 
should  have  the  sanction  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States: 
Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  a  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial 
Exposition  be  held  in  the  year  1884,  under  the  joint  auspices  of  the 
United  States  Government,  the  National  Cotton  Planters'  Association 
of  America,  and  the  city  where  it  may  be  located. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  may,  upon  the  rec- 
ommendation of  the  executive  committee  of  the  National  Cotton 
Planters'  Association  of  America,  appoint  six  United  States  commis- 
sioners, and  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  majority  of  subscribers 
to  the  enterprise  in  the  city  where  it  may  be  located,  may  appoint 
seven  United  States  commissioners  who,  together,  shall  constitute  a 
board  of  management  of  said  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centen- 
nial Exposition. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  may,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  governors  of  the  various  States  and  Territories  of 
the  Union,  appoint  one  commissioner  and  one  alternate  commissioner 
for  each  State  and  Territory,  whose  functions  shall  be  denned  by  the 
said  board  of  management. 

SEC.  4.  That  all  of  said  commissioners  shall  be  appointed  within 
one  year  from  the  passage  of  this  act. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  said  board  of  management  shall  hold  its  meetings 
in  such  city  as  may  be  selected  for  the  location  of  the  said  exposition 
by  the  National  Cotton  Planters'  Association  of  America  as  aforesaid, 
and  that  a  majority  of  said  board  of  management  shall  have  full  power 
to  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  for  its  government. 

SEC.  6.  That  said  board  of  management  shall  report  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  a  suitable  date  for  opening  and  closing  the 
exposition ;  a  schedule  of  appropriate  ceremonies  for  opening  or  dedi- 
cating the  same;  and  such  other  matters  as,  in  their  judgment,  may  be 
deemed  important. 

SEC.  7.  That  no  compensation  for  services  shall  be  paid  to  the  com- 
missioners or  other  officers  provided  by  this  act  from  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States;  and  the  United  States  shall  not  be  liable  for  any 
of  the  expenses  attending  such  exhibition  or  by  reason  of  the  same. 

SEC.  8.  That  whenever  the  President  shall  be  informed  by  the  said 
board  of  management  that  provision  has  been  made  for  suitable  build- 
ings, or  the  erection  of  the  same,  for  the  purposes  of  said  exposition, 
the  President  shall,  through  the  Department  of  State,  make  proclaina- 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1881-1883.  889 

tion  of  the  same,  setting  forth  the  time  at  which  the  exhibition  will 
open,  and  the  place  at  which  it  will  be  held,  and  such  board  of  man- 
agement shall  communicate  to  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  all 
nations  copies  of  the  same  and  a  copy  of  this  act,  together  with  such 
regulations  as  may  be  adopted  by  said  board  of  management,  for 
publication  in  their  respective  countries. 

SEC.  9.  That  the  President  be  requested  to  send,  in  the  name  of  the 
United  States,  invitations  to  the  governments  of  other  nations  to  be 
represented  and  take  part  in  said  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Cen- 
tennial Exposition,  to  be  held  in  some  city  of  the  United  States  to  be 
hereafter  selected  as  aforesaid. 

SEC.  10.  That  medals  with  appropriate  devices,  emblems,  and  inscrip- 
tions, commemorative  of  said  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centen- 
nial Exposition  and  of  the  awards  to  be  made  to  exhibitors  thereat,  be 
prepared  at  some  mint  of  the  United  States  for  the  said  board  of  man- 
agement, subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  fifty-second  section  of  the 
coinage  act  of  1873,  upon  the  payment  of  a  sum  not  less  than  the  cost 
thereof;  and  all  the  provisions,  whether  penal  or  otherwise,  of  said  coin- 
age act  against  the  counterfeiting  or  imitating  of  coins  of  the  United 
States  shall  apply  to  the  medals  struck  and  issued  under  this  act. 

SEC.  11.  That  all  articles  which  shall  be  imported  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  exhibition  at  the  said  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centen- 
nial Exposition,  to  be  held  in  the  year  1884,  shall  be  admitted  without 
the  payment  of  duty  or  of  customs  fees  or  charges,  under  such  regu- 
lations as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  prescribe:  Provided, 
That  all  such  articles  as  shall  be  sold  in  the  United  States  or  with- 
drawn for  consumption  therein  at  any  time  after  such  importation 
shall  be  subject  to  the  duties,  if  any  are  imposed  on  like  articles  by 
the  revenue  laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  importation:  And  provided 
furttier,  That  in  case  any  articles  imported  under  the  provisions  of 
this  act  shall  be  withdrawn  for  consumption,  or  shall  be  sold  without 
payment  of  duty  as  required  by  law,  all  penalties  prescribed  by  the 
revenue  laws  shall  be  applied  and  enforced  against  silch  articles  and 
against  the  persons  who  may  be  guilty  of  such  withdrawal  or  sale. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  413.) 
September  10,  1883. 
Proclamation. 

Whereas  by  the  eighth  section  of  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  encour- 
age the  holding  of  a  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposi- 
tion in  the  year  1884,"  approved  February  10, 1883,  it  was  enacted  as 
follows: 

"That  whenever  the  President  shall  be  informed  by  the  said  board 
of  management  that  provision  has  been  made  for  suitable  buildings,  or 
the  erection  of  the  same,  for  the  purposes  of  said  exhibition,  the  Presi- 
dent shall,  through  the  Department  of  State,  make  proclamation  of  the 
same,  setting  forth  the  time  at  which  the  exhibition  will  open,  and  the 


890  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

place  at-  which  it  will  be  held,  and  such  board  of  management  shall 
communicate  to  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  all  nations  copies  of 
the  same  and  a  copy  of  this  act,  together  with  such  regulations  as  may 
be  adopted  by  said  board  of  management  for  publication  in  their 
respective  countries." 

And  whereas  the  duly  constituted  board  of  managers  of  the  afore- 
said World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  has  informed 
me  that  provision  has  been  made  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings 
for  the  purposes  of  said  exposition: 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Chester  A.  Arthur,  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  by  authority  of  and  in  fulfillment  of  the  require- 
ments of  said  act  approved  February  10,  1883,  do  hereby  declare  and 
make  known  that  the  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial 
Exposition  will  be  opened  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  1884,  at 
the  city  of  New  Orleans  in  the  State  of  Louisiana,  and  will  there  be 
holden  continuously  until  the  31st  day  of  May,  1885. 

In  testimony  whereof'  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused  the 
seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington  this  10th  day  of  September,  1883, 
and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  108. 

[SEAL.]  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

By  the  President: 

FREDK.  T.  FRELINGHUYSEN, 

Secretary  of  State. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  833.) 

Philadelphia  Electrical  Exposition. 
February  26,  1883. 

Joint  Resolution  No.  17  provided  for  free  admission  of  articles  for 
the  Franklin  Institute,  Philadelphia,  exhibition  of  electrical  apparatus, 
machinery,  tools,  and  implements,  etc.,  used  in  scientific  and  mechan- 
ical and  manufacturing  business  and  investigation. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  639.) 

Louisville  (Ky.}  Exposition. 
March  3,  1883, 

Whereas  ample  means  have  been  provided  for  the  holding,  during 
the  present  year,  in  the  city  of  Louisville,  State  of  Kentucky,  of  an 
exposition  of  the  products  of  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  the  fine 
arts;  and 

Whereas  the  objects  of  such  an  exposition  should  commend  them- 
selves to  Congress,  and  its  success  should  be  promoted  b}7  all  reasona- 
ble encouragement,  provided  it  can  be  done  without  expense  to  the 
general  public;  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  all  articles  which  shall  be  imported  for  the 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,   1881-1883.  891 

sole  purpose  of  exhibition  at  the  Southern  Exposition  at  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  to  be  held  in  the  year  1883,  shall  be  admitted  without  the 
payment  of  duty,  or  of  customs  fees  or  charges,  under  such  regula- 
tions as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  prescribe:  Provided,  That 
all  such  articles  as  shall  be  sold  in  the  United  States,  or  withdrawn 
for  consumption  therein,  at  any  time  after  such  importation,  shall  be 
subject  to  the  duties,  if  any,  imposed  on  like  articles  by  the  revenue 
laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  importation:  And  provided  further,  That 
in  case  any  articles  imported  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be 
withdrawn  for  consumption,  or  shall  be  sold  without  payment  of  duty 
as  required  by  law,  all  penalties  prescribed  by  the  revenue  laws  shall 
be  applied  and  enforced  against  such  articles  and  against  the  persons 
who  may  be  guilty  of  such  withdrawal  or  sale. 

SEC.  2.  That  medals,  with  appropriate  devices,  emblems,  and  inscrip- 
tions, commemorative  of  said  Southern  Exposition,  and  of  the  awards 
to  be  made  to  exhibitors  thereat,  be  prepared  at  some  mint  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  board  of  directors  thereof,  subject  to  the  pro- 
visions of  the  fifty -second  section  of  the  coinage  act  of  1873,  upon  the 
pa}Tment  of  a  sum  not  less  than  the  cost  thereof;  and  all  the  provi- 
sions, whether  penal  or  otherwise,  of  said  coinage  act  against  the  coun- 
terfeiting or  imitating  of  coins  of  the  United  States  shall  apply  to  the 
medals  struck  and  issued  under  this  act. 

SEC.  3.  That  with  the  approval  of  the  director  of  the  National 
Museum,  any  portion  of  the  collections  thereof  may  be  exhibited  at 
said  Southern  Exposition,  permission  to  remove  the  same  from  the 
National  Museum  being  hereby  granted:  Provided,  That  said  removal 
can  be  made  without  loss  or  expense  to  the  Government.  And  upon 
the  same  conditions  permission  is  also  granted  for  the  exhibition  of 
articles  in  charge  of  other  Bureaus  and  Departments  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

SEC.  4.  That  upon  the  passage  of  this  act  the  Secretary  of  State 
shall  notify  the  consuls,  consular  agents,  and  other  representatives  of 
our  Government  in  foreign  countries  of  the  time  and  place  of  holding 
said  Southern  Exposition,  together  with  the  fact  that  all  articles 
intended  therefor  will  be  admitted  free  of  duty  as  provided  herein. 

'(Stat,  XXH,  481.) 

FIREPROOFING   SMITHSONIAN   BUILDING. 

March  15,  1882— House. 
The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  WARREN  KEIFER)  laid  before  the  House  a 

letter  from  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  March  IS,  1883. 
Hon.  J.  W.  KEIFER, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

SIR:  By  instruction  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  I  1 
the  honor  to  transmit  to  Congress  the  following  resolution  adopted  at  the  last  meet- 
ing of  the  board,  January  11,  1882,  and,  in  doing  so,  beg  that  it  be  referred  to  the 


892  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

appropriate  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  receive  that  attention 
which  the  urgency  of  the  case  requires: 

"Resolved,  That  the  secretary  and  executive  committee  present  a  memorial  to 
Congress  showing  the  importance  and  necessity  of  rendering  the  east  wing  of  the 
Smithsonian  building  fireproof,  requesting  an  appropriation  therefor,  and,  if  the 
means  are  furnished,  to  proceed  with  the  work." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  January,  1865,  a  fire  occurred  in  the  Smithsonian 
building,  which  destroyed  a  large  portion  of  the  main  edifice,  with  its  adjacent 
towers,  and  a  very  large  amount  of  valuable  public  and  private  property. 

The  main  building  was  restored  with  fireproof  materials,  but  the  east  wing, 
composed  entirely  of  wrood  and  plaster,  and  which  had  escaped  injury,  remains  in 
its  previous  dangerous  condition.  Originally  a  lecture  room,  it  was  fitted  up  many 
years  ago  with  apartments  for  the  residence  of  the  late  Secretary  and  his  family. 
This  application  of  the  wing,  however,  was  discontinued  after  Professor  Henry's 
death;  but  the  rooms  thus  set  apart  are  entirely  unsuited  to  the  operations  of  the 
establishment,  and  while  in  every  way  objectionable,  the  timbers  have  decayed, 
and  no  arrangements  are  provided  for  proper  lighting,  heating,  and  ventilation. 

The  main  building  and  western  extension  are  occupied  by  the  collections  of  the 
Government;  the  east  wing  embraces  the  offices  of  the  secretary,  chief  clerk,  cor- 
responding clerk  and  registrar,  and  also  accommodations  for  the  extensive  opera- 
tions of  the  department  of  international  exchanges,  the  benefits  of  which  accrue  not 
only  principally  to  the  library  of  Congress,  but  to  all  the  public  libraries  and  scien- 
tific societies  throughout  the  United  States.  The  rooms  are  filled  writh  the  archives, 
files  of  correspondence,  original  scientific  manuscripts,  vouchers,  the  stock  of 
Government  and  Smithsonian  publications  for  distribution  at  home  and  abroad,  etc., 
and  their  destruction  by  fire,  to  which  they  are  constantly  exposed,  would  be  greatly 
detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  Government  and  the  general  public. 

In  addition  to  this,  an  extensive  fire  in  the  east  wing  would  endanger  and  pos- 
sibly destroy  the  main  portion  of  the  Smithsonian  building,  the  upper  and  lower 
halls  of  wrhich  contain  rare  specimens  belonging  to  the  Government,  and  most  of 
which  could  not  be  replaced. 

Congress  has  recognized  the  importance  and  propriety  of  gradually  reconstructing 
the  interior  of  the  Smithsonian  building,  in  fireproof  materials,  by  making  appro- 
priations for  the  purpose  at  various  times  between  1870  and  1875:  and  the  last  Con- 
gress, in  1879,  appropriated  $3,000  "for  providing  additional  security  against  fire  in 
the  Smithsonian  building." 

It  is  now  proposed  to  remodel  the  interior  of  the  east  wing,  so  that,  without  dis- 
turbing its  present  architectural  style,  the  internal  capacity  will  be  doubled  by  a  new 
arrangement  of  floors,  partitions,  and  roofs,  and  all  the  rooms  be  adapted  to  the  effi- 
cient prosecution  of  the  work  of  the  Institution  and  the  various  interests  intrusted  to 
its  management  by  Congress. 

Inclosed  I  beg  to  send  a  copy  of  the  report  of  the  board  of  fire  inspectors  (appointed 
by  the  District  Commissioners)  upon  the  condition  of  the  Smithsonian  building.  I 
have  the  honor  to  ask,  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Regents  that  the 
following  appropriation  be  made  at  the  present  session  of  Congress,  viz:  "  For  con- 
tinuing and  completing  the  fireproofing  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $50,000." 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 
[Extract.] 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  13,  1882. 
To  the  honorable  COMMISSIONERS,  District  of  Columbia: 

GENTLEMEN:  The  commission  to  inspect  buildings  in  the  District  beg  leave  to  sub- 
mit herewith  report  No.  5. 

By  invitation  of  Professor  Baird,  the  east  wing  and  connecting  corridor  to  the  main 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  893 


Official  extract  furnished  Prof.  S.  F.  Baird. 

WlLLIAs!   TlNDALL, 

Secretary  Commissioners  District  of  Columbia. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 
(Printed  as  House  Misc.  Doc.  No.  33.) 
August  2,  1882—  Senate. 

Mr.  JAMES  B.  GROOM  offered  an  amendment  to  sundry  civil  bill  that 
aboard  be  appointed  to  examine  public  buildings  in  "the  District  of 
Columbia,  Smithsonian  Institution,  *  *  *  and  if  in 

their  judgment  any  additional  facilities  are  necessary  for  the  extin- 
guishment of  fire  or  safety  of  the  lives  of  the  occupants,  they  are 
hereby  authorized  to  provide  the  same,  appropriating  $100,000  for 
this  purpose. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  B.  ALLISON.  I  make  the  point  of  order  on  that. 

Sustained. 
January  26,  1883  —  House. 

Estimates  for  1884. 

For  completing  the  reconstruction  in  a  fireproof  manner  of  the 
interior  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $50,000. 
March  3,  1883. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1884. 

For  completing  the  reconstruction,  in  a  fire-proof  manner,  of  the 
interior  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $50  000 

(Stat.,  XXII,  628.) 
March  20,  1882—  House. 

LECTURES. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  D.  KELLEY  introduced  a  bill  (H.  5326): 

That  hereafter  annual  courses  of  lectures  shall  be  delivered  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington upon  the  arts  and  sciences  illustrated  in  the  National  Museum. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Superintendent  of 
the  Coast  Survey,  the  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey,  the  Superintendent  of  the 
National  Experimental  Garden  at  the  Agricultural  Department,  the  Chief  of  the 
Educational  Bureau,  the  Director  of  the  Army  Medical  Museum,  the  Director  of  the 
Mint,  the  Astronomer  at  the  Naval  Observatory,  and  one  of  the  Chief  Examiners  of 
the  Patent  Office,  to  be  named  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  are  hereby  consti- 
tuted a  board  of  managers  to  execute  the  purposes  of  this  act,  with  power  to  employ 
such  lecturers,  agents,  and  assistants  as  may  be  necessary  to  the  proper  fulfillment  of 
the  trust  hereby  created. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  use  of  the  various  museums  and  collections,  and  the  lecture  rooms 
attached,  and  the  old  Armory  building  is  hereby  gran  ted  for  the  lectures  above  named, 
so  far  as  may  be  possible  without  interfering  with  the  purpose  of  their  creation,  their 


894  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

enjoyment  by  the  public,  and  their  preservation.  The  board  of  managers  may  also 
rent  additional  rooms  for  the  lectures  and  purchase  or  rent  such  illustrative  appa- 
ratus as  may  be  needed;  but  they  shall  incur  no  liabilities  in  any  year  beyond  the 
income  for  that  year. 

SEC.  4.  That  as  the  purpose  of  this  act  is  to  provide  the  best  instruction  in  the  arts 
and  sciences  which  especially  relate  to  the  development  of  the  material  resources  of 
the  country  and  to  the  increase  of  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life  among  the 
people,  the  following  topics  shall  be  first  treated  in  the  lecture  courses: 

First.  Mining  and  metallurgy. 

Second.  Applied  chemistry. 

Third.  Agriculture  and  horticulture. 

Fourth.  Veterinary  science. 

Fifth.  Mechanical  engineering. 

Sixth.  Fish  culture. 

Seventh.  Entomology. 

Eighth.  Microscopy. 

Ninth.  Electricity. 

Tenth.  Forestry. 

Eleventh.  Architecture. 

Twelfth.  Navigation  and  shipbuilding. 

Thirteenth.  Meteorology. 

Fourteenth.  Botany. 

Fifteenth.  Anatomy  and  physiology. 

Sixteenth.  Geology  and  mineralogy. 

In  addition  to  these  lectures,  designed  to  perfect  students  in  special  departments 
of  science  and  art,  the  managers  may  institute  popular  lectures  designed  to  diffuse 
scientific  knowledge  and  awaken  an  interest  in  science  among  the  people. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  board  of  managers  shall  have  power  to  make  rules  for  the  admis- 
sion to  the  lectures  herein  provided,  but  no  fee  shall  be  charged  to  anyone  except 
for  such  certificate  of  attendance  and  proficiency  as  may  be  desired  by  any  person. 

SEC.  6.  That  notice  shall  be  sent  by  circular  to  each  State  superintendent  of 
schools,  and  to  the  secretaries  of  the  various  State  and  national  industrial  and  scien- 
tific associations,  and  by  such  other  methods  as  may  be  deemed  advisable.  Such 
circulars  shall  be  issued  at  least  two  months  before  the  beginning  of  the  annual 
course,  and  shall  set  forth  the  time  occupied  by  each  of  the  topics  treated  upon,  and 
such  other  facts  as  may  be  of  interest  to  the  public  in  connection  with  the  lectures. 

SEC.  7.  That  the  board  of  managers  above  named  are  hereby  constituted  a  body 
corporate,  with  the  power  to  sue  and  be  sued,  and  to  acquire  property  by  gift, 
devise,  or  purchase,  real  and  personal,  in  any  portion  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
hold,  convey,  and  apply  the  same  as  may  be  required  by  the  interests  confided  to 
their  care. 

SEC.  8.  That  the  board  of  managers  shall  report  annually  to  the  President  the  work 
accomplished  and  moneys  expended  during  the  year,  accompanying  their  report 
with  the  proper  vouchers  and  such  recommendations  as  they  may  see  fit  to  make, 
and  the  President  shall  lay  the  same  before  Congress  at  the  session  next  ensuing. 

SEC.  9.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  be  ex  officio  presi- 
dent of  the  board.  lie  shall  call  the  managers  together  soon  after  the  passage  of  this 
act  to  organize  by  the  appointment  of  a  secretary  and  treasurer  and  such  executive 
officers  and  agents  as  may  be  necessary.  The  lecture  courses  shall  begin  during  the 
first  week  of  November  following  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  shall  be  continued 
until  the  first  of  May  following,  or  as  long  as  may  be  practicable  with  the  funds  at 
the  disposal  of  the  board. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor. 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  895 

GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY   BUILDING. 

April  10,  1882— House. 
Mr.  WILLIAM  S.  SHALLENBERGER  introduced  a  bill  (H.  5781): 

That  the  sum  of  $200,000  be,  and  hereby  is,  appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in 
the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  for  the  erection  of  a  fireproof  building  on 
the  south  portion  of  the  Smithsonian  reservation  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey  and  for  other  purposes:  Provided,  That  the  con- 
sent of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  be  first  obtained  thereto,  and 
that  the  building  be  under  their  direction  when  completed:  And  provided  further, 
That  the  build  ing  be  erected  by  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  in  accordance  with 
plans  approved  by  the  Director  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  acting  as  a 
board  therefor. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 

January  17,  1883. 

A  resolution  by  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  rela- 
tion to  H.  5781: 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  recommend  to 
Congress  to  enlarge  the  National  Museum,  so  as  properly  to  exhibit  the  mineral, 
geological,  and  other  collections  already  on  hand  and  increasing  each  year,  by  the 
erection  of  a  fireproof  building  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Smithsonian  Reser- 
vation, similar  in  style  to  the  present  National  Museum;  and  they  request  an  appro- 
priation of  $300,000  therefor,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Regents  of 
the  Institution. 

(Journal  Proc.  Regents,  Smithsonian  Report  for  1882,  p.  xii.) 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 

April  15,  1882.— House. 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Chester  A. 
Arthur  (dated  April  14),  transmitting  with  commendation  to  the 
attention  of  Congress  a  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  its 
accompanying  papers  concerning  the  proposed  establishment  of  an 
international  bureau  of  exchanges. 

Report  of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  the  President. 

To  the  PRESIDENT: 

•The  Secretary  of  State  has  the  honor  to  lay  before  the  President, 
with  a  view  to  its  transmission  to  Congress,  a  letter  from  the  Secretary 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  concerning  the  working  of  the  present 
system  of  exchanges  carried  on  by  that  Institution,  and  the  practica- 
bility of  the  suggestion  which  has  been  made,  that  the  scope  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution's  bureau  be  enlarged  so  as  to  form  an  inter- 
national bureau  of  governmental  and  scientific  exchanges,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Department  of  State. 


896  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  Secretary  of  State  has  little  to  add  to  the  very  clear  exposition 
made  by  Professor  Baird  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  operations  of  the 
exchange  bureau  of  the  Smithsonian,  and  to  his  statements  of  the 
utility  of  still  further  extending  them.  He  has  been  for  some  time 
convinced  that  an  arrangement  like  that  proposed  would  not  only 
bring  the  system  of  diplomatic  and  literary  exchanges  of  this  country 
into  harmonious  relations  with  the  like  international  exchange  bureaus 
in  other  countries,  but  would  greatly  enlarge  the  beneficial  results 
obtained  under  the  present  system  of  private  enterprise,  besides  re- 
lieving the  several  executive  departments  of  the  labor  and  expense  of 
effecting  their  own  foreign  exchanges,  by  concentrating  the  work  in 
one  properly  equipped  and  competent  bureau.  His  opinions  in  this 
regard  are  shared  by  other  members  of  the  Government,  as  will  be 
seen  on  perusal  of  the  annexed  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Inte- 
rior in  response  to  an  inquiry  lately  addressed  to  him.  Should  the 
President  decide  to  recommend  the  latter  to  the  consideration  of  Con- 
gress, the  Secretary  of  State  has  the  honor  to  advise  that  an  appropri- 
ation of  $10,000  be  asked  for  the  coming  fiscal  year,  in  order  that  the 
proposed  plan  may  have  a  fair  chance  to  demonstrate  its  necessity  and 
its  benefits.  It  is  probable  that  the  scattered  expenses  under  the 
present  system  of  separate  exchanges  aggregate  a  larger  amount  than 
that  which  he  suggests  as  the  limit  of  a  serviceable  appropriation. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

FKED'K  T.  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

Washington,  April  11,  1882. 

(See  History  of  the  Smithsonian  Exchanges,  by  George  H.  Boehmer, 
in  Smithsonian  Report  for  1881,  or  Smithsonian  publication  No.  477, 
1882.) 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  State  Department. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,  October  23,  1880. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  M.  EVARTS, 

Secretary  of  State. 

SIR:  A  geographical  congress  of  nations,  with  delegates  from  the 
principal  governments  of  the  world,  was  held  at  Paris  in  the  summer 
of  1875,  and  among  the  representatives  was  one  from  the  United  States 
of  America. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  deliberations  of  the  congress  was  a  recom- 
mendation of  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  system  of  exchanging  the  lit- 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  807 

erary  and  scientific  publications  of  all  nations.  This  recommendation 
was  reported  to  your  predecessor  in  office,  the  Hon.  Hamilton  Fish, 
who  requested  that  the  Smithsonian  Institution  would  act  as  the  inter- 
mediary of  the  United  States  in  carrying  into  effect  the  proposed  sys- 
tem as  embodied  in  the  recommendation  of  the  Paris  congress,  as  above 
referred  to. 

Under  date  of  January  10, 1879,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  received 
the  following  communication  from  the  Department  of  State  in  refer- 
ence to  the  proposed  international  exchange  system: 

"You  are  already  aware  of  the  desire  of  this  Department  to  secure 
to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  the  fullest  liberty  of  action  and  the 
utmost  enhancement  of  its  utility  without  entailing  any  additional  bur- 
den on  its  resources." 

You  are  of  course  informed  that  a  number  of  other  governments 
represented  at  the  congress  of  Paris  have  seconded  the  recommenda- 
tion in  question,  and  have  already  adopted  special  means,  by  estab- 
lishing bureaus  of  international  exchange,  to  carry  its  provisions  into 
effect.  Among  these  governments  are  France,  Belgium,  Holland, 
Switzerland,  Russia,  and  Italy. 

Recognizing  the  enlightened  action  of  the  Paris  congress  in  recom- 
mending a  system  of  interchange  of  scientific  and  literary  thought 
between  the  different  peoples  of  the  world,  and  acting  in  accordance 
with  the  expressed  wish  of  the  Department  of  State,  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  at  once  set  about  the  inauguration  of  the  proposed  system 
on  behalf  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  originally  presumed  that  by  interlacing  with  the  regular 
established  systems  of  exchanges  of  the  Institution  so  successfully 
conducted  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  international  system 
could  be  carried  on  at  a  very  little  outlay  in  addition  to  that  required 
for  the  Smithsonian  system.  But  this  presumption  did  not  prove  to 
be  a  fact,  the  Institution  finding,  after  two  years'  trial,  that  the  expense 
attendant  upon  the  execution  of  the  request  of  the  Department  of  State 
is  far  greater  than  was  anticipated. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  is  therefore  compelled  to  ask  that  an 
appropriation  of  $7,000  be  requested  of  Congress  by  the  Department 
of  State,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  recommendation 
of  the  Paris  congress  on  a  scale  in  keeping  with  the  high  position  of 
the  United  States  among  civilized  nations  and  commensurate  with  the 
reputation  of  the  Government  for  enlightened  liberality  in  connection 
with  the  cause  of  general  education. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  of  Smithsonian  Institution. 

H.  Doc.  732 57 


898  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  State  Department  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

Washington,  October  30,  1880. 
Prof.  SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
the  23d  instant,  in  relation  to  the  expense  of  the  work  of  conducting 
the  exchange  of  the  literary  and  scientific  publications  of  all  nations, 
recommended  by  the  International  Geographical  Congress  held  at  Paris 
in  the  summer  of  1875,  which  work,  at  the  instance  of  this  Department, 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  undertook  to  carry  on  on  behalf  of  the 
United  States.  You  state,  furthermore,  that  it  was  originally  pre- 
sumed that  exchanges  in  question  could  be  carried  on  in  connection 
with  the  system  already  established,  but  that  practically  the  additional 
work  has  been  found  to  greatly  increase  the  expense  of  conducting  the 
exchanges,  and  that  therefore  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  com- 
pelled to  ask  that  an  appropriation  of  $7,000  be  requested  of  Congress 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  exchanges  recommended  by  the  Paris 
congress  and  undertaken  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  by  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  at  the  instance  of  this  Department. 

In  reply  I  have  to  say  that,  fully  appreciating  the  importance  of 
maintaining  and  extending  this  S3Tstem  of  literary  and  scientific 
exchanges  which  has  been  so  happily  inaugurated,  it  will  afford  me 
much  pleasure  to  ask  the  proper  committees  of  Congress  to  favorably 
consider  your  request  for  an  appropriation  of  $7,000  for  the  purpose 
indicated  in  your  letter. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  M.  EVARTS. 

The  State  Department  to  the  Senate  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

Washington,  January  31,  1881. 
Hon.  HENRY  G.  DAVIS, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations,  Senate. 
SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith,  for  the  information  and 
consideration  of  your  committee,  a  copy  of  a  letter  dated  the  23d  of 
October  last,  from  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  to  this  Department,  in  relation  to  the  expenses 
which  have  been  imposed  upon  that  Institution  by  its  having  under- 
taken, at  the  instance  of  my  predecessor,  the  Hon.  Hamilton  Fish,  lo 
carry  out,  on  behalf  of  this  Government,  the  system  of  exchanging  the 
literary  and  scientific  publications  of  all  nations  which  was  adopted  at 
an  international  conference  held  at  Paris  in  the  summer  of  1875,  at 
which  this  country  was  represented. 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  899 

It  now  appears  from  the  statements  made  in  Professor  Baird's  letter 
that  the  expense  of  carrying  out  the  exchanges  in  question  is  far 
greater  than  was  anticipated,  whereby  an  undue  burden  has  been 
imposed  upon  the  resources  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  Pro- 
fessor Baird  therefore  asks  that  an  appropriation  of  $7,000  may  be 
made  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  recommendations  of  the 
Paris  congress  of  1875. 

1  may  add  that  it  is  understood  by  this  Department  that  the 
exchanges  of  literary  and  scientific  publications  in  question  are  now 
carried  on  at  the  expense  of  the  several  governments  which  were 
parties  to  the  congress  of  1875,  except  in  the  case  of  this  Government, 
which  has  imposed  this  important  and  useful  work  upon  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

In  view,  therefore,  of  the  reasons  set  forth  by  Professor  Baird  in  a 
communication  transmitted  herewith,  and  in  view  of  the  great  benefits 
which  the  Government,  institutions  of  learning,  public  libraries,  and 
men  of  science  are  receiving  from  the  system  of  the  exchange  of  liter- 
ary and  scientific  publications  inaugurated  by  the  congress  of  1875  at 
Paris,  I  beg  to  recommend  that  the  appropriation  asked  for,  as  above 
indicated,  may  be  made. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  M.  EVARTS. 

The  State  Department  to  the  Smitfisonian  Institution. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
Washington,  December  27,  1881. 
Prof.  SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

SIR:  Referring  to  the  reply  of  this  Department  of  the  30th  of  Octo- 
ber last  to  your  letter  of  the  23d  of  that  month,  in  relation  to  the 
exchange  of  Government  and  scientific  publications  with  foreign  coun- 
tries, and  referring  also  to  the  letter  of  this  Department  to  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Appropriations,  dated  the  31*st  of  January  last,  on  the 
same  subject,  I  now  beg  to  request  you  to  furnish  this  Department 
with  your  views  in  relation  to  this  matter,  in  form  of  a  memorandum, 
to  serve  as  the  basis  of  a  communication  to  Congress  urging  the 
appropriation  of  an  amount  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of  inter- 
national exchanges  and  of  so  organizing  the  work  that  it  shall  be  done 
by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  but  under  the  Department  of  State 
and  with  its  official  cooperation.  This  arrangement  seems  to  be  desir- 
able in  order  that  the  American  bureau  of  exchanges  may  be  on  the 
same  footing  as  those  in  Europe,  where  this  business  is  conducted 
under  the  supervision  of  the  foreign  officers  of  the  various  countries 
which  have  entered  into  the  international  agreement  in  relation  to 
exchanges. 


900  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

I  may  add  that,  owing  to  the  want  of  sufficient  funds  to  enable  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  to  carry  out  fully  the  system  of  exchanges,  a 
large  amount  of  labor  arid  expense  has  been  imposed  upon  this  Depart- 
ment in  sending  to  various  countries  of  Europe  the  publications  of 
this  Government.  The  calls  upon  this  Department  to  perform  services 
of  this  character  are  growing  more  and  more  numerous  and  more  and 
more  burdensome  continually. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  C.  BANCROFT  DAVIS, 

Acting  Secretary. 

T/ie  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  State  Department. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,  March  12,  1882. 
Hon.  F.  T.  FRELINGHUYSEN, 

Secretary  of  State. 

SIR:  The  letter  from  the  Department  of  State  of  December  27  last, 
in  reference  to  the  future  prosecution  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
of  its  system  of  international  exchanges  under  the  direction  of  the 
State  Department,  was  duly  received,  but  the  reply  has  been  deferred 
until  a  statement  of  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  initiation 
and  carrying  on  of  this  work  to  the  present  time  could  be  prepared. 
This  statement  I  now  have  the  honor  to  submit  for  your  consideration. 

The  statement  in  question  is  prefaced  by  an  account  of  the  attempts 
made  prior  to  1850  in  the  direction  of  a  system  of  exchange,  both  in 
the  United  States  and  elsewhere,  and  it  also  presents  points  of  the 
history  of  the  concerted  effort  toward  an  international  system  started 
in  Europe  in  1875,  and  now  in  operation  with  fair  prospects  of  success. 

From  the  document  referred  to  it  will  also  be  seen  that  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  has  for  many  years  carried  on,  single-handed  and 
alone,  so  far  as  outside  pecuniary  aid  is  concerned,  the  most  extensive 
system  of  exchange  ever  attempted.  Originating  in  the  transmission 
of  the  publications  of  the  Institution,  the  Smithsonian  exchange  next 
included  the  publications  of  various  learned  societies  of  the  United 
States;  subsequently  the  exchanges  of  the  Government  bureaus  in 
Washington,  and  finally  the  international  exchanges  between  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  and  foreign  governments.  The  cost 
to  the  Smithsonian  fund  of  the  maintenance  of  this  system  now 
amounts  to  about  $10,000  a  year,  an  expenditure  the  Institution  is 
entirely  unable  to  continue,  and  it  becomes  necessary,  therefore,  that 
operations  in  this  department  should  hereafter  be  more  confined  to 
the  immediate  interests  of  the  Institution,  unless  Congress  shall 
vouchsafe  its  assistance. 

Aid  in  connection  with  the  exchange  system  is  requested  on  the  fol- 
lowing grounds: 

(1)  The  expenses  of  the  exchanges  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution 


FORTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  901 

of  its  own  publications  should  in  equity  be  paid  by  the  United  States 
Government,  for  the  reason  that  the  proceeds  of  these  exchanges  (now 
forming  a  library  of  about  100,000  volumes)  are  all  deposited  in  the 
Congressional  Library  as  soon  as  received. 

(2)  The  system  enables  the  several  departments  and  bureaus  of  the 
Government  to  obtain  valuable  materials  for  their  respective  libraries 
by  exchange  of  their  publications  for  those  of  corresponding  depart- 
ments and  bureaus  of  other  governments,  and  which  publications  can 
be  obtained  only  through  exchange. 

(3)  The  work  of  the  Institution  for  the  benefit  of  other  establish- 
ments in  this  country  is  national  in  its  character,  tending  greatly  to 
advance  general  science  and  popular  education. 

Your  predecessor  in  office,  realizing  this  drain  upon  the  resources 
of  the  Smithsonian,  requested  Congress  for  an  appropriation  of  $7,000, 
which  was  the  estimated  cost  of  the  work  at  the  time.  An  allowance, 
however,  of  only  $3,000  was  granted.  The  money  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  Interior  Department,  this  disposition  of  it  being  made  presum- 
ably at  the  instance  of  the  Department  of  State,  and  as  an  indication  of 
its  preference  to  be  relieved  from  further  responsibility  in  the  matter; 
and  for  this  reason  the  Smithsonian  Institution  made  direct  application 
to  Congress  for  an  appropriation  of  $5,000  for  the  coming  fiscal  year. 
This  estimate,  though  entirely  below  the  sum  requisite  for  carrying  on 
the  work,  was  submitted  as  more  likely  to  be  allowed  than  a  larger 
amount.  I  trust  that  if  the  Department  of  State  is  willing  to  continue 
its  efforts  in  connection  with  the  exchanges,  it  will  ask  for  at  least 
$10,000  for  the  service.  If  it  is  desirable  that  the  Smithsonian  should 
also  take  charge  of  the  Government  and  other  exchanges  now  passing 
through  the  State  Department,  a  still  larger  sum  will  be  required. 

It  will  be  entirely  agreeable  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  prose- 
cute the  exchange  system  under  the  general  direction  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  and  thereby  secure  the  services  of  consuls  or  foreign 
ministers  of  the  United  States  in  those  countries  where  national 
bureaus  of  exchange  have  not  yet  been  established. 

Commending  the  subject  to  your  early  and  careful  consideration, 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc., 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  of  Smithsonian  Institution. 

As  the  amount  ($3,000)  appropriated  by  Congress  in  assistance  of 
the  Institution  for  the  last  year  (1881)  had  been  placed  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Interior  Department,  the  subject  of  the  desired  extension 
of  Government  aid  was  naturally  referred  to  the  honorable  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  for  his  opinion.  The  following  communication 
expresses  his  entire  approval  of  the  project: 


902  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  Ki.rkwood  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

Washington,  March  27,  1882. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communi- 
cation of  the  24th  instant,  touching  the  establishment  of  a  bureau  of 
international  exchanges  under  the  supervision  of  the  Department  of 
State,  "the  work  of  the  bureau  to  be  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  as  the  delegated  agency  of  said  Department," 
and  in  reply  to  say,  that  this  Department  has  long  felt  the  need  of  some 
improved  method  of  conducting  international  exchanges,  by  which  the 
more  certain  and  speedy  delivery  of  packages  transmitted  may  be 
secured.  .  The  chief  difficulties  encountered  under  the  present  system 
result,  in  the  firstplace,  from  the  very  limited  number  of  dispatch  agencies 
employed  by  the  Department  of  State,  restricting  transmission  of  docu- 
ments, etc.,  received  from  other  departments  and  offices  to  the  three 
cities,  London,  Paris,  and  Hamburg;  and,  secondly,  from  the  delay 
which  often  attends  the  dispatch  of  packages  through  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  many  months  frequently  elapsing  between  the  delivery  of  a 
package  to  the  Institution  and  its  reception  abroad.  In  addition,  the 
present  system  involves  the  trouble  of  keeping  accounts,  and  of  the 
presentation  and  payment  of  bills  for  transportation,  whether  packages 
are  transmitted  by  the  Department  of  State  or  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

•  It  is  understood  that  under  the  new  system  proposed  by  you  these 
difficulties  will  be  avoided;  that  not  only  will  it  unify  our  system  of 
international  exchanges,  and  "  assimilate  it  with  that  of  other  countries," 
but  also  that  greater  dispatch  and  certainty  of  delivery  will  be  attained. 

It  is  furthermore  presumed  that  the  appropriation  to  be  made  for 
this  purpose  will  be  adequate  to  meet  the  necessities  of  all  the  depart- 
ments and  offices  of  the  Government,  so  that  they  will  be  relieved  of 
all  expense  in  the  matter  of  transportation. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  proposed  arrangement  seems  to  involve 
these  advantages,  I  regard  it  as  entitled  to  the  approval  of  this  Depart- 
ment. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc., 

S.  J.  KIRK  WOOD. 

Report,  etc.,  referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 
August  20,  1883. 

Augmt  20,  1883. 
Hon.  JOHN  DAVIS, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 

SIR:  Among  other  subjects  discussed  by  the  Belgian  conference  was 
the  right  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  be  considered  as  the  agent 
of  the  United  States  Government  in  an  international  system  of 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  903 

exchanges;  and  I  regret  that  Mr.  Fish  did  not  fully  appreciate  the 
fact  that  the  selection  of  the  Institution  for  the  purpose  in  question 
was  long  since  made  formally,  first,  by  direct  enactment;  secondly,  by 
appointment  by  the  Joint  Library  Committee  of  Congress;  and, 
thirdly,  by  the  State  Department  under  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Evarts. 

I  beg  to  present  herewith  a  brief  summary  of  the  successive  action 
in  this  connection. 

The  policy  of  a  direct  interchange  of  the  official  publications  of  the 
United  States  for  those  of  foreign  countries,  was  accepted  and  estab- 
lished by  Congress  in  the  act  of  March  2,  1867,  by  which  a  certain 
additional  number  of  copies  of  all  public  documents  was  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Joint  Library  Committee,  to  be  exchanged  through 
the  agency  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  such  works  published 
in  foreign  countries,  and  especially  by  foreign  governments,  as  might 
be  deemed  by  said  committee  an  equivalent,  said  works  to  be  depos- 
ited in  the  Library  of  Congress. 

There  is,  in  addition  to  this,  a  statute  (Rev.  Stat.,  sec.  87,  passed  June 
26,  1848),  which  authorizes  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library  from 
time  to  time  to  appoint  such  agents  as  they  may  deem  requisite  to 
carry  into  effect  the  donation  and  exchange  of  documents  and  other 
publications  placed  at  their  disposal  for  the  purpose. 

In  compliance  with  this  statute,  as  also  with  the  later  one  designat- 
ing the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  purpose  in  question,  the  Joint 
Library  Committee  of  Congress  appointed  the  Institution  to  the  func- 
tion; and  its  operations  of  exchange  of  public  documents  are  carried 
on  in  its  behalf,  and  of  course  for  the  benefit  of  the  Congressional 
Library. 

A  further  proof  that  Congress  has  officially  committed  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  the  charge  of  the  international  exchanges  on 
the  part  of  the  Government,  is  shown  by  the  wording  of  several 
appropriations  passed  at  the  last  session  of  Congress  and  now  avail- 
able, as  follows: 

Treasury  Digest  of  Appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year  1884: 

(1)  Joint  resolution  to  print  5,000  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Board 
on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Executive  Departments  at  the  interna- 
tional exhibition  of  1876;  200  copies  are  given  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  for  distribution  to  such  governments,  and  others,  as  made 
contributions  from  such  exhibition  to  the  National  Museum.    (Page  19. ) 

(2)  Increase  of  Library  of  Congress,  1884:  For  expenses  of  chang- 
ing [exchanging]  public  "documents  for   the  publications  of  foreign 
governments,  $1,000.     (Page  20.) 

This  has  been  a  continuous  appropriation  ever  since  1867,  and 
expended  under  the  law  of  that  year  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
in  behalf  of  the  Library  of  Congress. 


904  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

(3)  International  Exchanges,  Smithsonian  Institution,  1884:     For 
expenses  of  the  international  exchanges  between  the  United  States 
and  foreign  countries,  in  accordance  with  the  Paris  convention  of 
1877,  including  salaries  and  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees, 
$7,500.     (Page  36.) 

It  was  at  the  special  request  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  that  the 
appropriation  for  the  fiscal  year  of  1884  was  placed  under  the  heading 
of  the  State  Department,  the  committee  having  actually  transferred  it 
from  the  estimates  of  that  Department  and  placed  it  under  the  Inte- 
rior. It  was,  however,  distinctly  understood  by  the  committee  that 
the  expenditure  was  to  be  made  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  as  in 
previous  years,  and  in  accordance  with  its  organization  of  the  service. 

(4)  War  Department:  Transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to  for- 
eign countries,  1884. — For  the  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to 
foreign  countries  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $300.  (Page  85.) 

(5)  Contingent  and  miscellaneous   expenses,    Naval   Observatory, 
1884:  For  payment  to  Smithsonian  Institution  for  freight  on  observa- 
tory publications  sent  to  foreign  countries,  $336.     (Page  133.) 

Here  the  appropriation  is  made  under  the  Navy  Department,  the 
preceding  one  under  that  of  War. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  appropriations  are  made  under  four  of  the 
several  departments  of  the  Government — Congress,  State,  War,  and 
Navy — for  the  purpose  of  conducting  the  special  exchanges  in  their 
interest  respectively.  The  appropriation  under  the  State  Department 
is  the  more  general,  and  is  available  for  miscellaneous  purposes. 

In  all  these  appropriations  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  mentioned 
either  inferentially,  as  with  the  appropriation  under  the  heading  of 
the  Library  of  Congress,  or  directly,  as  in  those  under  the  depart- 
ments, as  the  special  agency  through  whose  system  the  work  is  to  be 
done. 

The  question  as  to  whether  the  Smithsonian  Institution  was  desig- 
nated by  Congress  to  act  as  the  medium  of  international  exchange  was 
asked  by  Sir  Edward  Thornton  in  1876,  in  a  letter  printed  on  page  13, 
of  the  History  of  International  Exchanges.1  This  inquiry,  addressed 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  was  transmitted  to  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion and  answered  by  my  predecessor,  I  presume  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  Department. 

By  reference  to  a  letter  of  September  26, 1878,  printed  on  page  18  of 
the  document  referred  to,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Secretary  of  State 
notified  the  United  States  minister  at  Paris  that,  so  far  as  the  special 
domestic  bureau  of  exchanges  is  concerned,  it  was  considered  "  pref- 
erable to  leave  the  work  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  rather  than 
to  replace  it  by  the  organization  of  a  new  bureau  ad  hoc  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  but  that  no  objection  is  seen  to  entering  into  a  common 

1Ex.  Doc.  No.  172,  47th  Cong.,  1st  sess. 


FORTY- SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  905 

arrangement  of  international  exchange,  provided  that  the  operations 
of  the  Institution  be  assimilated  with  those  of  the  foreign  bureaus,  so 
as  to  enable  it  to  act  as  though  it  were,  for  the  special  purpose  in 
view,  a  bureau  of  the  foreign  department  of  this  Government." 

In  a  letter  of  January  10,  1879,  page  22,  Mr.  Evarts  renews  his 
assurances  of  the  desire  of  the  "  Department  to  secure  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  in  the  event  of  its  admission  to  the  proposed  inter- 
national system,  the  fullest  liberty  of  action,  and  the  utmost  enhance- 
ment of  its  utility,  without  entailing  any  additional  burden  on  its 
resources." 

On  the  31st  January,  1881,  page  35,  Mr.  Evarts  transmitted  a 
communication  from  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee on  Appropriations,  asking  for  an  appropriation  of  $7,500,  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  recommendations  of  the  Paris 
congress  of  1875. 

An  appropriation  of  $3,000  was  actually  passed  for  the  services  of 
the  fiscal  year  1882,  but  placed  under  the  heading  of  the  Interior 
Department.  For  1883,  the  appropriation  was  $5,000,  under  the 
Treasury;  and  for  1884,  $7,500. 

In  all  cases,  however,  the  wording  of,  the  law  specifically  referred 
to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  as  the  party  by  which  the  work  was  to 
be  done,  and,  inferentially,  through  its  present  organization. 

In  conclusion,  I  beg,  therefore,  to  claim  that  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution having  been  designated  by  Congress  as  the  agent  of  interna- 
tional exchanges  between  the  United  States  and  other  countries,  by 
original  law,  by  appointment  of  the  Joint  Library  Committee  of 
Congress  under  the  law,  and  by  the  establishment  of  successive  enact- 
ments, is  de facto  and  de  jure  the  appointed  agent,  and  as  such  derives 
its  authority  from  even  a  higher  source  than  the  nomination  of  the 
Department  of  State,  and  that  as  such  it  is  empowered  to  treat  with 
the  corresponding  agencies  of  other  countries. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary. 

INTERNATIONAL  EXCHANGES — ESTIMATES. 

December  5,  1881— House. 

Estimates  for  1883. 

International  exchanges,  $5,000. 

NOTE.— The  Smithsonian  Institution  has  been  designated  by  the  State  Department 
as  the  official  agent  of  the  Government  in  prosecuting  the  exchanges  in  question. 
October  21,  1882. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  QTATE. 
Washington,  October  21,  1882. 
Prof.  SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

SIR:  In  response  to  your  letter  of  the  3d  instant,  I  have  the  honor 
to  inform  you  that  under  the  general  arrangement  of  international 


906  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

exchanges,  whereby  the  respective  bureaus  of  exchange  are  connected 
with  the  foreign  office  of  the  several  countries,  it  would  seem  more 
appropriate  that  the  amount  necessary  to  maintain  the  United  States 
bureau  should  be  asked  for  in  the  estimates  of  the  Department  of 
State.  I  inclose  a  draft  of  an  item  based  on  your  suggestion,  but 
stating  also  that  the  exchange  is  to  be  made  by  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution under  the  supervision  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

FREDERICK  T.  FRELINGHUYSEN. 

Item  to  be  included  in  the  State  Department  estimates. 

For  expenses  of  the  international  exchanges  between  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries,  to  be  effected  by  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution in  accordance  with  the  Paris  convention  of  1877,  including 
salaries  and  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $10,000,  or  so 
much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction 
of  the  Secretary  of  State. 
January  26,  1883— House. 

Estimates  for  1884. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 

For  Smithsonian  Institution,  international  exchanges,  $10,000. 

INTERNATIONAL    EXCHANGES — APPROPRIATIONS. 

Augusts,  1882. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1883. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  224.) 

Naval  Observatory:  For  payment  to  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
freight  on  Observatory  publications  to  be  shipped  to  foreign  countries 
during  the  fiscal  year  1883,  $336.25. 

(Stat,,  XXII,  245.) 

August  7,  1882. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1883. 

War  Department:  For  the  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to 
foreign  countries,  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $300. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  319.) 

For  expenses  of  the  international  exchanges  between  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries,  in  accordance  with  the  Paris  Convention 
of  1877,  including  salaries  and  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees, 
$5,000. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  332.) 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  907 

March  3,  1883. 

Legislative,  executive  and  judicial  act  for  1884. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments  $1  000 

(Stat.,  XXII,  537.) 

Naval  Observatory:  For  payment  to  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
freight  on  Observatory  publications  sent  to  foreign  countries  $330 

(Stat,  XXII,  555.) 
March  3,  1883. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1884. 

Smithsonian  Institution:  For  expenses  of  the  international  exchanges 
between  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries,  in  accordance  with 
the  Paris  convention  of  1877,  including  salaries  and  compensation  of 
all  necessary  employees,  $7,500. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  603.) 

War  Department:  For  the  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to 
foreign  countries,  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $300. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  618.) 

FOREST   PRESERVATION. 
May  4,  1882— Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN  introduced  a  bill  (S.  1826): 

That  all  of  the  public  timbered  lands  adjacent  to  the  sources  of  the  navigable 
rivers  and  their  affluents  be  withdrawn  from  public  sale  and  entry,  and  that  Maj. 
Gen.  H.  G.  Wright,  Chief  of  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army;  Maj.  Gen. 
William  B.  Hazen,  commanding  the  Signal  Corps;  Dr.  George  B.  Loring,  Commis- 
sioner of  Agriculture,  and  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  shall  form  a  commission  for  the  examination  of  the  subject  of  the  pres- 
ervation and  cultivation  of  woods  and  forests  adjoining  the  sources  of  the  navigable 
rivers  and  their  affluents,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  same  and  increasing 
their  growth  by  planting  there  and  along  the  courses  of  the  said  rivers  where  the 
land  is  timberless,  so  that  the  said  rivers  may  be  kept  in  a  navigable  condition  by 
promoting  a  continuous  supply  from  their  sources  and  affluents;  the  fact  having 
become  universally  known  that  the  destruction  of  the  woods  causes  all  countries  to 
become  arid  and  unprofitable  deserts.  * 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Agriculture. 
June  5,  1882— House. 

Mr.  B.  BUTTERWORTH  introduced  S.  1826. 
Referred  to  Committee  on  Agriculture. 

GLOVER   ENTOMOLOGICAL   PLATES. 
May  4,  1882. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,1 

Washington,  May  4, 1882. 

SIR:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  requesting  an  answer  to  certain 
questions  with  reference  to  the  work  on  "  American  insects  injurious 

1  See  Report  (H.  1520). 


908  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

or  beneficial  to  vegetation,"  prepared  by  Professor  Glover,  the  plates 
and  manuscripts  of  which  he  wishes  to  sell  to  the  United  States. 

Although  not  an  entomologist,  I  can  form  an  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  work,  having  been  familiar  with  its  purposes  for  many  years.  It 
consists  of  about  270  engraved  copper  plates,  in  octavo,  representing 
many  thousands  of  the  insects  injurious  and  beneficial  to  vegetation  in 
the  United  States,  and  presented  in  various  stages  of  growth  and  in 
their  relationships  to  the  plants  or  animals  on  which  they  feed  or 
which  they  harbor.  Although  not  claiming  the  most  minute  condi- 
tions of  accuracy,  I  am  assured  that  all  the  details  necessary  for  the 
identification  of  the  various  species  are  given.  I  have  therefore  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  I  believe  the  book  in  question  to  be  of  great 
value  to  the  agriculturist  and  that  its  publication  and  judicious  dis- 
tribution throughout  the  country  would  be  of  great  importance.  In 
view  of  its  magnitude  its  publication  by  private  enterprise  is  hardly 
to  be  thought  of,  and  without  assistance  from  the  Government  it  will 
never  likely  see  the  light. 

From  my  own  experience,  the  cost  of  engravings  on  copper,  like 
those  constituting  Professor  Glover's  plates,  I  am  satisfied  that  $100 
each  would  be  a  very  moderate  estimate  for  reproducing  them,  includ- 
ing, as  in  this  case,  the  original  drawings,  their  transfer  to  copper, 
and  the  copper  plate  itself.  Mr.  Casilear,  of  the  Bureau  of  Engraving 
and  Printing,  some  years  ago  made  his  estimate  the  same  as  mine.  I 
understand  that  Professor  Glover  is  willing  to  take  $7,500  for  the 
entire  lot.  It  would  be  absolutely  impossible  to  reproduce  these 
engravings  at  anything  like  this  sum.  In  this  price  is  also  included  a 
large  amount  of  text,  more  or  less  complete. 

I  do  not  doubt  but  that  the  work  could  readily  be  published  by  the 
Government  so  as  to  involve  but  little  expense  beyond  that  of  the  first 
cost  of  the  plates. 

The  plates  in  question  were  some  years  ago  stored  by  Professor 
Glover  at  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  are  now  in  my  custody. 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRU,  Secretary. 

Hon.  E.  M.  VALENTINE, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Agriculture. 

August  7,  1882. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1883. 

For  the  purchase  of  the  plates  and  manuscript  on  the  insects  of 
America  from  Professor  Townend  Glover,  $7,000. 
(Stat.,  XXII,  333.) 

ETHNOLOGY — CONTRIBUTIONS   AND   REPORTS. 
June  12,  1882— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  ALDRICH  introduced  joint  resolution  (H.  232): 

That  there  be  printed  and  bound  at  the  Government  Printing  Office,  for  the  use  of 
the  Department  of  the  Interior,  2,500  copies  each  of  volumes  2, 4, 5,  6,  and  7  of  Con- 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  909 

tributions  to  North  American  Ethnology,  and  of  the  first,  second,  and  third  annual 
reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  in  form  and  style  uniform  with  the  editions 
already  ordered  for  the  use  of  Congress. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 

ETHNOLOGY — BULLETINS. 
February  1,  1883— House. 

Mr.  OTHO  R.  SINGLETON,  of  Mississippi,  submitted  House  concur- 
rent resolution  to  print  3,000  each  of  the  Bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  numbers  1  to  12,  inclusive 
with  the  necessary  illustrations,  for  the  use  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology! 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
March  3,  1883— House. 

Passed. 
March  3,  1883— Senate. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — EMPLOYEES. 

June  13,  1882— House. 

In  considering  the  legislative  and  executive  bill  (H.  6244)  for  the 
year  1883,  Mr.  JOSEPH  G.  CANNON  moved  to  strike  out  "And  no  civil 
officer,  clerk,  draughtsman,  copyist,  messenger,  assistant  messenger, 
mechanic,  watchman,  laborer,  or  other  employee  shall  hereafter  be 
employed  at  the  seat  of  government  in  any  other  office,  or  be  paid 
from  any  appropriation  made  for  contingent  expenses  or  for  any 
specific  or  general  purpose,  unless  such  employment  is  authorized 
and  payment  therefor  specifically  provided  in  the  law  granting  the 
appropriation,  and  then  only  for  services  actually  rendered  in  connec- 
tion with  and  for  the  purposes  of  the  appropriation  from  which  pay- 
ment is  made." 

Mr.  JOHN  D.  C.  ATKINS.  *  *  *  I  have  been  informed  by  the 
assistant  clerk  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  that  the  amend- 
ment only  has  reference  to  the  work  upon  the  monument  in  this  city 
and  to  the  National  Museum  in  this  city. 

Mr.  CANNON.  It  is  something  more  than  that.  It  refers  to  the  depot 
quartermaster,  the  General  of  the  Army,  and  all  officers  of  the  Army 
and  all  officers  in  the  District  of  Columbia  who  are  not  part  and  parcel 
of  the  Executive  Departments. 

Mr.  ATKINS.  Why  should  not  the  general  restrictions  of  section  4 
apply  to  the  employees  of  the  National  Museum  as  well  as  to  the 
Executive  Departments  ? 

Mr.  CANNON.  *  *  *  The  technical  words  "  Executive  Depart- 
ments" are  used  for  the  reason  that  they  have  a  recognized  meaning 
under  the  statutes.  In  the  Revised  Statutes  you  will  find  the  Executive 
Departments  designated  State,  Navy,  War,  etc.  You  will  find  the 


910  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

different  bureaus  aiid  subordinate  offices  also  designated.  But  the 
National  Museum  is  not  a  part  or  parcel  of  any  Executive  Depart- 
ment; therefore  it  does  not  come  *  *  within  the  limitation  of 
this  clause. 

Amendment  of  Mr.  Cannon  adopted. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — ESTIMATES. 

December  5,  1881— House. 

Estimates  for  1883 

For  furniture  and  fixtures,  $60,000. 

For  heating  and  lighting,  etc.,  $6,000. 

For  the  preservation  of  collections,  $75,000. 

For  Armory  building,  $2,500. 

For  distribution  of  duplicate  specimens,  $10,000. 

For  transfer  of  collections  from  Permanent  International  Exhibi- 
tion, Philadelphia,  $7,500. 

For  printing  and  binding  (included  in  Department  of  the  Interior 
estimates),  $20,000. 

For  postage  (included  in  Department  of  the  Interior  estimates), 
$1,000. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  November  7,  1881. 

SIR:  I  would  respectfully  ask  that  the  following  memorandum  in 
regard  to  the  increase  in  the  estimates  for  the  service  of  the  National 
Museum,  in  charge  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  year  1883, 
over  those  for  1882,  be  inserted  in  the  book  of  estimates: 

The  necessary  reorganization  of  the  National  Museum,  in  consequence 
of  the  occupation  of  the  new  building  furnished  by  Congress,  affords 
opportunity  for  an  increase  of  nearly  tenfold  in  the  amount  of  the 
material  to  be  cared  for,  and  necessitates  a  general  increase  for  the 
general  maintenance  of  the  Museum.  The  arrangement  of  the  collec- 
tions in  the  new  Museum  building,  and  its  formal  opening  to  the  public, 
can  not  be  completed  properly  until  toward  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year, 
and  a  largely  increased  expenditure  will  be  required  in  the  way  of 
compensation  of  curators,  specialists,  watchmen,  and  other  attendants. 
On  this  score  the  additional  sum  referred  to  is  absolutely  essential. 

There  is  on  hand  a  large  amount  of  duplicate  material  collected  by 
the  several  Government  geological  and  other  surveys  and  by  the  United 
States  Fish  Commission,  of  very  great  value  in  an  educational  point  of 
view,  and  an  item  is  included  for  the  expense  of  identification,  classi- 
fication, and  elimination  of  duplicates,  and  for  their  labeling  and  pack- 
ing for  distribution  to  colleges,  academies,  and  museums  throughout 
the  United  States. 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  9H 

Of  the  Permanent  Exhibition  in  Philadelphia  vast  amounts  of  valu- 
able contributions  in  the  way  of  geological  and  mineralogical  speci- 
mens, and  of  illustrations  of  the  various  industries  of  the  countrv  have 
recently  been  presented  to  the  United  States,  on  condition  of' their 
transfer  to  and  exhibition  in  the  National  Museum.  For  this  «ilso 
estimate  is  made. 

The  estimate  for  distributing  duplicates  is  the  same  as  one  made  some 
years  ago  for  a  similar  purpose,  while  that  for  the  transfer  of  collec- 
tions from  the  Permanent  Exhibition  in  Philadelphia  corresponds  to  an 
appropriation  made  by  Congress  in  1877  for  a  like  transfer  from  the 
International  Exhibition. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 
Hon.  S.  J.  KIRKWOOD, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior. 
January  25,  1882—  House. 

A  communication  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  transmitting 
the  estimates  of  deficiency  appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30,  1882,  and  prior  years,  contained  the  item: 

Furniture  and  fixtures  for  the  National  Museum:  To  expedite  the 
work  of  constructing  the  exhibition  cases  in  the  new  building  for  the 
National  Museum  during  the  present  fiscal  year,  $30,000. 
NOTE.— For  explanation  of  this  estimate  see  letter  of  Professor  Baird: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  January  14,  1883.    "' 

SIR:  I  beg  respectfully  to  request  that  the  following  item  be  inserted  in  the 
deficiency  estimates  now  being  made  up  by  the  Department  for  transmission  to 
Congress,  viz:  To  expedite  the  work  of  constructing  the  exhibition  cases  in  the  new 
building  for  the  National  Museum,  $30,000. 

In  explanation  of  this  request,  I  would  state  that  no  actual  deficiency  exists,  but 
that  the  sum  above  mentioned  is  required  as  an  addition  to  the  appropriation  for 
furniture  and  fixtures  for  the  present  fiscal  year  (that  of  1881-82) ,  which  has  already 
been  pledged  for  cases  in  course  of  construction  under  contract. 
In  this  connection  I  would  submit  the  following  statements: 

(1)  About  250  cases  have  been   arranged  for,  and  for  the  most  part  delivered, 
affording  an  aggregate  exhibition — and   storage — capacity  equal  to  35,000  running 
feet  of  shelving  1  foot  wide,  or  nearly  1  acre. 

(2)  These  cases  are  contracted  for  to  be  delivered  in  an  incomplete  condition,  it 
having   been   found  cheaper  to  import  glass  and  to  purchase  locks,  hinges,  and 
interior  fittings  for  the  same  from  the  manufacturers.     It  has  also  been  found  that 
the  cases  can  be  finished,  polished,  and  set  up  in  a  more  satisfactory  and  economical 
manner  by  mechanics  working  under  the  personal  supervision  of  the  officers  of  the 
Museum  than  by  contract. 

(3)  The  Museum  has  now  in  its  employ  a  considerable  force  of  men  who,  by 
careful  training,  have  gained  experience  indispensable  to  the  proper  performance  of 
this  work,  and  their  discharge  at  the  present  time  would  render  necessary  the  em- 
ployment of  unskilled  labor  when  the  work  is  resumed. 

(4)  A  large  quantity  of    plate  and  crystal  glass  for  these  cases,   which   was 
imported  at  a  time  when  glass  was  much  cheaper  than  at  present,  is  now  lying  in 
the  building,  and  unless  this  can  be  speedily  used  it  is  liable  to  deterioration.     Ill 


912  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

addition,  other  materials,  as  oil,  paints,  brushes,  etc.,  on   hand,  are  also  liable  to 
mishap. 

(5)  Although  a  large  number  of  cases  are  provided  for,  the  greater  part  of  the 
immense  floor  space  is  as  yet  uncovered.     One  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  architecture 
of  the  building  is  that  the  17  large  halls  are  separated  from  each  other  by  partitions 
composed  entirely  of  exhibition  cases,  and  particular  attention  has,  therefore,  been 
directed  to  building  cases  of  this  description;  and  many  other  special  forms  needed 
for  immediate  use  are  yet  to  be  ordered. 

(6)  Not  only  will  a  delay  in  the  completion  of  these  additional  cases  enhance  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  speedy  opening  of  the  Museum,  but  suspension  of  work 
thereon  will  be  disastrous,  since  there  are  but  a  few  manufacturers  in  the  United 
States  capable  of  building  such  cases  satisfactorily  and  economically,  and  these,  hav- 
ing but  a  limited  capacity  for  work,  can  construct  only  a  few  at  a  time.     The  lumber 
requires  to  be  kiln  dried,  and  for  this  and  other  reasons  the  time  for  constructing  a 
single  lot  of  cases  necessarily  extends  over  a  period  of  four  or  five  months.     Besides, 
glass  must  be  imported  and  hardware  for  interior  fittings  must  be  specially  constructed. 

Moreover,  the  tendency  at  present  to  an  advance  in  prices  of  skilled  labor,  lumber, 
iron,  etc.,  renders  it  extremely  desirable  that  contracts  should  be  given  out  at  a  date 
as  early  as  possible.  Any  delay  will  necessitate  a  discharge,  by  some  of  the  manu- 
facturers at,  least,  of  workmen  specially  trained  for  the  work  required  by  these  cases. 

(7)  Should  the  cases  now  on  hand  not  be  immediately  completed,  the  work  of 
putting  the  specimens  on  exhibition  will  undoubtedly  and  necessarily  be  suspended 
for  five  or  six  months,  and  to  this  extent  of  time  fulfillment  of  the  general  desire 
that  the  Museum  shall  be  opened  to  the  public  at  as  early  a  day  as  possible  will  be 
delayed,  while  on  the  other  hand,  should  these  cases  be  finished  at  once  it  is  believed 
that  a  large  quantity  of  the  most  interesting  material  can  be  presented  for  the  inspec- 
tion of  visitors  before  the  approach  of  another  winter. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 
Hon.  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

December  4,  1882— House. 

Estimates  for  1884. 

For  furniture  and  fixtures,  $60,000. 

For  heating,  lighting  and  telephonic  and  electrical  service,  $6,000. 

For  the  preservation  of  collections,  $90,000. 

For  Armory  building,  $3,500. 

For  procuring  and  making  a  standard  collection  of  minerals  for  the 
service  of  the  National  Museum  and  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  $30,000. 

For  postage  (included  in  estimate  for  the  Department  of  the  In- 
terior), $1,700. 

For  printing  and  binding  (included  in  estimate  for  the  Department 
of  the  Interior),  $10,000. 
January  20,  1883. 
Hon.  CHAS.  J.  FOLGER, 

Secretary  U.  S.  Treasury. 

SIR:  I  would  respectfully  request  insertion  of  the  following  item  in 
the  deficiency  estimates  now  being  prepared  by  your  Department  for 
transmission  to  Congress,  viz: 

To  hasten  the  completion  of  exhibition  cases  for  the  new  building  for  the  National 
Museum,  $30,000. 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  913 

I  would  remark,  by  way  of  explanation,  that  no  actual  deficiency 
exists.  The  sum  asked,  however,  is  desired  in  addition  to  the  appro- 
priation for  furniture  and  fixtures  for  the  present  fiscal  year  (1882-83), 
said  appropriation  being  pledged  for  cases  and  fixtures  in  course  of 
construction  under  contract. 

I  would  state,  further,  that  the  cases  necessary  to  fill  the  space  of 
the  new  building  will,  if  placed  end  to  end,  occupy  a  length  of  12,500 
feet,  or  nearly  2i  miles,  of  which  a  large  proportion  remain  to  be 
constructed. 

The  Museum  has  now  in  its  employ  a  considerable  number  of  skilled 
mechanics,  who  by  careful  training  have  derived  that  experience  which 
is  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  building  and  finishing  of  the  required 
exhibition  cases,  and  their  discharge  just  now  would  render  necessary 
the  employment  of  unskilled  labor  when  the  work  is  resumed.  In 
addition,  large  quantities  of  imported  glass  and  of  other  materials 
necessary  to  the  work  of  providing  furniture  and  fixtures  for  the 
building  are  on  hand,  and  should  be  speedily  utilized  to  prevent  pos- 
sible deterioration  in  one  way  and  another. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  truly,  yours, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 

January  23,  1883. 

Hon.  C.  J.  FOLGER, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  estimate  for  a  defi- 
ciency in  the  appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1883, 
and  beg  to  request  that  you  will  transmit  the  same  to  Congress: 

To  complete  the  transfer  and  preparation  of  the  Philadelphia  collections  presented 
to  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Permanent  International  Exhibition  in 
Philadelphia,  including  necessary  expenses  already  incurred,  $4,112.82. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

NATIONAL  MUSEUM— APPROPRIATIONS. 

March  6,  1882. 

Urgent  deficiency  act  for  1882,  etc. 

Furniture  and  fixtures:  To  expedite  the  work  of  constructing  the 
exhibition  cases  in  the  new  building  for  the  National  Museum  during 
the  present  fiscal  year,  $30,000. 

(Stat.,  XXH,  10.) 
June  26,  1882— House. 

Mr.  FRANK  HISCOCK,  from  the  Committee  on  Appropriations,  sub- 
mitted a  report  (H.  1520)  to  accompany  sundry  civil 
H.  Doc.  732 58 


914 


CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 


year  1882-83  (H.  6675)  and  the  following  statements  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution: 

Pay  roll  of  National  Museum,  April,  1882. 


Grade. 

Monthly  salary. 

Title. 

I. 
II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 
VII. 
VIII. 

XL 
XIII. 

XV. 

XVI. 
XVII. 

XVIII. 
XIX. 

None. 
$225.00 
166.66 
600.00 
125.00 
125.00 
125.  00 
200.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100,00 
90.00 
80.00 
225.00 
75.00 
65.00 
120.00 
100.00 
400.00 
450.00 
75.00 
150.00 
160.00 
40.00 
120.00 
640.00 
70.00 
60.00 
30.00 
60.00 
60.00 
100.00 
50.00 
25.00 
20.00 

1 
1 
3 
1 
1 
2 
2 
8 
9 
1 
3 
4 
1 
3 
16 
2 
2 
1 
2 
2 
4 
2 
1 
1 

91 

at  8225.00 
at    166.66 
at    150.00 
at    125.  00 
at    125.00 
at    125.  00 
at    100.  00 
at    100.00 
at    100.00 
at    100.  00 
at    100.00 
at    100.  00 
at    100.00 
at      90.00 
at      80.  00 
at      75.  00 
at      75.  00 
at      65.00 
at      60.00 
at      50.00 
at      50.00 
at      50.00 
at      75.  00 
at      50.00 
at      40.00 
at      40.  00 
at      40.  00 
at      40.  00 
at      35.00 
at      30.  00 
at      30.00 
at      30.00 
at      30.00 
at      25.00 
at      25.00 
at      25.00 
at      20.00 

Assistant  director  

Curator 

do  

Assistant  curator  

Chief  taxidermist  ...  . 

Chemist 

Registrar  

Artist                                        

Suprintendent  of  building  

Assistant,  1st  class  

Clerk  6th  class              

Aid  6th  class 

Electrician  

Aid  3d  class 

Copyist,  6th  class  

Watchman,  3d  class  

Copvist,  4th  class  

Attendant  

Copyist,  2d  class  

5,  431.  66 
65,179.92 

Summary  of  estimated  expenditure  for  the  National  Museum,  fiscal  year  1883. 

For  pay  rolls,  salaries,  and  labor $60, 000. 00 

For  freight 2, 500.  00 

For  materials  and  supplies  for  preserving  specimens 2, 500. 00 

For  expenses  for  procuring  specimens 1, 000.  00 

For  stationery 3, 000.  00 

For  cleaning  materials,  soap,  brushes,  ice,  etc 1, 000. 00 

For  chemicals,  glass,  etc. ,  for  laboratory  and  other  purposes 1, 500.  00 

For  apparatus,  tools,  and  hardware 1, 500.  00 

For  purchase  of  books  of  reference 1,  500.  00 

For  incidentals. . .  500. 00 


rs,  ooo.  oo 


Estimated  expenditures  for  the  National  Museum  on  a  permanent  basis. 
SCIENTIFIC. 

Compensation  of  1  assistant  director,  at  $250  per  month $3, 000 

7  curators,  at  $175  per  month 14,  700 

4  assistant  curators,  at  $125  per  month 6, 000 

4  assistants,  at  $100  per  month 4,  800 

2  chemists,  at  $125  per  month 3,000 

Clerks  and  copyists  (at  from  $100  to  $25  per  month) 6, 000 


FORTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  915 

Estimated  expenditures  for  the  National  Museum  on  a  permanent  basis— Continued. 

ADMINISTRATIVE. 

Compensation  of  1  superintendent  of  buildings,  at  $125  per  month .  $1, 500 

1  registrar,  at  $125  per  month l'500 

1  chief  modeler,  at  $125  per  month 1*500 

1  chief  taxidermist,  at  $125  per  month ; 1 '  500 

2  artists,  at  $100  per  month 2*  400 

7  taxidermists  and  preparators  (from  $100  to  $40  per  month) .  6, 000 

2  stenographers,  at  $100  per  month 2^400 

Clerks  and  copyists  (from  $75  to  $30  per  month) 2, 400 

2  janitors,  at  $75  per  month 1,800 

12  watchmen,  at  $50  per  month 7,200 

8  doorkeepers,  at  .from  $40  to  $30  per  month 3, 840 

15  laborers,  at  $40  per  month 7(  200 

Cleaners  and  sweepers  ( from  $35  to  $25  per  month ) 3, 000 

Messengers,  $30  to  $15  per  month 1, 500 

2  master  carpenters,  at  $75  per  month 1,800 

1  painter,  at  $60  per  month 720 

1  mason,  at  $50  per  month 600 

1  engineer,  at  $100  per  month 1,200 

1  engineer,  at  $75  per  month 900 

4  firemen,  at  $50  per  month 2,400 

1  electrician,  at  $75  per  month 900 

1  laborer,  at  $50  permonth 600 

1  telephone  clerk,  at  $35  per  month 420 

1  telephone  messenger,  at  $30  per  month 360 

$91, 140. 00 

For  fuel  and  gas ' 5,550 

For  freight 3,000 

For  materials  and  supplies  for  preservation  of  specimens 3, 000 

For  procuring  specimens 2, 500 

For  stationery  and  blanks 3, 000 

For  cleaning  materials,  ice,  etc 1, 000 

For  chemicals,  glass,  etc.,  for  laboratory  and  other  purposes 2, 000 

For  apparatus,  tools,  and  hardware 2, 000 

For  purchase  of  necessary  books  of  reference 2, 000 

For  incidentals 1,000 

25,000.00 


116, 140. 00 
August  5,  1882. 

Deficiency  act  for  1882,  etc. 

To  pay  Thomas  J.  Hobbs  for  disbursing  the  appropriations  for  the 
construction  of  the  National  Museum  building,  under  appointment  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  March  28,  1879,  $250,  in  full  satis- 
faction therefor. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  274.) 

August  7,  1882. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1883. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
collections  of  geology,  mineralogy,  natural  history,  ethnology,  and  the 


916  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

industrial  arts  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and  for  salaries  or  com- 
pensation of  all  necessary  employees,  $60,000. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  telephonic  and  electrical  serv- 
ice for  the  new  museum  building,  $6,000. 

For  the  preservation  and  exhibition  of  the  collections  received  from 
the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  and  other 
sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees, 
$75,000. 

For  care  of  the  Armory  building  and  expense  of  watching,  preser- 
vation, and  storage  of  the  duplicate  collections  of  the  Government 
and  of  property  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  contained 
therein,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees, 
$2,500.  And  the  distribution  of  duplicate  specimens  of  the  National 
Museum  and  Fish  Commission  may  be  made  to  colleges,  academies, 
and  other  institutions  of  learning  upon  the  payment  by  the  recipients 
of  the  cost  of  preparation  for  transportation  and  the  transportation 
thereof. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  332.) 

For  expense  of  transferring  to  Washington  the  collections  presented 
to  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Permanent  International 
Exhibition  in  Philadelphia,  including  necessary  expenses  already 
incurred  for  the  purpose,  $10,000. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  333.) 

March  3,  1883. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1884. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
collections  of  geology,  mineralogy,  natural  history,  ethnology,  and  the 
industrial  arts  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and  for  salaries  or  com- 
pensation of  all  necessary  employees,  $60,000. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  628.) 

For  the  preservation  and  exhibition  of  the  collections  received  from 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  and  other 
sources,  including  salaries  or  compensations  of  all  necessary  employ- 
ees, $90,000. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  telephonic  and  electrical  serv- 
ice for  the  new  Museum  building,  $6,000. 

For  care  of  the  Armory  buildings  and  grounds,  and  expense  of  watch- 
ing, preservation,  and  storage  of  the  duplicate  collections  of  the  Gov- 
ernment and  of  property  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission 
contained  therein,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $2,500.  And  the  distribution  of  duplicate  specimens  of 
the  National  Museum  and  Fish  Commission  may  be  made  to  colleges, 
academies,  and  other  institutions  of  learning  upon  the  payment  by  the 
recipients  of  the  cost  of  preparation  for  transportation  and  the  trans- 
portation thereof. 

(Stat,  XXII,  629.) 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  917 

March  3,  1883. 

Deficiency  act  for  1883,  etc. 

To  complete  the  transfer  and  preparation  of  the  Philadelphia  col- 
lections presented  to  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Permanent 
International  Exhibition  in  Philadelphia,  including  necessary  expenses 
already  incurred,  $4,112.82. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  .584.) 

The  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  are  hereby  authorized  to 
pass  to  the  credit  of  Herbert  A.  Gill  the  sum  of  $150,  for  services 
performed  in  connection  with  the  National  Museum  during  the  second 
and  third  quarters  of  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1881. 

(Stat.,  XXn.,  589.) 

DOCUMENTS. 
August  8,  1882— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  M.  SPEINGER.  I  ask  consent  to  offer  the  following 
resolution  for  present  consideration. 

Mr.  JAMES  A.  McKENZiE.  I  reserve  the  right  to  object.  There  is 
too  much  of  this  thing. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  W.  KEIFER).  The  resolution  will  be  read. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, and  the  superintendent  of  documents,  Department  of  the  Interior  be,  and  they 
are  hereby,  requested  to  compile  the  laws  and  regulations  now  in  force  governing 
the  printing  and  distribution  of  public  documents,  to  prepare  a  tabulated  statement 
showing  the  number  of  documents  printed  by  order  of  the  Forty-sixth  and  the  first 
session  of  the  Forty -seventh  Congresses,  and  under  general  laws  now  in  force,  the  dis- 
tribution directed  to  be  made  of  the  same;  to  report  what  reduction  should  be  made 
in  the  number  of  such  documents,  and  present  such  other  information  at  their  com- 
mand relating  to  public  documents  as  will  tend  to  promote  judicious  legislation,  and 
submit  the  draft  of  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  printing  and  distribution  of  documents; 
and  they  shall  report  to  the  House  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  session. 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  I  ask  that  this  resolution  be  passed,  as  it  will  cost 
nothing  whatever.  These  gentlemen  are  already  in  the  employ  of  the 
Government,  and  they  will  be  able  to  furnish  much  valuable  informa- 
tion upon  a  very  important  subject.  This  information  if  received,  as 
I  believe  it  will  be  from  them,  will  enable  us  to  know  the  exact  num- 
ber of  documents  published  by  authority  of  law,  their  distribution, 
and  the  cost  of  the  same.  I  move  the  previous  question  on  the 
adoption  of  the  resolution. 

The  previous  question  was  ordered,  and  the  resolution  agreed  to. 

December  22,  1882— House. 

Report  presented  by  J.  G.  Ames,  superintendent  of  documents  in 
the  Interior  Department,  A.  R.  Spofford,  Librarian  of  Congress,  and 
Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  regarding 
the  publication  and  distribution  of  public  documents,  in  compliance 


918  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

with  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  August  8,  1882.     (Miscellaneous 
Document  No.  12.) 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  12,  1883 — House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  M.  SPRINGER.  At  the  last  session  of  Congress  the 
House  passed  a  resolution  requesting  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  and  the  superintendent 
of  documents  in  the  Interior  Department  to  submit  a  report  on  the 
subject  of  the  publication  and  distribution  of  public  documents.  The 
report  has  been  received  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 
The  bill  and  joint  resolution  which  I  send  to  the  Clerk's  desk  are  those 
which  the  report  recommends  should  be  passed  by  Congress. 

The  following  bill  and  joint  resolutions  were  accordingly  received, 
read  a  first  and  second  time,  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed: 

A  bill  (H.  7555)  to  establish  depositories  and  provide  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  public  documents. 

Joint  resolution  (H.  339)  providing  for  the  preparation  and  dis- 
tribution of  pamphlet  Laws  and  Statutes  at  Large; 

Joint  resolution  (H.  340)  providing  for  the  distribution  of  the 
Congressional  Globe  and  Records;  and 

Joint  resolution  (H.  341)  providing  for  the  sale  of  public  docu- 
ments. 

STATUE   OF  JOSEPH   HENRY. 
February  3,  1883— House. 
The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  W.  KEIFER)  submitted  a  letter: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  January  17,  1888. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  House  of  Representatives  that  in  accordance 
with  the  act  of  Congress  of  June  1,  1880  (Forty-sixth  Congress,  public  act) ,  provid- 
ing that  the  Regents  of  this  Institution  be  authorized  to  contract  with  W.  W.  Story, 
sculptor,  for  a  bronze  statue  of  Joseph  Henry,  late  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  to  be  erected  in  the  grounds  of  said  Institution,  the  statue  has  been  exe- 
cuted and  received  in  Washington,  and  that  Thursday,  the  19th  of  April,  has  been 
selected  as  the  day  for  the  public  unveiling  of  the  same. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  having  ordered  this  statue  and  made  the  appro- 
priation necessary  therefor,  the  Board  of  Regents  respectfully  invite  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  to  be  present  on  the  occasion  of  its  formal  presentation  to 
the  public. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  J.  W.  KEIFER, 

Speaker  United  States  House  of  Representatives. 

Referred  to  Joint  Committee  on  the  Librarv. 


FORTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  919 

February  20,  1883— House. 

Mr.  SAMUEL  S.  Cox,  of  New  York.  The  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  have  invited  this  body  and  the  Senate  to  be  present 
at  the  inauguration  of  the  Henry  statue  in  April  next.  I  ask  consent 
to  submit  for  consideration  at  this  time  a  joint  resolution  meeting  that 
invitation  in  a  proper  spirit,  accepting  the  invitation  of  the  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  attend  the  inauguration  of  the  statue  of 
Joseph  Henry. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  W.  KEIFEE).  The  joint  resolution  will  be  read. 

Whereas  in  a  communication  from  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  Congress  was  informed  that  in  accordance  with  the  act  of  June  1,  1880, 
the  bronze  statue  of  Joseph  Henry,  late  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  has 
been  completed;  and 

Whereas  in  the  same  communication  Congress  was  respectfully  invited  to  be  pres- 
ent on  the  occasion  of  its  formal  presentation  to  the  public  upon  Thursday,  the  19th 
of  April  next:  Therefore, 

Be  it  resolved,  etc.,  That  the  said  invitation  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  accepted  by 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  and  that  the  President  of  the  Senate  select 
seven  members  of  that  body  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  fifteen 
members  of  that  body  to  be  present  and  represent  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
upon  the  occasion  of  the  presentation  and  inauguration  of  said  statue. 

Passed. 
February  20,  1883— Senate. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR.  I  ask  the  honorable  Senator  from  Illinois  to 
permit  the  joint  resolution  (H.  356),  which  will  pass  as  a  mere  mat- 
ter of  course,  in  regard  to  the  attendance  on  the  celebration  of  the 
inauguration  of  the  Henry  statue  to  be  laid  before  the  Senate  and 


The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS).  Does  the 
Senator  from  Illinois  yield? 

Mr.  JOHN  A.  LOGAN.  I  have  no  objection  if  there  is  any  desire 
about  it. 

Mr.  HOAR.  I  ask  unanimous  consent  that  the  joint  resolution  be  laid 
before  the  Senate  and  be  now  passed.  If  there  is  any  objection  I  shall 
withdraw  it. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Senator  from  Massachusetts  asks 
unanimous  consent  that  a  joint  resolution  received  from  the  House  of 
Representatives  be  now  considered.  It  will  be  read  for  information. 

The  joint  resolution  (H.  356)  accepting  the  invitation  of  the  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  attend  the  inauguration  of  the  statue 
of  Joseph  Henry  was  read  the  first  time  at  length. 

Considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  reported  without 
amendment  and  passed. 

Mr.  HOAR.  The  proper  title  is  "Smithsonian  Institution,"  but 
hardly  worth  while,  I  suppose,  to  make  the  amendment.   It  is  correctly 
described  in  the  body  of  the  resolve. 


920  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

February  24,  1883. 

Joint  resolution. 

Whereas,  in  a  communication  from  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institute,  Congress  was  informed  that  in  accordance 
with  an  act  of  June  1,  1880,  the  bronze  statue  of  Joseph  Henry,  late 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  had  been  completed;  and 
whereas,  in  the  same  communication,  Congress  was  respectfully 
invited  to  be  present  on  the  occasion  of  its  formal  presentation  to  the 
public  upon  Thursday  the  19th  of  April  next:  Therefore,  be  it  • 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  said  invitation  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby, 
accepted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives;  and  that  the 
President  of  the  Senate  select  seven  members  of  that  body  and  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  fifteen  members  of  that  body 
to  be  present  and  represent  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  upon 
the  occasion  of  the  presentation  and  inauguration  of  said  statue. 

(Stat.,  XXII,  639.) 

February  28,  1883— House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  WARREN  KEIFER).  In  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  joint  resolution  of  the  House  (H.  356)  accepting 
the  invitation  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  attend  the  inaugu- 
ration of  the  statue  of  Joseph  Henry,  approved  February  24,  1883, 
the  Chair  announces  the  appointment  of  the  following-named  members 
to  be  present  and  represent  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  on  th(- 
part  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  as  provided  in  said  resolution, 
namely:  Mr.  John  T.  Wait,  of  Connecticut,  Mr.  William  Aldrich,  of 
Illinois,  Mr.  Thomas  M.  Browne,  of  Indiana,  Mr.  John  A.  Kasson. 
of  Iowa,  Mr.  George  M.  Robeson,  of  New  Jersey,  Mr.  John  W. 
Candler,  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  R.  J.  Walker,  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr. 
A.  H.  Pettibone,  of  Tennessee,  Mr.  J.  Proctor  Knott,  of  Kentucky, 
Mr.  J.  Randolph  Tucker,  of  Virginia,  Mr.  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  of 
Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Randall  L.  Gibson,  of  Louisiana. 

March  3,  1883— Senate. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR.  Mr.  President,  I  desire  to  make  a  statement 
to  the  Senate.  Some  weeks  ago  both  Houses  of  Congress  accepted  the 
invitation  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  attend  the 
unveiling  of  the  statue  of  Professor  Henry,  and  the  Senate  voted,  in 
conjunction  with  the  House,  that  a  committee  of  a  certain  number  of 
Senators — I  think  nine — and  fifteen  members  of  the  House  should 
represent  the  two  Houses  on  the  occasion.  I  am  informed  at  the  desk 
that  the  committee  has  not  been  appointed.  I  ask  unanimous  consent 
that  the  presiding  officer  be  authorized  to  designate  that  committee 
after  the  adjournment,  in  case  he  shall  not  be  able  to  do  it  before. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore  (Mr.  DAVID  DAVIS).  The  Senator  from 
Massachusetts  asks  unanimous  consent  that  the  presiding  officer  of  the 


FORTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  921 

Senate  may  be  authorized  after  the  adjournment  to  designate  the  com- 
mittee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate  to  attend  the  ceremonies  of  the  unveil- 
ing of  the  statue  of  Joseph  Henry,  which  is  to  take  place  after  the 
adjournment  of  Congress.  Is  there  objection  ?  The  chair  hears  none 
and  it  is  so  ordered. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  Forty-seventh  Congress,  second  ses- 
sion, the  Vice-President  appointed  the  following  committee  to  repre- 
sent the  Senate  at  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  Professor  Henry  on 
April  19,  1883:  Mr.  George  F.  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Eli  Sauls- 
bury,  of  Delaware,  Mr.  Samuel  J.  R.  McMillan,  of  Minnesota  Mr 
Joseph  R.  Hawley,  of  Connecticut,  Mr.  William  Mahone,  of  Vir- 
ginia, Mr.  Omar  D.  Conger,  of  Michigan,  Mr.  James  B.  Groome  of 
Maryland. 

[From  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1883.] 

In  accordance  with  the  previous  arrangements,  the  statue  was  un- 
veiled on  Thursday  afternoon,  April  19,  1883,  at  4  o'clock.  The  day- 
was  clear,  mild,  and  propitious,  and  about  10,000  people  assembled  to 
witness  the  ceremonies. 

The  invited  guests  met  in  the  lecture  hall  of  the  National  Museum, 
and  proceeded  to  the  platform  which  had  been  erected  around  the 
statue.  Gen.  O.  M.  Poe,  acted  as  chief  marshal.  The  direction  of 
the  executive  details  of  the  occasion  were  assigned  by  Professor  Baird 
to  Mr.  William  J.  Rhees,  the  Chief  Clerk. 

The  following  order  of  arrangement  was  adopted: 

The  President  of  the  United  States1;  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  Chancellor  of  the  Institution;  the  orator  of  the  day,  President 
Noah  Porter,  LL.D.$  of  Yale  College;  the  chaplain  of  the  day,  Rev. 
A.  A.  Hodge,  D.  D. ;  the  family  of  Professor  Henry. 

The  establishment  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  viz,  the  Vice- 
President,  Secretary  of  State,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Secretary  of 
War,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Postmaster- 
General,  Attorney-General,  Commissioner  of  Patents. 

The  Regents  and  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  ex- 
Regents;  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represent- 
atives, appointed  to  represent  Congress;  the  Diplomatic  Corps;  the 
Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States;  Judges 
of  United  States  Courts;  Claims  Commissions;  Judges  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  District  of  Columbia;  Senators  and  Members  of  the  House 
of  Representatives;  Commissioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia;  the 
General  and  officers  of  the  Army;  the  Admiral  and  officers  of  the  Navy; 
ex-members  of  the  Cabinet  and  ex-ministers  of  the  United  States; 
National  Academy  of  Sciences;  founders  of  the  Henry  trust  fund  for 
science;  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture;  the  assistant  secretaries  of 

1  The  President  was  absent  from  the  city  at  the  time. 


922  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

Departments;  Solicitor-General  and  assistant  attorneys-general;  the 
United  States  marshal  and  officers  of  courts;  the  Light-House  Board; 
the  heads  of  Bureaus;  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey,  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Observatory,  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Nautical  Almanac,  the  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey,  the  Libra- 
rian of  Congress;  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings,  the  Architect 
of  the  Capitol,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Government  Printing  Office, 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Botanical  Gardens,  the  Visitors  of  the  Gov- 
ernment Hospital  for  the  Insane;  officers  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives;  Trustees  of  the  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art;  the  Wash- 
ington Monument  Society;  officers  and  employees  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  National  Museum,  and  United  States 
Fish  Commission;  alumni  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  members  of 
scientific  organizations,  etc. 

While  this  procession  was  moving  from  the  hall  in  the  Museum 
building  to  the  platform  at  the  statue,  the  Marine  Band,  furnished 
through  the  courtesy  of  Hon.  William  E.  Chandler,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  and  of  Colonel  McCawley,  commandant  of  the  Marine  Corps, 
played  a  grand  march,  "Transit  of  Venus,"  composed  by  J.  P.  Sousa, 
the  leader  of  the  band. 

The  following  was  the  order  of  exercises: 

I.  Music — Marine  Band    (J.  P.  Sousa,  conductor),   "The  Hallelujah  Chorus" 

(Messiah),  Handel. 
II.  PRAYER— Rev.  A.  A.  HODGE,  D.  D.,  of  Princeton,  N.  J. 

III.  ADDRESS — Chief  Justice  WAITE,  Chancellor  of  the  Institution. 

IV.  UNVEILING  THE  STATUE. 

V.  Music  (Philharmonic  Society  and  full  Marine  Band,  R.  C.  Bernays,  conduc- 
tor)— Grand  chorus,  "The  Heavens  are  Telling"  (Creation),  Haydn. 
VI.  ORATION — Rev.  Dr.  NOAH  PORTER,  president  of  Yale  College. 
VII.  Music   (J.  P.   Sousa,   conductor) — Grand  March  Triumphale,    "Schiller," 
Meyerbeer. 

The  Philharmonic  Society  was  assisted  by  members  of  the  Washing- 
ton Operatic  Association,  the  Rossini  and  Church  Choir  Choral 
societies,  the  Washington  Sangerbund  and  Germania  Mannerchor. 
The  arrangements  for  the  music  were  made  by  a  committee  of  the 
Philharmonic  Society,  of  which  Prof.  F.  Widdows  was  chairman. 
The  chief  of  police  furnished  a  detail  for  the  grounds:  Mr.  Edward 
Clark,  architect  of  the  Capitol,  supplied  music  stands  and  stools  for 
the  Marine  Band;  the  Quartermaster's  Department  lent  flags,  and  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  living  plants  for  decorating  the  platform. 
Mr.  W.  R.  Smith,  superintendent  of  the  botanic  gardens,  also  fur- 
nished floral  decorations. 

At  the  moment  of  unveiling  the  statue  the  news  was  telegraphed 
from  an  instrument  on  the  platform,  which  had  been  placed  there  by 
Mr.  L.  Whitney,  the  superintendent  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company. 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  923 

TURNER'S  AND  NELSON'S  REPORTS  ON  ALASKA. 

February  21,  1883 — Senate. 

Joint  resolution  (S.  134)  considered: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  Public  Printer  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  print 
and  bind,  for  the  use  of  the  Signal  Office,  2,000  copies  of  a  report  on  the  meteorology, 
geography,  botany,  and  zoology  of  Alaska,  by  Lucien  M.  Turner;  also,  2,000  copies 
of  a  report  on  the  same  subjects  and  on  the  ethnology  of  Alaska,  by  E.  W.  Nelson; 
and  2,000  copies  of  a  report  of  observations  on  Mount  Whitney  relative  to  the  absorp- 
tion of  the  sun's  heat  by  the  earth's  atmosphere,  by  Processor  Langley;  and  he  is 
also  authorized  to  contract  for  the  illustrations. 

Debated  at  length. 


* 


Mr.  JOSEPH  R.  HAWLET.  Reference  was  njpde  by  the  Senator  from 
Kansas  to  a  resolution  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Printing  for  the 
publication  of  certain  reports  upon  entomology,  etc.,  of  Alaska,  as  if 
(one  was  compelled  to  infer  from  his  remarks)  an  officer  salaried  by 
the  Government  had  been  detailed  from  his  natural  duties  in  the  Sig- 
nal Corps  to  go  to  Alaska  to  make  these  inquiries.  Now,  these  are 
the  very  simple  facts:  The  Smithsonian  Institution  inquired  whether 
at  a  signal  station  in  Alaska  there  were  not  men  qualified  to  make 
some  of  these  inquiries,  or  they  may  have  been  sent  there  upon  ordi- 
nary duty;  they  were  privates  in  the  Corps;  and  it  was  at  the  request 
and  suggestion  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  that  these  young  men 
wrote  these  treatises  and  did  this  work. 

Whether  those  things  should  be  printed  or  not  is  a  matter  for  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  to  judge.  It  had  better  take  them  and  print 
them  as  part  of  its  own  work.  If  it  is  part  of  its  own  work  it  is  not  part 
of  the  Signal  Service  business  either  to  collect  that  kind  of  informa- 
tion or  print  it;  but  inasmuch  as  the  duties  of  the  private  at  stations 
require  him  only  a  portion  of  the  day,  and  require  exact,  faithful, 
perfect  performance  of  his  duty  at  that  time  and  full  reports  upon  it 
afterwards,  there  is  no  harm  whatever,  but  on  the  contrary  good,  if 
this  young  man  has  a  taste  for  some  of  the  natural  sciences,  in  having 
him  record  his  observations  at  the  same  time.  There  was  no  neglect 
of  duty,  and  there  was  no  special  detachment,  as  I  have  been  informed, 
for  this  matter  came  before  the  Printing  Committee  sometime  ago, 
and  I  have  heard  about  it  at  different  times.  There  was  no  neglect  of 
dutv  and  no  special  detachment  in  the  performance  of  the  service. 
****** 

Mr.  PRESTON  B.  PLUMB.  If  I  wanted  to  make  an  adverse  criticism 
on  this  Corps  I  would  take  the  Senator's  from  Connecticut  and  not 
my  own,  because  this  information  having  been  obtained  entirely  apart 
from  their  Signal  Service  duty  it  becomes  necessary  to  have  a  lot  of  it 
printed  for  the  use  of  the  Signal  Corps. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  I  do  not  think  it  was.     My  opinion  is  that  resolution 


924  OONGEESSIONAL    PEOCEEDINGS. 

sleeps  and  will  sleep  in  the  Committee  on  Printing,  and  if  the  informa- 
tion should  be  printed,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  will  have  to  attempt 
it  within  its  own  proper  sphere.  That  shows,  I  think,  that  there  was 
no  abuse  of  the  service  in  that  particular  matter. 

REPORTS   OF   SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION   AND   NATIONAL    MUSEUM. 

February  24,  1882— House. 

Mr.  HERMAN  L.  HUMPHREY  introduced  the  following  joint  resolu- 
tion (H.  144): 

That  the  Public  Printer  be,  and  he  hereby  is,  instructed  to  print  and  stereotype, 
from  time  to  time,  the  regular  number  of  1900  copies  of  any  matter  furnished  him 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  relative  to  the  operations,  researches, 
and  explorations  of  the  Institution  and  the  National  Museum,  to  be  capable  of  being 
distributed  in  parts,  and  the  whole  to  form  annual  volumes  in  quarto  or  octavo,  as 
may  be  required,  with  suitable  illustrations,  to  be  made  under  the  direction  of  the 
Joint  Committee  on  Printing;  the  extra  edition  of  said  works  to  consist  of  5,000 
copies,  of  which  2,500  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1,000  for 
the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  1,500  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,' for  dis- 
tribution to  public  libraries  and  for  exchange,  the  returns  for  which  to  be  placed  in 
the  Library  of  Congress. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 

June  20,  1882— House.  March  1,  1882. 

Hon.  R.  T.  VAN  HORN, 

CJiairman  of  Joint  Committee  on  Printing, 

House  of  Representatives. 

SIR:  I  beg  to  make  the  following  statement  in  explanation  of  a  res- 
olution offered  in  the  House  a  few  days  since  (Feb.  24,  1882)  in 
reference  to  the  printing  by  Congress  of  certain  volumes  for  the 
service  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  National  Museum. 

Since  the  Smithsonian  began  its  labors  it  has  prepared  quite  a  num- 
ber of  important  works  of  great  scientific  and  practical  value.  These 
consist  of  papers  and  reports  on  the  recent  progress  and  present  con- 
dition of  our  knowledge  upon  various  scientific  subjects,  such  as 
chemical  technology,  meteorology,  general  natural  history,  astronomy, 
geography,  American  antiquities,  etc.,  etc.,  and  constitute  a  series 
eagerly  sought  after  as  standard  works  by  libraries  throughout  the 
United  States.  The  edition  printed  is  usually  1,500  copies,  which  are 
distributed — 

(1)  To  the  principal  libraries  of  the  United  States  which  rank  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  volumes  already  in  their  possession  and 
the  positions  they  hold  within  a  certain  district; 

(2)  To  colleges  and  academies;  and 

(3)  To  scientific,  technical,  and  industrial  societies  publishing  trans- 
actions and  furnishing  copies  of  these  in  return. 

A  few  special  presentations  are  also  made  gratuitously  to  persons 
engaged  in  certain  researches,  covered  by  the  original  investigations 
relative  to  the  subjects  involved.  Besides,  with  few  exceptions,  all 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  925 

the  libraries  in  the  various  Congressional  districts  which  receive  the 
Government  publications  through  the  Interior  Department  are  on  our 
books. 

Our  exchange  of  publications  with  societies  covers  the  whole  civi- 
lized world,  and  by  this  method  the  most  valuable  collection  extant  of 
transactions  of  societies  and  journals  of  all  kinds  has  been  concen- 
trated in  Washington.  Its  magnitude  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact 
that  it  now  embraces  nearly  100,000  volumes,  in  the  pages  of  which 
are  presented  all  the  original  announcements  of  discovery  in  theoret- 
ical and  applied  science,  data  being  thus  furnished  for  magazine  arti- 
cles, reviews,  and  text-books.  While  a  library  possessing  these  original 
sources  of  information  from  all  parts  of  the  world  is  admirably 
adapted  for  enabling  inventors  and  students  to  keep  pace  with  the 
progress  of  discovery  in  all  countries,  it  also  saves  them  an  expenditure 
of  time  in  unwillingly  prosecuting  investigations  already  elaborated 
and  published.  Comparatively  few  of  these  books,  received  as 
exchanges,  can  be  purchased,  the  vast  majority  of  these  being  obtain- 
able in  no  other  way  than  through  a  system  of  exchange,  such  as  that 
which  has  been  carried  on  by  the  Smithsonian  for  many  years. 

Thus  the  publishing  fund  is  converted  into  books  which  are  bar- 
tered for  other  books  of  a  similar  character,  the  result  being  a  collec- 
tion of  works,  to  buy  even  a  portion  of  which  would  require  a  sum 
much  larger  than  the  fund  used  in  publishing. 

The  special  plea  for  this  application  is: 

(1)  The  scientific   and  educational  value  of  the   Smithsonian  and 
National  Museum  publications; 

(2)  Their  gratuitous  distribution  to  the  public  libraries  which  have 
been  established  as  recipients  of  Government  publications; 

(3)  The  fact  that  the  whole  of  the  library  accumulated  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  the  manner  above  described  is  now  a  part 
of  the  Congressional  Library,  constituting  one  of  its  most  important 
factors;  and 

(4)  That  all  the  additional  receipts  of  books,  through  exchange  or 
otherwise,  are  sent  at  once  to  the  Library  of  Congress  and  are  imme- 
diately incorporated  therein. 

The  publications  of  the  Smithsonian  consist  of  an  annual  volume  of 
the  quarto  series,  entitled  "Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowl- 
edge," of  which  twenty -three  have  appeared;  also  an  annual  volume 
of  "Miscellaneous  Collections"  (octavo),  of  which  the  same  number 
have  been  issued,  and  the  "Proceedings  of  the  National  Museum,"  of 
which  four  volumes  are  ready,  together  with  the  "Bulletins  of  the 
National  Museum,"  whereof  one  only  has  thus  far  been  issued,  and 
several  parts  which  appear  separately. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIKD, 


926  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

July  6,  1882— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  M.  SPRINGER  reported  joint  resolution  (H.  144) 
offered  by  Mr.  HERMAN  L.  HUMPHREY,  February  24,  1882. 

Mr.  SAMUEL  J.  RANDALL.  I  hope  the  gentleman  reporting  this  propo- 
sition will  tell  us  the  probable  cost  of  this  printing. 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  I  will;  I  have  the  figures  here. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  One  of  the  greatest  abuses  connected  with  the  Gov- 
ernment is  this  unlimited  printing,  which  is  not  only  done  under  the 
action  of  Congress  itself,  but  which  permeates  every  department  of 
the  Government. 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  I  have  here  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  printing  these 
reports  for  several  years  past. 

Mr.  FRANK  HISCOCK.  Is  this  matter  privileged  over  an  appropria- 
tion bill? 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  WARREN  KEIFER).  The  Committee  on  Print- 
ing has  the  right  to  report  at  any  time  and  to  have  its  reports  consid- 
ered. 

Mr.  HISCOCK.  I  call  up  the  sundry  civil  appropriation  bill. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  thinks  that  the  report  from  the  Committee 
on  Printing  is  in  order  now. 

Mr.  HISCOCK.  Then  I  raise  the  question  of  consideration  upon  this 
report. 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  This  matter  can  be  settled  sooner  than  the  ques- 
tion of  consideration  can  be  disposed  of.  I  desire  to  state  to  the 
House — 

Mr.  RANDALL.  The  question  of  consideration  is  not  debatable. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  New  York  [Mr.  Hiscock]  raises 
the  question  of  consideration  against  this  report.  The  question  is, 
Will  the  House  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  joint  resolution 
which  has  been  read? 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  I  have  no  desire  to  press  this  matter  against  the 
wish  of  the  House;  I  withdraw  the  report. 

July  28,  1882— House. 

Mr.  W.  M.  SPRINGER,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
back  with  a  favorable  recommendation  the  joint  resolution  (H.  144) 
authorizing  the  Public  Printer  to  print  reports  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  and  National  Museum. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  S.  HOLMAN.  I  wish  to  inquire  of  the  gentleman  from 
Illinois  [Mr.  Springer]  whether  he  thinks  it  is  good  policy  to  make 
this  permanent  appropriation  for  the  publication  of  the  works  of  this 
Institution  without  any  further  action  of  Congress?  And  does  he 
deem  it  proper  to  extend  the  same  principle  to  any  other  department 
of  the  Government? 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  These  publications  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
have  become  so  well  understood  and  reduced  to  such  a  sj^stem  that  it 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  92? 

is  deemed  advisable  to  regulate  their  printing  by  general  law  in  order 
that  there  may  be  uniformity  in  the  volumes  printed  and  in  the  man 
ner  of  their  distribution. 

I  have  here  a  communication  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  which  I  erroneously  presented  to  the  House  on  the  20th 
>t  June  last  in  connection  with  another  matter.  It  relates  however 
to  this  joint  resolution,  but  was  by  mistake  printed  heretofore  in  the 
Record  in  reference  to  another  subject.  If  the  gentleman  desires  it,  I 
will  have  it  read  now,  or  it  may  be  printed  in  the  Record. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  I  hope  it  will  be  read.  I  understood  that  the  gentle- 
man was  opposed  to  these  indiscriminate  publications. 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  I  am,  when  they  are  inconsiderately  made,  but  when 
they  are  reduced  to  a  system  I  think  the  publications  should  be  made 
permanent. 

Mr.  HOLMAN.  The  same  argument  would  apply  to  all  publications. 
The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  J.  W.  KEIFER).  The  communication  will  be  read 
[See  House,  June  20,  1882.] 

* 

Mr.  FRANK  HISCOCK.  How  did  this  joint  resolution  come  before  the 
House? 

The  SPEAKER.  It  was  reported  regularly  from  the  Committee  on 
Printing. 

Mr.  HISCOCK.  I  move  that  the  House  now  adjourn  ? 
Mr.  SPRINGER.  I  hope  the  gentleman  will  not  insist  on  that  motion 
now. 

Mr.  J.  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.  I  hope  the  House  will  not  adjourn. 
Mr.  HOLMAN.  I  call  for  the  regular  order. 

Mr.  GEORGE  W.  STEELE.  I  desire  to  move  that  the  House  resolve 
itself  into  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  Private  Calendar. 
The  SPEAKER.  The  question  is  on  the  motion  to  adjourn. 
The  question  was  taken;  and  upon  a  division  there  were — ayes  63, 
noes  51. 

Before  the  result  of  the  vote  was  announced, 
Mr.  WILLIAM  ALDRICH  called  for  the  yeas  and  nays. 
Mr.  JULIUS  C.  BURROWS.  Oh,  no;  it  is  too  hot  for  that. 
The  question  was  taken  upon  ordering  the  yeas  and  nays,  and  there 
were  thirty-five  in  the  affirmative. 

So  (the  affirmative  being  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  last  vote)  the 
yeas  and  nays  were  ordered. 

The  question  was  taken;  and  there  were — yeas  99,  nays  66,  not  vot- 
ing 124,  as  follows: 

YEAS.— Anderson,  Armfield,  Atherton,  Atkins,  Bayne,  Bisbee,  Blackburn, 
Blount,  Brewer,  Briggs,  Browne,  Buck,  Buckner,  Julius  C.  Burrows,  Butterworth, 
Cannon,  Chace,  Samuel  S.  Cox,  William  R.  Cox,  Cullen,  Curtin,  Dawes,  De  Motte, 
Dezendorf,  Dibrell,  Dugro,  Dunn,  Evins,  Forney,  Garrison,  N.  J.  Hammond,  Harmer, 


928  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Benjamin  W.  Harris,  Hatch,  Hazleton,  Hepburn,  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  Hiscock, 
Holman,  Horr,  House,  Hubbell,  Hutchins,  Jadwin,  Ketcham,  Knott,  Leedom, 
La  Fevre,  Mackey,  Manning,  McMillin,  Moore,  Morrison,  Mutchler,  Neal,  Parker, 
Payson,  Peirce,  Pettibone,  Kandall,  Ray,  Reed,  John  B.  Rice,  William  W.  Rice, 
Rich,  Robeson,  William  E.  Robinson,  Ross,  Ryan,  Scales,  Scoville,  Shultz,  Simonton, 
A.  Herr  Smith,  Dietrich  C.  Smith,  J.  Hyatt  Smith,  Stockslager,  Stone,  Strait, 
Talbott,  Taylor,  Thomas,  P.  B.  Thompson,  R.  W.  Townsend,  Oscar  Turner,  Wads- 
worth,  Wait,  Ward,  Warner,  Washburn,  Watson,  White,  Whitthorne,  Thomas 
Williams,  Willis,  Willits,  Wilson,  George  D.  Wise.— 99. 

NAYS.— Aldrich,  Belmont,  Blanchard,  Bliss,  Bowman,  Buchanan,  Cabell,  Camp- 
bell, Carpenter,  Cassidy,  Clements,  Colerick,  Converse,  Crapo,  Cravens,  Culberson, 
Dingley,  Ellis,  Ermentrout,  Errett,  Sewell  S.  Farwell,  Ford,  George,  Gunter,  Har- 
denbergh,  Henry  S.  Harris,  Haseltine,  Haskell,  Henderson,  George  W.  Jones,  James 
K.  Jones,  Klotz,  Lewis,  Lord,  Lynch,  McClure,  McKenzie,  Mills,  Morey,  Muldrow, 
Norcross,  Gates,  Peelle,  Phelps,  Pound,  Prescott,  Reagan,  Theron  M.  Rice,  Ritchie, 
George  D.  Robinson,  James  S.  Robinson,  Shallenberger,  Sherwin,  Skinner,  Spauld- 
ing,  Springer,  Amos  Townsend,  Tucker,  J.  T.  Updegraff,  Upson,  Urner,  Vance,  Van 
Horn,  Wellborn,  West,  Charles  G.  Williams.— 66. 

REPORT   OF   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

March  15,  1882— Senate. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR  submitted  concurrent  resolution  to  print 
15,560  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1881 — 
2,500  for  the  Senate,  6,060  for  the  House,  7,000  for  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
April  10,  1882— House. 

Mr.  NATHANIEL  C.  DEERING  introduced  resolution  to  print  24,120 
copies— 5,000  for  Senate,  12,120  for  House,  and  7,000  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution.     Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
May  16,  1882— Senate 

Committee  reported  Mr.    G.  F.  Hoar's  resolution  of   March  15. 

Adopted. 
June  20,  1882 — House. 

Mr.  W.  M.  SPRINGER,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
Senate  resolution  of  May  16,  and  recommended  its  adoption  in  lieu  of 
the  House  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Nathaniel  C.  Deering,  April  10, 
1882. 

Agreed  to. 
January  24,  1883— House. 

Mr.  NATHANIEL  C.  DEERING,  of  Iowa,  submitted  concurrent  reso- 
lution to  print  15,560  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion for  1882;  2,500  for  the  Senate,  6,060  for  the  House,  7,000  for  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.     Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  20,  1883— House. 

Reported  by  Mr.  R.  T.  VAN  HORN.     Passed. 
March  2,  1883— Senate. 

Passed. 


FORTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS,  1881-1883.  929 

ILLUSTRATION   OF   THE   REPORTS. 
June  6,  1882— Senate. 

Mr.  HENRY  B.  ANTHONY  submitted  concurrent  resolution  that  the 
Public  Printer  be  authorized  to  contract  for  the  engraving  and  litho- 
graphing illustrating  the  reports  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey 
and  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  heretofore  ordered  to  be  printed 
under  the  direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing,  without  pre- 
vious advertisement. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
July  21,  1882—Senate. 

Mr.  HENRY  B.  ANTHONY.  The  Committee  on  Printing,  to  whom 
was  referred  a  concurrent  resolution  authorizing  the  Public  Printer 
to  contract  for  illustrating  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  report  and 
the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  without  previous  adver- 
tising, have  instructed  me  to  report  back  the  same  with  a  bill  [S.  2161] 
as  a  substitute  and  ask  for  its  present  consideration,  as  the  docu- 
ments are  about  to  be  printed. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  the  Public  Printer  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  con- 
tract for  the  engraving  and  lithographing  illustrating  the  reports  of  the  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey,  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and 
the  Entomological  Commission,  under  the  direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Printing  and  without  previous  advertisement. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN.  I  do  not  think  this  bill,  which  involves  a 
departure  from  the  established  policy  of  the  Government  to  let  out 
all  contracts  to  the  lowest  bidder,  ought  to  pass  without  some  oppor- 
tunity for  consideration.  I  therefore  object  to  its  consideration. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore  (Mr.  DAVID  DAVIS).  The  hour  of  12 
has  arrived  and  the  morning  hour  is  closed.  The  Senator  from  Ohio 
objected  to  the  consideration  of  the  bill  reported  from  the  Committee 
on  Printing,  as  the  Chair  understood,  and  the  morning  hour  is  closed. 

ARMY   MEDICAL   LIBRARY  AND   MUSEUM. 

February  28,  1883— House. 

Mr.  W.  S.  SHALLENBERGER,  from  the  Committee  on  Public  Build- 
ings and  Grounds,  reported  (H.  1995)  a  bill  (H.  7681)  for  the  erection 
of  a   fireproof  building  in  the  city  of  Washington   to   contain  the 
records,  library,  and  museum  of  the  Army  Medical  Department.1 
Referred  to  Committee  of  Whole. 

1  In  the  Smithsonian  Park. 
H.  Doc.  732 59 


930  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

FORTY-EIGHTH  CONGRESS,  1883-1885. 

SMITHSONIAN    BUILDING — ESTIMATES. 

December  3,  1883— House. 

Estimates  for  1885. 

For  heating,  gas  fitting,  plumbing,  and  furnishing  the  eastern  por 
tior.  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $15,000. 
December  1,  1884—  House. 

Estimates  for  1886. 

For  finishing  and  completing  the  furnishing  of  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $5,600. 

For  urgent  and  necessary  repairs  to  the  central  and  western  portions 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $15,200. 
February  9,  1885- -House. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

Washington,  February  9,  1885. 

SIR:  I  beg  to  submit  herewith  some  explanations  in  regard  to  the 
two  items  in  the  estimates  of  appropriations  connected  with  the  build- 
ings of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  At  the  present  time  the  entire 
edifice,  with  the  exception  of  the  eastern  end,  is  occupied  exclusively 
by  the  National  Museum,  this,  including  three  large  halls  and  some 
smaller  ones,  aggregating  about  33,000  square  feet  of  purely  exhibition 
space,  with  the  addition  of  a  large  number  of  offices  and  workrooms, 
amounting  to  about  one-third  of  the  space  existing  in  the  National 
Museum  building.  The  law  of  Congress  of  1846  directs  the  Regents 
of  the  Institution,  in  proportion  as  suitable  arrangements  can  be 
made  for  their  reception,  to  take  charge  of  all  objects  of  natural 
history,  geology,  art  and  industry,  etc.,  then  belonging  or  thereafter 
to  belong  to  the  United  States.  This  had  immediate  reference  to  the 
collections  then  in  the  Patent  Office  and  which  occupied  the  whole  of 
one  of  the  main  halls.  In  compliance  with  the  urgent  request  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Patents,  expressed  through  the  House  Committee  on 
Patents,  the  transfer  was  made  in  1857,  a  large  appropriation  being 
made  by  Congress  to  fit  up  the  rooms  with  cases  and  other  require- 
ments for  their  reception.  It  is  to  these  exhibition  rooms  that  the 
appropriation  of  $15,200  asked  for  has  reference. 

The  ceiling  of  one  of  the  halls,  200  by  50  feet,  has  become  loosened 
and  threatens  to  fall  and  crush  a  large  number  of  valuable  glazed  cases 
and,  of  course,  with  corresponding  injury  to  the  collections.  Some  of 
the  cases  require  remodeling,  so  as  more  satisfactorily  to  exhibit  the 
specimens  contained  in  them,  and  a  general  renovation  of  the  walls  and 
ceilings  is  also  required. 

The  floor  of  the  lower  hall,  which  is  200  by  50  feet,  also  requires 
renewal,  having  been  worn  out  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  forty  years. 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  931 

The  office  and  other  rooms  used  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  its 
work  are  exclusively  contained  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  building 
which  has  been  recently  reconstructed  and  rendered  fireproof  by  Con- 
gressional appropriation.  A  large  part  of  this  is  occupied  entirely  by 
offices  of  the  Museum,  and  all  its  general  administrative  work  is  car- 
ried on  therein,  the  Secretary,  chief  clerk,  corresponding  clerk,  and 
disbursing  agents  having  general  direction  of  its  affairs  as  well  as 
those  of  the  Institution,  the  National  Museum  building  being  one  of 
preparation  of  specimens  and  their  display. 

Notwithstanding  the  very  large  portion  of  the  Smithsonian  building 
occupied  exclusively  by  the  National  Museum,  the  general  miscella- 
neous repairs  of  the  edifice  have  been  provided  for  from  the  Smithsonian 
fund;  but  the  Institution  is  unable  to  meet  the  heavier  expenditures 
from  its  fund  of  $42,000  per  annum. 

In  addition  to  the  duty  of  administration  of  the  National  Museum, 
the  Institution  also  has  the  direction  of  the  system  of  international 
exchanges  inaugurated  by  Congress  in  the  interest  of  the  Congressional 
Library,  and  maintained  by  annual  appropriation  and  including  the 
exchange  of  the  official  publications  of  the  United  States  for  those  of 
other  Governments  with  which  this  country  is  in  diplomatic  relation- 
ship. It  also  conducts  the  interchange  of  the  publications  of  all 
learned  and  technical  societies  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  rest  of 
the  world,  receiving  and  distributing  an  average  of  about  100,000 
pounds  of  books  every  year  each  way,  which  represents  a  large  part 
of  the  expenditures  of  its  income  entering  into  this  exchange.  The 
exchange  of  the  publications  of  the  Institution  (printed  entirely  at  the 
expense  of  its  fund,  as  above)  yields  about  5,000  volumes  annually  of 
the  most  valuable  and  important  original  matter;  all  of  which  (together 
with  the  exchanges  for  the  Government  publications)  is  promptly 
transmitted  to  the  Library  of  Congress.  About  150,000  volumes  have 
thus  been  added  to  the  Congressional  Library,  and  represent  a  very 
material  proportion  of  the  literary,  scientific,  and  industrial  value  of 
that  establishment. 

More  than  one-fourth  of  the  rooms  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  Smith- 
sonian building  are  occupied  in  connection  with  the  service  of  prepa- 
ration and  distribution  of  this  system  of  Government  exchanges. 

The  appropriation  of  $5,600  asked  for  is  intended  to  meet  the  cost 
of  plastering  the  ceilings,  necessarily  left  unfinished;  the  completion 
of  the  heating  apparatus;  of  gas  fixtures,  of  coverings  to  stairways, 
and  other  necessary  requirements  for  the  public  service. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Hon.  S.  J.  RANDALL, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Appropriation*,  etc. 


932  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

SMITHSONIAN   BUILDING — APPROPRIATIONS. 

July  7,  1884. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

For  finishing,  heating,  gas-fitting,  plumbing,  and  completely  furnish- 
ing the  eastern  portion  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  for  finish- 
ing the  fourth  and  fifth  stories,  including  liabilities  already  incurred, 
$15,000. 

(Stat.  XXIII,  214). 

March  3,  1885. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1886. 

For  finishing  and  completing  the  furnishing  of  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  building,  $5,600. 
(Stat.,  XXIII,  494.) 

ETHNOLOGY— ESTIMATES. 

December  3,  1883— House. 

Estimates  for  1885. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  and  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $50,000. 
December  1,  1884 — House. 

Estimates  for  1886. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $50,000. 

ETHNOLOGY — APPROPRIATIONS. 
July  7,  1884. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  and  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $40,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  214.) 
March  3,  1885. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1886. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $40,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  494.) 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  933 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES— ESTIMATES. 

Decembers,  1883 — House. 

Estimates  for  1885. 

For  expenses  of  the  international  exchanges  between  the  United 
btates  and  foreign  countries,  under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  emolov 
ees,  $10,000. 
December  1,  1884— House. 

Estimates  for  1886. 

For  expenses  of  the  system  of  international  exchanges  between  the 
United  States  and  foreign  countries,  under  the  direction  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $10,000. 

INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES — APPROPRIATIONS. 
July  7,  1884. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1885. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  165.) 

Naval  Observatory :  For  payment  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
freight  on  Observatory  publications  sent  to  foreign  countries,  $336 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  184.) 

Patent  Office:  For  expenses  of  transporting  publications  of  patents 
issued  by  the  Patent  Office  to  foreign  governments,  $2,000. 

(Stat,  XXIII,  188.) 
July  7,  1884. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

War  Department:  For  the  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to 
foreign  countries  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $300. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  220.) 
July  7,  1884. 

Consular  and  diplomatic  act  for  1885. 

For  the  expenses  of  an  international  exchange  of  books,  docu- 
ments, and  productions  of  the  United  States  with  foreign  countries, 
in  accordance  with  the  Paris  convention  of  1877,  including  salaries 
and  compensation  to  all  necessary  employees,  to  be  expended  under 
the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $10,000. 

(Stat.,  XXin,  235.) 

March  3,  1885. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1886. 

For  expenses  of  the  system  of  international  exchanges  between  the 
United  States  and  foreign  countries,  under  the  direction  of  the  Smith- 


934  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

sonian  Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employ  cos,  $1 0,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  494.) 

War  Department:  For  the  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to 
foreign  countries,  through  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  $200. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  507.) 

March  3,  1885. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1886. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  394.) 

Naval  Observatory:  For  payment  to  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
freight  on  Observatory  publications  sent  to  foreign  countries,  $336. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  415.) 

Patent  Office:  For  expenses  of  transporting  publications  of  patents 
issued  by  the  Patent  Office  to  foreign  governments,  $2,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  419.) 

ARMY   MEDICAL    LIBRARY   AND   MUSEUM. 
December  10,  1883— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  S.  ROSECRANS  introduced  a  bill  (H.  48): 

That  a  brick  and  metal  fireproof  building,  to  be  used  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the 
records,  library,  and  museum  of  the  Surgeon-General's  Office  of  the  United  States 
Army,  is  hereby  authorized  to  be  constructed  upon  the  Government  reservation  in 
the  city  of  AVashington,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  National  Museum  and  the  Smithson- 
ian Institution,  on  a  site  to  be  selected  by  a  commission  composed  of  the  Architect 
of  the  Capitol,  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  State,  War,  and  Navy  Department  building,  and  in  accordance  with 
plans  and  specifications  submitted  by  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army  and  approved 
by  said  commission,  the  cost  of  the  building,  when  completed,  not  to  exceed  the 
surn  of  $200,000;  the  building  to  be  erected  and  the  money  expended  under  the 
direction  and  superintendence  of  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  State,  War,  and  Navy 
Department  building. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
July  2,  1884 — House. 

Mr.  S.  M.  STOCKSLAGER  reported  H.  48  amended. 

February  16,  1885— House. 

Mr.  S.  M.  STOCKSLAGER.  I  move  to  suspend  the  rules  and  pass  the 
bill  (H.  48)  providing  for  the  erection  of  a  building  to  contain  the 
records  of  the  library  and  museum  of  the  Medical  Department,  United 
States  Army,  with  the  amendments  reported  from  the  Committee  on 
Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 

*  *  *  *  -X-  *  * 

Mr.  O.  B.  POTTER.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  confess  I  have  the  gravest 
doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  this  project.  I  think  it  will  end  in  a 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  935 

national  library  of  medicine,  a  national  collection  of  medical  speci- 
mens, and  finally  a  national  college  of  medicine,  here  at  the  capital 
[t  seems  to  me  that  if  we  are  to  do  this  we  may  just  as  well  enter 
upon  any  other  and  all  other  branches  of  science,  and  erect  buildings 
for  them,  and  establish  libraries,  and  gather  specimens  for  them  as 
national  matters. 

Now  we  have  the  finest  medical  colleges  in  our  States,  perhaps,  in  the 
world.  There  is  one  at  Philadelphia,  near  where  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  made  and  promulgated,  and  I  have  no  doubt  they 
will  be  glad  to  take  and  preserve  all  these  specimens  where  they  will 
be  open  to  the  inspection  of  medical  scientists  and  students  for  all  time 
to  come.  Our  own  library,  which  we  are  to  build  up  I  trust  at  no 
remote  day,  our  national  library,  would  be  made  all  the  richer  by  pro- 
viding proper  space  in  which  these  books  may  be  placed.  That  dispo- 
sition of  them  will  save  to  the  nation  not  only  this  $200,000,  but  will 
prevent  establishing  a  precedent  the  end  of  which  I  do  not  think  any 
man  can  foresee. 

It  will  do  more  than  that,  sir;  this  library  and  museum  will  end  at 
last  in  a  staff  of  officers  to  take  care  of  it  and  at  the  national  expense, 
and  an  annual  appropriation  will  be  demanded  to  support  and  continue 
it  forever.  I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  the  whole  subject  of  edu- 
cation, except  as  to  the  local  education  of  the  people  of  this  District, 
belongs  to  and  will  be  best  guarded,  forwarded,  and  perfected  to  its 
great  end  by  the  States  through  their  rivalry  and  competition  in  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge  and  science;  but  I  do  not  see  that  the  General 
Government  should  enter  upon  that  field.  I  do  not  believe  that  we  are 
to  gain  by  preserving  the  relics  and  bones  or  wounds  caused  by  the 
war  at  any  one  place  in  our  capital.  I  wish  they  were  all  buried  and 
covered  all  over  with  green  grass  and  hidden  from  sight  forever. 
*  *  ***** 

Mr.  P.  B.  THOMPSON,  Jr.  The  only  reason  I  have  for  opposing  this 
bill  grows  out  of  the  fact  that  I  see  no  necessity  for  it  and  that  I  have 
heard  no  sufficient  reason  assigned  for  it  by  any  of  the  gentlemen  who 
advocate  this  measure. 

The  only  reason  given  us  for  putting  up  this  building  is  that  there 
are  belonging  to  the  Surgeon-General's  Department  52,000  volumes  of 
important  records,  hospital  records,  etc.  Now,  these  records,  if  they 
belong  to  the  Surgeon-General's  Office,  do  not  properly  belong  to  any 
library,  but  constitute  part  of  the  records  of  the  War  Department, 
of  which  the  Surgeon-General's  Office  is  merely  one  branch.  And  we 
are  not  told,  nor  has  any  gentleman  undertaken  to  say,  that  the  new 
War,  State,  and  Navy  Department  building  when  completed  will  not 
furnish  ample  resources  for  the  accommodation  of  the  records  we 
have. 

Mr.  STOCKSLAGER.  With  the  gentleman's  permission  1  will  state — 


93(>  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  THOMPSON.  1  have  but  three  minutes  and  have  not  time  to 
yield. 

Furthermore,  we  have  now  in  process  of  construction  in  this  city 
what  is  known  as  the  new  Pension  building,  which  covers  acres  of 
ground,  and  we  are  not  told  why  these  records,  which  relate  indirectly 
to  the  Pension  Office,  can  not  be  well  taken  care  of  in  that  enormous 
building  which  we  are  now  constructing. 

As  far  as  the  Medical  Museum  is  concerned,  I  think  we  have  ample 
means  of  accommodating  everything  which  relates  to  that  museum  in 
the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

We  have  further  pending  before  this  House  a  bill  which  has  passed 
the  Senate  to  construct  a  library  building  which  will  hold  all  the  books 
the  Government  has.  It  seems  to  me  one  building  is  enough.  We 
should  deal  with  this  matter  not  in  detail  for  each  separate  depart- 
ment of  the  Government,  but  we  should  deal  with  it  as  a  single  ques- 
tion and  construct  one  building  sufficient  to  hold  all  the  libraries  and 
museums  we  need.  Therefore  I  am  opposed  to  the  expenditure  of 
this  sum  of  money,  because  I  believe  it  absolutely  unnecessary. 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore  (Mr.  R.  Q.  MILLS).  The  time  allowed  in 
opposition  to  the  bill  has  expired. 

Mr.  STOCKSLAGER.  I  yield  two  minutes  to  the  gentleman  from 
Massachusetts  [Mr.  Lyman], 

Mr.  THEODORE  LYMAN.  Medicine  and  surgery  have  done  something 
to  cure  disease  and  to  lengthen  human  life.  They  have  done  more  to 
lessen  suffering.  They  have  done  most  of  all  to  prevent  disease. 
Most  of  the  progress  in  these  arts  has  been  made  during  the  last  half 
century,  and  the  next  fifty  years  promises  a  great  advance.  All  over 
the  civilized  world  there  are  great  establishments  where  men  of  talent 
devote  their  lives  to  the  study  of  disease.  These  men  have  grappled 
with  the  general  plagues  that  decimate  our  race — consumption,  small- 
pox, diphtheria,  cholera,  and  the  typhoid,  scarlet,  and  yellow  fevers. 
They  seek  to  know  their  intimate  nature  and  to  provide  prevention 
and  cure.  There  is  no  subject  more  baffling,  and  yet  it  is  yielding  to 
study.  Already  they  have  rendered  it  highly  probable  that  these 
plagues  are  caused  by  the  fertilization  of  miscroscopic  germs  within 
the  body;  so  that  these  diseases  are  a  death  struggle  between  man  and 
a  parasitic  fungus.  But  already  we  discern  a  hope  that  these  germs 
may  be  used  for  inoculation,  and  may  protect  us  from  such  diseases, 
just  as  vaccination  protects  against  smallpox. 

These  profound  studies,  so  essential  to  the  welfare  of  our  people, 
are  carried  on  under  the  fostering  care  of  our  National  Medical 
Museum,  whose  library,  now  the  first  in  the  world,  and  whose  not  less 
admirable  collection  of  military  pathology  are  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  all  investigators.  If  our  Fish  Commission,  Signal  Service,  and  our 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  937 

national  surveys  are  worth  preserving,  then  has  the  Medical  Museum 
a  double  claim  on  our  fostering  care. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 
Mr.   J.  F.  FOLLETT.  Mr.   Speaker,  the  most  magnificent  medical 

museum  and  library  in  the  world  belongs  to  the  Medical  Department 
of  our  Army,  and  is  to-day  exposed  in  a  building  where  no  private 
individual  owning  such  a  library  would  permit  it  to  remain  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  It  has  accumulated  through  the  efforts  of  the  medical 
fraternity  of  the  United  States  and  has  cost  the  Government  com- 
paratively nothing. 

In  the  museum  department  there  are  illustrations  of  the  effects  of 
gunshot  wounds  and  injuries  received  in  battle,  such  as  medical 
students  and  the  medical  profession  can  have  access  to  in  no  other  wajr. 
That  museum  and  library  should  be  kept  by  itself,  and  should  be  kept 
in  a  building  where  it  would  not  be  exposed  to  danger  by  reason  of 
its  surroundings.  To  the  medical  fraternity  of  the  United  States  it 
has  been  for  years,  and  is  now,  an  object  of  special  solicitude  that  this 
property  should  be  put  in  such  a  position  as  not  to  be  constantly 
exposed  to  the  danger  of  being  lost  or  destroyed.  The  building  in 
which  it  is  now  located  has  already  begun  to  tumble  to  the  ground. 
The  rear  wall  is  more  than  12  inches  out  of  plumb,  and,  as  I  said 
before,  no  private  individual  would  think  of  leaving  such  property  in 
such  a  building  for  any  length  of  time. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 
The  question  being  taken  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  STOCKSLAGEB  to  sus- 
pend the  rules  and  pass  the  bill  as  amended,  it  was  agreed  to;  there 
being — ayes  181,  noes  23  (two-thirds  voting  in  the  affirmative). 

February  25,  1885— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MOKRILL.  I  am  directed  by  the  Committee  on  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds  to  report  favorably  the  bill  (H.  48)  provid- 
ing for  the  erection  of  a  building  to  contain  the  records  of  the  library 
and  musuem  of  the  Medical  Department,  United  States  Army. 

I  desire  to  say  that  if  the  committee  had  deemed  it  necessary  to 
amend  the  bill  they  would  have  amended  it  by  specifically  providing 
for  the  location  of  the  site,  which,  as  they  believe,  should  be  at  the 
corner  of  B  street  and  Seventh  street  SW.,  for  the  reason  that  the 
Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  have  a  title  to  the  land  round 
about  the  Smithsonian  to  the  extent  of  30  acres;  and  unquestionably 
within  a  very  short  time,  probably  less  than  half  a  dozen  years,  the 
museum  there  now  will  have  to  be  doubled  in  order  to  contain  even 
the  amount  of  articles  that  are  ready  to  go  into  it  at  the  present  time. 
I  have  conferred  with  two  members  of  the  commission,  and  1  find 
that  they  would  be  both  in  favor  of  the  location  on  the  site  mentioned 
by  rue— that  is,  on  the  corner  of  B  and  Seventh  streets,  SW.  There- 


938  CONGRESSIONAL    PKOCEEDINOS. 

fore  wo  do  not  make  any  amendment.  As  the  bill  is  very  short,  T 
will  ask  to  have  it  read,  for  the  purpose  of  asking  its  present  consid- 
eration. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore  (Mr.  G.  F.  EDMUNDS)  .  The  Senator  from 
Vermont  asks  unanimous  consent  that  the  bill  reported  by  him  from 
the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  be  now  considered. 

Mr.  J.  J.  INGALLS.  Is  the  morning  business  through  ? 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  It  is  not. 

Mr.  INGALLS.  I  ask  for  the  regular  order. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  regular  order  is  called  for.     The 
bill  will  be  placed  on  the  calendar. 
February  26,  1885 — Senate. 

Passed. 
March  2,  1885. 

Beit  enacted,  etc.,  That  a  brick  and  metal  fireproof  building,  to  be  used  for  the 
safe-keeping  of  the  records,  library,  and  museum  of  the  Surgeon-General's  Office  of 
the  United  States  Army,  is  hereby  authorized  to  be  constructed  upon  the  Govern- 
ment reservation  in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  National  Museum 
and  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  on  a  site  to  be  selected  by  a  commission  com- 
posed of  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  and  in  accordance  with  plans  and  specifications  submitted 
by  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army  and  approved  by  said  commission,  the  cost  of 
the  building,  when  completed,  not  to  exceed  the  sum  of  $200,000;  the  building  to  be 
erected  and  the  money  expended  under  the  direction  and  superintendence  of  the 
Secretary  of  War. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  sum  of  $200,000  is  hereby  appropriated,  out  of  any  moneys  in  the 
Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  for  the  commencement  and  completion  of  said 
building. 

(Stat.,  XXm,  389.) 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
January  7,  1884 — House. 

The  SPEAKER  (Mr.  JOHN  G.  CARLISLE)  announced  the  appointment 
of  the  following  members  of  the  House  as  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  to  date  from  the  fourth  Wednesday  of  December,  1883: 
Otho  R.  Singleton,  of  Mississippi,  William  L.  Wilson,  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, William  Walter  Phelps,  of  New  Jersey. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  Joint  Resolution. 
February  8,  1884 — Senate. 

Mr.  N.  P.  HILL  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  58). 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 
February  14,  1884— Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN.  I  am  directed  by  the  Committee  on  the  Library, 
to  whom  was  referred  the  joint  resolution  (S.  58)  filling  an  existing 
vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  939 

report  it  without  amendment.  As  that  Board  is  about  to  meet,  and  it 
is  proper  the  matter  should  be  disposed  of,  I  will  ask  for  the  present 
consideration  of  the  resolution.  It  will  take  but  a  moment 


February  25,  1884 — House. 

Passed. 
March  3,  1884. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  "  other  than  members  of 
Congress,"  shall  be  filled  by  the  reappointment  of  Noah  Porter,  of 
Connecticut,  whose  term  of  service  has  expired 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  269.) 
April  24,  1884— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRILL  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  81). 


May  9,  1884—  House. 

Mr.  OTHO  R.  SINGLETON.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  letter  from  Professor 
Baird,  asking  that  a  Senate  bill  and  a  joint  resolution  be  passed  in  refer- 
ence to  a  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents,  and  providing  for  appoint- 
ment of  an  acting  secretary.  They  are  matters  of  course,  and  I  ask 
unanimous  consent  to  take  them  up  and  pass  them. 

Joint  resolution  (S.  81)  to  fill  vacancy  in    Board   of   Regents  by 
appointment  of  James  C.  Welling,  passed. 
May  13,  1884. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of 
Congress,"  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Peter  Parker,  be  filled  by 
the  appointment  of  James  C.  Welling,  of  the  city  of  Washington. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  272.)    ' 

UNIVERSITY   OF  MEDICINE. 
January  11,  1884— Senate. 

Mr.  WILKINSON  CALL  introduced  a  bill  (S.  1044). 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor. 
May  9,  1884— Senate. 

Mr.  W.  CALL  asked  for  consideration  of  bill  (S.  1044): 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  sum  of  $1,000,000  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appro- 
priated, to  be  paid  as  hereinafter  provided,  as  a  perpetual  endowment  for  a  uni- 
versity of  original  research  and  of  medicine  as  a  part  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
at  the  capital  of  the  United  States,  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  sum  of  $100,000  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated,  and 
the  same  shall  be  paid  or  expended  at  such  times  and  in  such  amount  as  shall  be 
directed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings, 
as  the  same  may  be  necessary,  for  the  use  of  the  said  university  of  original  research 
and  of  medicine  as  a  part  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  to  purchase  ground  for 
the  same. 


940  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  interest  on  the  said  sum  of  $1,000,000  shall  Ix  annually  paid  for 
salaries  of  the  professors  and  for  the  expenses  of  such  university,  including  the 
expense  of  experiments  in  all  methods  of  treating  disease,  in  testing  and  proving  the 
effects  of  remedial  agents  of  every  kind,  and  for  such  hospitals  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  purposes  of  such  institution;  the  said  expenses  to  be  determined  from  time 
to  time  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  trustees  of  such  university. 

SEC.  4.  That  the  professors'  chairs  in  said  university  shall  be  open  to  all  schools  of 
medicine  and  all  methods  of  treatment  and  cure  of  disease. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  allopathic,  homeopathic,  and  eclectic  schools  of  medicine  shall  all 
be  represented  in  the  professors'  chairs  of  said  university,  and  free  and  impartial 
opportunity  afforded  for  the  scientific  and  practical  proof  of  the  value  of  each  of  such 
schools  of  medicine,  and  of  their  methods  and  processes,  and  for  the  proof  of  any 
and  all  new  discoveries  of  remedial  agents  and  methods  of  treatment,  the  end  and 
purpose  of  the  establishment  of  this  university  being  to  stimulate  researches  into  all 
methods  for  the  cure  of  disease,  and  to  furnish  scientific  and  practical  evidence  of 
the  effects  of  all  remedial  agents,  and  to  apply  the  severest  processes  of  reason  and 
experiment  to  all  alleged  discoveries  and  remedial  agencies  for  the  cure  of  disease 
and  the  relief  of  mankind  from  suffering  and  for  the  improvement  of  the  public 
health. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  board  of  trustees  shall  decide  what  professorship  shall  be  estab- 
lished; and  whenever  any  system  or  method  of  cure  of  disease  shall  obtain  any  con- 
siderable hold  on  the  public  mind  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  board  of  trustees 
to  allow  the  professors  of  such  system  to  appear  at  this  university  and  submit  the  same 
to  scientific  examination  and  practical  experiment  and  proof;  and  the  expense  of  the 
same  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  interest  of  the  sum  hereinbefore  appropriated  for  the 
annual  expenses  of  the  university. 

SEC.  7.  That  suitable  hospitals  for  tha  treatment  of  diseases  according  to  the 
methods  of  all  systems,  and  for  experiment  with  all  remedial  agents,  shall  be  estab- 
lished and  a  careful  and  accurate  record  kept  of  all  medicines  administered,  and  the 
effect  of  the  same,  and  an  accurate  and  correct  and  minute  statement  made  of  the 
condition  of  the  subject  of  the  treatment,  and  of  his  disease  and  symptoms,  and  if 
the  treatment  or  experiment  is  upon  a  person  in  good  health,  of  his  condition  in  this 
respect,  to  the  end  that  facts  may  be  gathered  in  such  numbers  as  to  afford  a  sound 
basis  for  reasonable  conclusions  in  reference  to  all  systems  and  remedial  agencies, 
both  those  now  known  and  such  as  may  hereafter  be  discovered. 

(No  action.) 

ETHNOLOGY — REPORTS. 
January  24,  1884 — Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  A.  LOGAN  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  47)  for  print- 
ing the  fourth  and  fifth  annual  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
January  29,  1884 — House. 

Mr.  O.  R.  SINGLETON  introduced  joint  resolution  (H.  137)  for  print- 
ing the  fourth  and  fifth  annual  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
March  21,  1884— House. 

Mr.  W.  F.  ROGERS,  from  Committee  on  Printing  reported: 

The  committee  find  upon  investigation  that  the  number  -provided  in  said  resolu- 
tion is  the  number  printed  annually  since  the  organization  of  the  Bureau.  These 
annual  reports  embrace  the  aggregate  results  in  a  popular  form  of  the  progress  and 
researches  of  the  Bureau,  and  are  designated  for  general  distribution  to  schools, 
libraries,  and  collaborators  of  the  Bureau. 


FORTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  941 

The  cost  of  illustrations  for  these  reports  has  been  materially  reduced  by  the 

The 


Referred  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
April  19,  1884—  House. 

H.  137  passed. 
June  20,  1884—  Senate. 

Mr.  J.  R.  HAWLEY.  I  am  directed  by  the  Committee  on  Printing  to 
report  the  joint  resolution  (S.  47),  for  printing  the  annual  reports 
of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  adversely,  and  move  its  indefinite  post- 
ponement, to  be  followed  by  concurrence  in  a  House  joint  resolution 
on  the  same  subject. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS).  The  question 
is  on  the  motion  to  indefinitely  postpone  the  joint  resolution. 

Agreed  to. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  I  report  from  the  same  committee  the  joint  resolu- 
tion (H.  137)  for  printing  the  annual  reports  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  favorably,  with  amendments. 

The  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  considered  the  joint 
resolution. 

The  first  amendment  reported  by  the  committee  was  in  line  4,  after 
the  word  "the,"  where  it  first  occurs,  to  insert  "fourth  and  fifth,"  so 
as  to  read: 

That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  15,000  copies  of  each  of  the 
fourth  and  fifth  annual  reports  of  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  with 
accompanying  papers  and  illustrations. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  The  resolution  as  it  came  from  the  House  made  a 
permanent  order  for  the  printing  of  these  reports.  That  is  not  the 
present  policy  of  Congress.  It  is  to  order  printing  as  it  comes  from 
year  to  j^ear.  We  confine  the  resolution  to  the  fourth  and  fifth  vol- 
umes, which  are  on  hand.  That  is  the  meaning  of  the  amendment. 

Agreed  to. 

The  next  amendment  was  after  the  word  "illustration,"  in  line  6, 
to  strike  out  "beginning  with  the  report  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30,  1883." 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  That  is  in  pursuance  of  the  purpose  I  have  just  indi- 
cated, to  make  it  an  appropriation  for  the  current  work,  and  not  a 
permanent  appropriation. 

Agreed  to. 

The  next  amendment  was.  in  line  9,  before  the  word  "thousand," 
to  strike  out  "two"  and  insert  "three;"  after  the  word  "thousand," 
to  insert  "of  each;"  and  in  the  same  line,  after  the  word  "  Senate,"  to 
strike  out  "eight"  and  insert  "seven,"  so  as  to  read: 

And  uniform  with  the  preceding  volumes  of  the  series,  of  which  3,000  of  each 
shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  7,000  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and-  5,000  for  distribution  by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


942  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  F.  M.  COCKRELL.  I  would  suggest  that  3,000  ought  to  be  3,500 
for  the  Senate,  to  keep  up  what  has  been  considered  the  proper  respec- 
tive numbers  to  be  allotted  to  the  Senate  and  the  House.  The  Senate 
should  have  one-half  as  man}7"  as  the  House.  Make  it  3,500  for  the 
use  of  the  Senate  and  7,000  for  the  use  of  the  House. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  The  committee  changed  it  to  very  nearly  one- 
half  each. 

Mr.  COCKRELL.  Let  us  have  it  exactly  one-half.  I  move  to  amend 
the  amendment  by  making  the  number  3,500,  instead  of  3,000,  for 
the  Senate. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Senator  from  Missouri  moves  to 
amend  the  amendment  of  the  Committee  on  Printing  by  striking  out 
"  3,000"  and  inserting  "3,500." 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  as  amended,  the 
amendments  were  concurred  in,  and  the  resolution  passed. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Chair  will  call  the  attention  of  the 
Senator  from  Connecticut  to  the  fact  that  the  total  number  of  copies 
provided  for  in  the  joint  resolution  is  15,000,  while  the  distribution 
provided  calls  for  15,500. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  That  is  a  mere  correction  of  figures.  Let  the  correc- 
tion be  made  to  correspond  with  the  subsequent  amendments. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  correction  will  be  made  in  line  4  after 
the  word  "thousand"  by  inserting  "  five  hundred,"  so  as  to  read: 

That  there  shall  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  15,500. 
June  24,  1884— House. 

Passed  as  amended. 
June  26,  1884. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing 
Office  15,500  copies  of  each  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  annual  reports  of 
the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  with  accompanying  papers 
and  illustrations,  and  uniform  with  the  preceding  volumes  of  the 
series;  of  which  3,500  of  each  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  7,000 
for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  5,000  for  distribution 
by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

(Stat.,  XXHI,  275.) 
February  18,  1885— Senate. 

Mr.  WILKINSON  CALL  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  127)  to  author- 
ize the  printing  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  annual  reports  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ethnology.     Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  19,  1885— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  M.  SPRINGER  introduced  joint  resolution  (H.  339): 

That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  15,500  copies  each  of  the 
Sixth  and  Seventh  Annual  Reports  of  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  with 
accompanying  papers  and  illustrations,  and  uniform  with  the  preceding  volumes  of 
the  series;  of  which  3,500  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  7,000  for  the  use  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  5,000  for  distribution  by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  943 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  26,  1885— Senate. 

Mr.  C.  F.  MANDERSON.  I  am  directed  by  the  Committee  on  Printing, 
to  whom  was  referred  the  joint  resolution  (S.  127)  to  authorize  the 
printing  of  the  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  to  report  it  with- 
out amendment,  and  I  ask  for  its  present  consideration. 

The  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  considered  joint  resolu- 
tion. 

Mr.  F.  M.  COCKRELL.  I  wish  to  ask  a  question  in  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter. I  should  like  to  ask  the  Senator  from  Nebraska,  the  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Printing,  why  it  is  that  the  previous  volumes  of  this 
work  have  not  been  furnished  us  for  distribution  ?  They  were  ordered 
to  be  printed,  it  seems  to  me,  a  year  or  two  ago.  I  have  constant  appli- 
cations for  them  and  they  are  not  in  the  document  room.  Is  there  any 
reason  known  why  they  should  not  have  been  furnished  long  ago  ? 

Mr.  MANDERSON.  There  is  none  known  to  me.  The  consideration 
of  that  matter  did  not  come  before  the  committee  in  connection  with 
this  joint  resolution.  It  may  be  that  the  volumes  are  not  yet  issued 
from  the  Printing  Office.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  make  inquiry  for  the 
Senator. 

Passed. 

February  26,  1885— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  F.  ROGERS,  from  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
joint  resolution  (H.  339).     Passed. 
February  26,  1885— Senate. 

H.  339,  passed. 

February  27,  1885— Senate. 

House  requested  to  return  resolution  (S.  127)  to  print  sixth  and  sev- 
enth reports  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

February  28,  1885— Senate. 

Reconsidered   resolution  (S.  127)  and   referred   to   Committee   on 

Printing. 
March  2,  1885. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing 
Office  15,500  copies  each  of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Annual  Reports 
of  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  with  accompanying 
papers  and  illustrations,  and  uniform  with  the  preceding  volumes  of 
the  series;  of  which  3,500  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  7,000  for 
the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  5,000  for  distribution  by 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  519.) 
March  3,  1885— Senate. 

S.  127  postponed  indefinitely. 


944  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 


NATIONAL   MUSEUM SUNDAY   OPENING. 

March  24,  1884— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  S.  ROSECRANS  presented  a  petition  of  residents  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  that  the  National  Museum  be  opened  on  Sundays 
the  same  hours  as  on  week  days.  Referred  to  Committee  on  District 
of  Columbia. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — TRANSPORTATION . 

July  5,  1884. 

Army  act  for  1885. 

Provided  also,  That  hereafter  the  Quartermaster-General  and  his 
officers,  under  his  instructions,  wherever  stationed,  shall  receive,  trans- 
port, and  be  responsible  for  all  property  turned  over  to  them,  or  any 
one  of  them,  by  the  officers  or  agents  of  any  Government  survey,  for  the 
National  Museum,  or  for  the. civil  or  naval  departments  of  the  Govern- 
ment, in  Washington  or  elsewhere,  under  the  regulations  governing 
the  transportation  of  Army  supplies,  the  amount  paid  for  such  trans- 
portation to  be  refunded  or  paid  by  the  Bureau  to  which  such  property 
or  stores  pertain. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  111.) 

NATIONAL    MUSEUM REPORT. 

July  7,  1884. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

The  Director  of  the  National  Museum  is  hereby  directed  to  report 
annually  to  Congress  the  progress  of  the  Museum  during  the  year  and 
its  present  condition. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  214.) 

NATIONAL    MUSEUM — ESTIMATES. 

December  3,  1883— House. 

Estimates  for  1885. 

For  construction,  in  a  fireproof  manner,  of  an  additional  museum 
building,  to  receive  the  collections  and  laboratories  in  chemistry,  geol- 
ogy, mineralogy,  metallurgy,  taxidermy,  etc.;  and  for  the  offices  and 
laboratories  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  to  be  erected  under 
the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  $200,000. 

For  the  erection  of  a  fireproof  brick  storage  building  east  of  the 
National  Museum  for  receiving,  unpacking,  assorting,  and  storing  the 
natural-history  collections  of  the  Government;  to  replace  the  wooden 
structures  now  used  for  the  purpose,  $10,000. 


FORTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  945 

For  covering  coal  vaults  and  sidewalk  on  south  and  east  front*  of 
National  Museum  building,  $1,000. 

For  the  preservation,  exhibition,  and  increase  of  the  collections 
received  from  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  nec- 
essary employees,  $95,000. 

For  transfer  and  arrangement  of  the  collections  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  presented  to  the  Government,  $10  000 

For  the  preparation  and  installation  of  duplicate  specimens  belong- 
ing to  the  United  States,  for  deposit  with  such  State  or  national  expo- 
sitions as  may  be  authorized  by  Congress  to  receive  them,  $5,000. 

For  care  of  the  Armory  buildings  and  grounds,  and  expense  of 
watching,  preservation,  and  storage  of  the  duplicate  collections  of  the 
Government,  and  the  property  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission 
contained  therein,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $3,500. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
collections  of  the  United  States  National  Museum,  and  for  salaries  or 
compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $60,000. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  telephonic  and  electrical  serv- 
ice, $6,000. 

For  printing  and  binding  (through  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior) 
$10,000. 

For  postage  (through  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior),  $3,000. 

December  1,  1884— House. 

Estimates  for  1886. 

For  the  erection  of  a  fireproof  building  for  storing  the  alcoholic 
collections  of  the  National  Museum,  $15,000. 

NOTE. — The  safety  of  the  interior  of  the  National  Museum  and  the  Smithsonian 
building  is  endangered  by  the  large  number  of  alcoholic  specimens  kept  therein, 
and  it  is  considered  by  public  museums,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  very  important 
to  have  a  separate  building  for  their  reception  and  preservation.  There  are  at 
present  no  suitable  accommodations  for  these  collections. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  telephonic  and  electrical  service 
for  the  National  Museum,  $10,000. 

For  the  preservation,  exhibition,  and  increase  of  the  collections 
received  from  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  from  other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of 
all  necessary  emploj^ees,  $110,000. 

NOTE. — Much  complaint  has  been  made  by  employees  of  the  Museum  and  their 
friends  that  the  salaries  paid  are  so  much  below  the  Government  standard,  and  the 
increase  of  the  present  estimate  over  that  for  the  fiscal  year  1885  is  intended  to  make 
up  the  difference.  The  average  of  payment  at  the  present  time  is  $60  per  month  for 
each  individual,  while  that  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  representing  about 
the  same  average  of  employees,  is  $81  per  month  for  each  person  employed.  More 
than  sixty  persons  in  the  Museum  are  greatly  underpaid. 
H.  Doc,  732 60 


946  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

For  care  of  the  Armory  building  and  its  grounds,  and  for  the 
expense  of  watching,  preservation,  and  storage  of  property  of  the 
National  Museum  and  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  con- 
tained therein,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $2,500. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
collections  of  the  United  States  National  Museum,  and  for  salaries  or 
compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $50,000. 
December  21,  1884. 

December  81,  1884. 

SIR:  T  beg  to  inclose  herewith  an  item  to  refund  to  Messrs.  Semon 
Bache  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  $3,562.56  for  duties  on  sundry  lots  of 
plate  glass  furnished  by  them  for  cases  for  the  United  States  National 
Museum  from  their  stock,  and  to  respectfully  request  that  the  same 
be  incorporated  in  the  general  deficiency  estimates  shortly  to  be  .sub- 
mitted to  Congress  by  the  Treasury  Department. 

In  explanation  of  this  item  1  would  state  that  from  time  to  time,  for 
several  years  past,  the  Treasury  Department,  at  our  request,  has 
granted  free  permits  for  incoming  glass  to  offset  that  furnished  from 
stock  to  the  National  Museum,  and  for  the  New  Orleans,  Cincinnati, 
and  Louisville  expositions,  by  the  firms  in  question,  but  that  in 
June  ( ?)  last  an  order  was  issued  by  the  Treasury  Department,  declin- 
ing to  grant  further  permits  unless  tha  glass  came  directly  from  the 
custom-houses  to  this  city.  The  amount  of  duties  now  asked  to  be 
refunded  we  have  found  to  be  correct,  and  covers  the  entire  liability 
of  the  Government  on  this  account,  to  the  firm  mentioned,  to  the 
present  day. 

T  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully  yours, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 

Hon.  HUGH  MCCULLOCH, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Refund  of  duty  to  Semon  Bache  &  Co. :  To  refund  the  duty  paid  by  Semon  Bache 
&  Co.,   from  imported  stock    furnished  to  the    National  Museum  and  the    New 
Orleans,  Louisville,  and  Cincinnati  expositions  for  exhibition  cases,  $3,562.56. 
January  24,  1885 — House. 

Deficiency  estimates  for  1885. 

To  pay  sundry  bills  for  miscellaneous  fixtures  and  for  glass  for 
exhibition  cases  for  the  National  Museum,  being  for  the  service  of 
the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1884,  $2,891.42. 

To  meet  expenses  of  receiving,  packing,  transporting  to  Washington, 
and  installing  or  storing  such  new  specimens  and  collections  as  may 
be, presented  to  the  United  States  at  the  New  Orleans  Exposition,  to 
be  available  for  the  fiscal  years  ending  June  30,  1885  and  1886,  $10,000, 

To  cost  of  restoring  the  collections  sent  to  the  New  Orleans  Expo- 
sition to  their  proper  places  in  the  National  Museum,  including  repair. 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  947 

of  cases  and  renewal  of  glass,  to  be  available  for  the  fiscal  years 
ending  June  30,  1885  and  1886,  $5,000. 

NOTE.— From  the  experience  of  the  Philadelphia,  Berlin,  and  London  exhibitions, 
and  that  held  at  Boston  in  1883,  a  very  large  amount  of  valuable  material,  illustra- 
ting the  natural  resources  of  the  United  States,  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America, 
as  well  as  of  other  parts  of  the  world,  will  be  presented  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  many  offers  and  promises,  indeed,  having  already  been  received. 
The  amount  thus  obtained  at  Philadelphia  filled  about  30  freight  cars  and  embraced 
some  of  the  most  highly  prized  objects  in  the  National  Museum. 

The  transportation  to  so  great  a  distance  of  the  exhibits  from  the  National  Museum, 
and  their  exposition  in  a  temporary  building  with  a  leaking  roof,  has  already  caused 
serious  injury  to  them  and  their  cases,  and  their  continued  exposure  to  the  same 
evils  for  nearly  six  months  longer  and  their  returQ  to  Washington  will  greatly 
increase  their  deterioration.  Much  time  and  labor  will  also  be  required  to  place  the 
specimens  in  their  proper  places,  for  which  there  is  now  no  provision. 

For  payment  to  the  credit  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  Company 
(Kansas  division)  for  transportation  furnished  January  10,  1876,  on 
account  of  the  ethnological  exhibit  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at 
the  International  Exhibition,  Philadelphia,  1876,  $33.40. 

NOTE.— This  will  involve  the  expenditure  of  no  money  from  the  Treasury,  but 
will  be  withheld  under  the  law  and  credited  to  the  Union  Pacific  account. 

To  refund  the  duty  paid  by  Semon  Bache  &  Co.  upon  glass  from 
imported  stock  furnished  to  the  National  Museum  and  the  New 
Orleans,  Louisville,  and  Cincinnati  expositions  for  exhibition  cases, 

$3,562.56. 

NATIONAL  MUSEUM — APPROPRIATIONS. 
July  7,  1884. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

For  the  preservation  and  exhibition  and  increase  of  the  collections 
received  from  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all 
necessary  employees,  $91,000. 

For  transfer  and  arrangement  of  the  collections  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  presented  to  the  Government,  in- 
cluding expenses  already  incurred,  $10,000. 

For  care  of  the  Armory  building  and  grounds  and  expense  of  watcl 
ing    preservation,   and  storage  of  the  duplicate  collections  of  the 
Government  and  of  the  property  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commis- 
sion contained   therein,  including   salaries  or  compensation  o 
necessary  employees,  $2,500. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of  the 
collections  of  the  United  States  National  Museum,  and  for  salaries  or 
compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $40,000. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  telephonic  and  electrical  serv- 
ice for  the  new  Museum  building,  $6,000. 


948  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

For  paving  sidewalk  on  south  and  east  fronts  of    National  Mu- 
seum building,  $1,000. 
(Stat,  XXIII,  209.) 

July  7,  1884. 

Deficiency  act  for  1884,  etc. 

To  refund  the  duty  paid  by  L.  Strauss  &  Sons,  May  23,  1879,  upon 
a  Sevres  vase  presented  by  them  to  the  National  Museum,  $210.50. 
(Stat.,  XXIII,  246.) 

March  3,  1885. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1886. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  telephonic  and  electrical  serv- 
ice for  the  new  Museum  building,  $9,000. 

For  the  preservation  and  exhibition  and  increase  of  the  collections 
received  from  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all 
necessary  employees,  $95,000. 

For  care  of  the  Armory  building  and  grounds,  and  expense  of 
watching,  preservation,  and  storage  of  the  property  of  the  National 
Museum  and  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  contained  therein, 
including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $2,500. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  of 
the  collections  of  the  United  States  National  Museum,  and  for  salaries 
or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $40,000. 

(Stat,  XXIII,  501.) 
March  3,  1885. 

.  Deficiency  act  for  1885,  etc. 

For  payment  to  the  credit  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  Company 
(Kansas  Division)  for  transportation  furnished  January  10,  1876,  on 
account  of  the  ethnological  exhibit  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at 
the  International  Exhibition,  Philadelphia,  1876,  $33.40. 

(Stat,  XXIII,  452.) 

To  pay  sundry  bills  for  miscellaneous  fixtures  and  for  glass  for 
exhibition  cases  for  the  National  Museum,  being  for  the  service  of  the 
fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1884,  $2,891.42. 

To  meet  expenses  of  receiving,  packing,  transporting  to  Washing- 
ton, and  installing,  or  storing,  such  new  specimens  and  collections  as 
may  be  presented  to  the  United  States  at  the  .New  Orleans  Exposition, 
to  be  available  for  the  fiscal  years  ending  June  30,  1885  and  1886, 
$5,000. 

For  cost  of  restoring  the  collections  sent  to  the  New  Orleans  Expo- 
sition to  their  proper  places  in  the  National  Museum,  including  repair 
of  cases  and  renewal  of  glass,  to  be  available  for  the  fiscal  years 
ending  June  30,  1885  and  1886,  $2,500. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  463.) 


FORTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  949 

BUREAU  OF  FINE  ARTS. 
March  26,  1884— Senate. 

Mr.  WILKINSON  CALL  introduced  a  bill  (S.  1935)  to  establish  a 
Bureau  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  connection  with  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion. Referred  to  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor. 

PRIVILEGE   OF   FLOOR  OF   SENATE. 
April  8,  1884—  Senate. 

Mr.  P.  B.  PLUMB  submitted  a  resolution  relative  to  granting  the 
privilege  of  the  floor  of  the  Senate: 

Resolved,  That  Rule  XXXIII  be  amended  by  adding  after  the  words  "  The  heads 
of  Departments,"  in  the  seventh  line  of  the  rule  as  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Senate, 
the  following:  "Including  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture." 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS).  The  reso- 
lution will  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Rules,  if  there  be  no 
objection. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  P.  FRTE.  I  should  prefer  that  that  be  not  referred, 
but  that  it  lie  over,  so  that  the  Senate  may  vote  upon  it  and  express 
its  opinion.  That  question  has  been  before  the  Committee  on  Rules 
twice  already,  and  of  course  the  committee  would  be  glad  to  be  gov-. 
erned  by  the  wishes  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  PLUMB.  I  ask  that  the  resolution  may  lie  over. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  resolution  will  lie  over. 
April  9,  1884— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  I.  G.  HARRIS,  the  resolution  was  referred  to 
Committee  on  Rules. 
April  22,  1884— Senate. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  PRESTON  B.  PLUMB,  Order  of  Business  501  being 
under  consideration  relative  to  privilege  of  the  floor  of  the  Senate, 
Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL  said:  I  have  a  suggestion  to  make  to  the 
Senator  from  Kansas  to  which  I  think  he  will  not  object,  and  that 
is  to  insert  after  the  words  "the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture"  the 
words  "the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution."  It  will  not  be 
very  frequent,  I  presume,  that  that  gentleman  will  be  likely  to  want 
to  come  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  but  occasionally  he  is  required  to 
be  here.  I  should  like  very  much  to  see  him  on  one  matter  this  mom- 
ing  if  I  could  telephone  and  have  him  come  here.  I  presume  there 
will  be  no  objection  to  the  amendment  which  I  suggest. 

Mr.  PLUMB.  I  am  in  favor  of  one  thing  at  a  time.  There  is  no  par- 
ticular relation  between  th^se  two  officers.  There  is  no  reason  why 
the  head  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  should  be  added  as  an  amend- 
ment to  my  motion.  The  resolution  was  offered  by  me  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  a  particular  purpose.  When  that  purpose  has  been 
accomplished,  if  the  Senate  desires  to  add  further  to  the  list  of  persons 


950  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

who  are  entitled  to  be  admitted  to  the  floor  of  the  Senate  for  any  rea- 
son, either  as  a  matter  of  usefulness  or  as  a  matter  of  courtesy,  I  shall 
have  no  objection,  but  I  do  not  care  to  have  the  name  of  any  officer 
coupled  with  this  officer.  He  is  entitled  to  be  here  as  the  head  of  a 
Department,  as  he  always  has  been  here  until  the  present  session  of 
the  Senate,  when,  by  some  new  and,  I  think,  very  strained  construc- 
tion of  the  rule,  he  has  been  excluded,  although  the  language  of  the 
rule  remains  precisely  as  it  had  been  since  time  immemorial. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  shall  not  embarrass  the  Senator,  but  I  give  notice 
that  after  the  action  of  the  Senate  upon  the  amendment  proposed  by 
him  I  shall  move  to  further  amend  the  rule  as  I  have  suggested. 
******* 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS).  The  ques- 
ton  is  on  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  Senator  from  Kansas  [Mr. 
Plumb]. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  now  move  to  amend  the  rule  by  inserting  after 
"  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol  extension  "  "  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution." 

.  The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  the  amendment  of 
the  Senator  from  Vermont. 

Mr.  JOHN  J.  INGALLS.  I  move  the  reference  of  that  to  the  Committee 
on  Rules. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  Senator  from  Kansas  moves  that 
this  amendment  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Rules. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  1  hope  that  motion  will  not  be  adopted. 

Mr.  INGALLS.  I  object  to  its  consideration  to-day. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  Chair  thinks  the  amendment  is 
in  order.  The  motion  to  refer,  the  Chair  thinks,  if  agreed  to,  would 
carry  the  resolution. 

Mr.  INGALLS.  The  resolution? 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  resolution  to  which  the  Senator 
from  Vermont  offers  his  amendment.  The  general  question  before 
the  Senate  is  on  agreeing  to  a  resolution  reported  by  the  Committee 
on  Rules  which  has  been  amended  on  the  motion  of  the  Senator  from 
Kansas  [Mr.  Plumb],  but  the  resolution  is  still  before  the  Senate. 
The  Senator  from  Vermont  moves  to  still  further  amend  the  resolu- 
tion, and  the  Senator  from  Kansas  [Mr.  Ingalls]  mo  v«s  that  this  amend- 
ment be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Rules. 

Mr.  INGALLS.  I  have  no  desire  to  carry  the  resolution  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Rules,  but  I  submit  to  the  Senator  from  Vermont  that  there 
is  absolutely  no  reason  whatever  urged  for  this  proposed  extension. 
The  Senator  says  it  might  possibly  be  convenient  for  this  gentleman 
to  appear  on  the  floor  and  that  he  should  like  himself  to  see  him  here 
for  a  moment  or  two  this  morning  if  it  were  possible.  If  this  exclu- 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  951 

sion  is  significant  or  valuable,  if  it  is  the  intention  to  admit  those  here 
only  who  are  necessary  for  the  transaction  of  the  business  of  the 
body,  then  the  Senator  from  Vermont  has  given  no  sound  reason  why 
the  rule  should  be  extended.  There  certainly  is  not  the  reason  for  the 
admission  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  that  there  is 
tor  the  admission  of  the  Commissioner  of  Pensions,  who  has  to  do  with 
business  that  is  called  to  the  personal  attention  of  every  member  of 
this  body  probably  a  great  many  times  every  day. 

I  suggest  that  the  Senator  from  Vermont  had  better  ask  for  the  con- 
sideration of  a  general  resolution  as  to  what  further  admissions  to  the 
floor  shall  be  permitted,  instead  of  asking  that  this  one  gentleman  shall 
be  admitted  by  an  amendment  to  this  pending  resolution. 

Mr.  OMAR  D.  CONGER.  The  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion is  at  the  head  of  an  institution  known  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  The  National  Museum  is  connected  with  it.  He  represents, 
perhaps,  as  far  as  this  Government  has  any  such  representation  at 
all,  the  literary  and  scientific  progress  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  He  is  at  the  head  of  an  institution  fostered  by  this  Govern- 
ment, intimately  connected  with  the  question  of  the  enlightenment  of 
the  people,  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  men;  and  1  think  myself 
that  it  would  be  an  honor  to  the  Senate  and  an  honor  to  the  country 
that  we  should  recognize  it  from  time  to  time  as  we  summon  the  Sec- 
retary of  that  Institution  to  a  place  here.  The  former  Secretary,  Pro- 
fessor Henry,  reflected  much  credit  on  the  literary  and  scientific  attain- 
ments of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  The  present  Secretary  is  a 
worthy  successor.  In  view  of  the  aid  the  Government  has  given  to 
the  Institution,  I  think  it  would  be  an  honor  to  the  Senate  and  an  honor 
to  the  Government  that  its  head  should  be  recognized  as  worthy  of  a 
place  to  meet  Senators  in  their  own  Chamber.  I  wonder  that  the  prop- 
osition has  not  been  made  before  this  time.  I  shall  very  gladly 
support  it  now. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  am  somewhat  surprised  that  a  single  Senator  should 
object  to  the  admission  of  a  gentleman  of  so  great  merit  and  whose 
extreme  modesty  we  all  so  much  appreciate.  It  has  been  common  for 
us  to  apply  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  various 
kinds  of  scientific  investigations — on  ventilation  and  various  other 
subjects  that  I  might  mention. 

In  relation  to  the  necessity  of  the  Commissioner  of  Pensions  coming 
here,  it  is  impossible  for  that  officer  to  answer  the  inquiries  of  Sen- 
ators or  Members  in  relation  to  any  private  bill  that  may  be  pend- 
ing. It  depends  upon  facts  in  his  office,  and  therefore  we  seek  such 
information  through  letters  directed  to  him  at  his  office.  It  is  not 
often  that  he  will  ever  be  wanted  here  for  anything  else. 

I  do  not  desire  to  consume  time,  Mr.  President.  If  there  are  half  a 
dozen  Senators  here  who  are  against  this  proposition  I  shall  be  dis- 
posed to  withdraw  it. 


952  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS      . 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  the  motion  of  the 
Senator  from  Kansas  to  refer  the  amendment  to  the  Committee  on 
Rules. 

Mr.  INGALLS.  I  withdraw  the  motion. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  motion  to  refer  is  withdrawn. 
The  question  is  on  agreeing  to  the  amendment  of  the  Senator  from 
Vermont  [Mr.  Morrill]. 

The  resolution  as  amended  was  agreed  to. 

ACTING   SECRETARY  OF  SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

April  23,  1884— Senate. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR  introduced  a  bill  (S.  2093)  relative  to  the 
appointment  of  an  acting  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 
April  25,  1884— Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN,  from  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  to 
whom  was  referred  S.  2093,  reported  it  without  amendment,  "and  as 
this  is  a  matter  of  formal  administration  I  ask  that  it  be  acted  upon 
now." 

Mr.  F.  M.  COCKRELL.  I  should  like  to  hear  some  reasons  for  the 
passage  of  the  bill. 

Mr.  SHERMAN.  This  is  the  ordinary  provision  made  to  provide  for 
the  absence  of  Professor  Baird.  Professor  Baird  may  sometimes  be 
absent,  and  this  provision  is  substantially  similar  to  what  is  provided 
for  other  offices  and  Departments  of  the  Government  to  fill  the  duties 
of  the  office  during  his  absence  or  disability  or  inability. 

Mr.  COCKRELL.  Not  to  supplant  him  in  any  way  ? 

Mr.  SHERMAN.  Not  at  all.  I  believe  it  was  recommended  by  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS).  At  the 
request  of  the  Secretary,  the  Chair  understands. 

Mr.  SHERMAN.  At  the  request  of  the  Secretary.  It  is  to  provide 
for  a  contingency  common  in  other  Departments  of  the  Government. 

Passed. 
May  9,  1884— House. 

Passed. 
May  13,  1884. 

Be  it  enacted,  etc. ,  That  the  Chancellor  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion may,  by  an  instrument  in  writing  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary 
thereof,  designate  and  appoint  a  suitable  person  to  act  as  Secretary  of 
the  Institution  when  there  shall  be  a  vacancy  in  said  office,  and  when- 
ever the  Secretary  shall  be  unable  from  illness,  absence,  or  other 
cause  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office;  and  in  such  case  the  person 
so  appointed  may  peform  all  the  duties  imposed  on  the  Secretary  by 
law  until  the  vacancy  shall  be  filled  or  such  inability  shall  cease.  The 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  953 

said  Chancellor  may  change  such  designation  and  appointment  from 
time  to  time  as  the  interests  of  the  Institution  may  in  his  judgment 
require. 

(Stat.  XXIII,  21.) 

NEUMANN'S  SILK  FLAG. 

April  25,  1884—  Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN.  I  am  directed  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  the 
Library  to  report  back  a  resolution  submitted  by  the  Senator  from 
California  [Mr.  John  F.  Miller]  and  to  recommend  its  passage.  As  it 
is  a  very  brief  matter,  I  ask  for  its  present  consideration. 

The  Chief  Clerk  read  the  resolution,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  silk  flag  presented  by  Mr.  Joseph  Neumann,  of  California,  to 
the  Senate  and  accepted  by  the  Senate  on  the  12th  day  of  July,  1870,  the  said  flag 
being,  it  is  believed,  the  first  American  flag  made  of  American  silk,  be  deposited  in 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  exhibition  and  preservation. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS).  Is  there 
objection  to  the  present  consideration  of  the  resolution  ?  The  Chair 
hears  none.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  to  it. 

Mr.  JOSEPH  R.  HAWLEY.  1  have  not  the  slightest  objection  to  the 
resolution,  but  I  wish  merely  to  put  on  record  my  grave  doubt  as  to 
whether  that  is  the  first  native  American  flag.  It  is  my  duty  as  a 
representative  of  the  Connecticut  manufacturers  to  say  that. 

Mr.  SHERMAN.  We  do  not  say  that  it  is  the  first  by  adopting  the 
resolution. 

Agreed  to. 

EXPOSITIONS. 

New  Orleans  Exposition. 
May  21,  1884. 

An  act  to  make  a  loan  to  aid,  etc. 

Whereas  by  the  act  of  Congress  entitled  "An  act  to  encourage  the 
holding  of  a  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  in 
the  year  1884,"  approved  February  10, 1883,  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans, 
under  the  joint  auspices  of  the  United  States,  the  National  Cotton 
Planters'  Association  of  America,  and  the  said  city  of  New  Orleans,  a 
World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  is  to  be  held, 
universal  in  character,  comprehending  all  arts,  manufactures,  and 
products  of  the  soil  and  mine;  and 

Whereas  by  said  act  Congress  declares  that  such  exposition  should 
be  national  and  international  in  its  character;  and 

Whereas  under  said  act  a  board  of  management  has  been  duly  con- 
stituted and  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
the  members  of  which  have  been  appointed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  upon  recommendations  made  in  the  manner  set  forth  in 
said  act,  and  therefore  are  a  duly  qualified  and  commissioned  United 


954  CONGEESSIONAL   PEOCEEDINGS. 

States  board  of  management  clothed  with  full  and  adequate  powers  to 
perform  any  and  all  acts  essential  to  the  proper  and  necessary  manage- 
ment of  the  affairs  of  the  said  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centen- 
nial Exposition  in  the  manner  and  form  prescribed  by  said  act,  and 
duly  authorized  by  the  sanction  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  raise  the  capital  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions 
of  said  act  of  February  10,  1883;  and 

Whereas  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  compliance  with  the 
terms  and  requirements  of  said  act,  has  extended,  in  the  name  of  the 
United  States,  a  respectful  and  cordial  invitation  to  the  governments 
of  other  nations  to  be  represented  and  take  part  in  the  said  interna- 
tional exposition;  and 

Whereas  the  preparations  designed  by  the  World's  Industrial  and 
Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  and  in  part  executed  by  the  board  of 
management  are  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  act  of  Congress 
relating  thereto,  and  are  on  a  scale  creditable  to  the  Government  and 
the  people  of  the  United  States:  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  sum  of  $1,000,000  be,  and  the  same 
is  hereby,  appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  public  Treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated,  as  a  loan  to  the  World's  Industrial  and 
Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  to  be  used  and  employed  by  the  board 
of  management  thereof  to  augment  and  enhance  the  success  of  the 
World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  in  such  man- 
ner as  said  board  of  management  may  determine  and  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  this  act:  Provided,  That  the  said  sum  shall  be 
paid  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  on  the 
drafts  of  the  president  and  secretary  of  the  board  of  management  of 
the  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  authorized 
by  order  of  said  board,  one-third  of  the  amount  immediately  after  the 
passage  of  this  act  upon  being  satisfied  that  $500,000  has  been  contrib- 
uted and  paid  in  to  the  said  board  for  the  purposes  of  the  exposition 
by  the  contributors  to  and  shareholders  of  the  World's  Industrial  and 
Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  and  the  remainder  in  four  monthly  pay- 
ments thereafter  upon  being  satisfied  that  each  of  the  prior  payments 
has  been  faithfully  applied  as  required  by  this  act,  and  for  this  purpose 
he  shall  have  free  access  to  the  accounts  and  all  transactions  of  said 
board:  Provided  further,  That  no  greater  amount  shall  be  expended 
or  liability  or  indebtedness  of  any  kind  incurred  upon  buildings, 
grounds,  and  preparations  than  the  aggregate  sum  that  may  be  paid 
in  by  the  subscribers  to  the  capital  stock  and  by  donations  and  the 
amount  of  the  loan  provided  herein:  And  provided  further,  That  in 
the  distribution  of  the  amounts  that  may  remain  in  the  treasury  of  the 
board  of  management  after  the  payments  of  the  current  expenses  of 
administration  the  amount  of  the  appropriation  hereinbefore  made 
shall  be  paid  in  full  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  before  any 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  955 

dividend  or  percentage  of  profits  or  assets  shall  be  paid  to  the  holder* 
of  said  stock ^or  contributors:  Provided  further,  That  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  shall  not,  under  any  circumstances,  be  liable  for 
any  debt  or  obligation  created  or  incurred  by  the  World's  Industrial 
and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  or  its  board  of  management  or  for 
any  sum  whatever  in  addition  to  the  amount  appropriated  by  this  act- 
and  that  adequate  space  to  be  determined  by  the  President  of  the  United 
btates  for  such  exhibits  as  the  Government  of  the  United  States  may 
see  proper  to  make  at  said  exposition  shall  be  furnished  free  of  all 
charge  by  said  board:  Provided  further,  That  no  sum  shall  be  paid  to 
the  said  board  of  management  of  said  exposition  until  after  the  presi- 
dent, secretary,  and  a  majority  of  the  members  of  said  board  shall 
have  executed  a  bond,  with  good  and  solvent  security,  to  be  approved 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  the  sum  of  $300,000,  to  sufficiently 
secure  the  safe-keeping  and  the  faithful  disbursement  of  the  sum 
hereby  appropriated,  and  for  the  faithful  observance  of  this  act  with 
regard  to  the  limitation  of  expenditures  and  liabilities  as  fixed  herein, 
and  for  the  repayment  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  the 
surplus  of  proceeds  of  said  exposition  remaining  after  payment  of  the 
current  expenses  of  administration,  said  repayment  in  no  case  to  exceed 
the  loan  herein  appropriated  and  provided  for:  And  prwided  further, 
That  the  receipt  of  the  loan  herein  made  or  any  part  thereof  by  said 
board  of  management  shall  be  a  full  acceptance  of  all  the  trusts,  con- 
ditions, provisions,  and  obligations  of  this  act  by  the  said  board  of 
management  and  by  the  corporation  created  under  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  Louisiana  and  designated  as  "The  World's  Industrial  Cotton  Cen- 
tennial Exposition." 
(Stat,  XXHI,  28.) 
July  7,  1884. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

To  enable  the  several  Executive  Departments,  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  participate  in  the 
World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  to  be  held  at  New 
Orleans,  Louisiana,  under  act  of  Congress  of  February  10,  1883,  as 
follows:  For  the  War  Department,  $15,000;  for  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, $10,000;  for  the  State  Department,  $10,000;  for  the  Treasury 
Department,  $12,000;  for  the  Interior  Department,  $125,000;  for 
the  Post-Office  Department,  $10,000;  for  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, $25,000;  for  the  Department  of  Justice,  $3,000;  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  (including  the  National  Museum  and  Commission 
of  Fish  and  Fisheries),  $75,000;  for  necessary  incidental  expenses  of 
administration  by  the  board,  including  office  rent,  fuel,  gas,  stationery, 
telegrams,  and  expressage,  $15,000;  in  all,  $300,000,  to  be  disbursed 
under  the  direction  of  the  Board  on  United  States  Executive  Depart- 
ments appointed  under  Executive  order  of  May  13,  1884;  and  no 


956  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

expenses  of  any  kind  beyond  the  amounts  herein  provided  for  shall  be 
incurred  by  any  of  the  said  Departments,  or  any  officer  thereof,  on 
account  of  said  exposition. 
(Stat.,  XXHI,  207.) 

March  3,  1885. 

Deficiency  act  for  1885,  etc. 

Expenses  of  the  United  States  Executive  Departments  at  World's 
Industrial  Exposition  at  New  Orleans:  That  any  surplus  arising  from 
appropriations  made  to  either  of  the  Departments  by  act  of  July  7, 
1884,  for  participation  in  the  World's  Industrial  Cotton  Centennial 
Exposition  at  New  Orleans,  may  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  liquidating 
the  indebtedness  of  any  other  Department,  subject  to  the  provision 
affecting  the  same  in  the  sundry  civil  appropriation  bill  passed  this 
session. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  467.) 

March  3,  1885. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1886. 

For  final  aid  to  the  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Expo- 
sition, now  being  held  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  in  the  State  of 
Louisiana,  not  to  exceed  the  sum  of  $335,000,  to  be  immediately 
available,  and  to  be  used  first  in  payment  of  the  indebtedness  now 
outstanding  of  said  exposition  which  is  due  to  persons,  firms,  or  corpo- 
rations living  and  doing  business  outside  of  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
including  debts  due  to  foreigners  or  foreign  nations,  and  such  as  are 
due  to  States  and  Territories  from  said  exposition;  secondly,  in  pay 
ment  of  all  premiums  heretofore  awarded  or  which  shall  be  hereafter 
awarded  by  said  exposition  in  accordance  with  the  lists  of  awards 
heretofore  published;  said  money  to  be  disbursed  under  the  direction 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  shall  make  proper  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  form  and  verification  of  vouchers  in  proof  of  such 
indebtedness,  and  shall  detail  a  proper  agent  of  his  Department  to 
disburse  said  funds  as  directed  by  said  Secretary,  who  shall  make  a 
detailed  statement  of  his  transactions  to  the  Treasury  Department. 
Also  for  the  woman's  department  of  the  said  exposition,  $15,000. 
And  no  part  of  the  foregoing  sums  shall  be  paid  until  statements  and 
exhibits  in  detail  satisfactory  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  are 
made  of  all  expenditures  under  the  appropriation  made  by  act  of  May 
21,  1884,  and  that  said  expenditures  have  been  made  for  the  purposes 
and  in  the  manner  provided  for  in  said  act;  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  shall  report  to  Congress,  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  session, 
all  such  detailed  statements  made  to  him  of  the  expenditures  under 
said  appropriation  and  also  under  this  appropriation;  and  the  neces- 
sary expenses  of  these  examinations  shall  be  paid  from  this  appro- 
priation. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  512.) 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  957 

Jul   7  1884  Cincinnati  Industrial  Exposition. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

To  enable  the  several  Executive  Departments  of  the  Government 
including  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, to  participate  in  the  Cincinnati  Industrial  Exposition,  to  be  held 
at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  during  the  months  of  September  and  October 
1884,  $10,000:  Provided,  That  in  case  more  than  the  said  sum  be* 
required  for  the  execution  of  this  provision  the  same  should  be  paid 
by  said  exposition. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  207.) 

Louisville  Exposition. 
July  7,  1884. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

To  enable  the  several  Executive  Departments  of  the  Government, 
including  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion to  participate  in  the  Southern  Exposition  to  be  held  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  from  August  16  to  October  25,  1884,  $10,000:  Provided,  That  in 
case  more  than  the  said  sum  be  required  for  the  execution  of  this  pro- 
vision the  same  should  be  paid  by  said  exposition. 

(Stat,  XXIII, 207.) 

London  International  Fishery  Exhibition. 
July  7,  1884. 

Deficiency  act  for  1884,  etc. 

For  the  payment  of  the  remaining  expenses  connected  with  the 
service  of  the  International  Fishery  Exhibition  held  at  London  in 
1883,  and  for  the  preparation  of  the  report  called  for  by  act  approved 
July  18,  1882,  to  be  expended  by  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Fish  and  Fisheries,  under  the  direction  and  regulations  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  $10,000,  the  same  to  be  available  until  June  30, 1885. 

(Stat,  XXIII,  237.) 

REPORT   OF   SMITHSONIAN   INSTITUTION. 

June  10,  1884— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  R.  HAWLET.  I  report  from  the  Committee  on  Printing  the 
usual  annual  resolution  for  printing  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS).  The  Sen- 
ator from  Connecticut  asks  that  the  concurrent  resolution  be  now 
considered. 

Mr.  F.  M.  COCKRELL.  Let  it  be  read. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year 
1883  be  printed;  and  that  there  be  printed  15,560  extra  copies,  of  which  2,500  shall 
be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  6,060  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
7,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 


958  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  That  is  in  the  usual  form,  in  the  same  language  as  the 
preceding  annual  resolutions  upon  the  same  subject. 

Mr.  COCKRELL.  Would  not  this  be  a  very  good  time  to  conform  to 
the  general  rule  and  give  the  Senate  3,000  copies  and  the  House  6,000, 
in  accordance  with  the  rule  that  I  understand  the  Senate  has  adopted 
whenever  it  has  been  brought  before  it?  I  offer  that  amendment. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  Chair  will  call  attention  to  Rule 
29,  the  second  paragraph  of  which  provides  that — 

Motions  to  print  additional  numbers  shall  also  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Printing 

which  has  been  done — 

and  when  the  committee  shall  report  favorably  the  report  shall  be  accompanied  by 
an  estimate  of  the  probable  cost  thereof. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  The  estimate  is  always  ready,  but  its  reading  is  not 
always  called  for.  The  figures  are  on  the  back  of  the  resolution.  I 
think  the  cost  will  be  $10,000. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  Will  the  Senator  from  Missouri  repeat 
his  amendment? 

Mr.  COCKRELL.  I  move  to  amend  by  striking  out  "2.500,"  as  the 
number  provided  for  the  Senate,  and  inserting  "3,000,"  and  then  let 
the  House  have  6,000,  so  as  to  give  the  Senate  just  half  the  number 
given  to  the  House. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  Senator  from  Missouri  moves  to 
amend  the  resolution  by  striking  out  "2,500"  and  inserting  "3,000," 
so  as  to  read:  "of  which  3,000  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate  and 
6,060  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives." 

Mr.  COCKRELL.  Let  it  be  6,000  for  the  use  of  the  House. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  Let  the  6,060  go;  make  as  few  amendments  as  possi- 
ble. 

Mr.  COCKRELL.  Very  well;  let  it  go.     Just  change  the  aggregate. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  to  the 
amendment  of  the  Senator  from  Missouri. 

Agreed  to. 

Mr.  COCKRELL.  The  aggregate  that  goes  to  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion will  be  decreased  just  500  copies. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  I  would  not  decrease  the  number  for  the  Smithsonian. 
They  make  their  estimates  with  accuracy,  and  usually  know  what  they 
want. 

Mr.  COCKRELL,  Then  increase  the  whole  number  500. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  Increase  the  aggregate.  The  amendment  made  adds 
500  to  the  aggregate. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  resolution,  if  there  be  no  objec- 
tion, will  be  amended  so  as  to  make  the  aggregate  16,060,  the  number 
having  been  increased  500.  The  amendment  will  be  agreed  to  if  there 


FORTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  95!) 

°D  ^^  t0  the  1>esolutio»  *« 

The  resolution  as  amended  agreed  to. 
June  24,  1884— House. 

Mr.  ALFRED  M.  SCALES,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
favorably  Senate  concurrent  resolution  to  print  Smithsonian  report  for 

looO. 

Mr.  SCALES.  I  desire  to  say  one  word.  This  is  the  same  number 
recommended  heretofore.  The  Senate  increased  what  was  recom- 
mended by  the  House  500  copies.  It  was  so  late  in  the  session  we 
concluded  to  allow  them  to  have  them,  and  they  have  taken  everv  CODV 
themselves. 

Adopted. 
January  24,  1885— Senate. 

Mr.  S.  B.  MAXEY  introduced  concurrent  resolution  to  print  16,060 
copies  of  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  National 
Museum  for  1884,  7,000  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred. 
January  26,  1885 — Senate. 

Passed. 

January  28,  1885 — House. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  4,  1885 — House. 

Passed. 
January  24,  1885— Senate. 

Mr.  S.  B.  MAXEY  introduced  a  resolution  (S.  114). 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
January  27,  1885— Senate. 

Passed. 

March  3,  1885— House. 

Passed.^ 

March  3,  1885. 

That  the  annual  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  be 
hereafter  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office,  in  the  -same 
manner  as  the  annual  reports  of  the  heads  of  departments  are  now 
printed,  for  submission  in  print  to  the  two  Houses  of  Congress. 

(Stat.  XXIII,  520.) 

VENTILATION    OF   HALL   OF   HOUSE   OF   REPRESENTATIVES. 

June  24,  1884— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  HARDY,  from  the  Committee  on  Ventilation  and  Acous- 
tics, submitted  a  report  (H.  1970). 

The  Committee  on  Ventilation  and  Acoustics,  charged  with  the  duty 
of  inquiring  into  the  present  method  of  heating,  lighting,  and  venti- 
lating the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  respectfully  report 


960  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

that  they  have  given  the  subject  a  careful  investigation,  and  have 
heard  the  views  and  opinions  of  experienced  and  competent  scientists 
in  regard  thereto,  and  have  caused  experiments  to  be  made  as  to  the 
character  and  quality  of  the  air  of  the  House. 

The  committee  herewith  submit  the  arguments  and  statements  made 
before  the  committee  and  the  result  of  experiments  made  under  their 
direction. 


MARCH  10,  1884. 

The  committee  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

Present  the  Chairman,  Messrs.  Green,  Shelley,  Evans,  Jeffords,  and  Brewer. 

The  CHAIRMAN  laid  before  the  committee  a  report l  from  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird 
and  others,  comprising  the  advisory  board  to  the  Committee  on  Ventilation  and 
Acoustics  during  the  Forty-fifth  Congress. 

Report  of  the  board  of  United  States  officers  convened  by  request  of  the  Committee 
on  Ventilation  of  the  Forty-eighth  Congress. 

' '  The  board  has  the  honor  to  report  that,  in  accordance  with  the  request  of  the 
Committee  on  Ventilation,  it  has  examined  the  plans  submitted  by  Mr.  T.  C.  Perry 
for  the  improvement  on  the  ventilation  of  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
"  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  board  that  if  these  plans  were  carried  out  the  ventilation 
of  the  Hall  would  not  be  as  good  as  it  is  at  present.  Ventilation  by  aspiration  has 
been  tried  in  the  Hall  before,  and  with  unsatisfactory  results.  If  it  be  desired  to 
try  it  again  all  the  machinery  necessary  for  the  purpose  is  on  hand,  and  the  trial 
can  be  made  without  the  necessity  of  purchasing  fans  or  of  expending  money  for 
the  purpose. 

' '  The  board  does  not  think  that  downward  ventilation  would  give  good  results  in 
the  Hall. 

"All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

"SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Chairman, 

' '  Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
"Tnos.  LINCOLN  CASEY, 

"  Lieutenant- Colonel  Engineers. 
"EDWARD  CLARK, 

"Architect  United  States  Capitol. 
"J.  S.  BILLINGS, 

"Surgeon,  United  States  Army." 

*  •  *  *  *  *  *  * 

The  chairman  inquired  from  Professor  Baird  whether  he  had  any  suggestion  to 
make  as  to  the  improvement  of  the  ventilation  in  the  Hall. 

Professor  Baird  replied  that  he  had  come  into  the  board  after  the  work  had  been 
done.  He  had  succeeded  Professor  Henry  simply  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  the 
organization.  After  Professor  Henry's  death  he  had  been  appointed  Secretary,  but 
at  that  time  all  the  work  had  been  done  by  the  other  gentlemen.  His  position  was, 
therefore,  rather  honorary  than  active.  He  only  knew  the  subject  from  what  he 
had  heard  the  other  gentlemen  say. 

The  chairman  remarked  that  Colonel  Casey  had  been  an  active  member  of  the 
commission. 

Professor  Baird  assented.     He  (the  professor)  knew  nothing  on  the  subject. 


Forty-eighth  Congress,  first  session— House.     Report  H.  2026. 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  961 

Mr   Jeffords  asked  him  whether  he  was  familiar  with  the  apparatus  and  the 
machinery  and  the  design  of  the  work. 
Professor  Baird  could  not  say  that  he  was. 

Recommitted  to  Committee  on  Ventilation  and  Acoustics. 

FREE   POSTAGE. 
July  5,  1884. 

Post-Office  act  for  1885. 

SEC.  3.  That  section  29  of  the  act  of  March  3,  1879  (United  States 
Statutes  at  Large,  page  362),  be,  and  it  is  hereby,  amended  so  as  to 
read  as  follows: 

"The  provisions  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  section  of  the  act  entitled 
'An  act  establishing  post  routes,  and  for  other  purposes '  approved 
March  3,  1877,  for  the  transmission  of  official  mail  matter,  be,  and 
they  are  hereby,  extended  to  all  officers  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, not  including  members  of  Congress,  the  envelopes  of  such  mat- 
ter in  all  cases  to  bear  appropriate  indorsements  containing  the  proper 
designation  of  the  office  from  which  or  officer  from  whom  the  same  is 
transmitted,  with  a  statement  of  the  penalty  for  their  misuse.  And 
the  provisions  of  said  fifth  and  sixth  sections  are  hereby  likewise  ex- 
tended and  made  applicable  to  all  official  mail  matter  of  the  Smithson- 
ian Institution:  Provided,  That  any  department  or  officer  authorized 
to  use  the  penalty  envelopes  may  inclose  them  with  return  address  to 
any  person  or  persons  from  or  through  whom  official  information  is 
desired,  the  same  to  be  used  only  to  cover  such  official  information,  and 
indorsements  relating  thereto:  Provided  further,  That  any  letter  or 
packet  to  be  registered  by  either  of  the  Executive  Departments,  or 
bureaus  thereof,  or  by  the  Agricultural  Department,  or  by  the  Public 
Printer,  may  be  registered  without  the  payment  of  any  registry  fee; 
and  any  part-paid  letter  or  packet  addressed  to  either  of  said  depart- 
ments or  bureaus  may  be  delivered  free;  but  where  there  is  good  rea- 
son to  believe  the  omission  to  prepay  the  full  postage  thereon  was 
intentional,  such  letter  or  packet  shall  be  returned  to  the  sender:  Pro- 
vided further,  That  this  act  shall  not  extend  or  apply  to  pension  agents 
or  other  officers  who  receive  a  fixed  allowance  as  compensation  for 
their  services,  including  expenses  of  postages.  And  section  3915  of 
the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  the  same  relates 
to  stamps  and  stamped  envelopes  for  official  purposes,  is  hereby 
repealed. " 

(Stat.  XXIII,  158.) 

NOTE.— See  also  Stat.  XVII,  p.  307,  for  Act  June  8,  1872,  allowing  to  pass  free  in 
the  mail  "all  publications  sent  or  received  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  marked 
on  each  package  'Smithsonian  Exchange'."  New  Postal  Code,  sixth  subdivision, 
see.  184. 

H.  Doc.  732 61 


962  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

PUBLIC   PRINTING   AND    BINDING. 

July  7,  1884. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1885. 

*  *  *  That  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  the  head  of  any  Executive 
Department  or  of  any  bureau,  branch,  or  office  of  the  Government,  to 
cause  to  be  printed,  nor  shall  the  Public  Printer  print,  any  docu- 
ment or  matter  of  any  character  whatever  except  that  which  is  author- 
ized by  law  and  necessary  to  administer  the  public  business,  nor  shall 
any  bureau  officer  embrace  in  his  annual  or  other  report  to  be  printed 
any  matter  not  directly  pertaining  to  the  duties  of  his  office  as  pre- 
scribed by  law. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  227.) 

HENRY   STATUE. 
July  7,  1884. 

Deficiency  act  for  1884,  etc. 

For  expense  of  freight  on  statue  of  Joseph  Henry  from  Rome  to 
Washington,  and  all  expenses  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  con- 
nected with  the  erection  and  ceremonies  of  unveiling  said  statue,  $900. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  246.) 

GRANT   RELICS. 

February  4,  1885— Senate. 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  the 
offer  of  Mrs.  Grant  to  give  to  the  Government,  in  perpetual  trust, 
the  military  and  civil  testimonials  lately  belonging  to  General  Grant. 

To  the  Senate: 

I  take  especial  pleasure  in  laying  before  Congress  the  generous 
offer  made  by  Mrs.  Grant  to  give  to  the  Government,  in  perpetual 
trust,  the  swords  and  military  and  civil  testimonials  lately  belonging 
to  General  Grant.  A  copy  of  the  deed  of  trust,  and  of  a  letter 
addressed  to  me  by  Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt,  which  I  transmit 
herewith,  will  explain  the  nature  and  motives  of  this  offer. 

Appreciation  of  General  Grant's  achievements  and  recognition  of 
his  just  fame  have  in  part  taken  the  shape  of  numerous  mementos  and 
gifts,  which,  while  dear  to  him,  possess  for  the  nation  an  exceptional 
interest.  These  relics,  of  great  historical  value,  have  passed  into  the 
hands  of  another  whose  considerate  action  has  restored  the  collection 
to  Mrs.  Grant  as  a  life  trust,  on  the  condition  that  at  the  death  of 
General  Grant,  or  sooner,  at  Mrs.  Grant's  option,  it  should  become  the 
property  of  the  Government,  as  set  forth  in  the  accompanying  papers. 
In  the  exercise  of  the  option  thus  given  her,  Mrs.  Grant  elects  that 
the  trust  shall  forthwith  determine,  and  asks  that  the  Government 
designate  a  suitable  place  of  deposit  and  a  responsible  custodian  for 
the  collection. 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  963 

The  nature  of  this  gift  and  the  value  of  the  relics  which  the  gener- 
osity of  a  private  citizen,  joined  to  the  high  sense  of  public  regard 
which  animates  Mrs.  Grant,  have  thus  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Government,  demand  full  and  signal  recognition,  on  behalf  of  the 
nation,  at  the  hands  of  its  representatives.  I  therefore  ask  Congress 
to  take  suitable  action  to  accept  the  trust  and  to  provide  for  its  secure 
custody,  at  the  same  time  recording  the  appreciative  gratitude  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  to  the  donors. 

In  this  connection,  I  may  pertinently  advert  to  the  pending  legisla- 
tion of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  looking  to  a  national 
recognition  of  General  Grant's  eminent  services  by  providing  the  means 
for  his  restoration  to  the  Army  on  the  retired  list.  That  Congress,  by 
taking  such  action,  will  give  expression  to  the  almost  universal  desire 
of  the  people  of  this  nation  is  evident,  and  I  earnestly  urge  the  passage 
of  an  act  similar  to  Senate  bill  No.  2530,  which,  while  not  interfering 
with  the  Constitutional  prerogative  of  appointment,  will  enable  the 
President  in  his  discretion  to  nominate  General  Grant  as  General 
upon  the  retired  list. 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 
EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 

February  3,  1885. 

DEED   OP  TRUST. 

Whereas  I,  William  H.  Vanderbilt,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  by  virtue  of  a  sale 
made  under  a  judgment  in  a  suit  to  foreclose  a  chattel  mortgage  in  the  supreme  court 
of  this  State,  in  which  I  was  plaintiff,  and  Ulysses  S.  Grant  defendant,  which  judg- 
ment was  entered  on  the  6th  day  of  December,  1884,  and  under  an  execution 
in  another  suit  in  said  court  between  the  same  parties  upon  a  judgment  entered 
December  9,  1884,  have  become  the  owner  of  the  property  and  the  articles  described 
in  the  schedule  hereto  annexed,  formerly  the  property  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant, 

Now,  therefore,  to  carry  out  a  purpose  formed  by  me,  and  in  consideration  of  one 
dollar  to  me  paid,  I  do  hereby  transfer  and  convey  each  and  every  one  of  the  articles 
mentioned  and  itemized  in  the  said  schedule  to  Julia  Dent  Grant.  To  have  and  hold 
the  same  to  her,  her  executors  and  administrators,  upon  the  trust  and  agreement 
nevertheless  hereby  accepted  and  made  by  her  that  on  the  death  of  the  said  Ulysses  S. 
Grant  or  previously  thereto,  at  her  or  their  option,  the  same  shall  become  and  be  the 
property  of  the  nation,  and  shall  be  taken  to  Washington  and  transferred  and  con- 
veyed by  her  and  them  to  the  United  States  of  America. 

In  witness  whereof  the  said  William  H.  Vanderbilt  and  Julia  Dent  Grant  have 
executed  these  presents  this  10th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1885. 
Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of — 

W.  H.  VANDERBILT. 

JULIA  DENT  GRANT. 

Schedule  of  swords  and  medals,  paintings,  bronzes,  portraits,  commissions  and  addresses, 
and  objects  of  value  and  art  presented  by  various   Governments  in  the  world  to  Gen. 
Grant. 


Mexican  onyx  cabinet,  presented  to  General  Grant  by  the  people  of  Pueblo,  Mexico. 
Aerolite,  part  of  which  passed  over  Mexico  in  1871. 


964  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Bronze  vases,  presented  to  General  Grant  by  the  Japanese  citizens  of  Yokohama, 
Japan. 

Marble  bust  and  pedestal,  presented  by  workingmen  of  Philadelphia. 

General  Grant  and  family,  painted  by  Coggswell. 

Large  elephant  tusks,  presented  by  the  King  of  Siam. 

Small  elephant  tusks,  from  the  Maharajah  of  Johore. 

Picture  of  General  Scott,  by  Page,  presented  by  gentlemen  of  New  York. 

Crackleware  bowls  (very  old) ,  presented  by  Prince  Koon,  of  China. 

Cloisonne  jars  (old) ,  presented  by  Li  Hung  Chang. 

Chinese  porcelain  jars  (old) ,  presented  by  Prince  Koon,  of  China. 

Arabian  Bible. 

Coptic  Bible,  presented  by  Lord  Napier,  who  captured  it  with  King  Theodore  of 
Abyssinia. 

Sporting  rifle. 

Sword  of  Donelson,  presented  to  General  Grant  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson, 
by  officers  of  the  Army,  and  used  by  him  until  the  end  of  the  war. 

New  York  sword,  voted  to  General  Grant  by  the  citizens  of  New  York,  at  the 
fair  held  in  New  York. 

Sword  of  Chattanooga,  presented  to  General  Grant  by  the  citizens  of  Jo  Daviess 
County,  111.  (Galena),  after  the  battle  of  Chattanooga. 

Roman  mug  and  pitcher. 

Silver  menu  and  card,  farewell  dinner  of  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Silver  menu  of  Paris  dinner. 

Horn  and  silver  snuffbox. 

Silver  match  box  (used  by  General  Grant). 

Gold  table,  modeled  after  the  table  in  Mr.  McLean's  house  on  which  Gen.  R.  E. 
Lee  signed  the  articles  of  surrender.  This  was  presented  to  General  Grant  by 
ex-Confederate  soldiers. 

Gold  cigar  case  (enameled),  presented  by  the  Celestial  King  of  Siam. 

Gold  cigar  case  (plain),  presented  by  the  Second  King  of  Siam. 

Gold-handled  knife,  presented  by  miners  of  Idaho  Territory. 

Nine  pieces  of  jade  stone,  presented  by  Prince  Koon  of  China. 

Silver  trowel,  used  by  General  Grant  in  laying  the  corner  stone  of  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York. 

Knife,  made  at  Sheffield  for  General  Grant. 

Gold  pen,  General  Grant's. 

Embroidered  picture  (cock  and  hen),  presented  to  General  Grant  by  citizens  of 
Japan. 

Field-glasses,  used  by  General  Grant  during  the  war. 

Iron-headed  cane,  made  from  the  rebel  ram  Merrimac. 

Silver-headed  cane,  made  from  wood  used  in  the  defense  of  Fort  Sumter. 

Gold-headed  cane,  made  out  of  wood  from  old  Fort  Du  Quesne,  Pennsylvania. 

Gold-headed  cane,  presented  to  General  Grant  as  a  tribute  of  regard  for  his 
humane  treatment  of  the  soldiers  and  kind  consideration  of  those  who  ministered 
to  the  sick  and  wounded  during  the  war. 

Gold-headed  cane,  used  by  General  La  Fayette,  and  presented  to  General  Grant 
by  the  ladies  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

Carved  wood  cane,  from  the  estate  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

Uniform  as  General  of  the  United  States  Army. 

Fifteen  buttons,  cut  from  the  coats  during  the  war  by  Mrs.  Grant  after  the  different 
battles. 

Hat  ornament,  used  at  Belmont. 

Hat  ornament,  used  at  Fort  Donelson. 

Shoulder-straps  (brigadier-general),  worn  by  General  Grant  at  Belmont,  Fort 
Donelson,  and  Shiloh. 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  965 

Shoulder-straps  (lieutenant-general),  cut  from  the  coat  used  by  General  Gra 
the  campaigns  against  Richmond  and  Petersburg  and  Lee's  army 
Shoulder-strap  (lieutenant-general),  cut  from  General  Grant's  coat 

of  shoulder-straps  (general),  cut  from  a  coat  General  Grant  used  after  the 


Medal  from  the  American  Congress  (gold)  for  opening  the  Mississippi 
Gold  medal,  from  Philadelphia. 

Twenty-one  medals  (gold,  silver,  and  bronze),  badges  of  armies  and  corps 

Ten  medals  (silver  and  bronze),  sent  to  General  Grant  at  different  times 

Fourteen  medals  (bronze),  in  memory  of  events. 

Silk  paper  (Louisville  Commercial) ,  printed  for  General  Grant. 

Silk  paper  (Daily  Chronicle),  printed  for  General  Grant. 

Silk  paper  (Burlington  Hawkeye),  printed  for  General  Grant 

Collection  of  coin  (Japanese).  This  is  the  only  complete  set,  except  one  which  is 
in  the  Japanese  treasury.  Seven  of  these  pieces  cost  $5,000.  Thifl  set  was  presented 
by  the  Government  of  Japan. 

Warrant  as  cadet  at  West  Point. 

Commission  brevet  second  lieutenant  (missing). 

Commission  second  lieutenant  (missing). 

Commission  brevet  first  lieutenant  (missing). 

Commission  as  first  lieutenant  United  States  Army. 

Commission  as  brevet  captain  United  States  Army. 

Commission  as  captain  United  States  Army. 

Commission  as  colonel  of  volunteers. 

Commission  as  brigadier-general. 

Commission  as  major-general. 

Commission  as  major-general  United  States  Army. 

Commission  as  lieutenant-general  United  States  Army. 

Commission  as  general  United  States  Army. 

Commission  as  honorary  member  of  M.  L.  A.,  San  Francisco. 

Commission  as  member  of  Sacramento  Society  of  Pioneers. 

Commission  as  honorary  member  Royal  Historical  Society. 

Commission  as  Military  Order  of  Loyal  Legion. 

Commission  as  member  of  the  Aztec  Club. 

Certificate  of  election  President  of  the  United  States. 

Certificate  of  reelection  President  of  the  United  States. 

Certificate  of  honorary  membership  Territorial  Pioneers  of  California. 

Certificate  of  honorary  membership  St.  Andrew's  Society. 

Certificate  of  election  LL.  D.,  Harvard  College. 

Certificate  of  election  honorary  membership  of  the  Sacramento  Society. 

Certificate  of  Pioneers  of  California. 

Certificate  of  election  honorary  member  Mercantile  Library,  San  Francisco. 

Freedom  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  Ireland. 

Freedom  of  the  city  of  Stratford-on-Avon. 

Freedom  of  the  city  of  London,  England. 

Freedom  of  the  city  of  Glasgow,  Scotland. 

Freedom  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 

Freedom  of  the  city  of  Ayr,  Scotland. 

Freedom  of  the  burgh  of  Inverness,  Scotland. 

Freedom  of  the  city  of  Oakland,  America. 
Freedom  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  America. 
Freedom  of  the  city  of  Londonderry,  Ireland. 
The  freedom  of  many  other  cities. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
1877. 


966  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  of  the  city  of 
Manchester,  England,  May  13,  1877. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  workingmen  of  Birmingham,  England,  October 
16,  1877. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Board  of  Trade, 
San  Francisco,  Cal.,  September,  1879. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of 
Gateshead,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  mayor,  aldermen,  magistrates,  aldermen,'  and 
councilors  of  the  borough  of  Leicester,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  Americans  of  Shanghai,  China,  May  19,  1879. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  Calumet  Club  of  Chicago,  111. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  Society  of  Friends  in  Great  Britain. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Penang. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough 
of  Southampton,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the  royal 
borough  of  Stirling. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  Tynemouth, 
England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  mayor  and  town  council  of  Sunderland. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  trade  and  friendly  societies  of  Sunderland. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  public  schools  of  Louisville,  Ky. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  colored  men  of  Louisville,  Ky. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  ex-Confederate  soldiers. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  State  of  Louisiana. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Board  of  Trade  of 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  British  workmen  of  London,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  North  Shields  Shipowners'  Society,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Sheffield,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  borough  of  Royal 
Leamington  Spa,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  Sheffield, 
England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  wardens,  etc. ,  and  commonalty  of  the  town  of  Shef- 
field, England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the 
city  and  royal  burgh  of  Elgin,  Scotland. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough 
of  Folkestone,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough 
of  Jarrow,  England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  by  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  Gateshead, 
England. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  Carpenters'  Company. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  citizens  of  Cincinnati,  congratulating  him  on 
his  second  election  as  President  of  the  United  States. 

Address  to  General  Grant  from  the  citizens  of  Nagasaki,  Japan. 

Resolutions  of  the  Territorial  Pioneers  admitting  General  Grant  to  membership. 

Resolution  of  the  Caledonian  Club  of  San  Francisco,  enrolling  General  Grant  as  an 
honorary  member. 

Resolutions  of  the  citizens  of  Jo  Daviess  County,  presenting  a  sword  to  General 
Grant.  (Sword  of  Chattanooga.) 


FORTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS,  1883-1885.  967 

Resolutions  of  the  Washington  Camp,  of  Brooklyn,  Long  Island. 

First  resolutions  of  thanks  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

First  resolutions  inviting  General  Grant  to  visit  the  house  of  representatives  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 

Second  resolutions  of  thanks  from  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

Letter  from  citizens  of  Jersey  City  thanking  General  Grant  for  his  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
speech  on  the  question  of  public  schools. 

Presentation  of  a  silver  medal  by  the  Union  League  Club  of  Philadelphia,  for  gal- 
lantry and  distinguished  services. 

Vote  of  thanks  by  Congress  to  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  etc. 

Other  resolutions,  addresses,  votes  of  thanks,  and  freedom  of  cities. 


640  FIFTH  AVENUE,  January  20,  1885. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  purchased  the  articles  of  historical  interest  belonging  to  General  Grant 
and  gave  them  to  Mrs.  Grant,  in  trust,  to  hold  during  the  lifetime  of  the  General,  and 
at  his  death,  or  sooner,  at  her  option,  they  to  become  the  property  of  the  Govern- 
ment. They  consist  of  his  swords,  memorials  of  his  victories  from  the  United  States, 
States,  and  cities,  and  tributes  to  his  fame  and  achievements  from  governments  all 
over  the  world.  In  their  proper  place,  at  Washington,  they  will  always  be  secure, 
and  will  afford  pleasure  and  instruction  to  succeeding  generations.  This  trust  has 
been  accepted  by  Mrs.  Grant,  and  the  disposition  of  the  articles  is  in  conformity  to 
the  wishes  of  the  General.  I  transmit  to  you  herewith  the  deed  of  trust.  Mrs.  Grant 
informs  me  that  she  prefers  to  close  the  trust  at  once  and  send  the  memorials  to 
Washington.  May  I  ask,  therefore,  that  you  will  designate  some  official,  represent- 
ing the  proper  Department,  to  receive  them,  and  direct  him  to  notify  Mrs.  Grant  of 
the  arrangements  necessary  to  perfect  the  transfer,  and  deposit  in  such  of  the  Gov- 
ernment buildings  as  may  be  most  suitable? 

Yours,  respectfully, 

W.  H.  VANDERBILT. 

His  Excellency  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR, 

President  of  the  United  States. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 
February  7,  1885— Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN.  The  Committee  on  the  Library,  to  which  was 
referred  the  message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  transmitting 
the  offer  made  by  Mrs.  Grant  to  give  to  the  Government  in  perpetual 
trust  the  swords  and  military  and  civil  testimonials  lately  belonging 
to  General  Grant,  have  had  the  same  under  consideration,  and  direct 
me  to  report  a  joint  resolution  accepting  the  gift.  As  it  is  a  matter 
which  I  presume  will  receive  the  assent  of  every  Senator,  and  ought 
to  be  acted  upon  promptly  in  order  to  do  it  graciously,  I  ask  for  the 
present  consideration  of  the  joint  resolution. 

The  joint  resolution  (S.  119)  accepting  the  gift  of  William  H. 
Vanderbilt  and  Julia  Dent  Grant,  wife  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  to  the 
United  States  of  certain  articles,  was  read  twice  by  its  title. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  G.  F.  EDMUNDS).  The  Senator 
from  Ohio  asks  unanimous  consent  that  the  joint  resolution  be  now 
considered.  Is  there  objection  ?  The  Chair  hears  none.  The  joint 


968  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

resolution  is  l>efore  the  Senate  as  in  Committee  of   the  Whole  and 
will  be  read. 

Whereas  William  H.  Vanderbilt  and  Julia  Dent  Grant  have,  by  deed  of  trust 
executed  on  the  10th  d<ty  of  January,  1885,  presented  to  the  United  States  certain 
swords,  medals,  paintings,  bronzes,  portraits,  commissions,  and  addresses,  and  objects 
of  value  and  art  presented  by  various  governments  in  the  world  to  General  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  as  tokens  of  their  high  appreciation  of  his  illustrious  character  as  a  soldier 
and  a  statesman:  Therefore 

Be  it  resolved,  etc.,  That  the  United  States  accepts  the  said  property  and  articles, 
more  fully  described  in  the  schedule  attached  to  said  deed  of  trust,  to  be  held  by  the 
United  States  and  preserved  and  protected  in  the  city  of  Washington  for  the  use  and 
inspection  of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  And  the  thanks  of  Congress  are  hereby 
tendered  to  the  said  William  H.  Vanderbilt  and  Julia  Dent  Grant  for  their  generous 
and  valuable  gift. 

Resolved,  That  the  said  property  and  articles  are  placed  under  the  custody  of  the 
Librarian  of  Congress;  and  the  Secretary  of  War  is  hereby  directed  to  receive  the 
same  for  safe-keeping  and  custody  in  the  Department  of  War  until  they  can  be  trans- 
ported by  the  Librarian  of  Congress  to  a  suitable  building  to  be  provided  for  the  use 
of  the  Library  of  Congress. 

Passed. 

The  preamble  was  agreed  to. 

DOCUMENTS. 

February  9,  1885. 

Joint  resolution  approved  for  printing  and  distributing  "Descrip- 
tive Catalogue  of  Government  Publications,"  provided  two  copies  for 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  fifty  for  foreign  exchanges. 

(Stat.,  XXIII,  p.  517.) 

DEPARTMENT   OF   AGRICULTURE    (ENTOMOLOGY,    ORNITHOLOGY.) 

February  20,  1885— Senate. 

The  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  considered  the  bill 
(H.  8030),  making  appropriation  for  the  Agricultural  Department  for 
the  year  1886. 

Mr.  W.  MILLER,  of  New  York.  I  am  instructed  by  the  Committee 
on  Agriculture  and  Forestry  to  move  an  amendment,  in  line  57,  to  strike 
out  the  word  "twenty"  and  insert  "thirty;"  and  also  in  the  same  line 
to  strike  out  "twenty"  and  insert  "thirty;"  so  as  to  read: 

And  other  expenses  on  the  practical  work  of  entomological  division,  $30,000;  in 
all,  $37,900. 

The  occasion  for  this  increase  arises  in  this  wise.  In  line  51  there 
has  been  inserted  in  this  bill  a  clause  including: 

And  for  the  promotion  of  economic  ornithology,  or  the  study  of  the  interrelation 
of  birds  and  agriculture,  an  investigation  of  the  food,  habits,  and  migration  of  birds 
in  relation  to  both  insects  and  plants,  and  publishing  report  thereon,  for  drawings, 
and  for  chemicals  and  traveling  and  other  expenses. 


FORTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS,  1883-1*85.  969 

Those  words  have  been  put  into  this  bill  this  year,  of  course  result- 
ing m  an  increase  of  the  labor  of  the  entomological  division  and  lamelv 
increasing  its  expenditures  if  it  is  to  do  the  work  that  has  been  assigned 
to  it.  The  reason  for  this  has  come  about  in  this  wise:  There  has  been 
organized  in  this  country  an  ornithological  union,  composed  of  the 
leading  naturalists  of  this  country,  extending  over  the  entire  country 
and  also  over  Canada.  There  has  also  been  organized  an  international 
ornithological  union,  and  these  unions  of  the  different  civilized  coun- 
tries are  acting  in  connection.  Some  of  them  have  been  at  work  for 
several  years.  The  unions  of  the  various  countries  have  applied  to 
their  respective  governments,  asking  that  the  governments  take  up 
this  work  to  a  certain  extent— that  is,  the  work  of  the  collation  of 
facts  and  the  publications  of  facts. 

These  ornithological. unions,  which  are  studying  the  questions  des- 
ignated in  these  lines,  are  doing  the  work  voluntarily  for  the  advance- 
ment of  science  and  the  good  of  mankind  in  general.  These  asso- 
ciations are  entirely  voluntary,  and  all  their  work  is  done  without 
compensation  for  love  of  the  cause.  They  have  collected  and  are  col- 
lecting large  amounts  of  information  upon  this  subject,  which  is  very 
valuable  and  is  undoubtedly  to  be  of  great  value  to  the  agriculturists 
as  a  class.  They  do  not  feel  able  to  undertake  the  work  of  classifying 
and  collating  the  information  which  they  have  obtained  or  of  publish- 
ing it  for  the  benefit  of  the  world,  and  they  have  asked  for  the  action 
indicated  in  the  lines  which  I  read. 

During  the  past  two  years  there  have  been  scattered  all  over  the 
United  States  more  than  a  thousand  gentlemen  engaged  in  making 
these  observations.  Circulars  were  prepared  and  sent  out  to  all  the 
various  stations  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  the  request  of  the 
Ornithological  Union,  of  course  the  expense  being  paid  by  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  as  under  the  law  it  had  a  right  to  do;  but  it  is  not 
able  to  go  on  with  the  proper  publication  of  these  results.  A  very 
large  amount  of  information  has  been  obtained.  All  the  light-house 
keepers  in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada  have  been  instructed  by 
the  proper  department  to  obtain  the  information  desired;  blanks  have 
been  furnished  them,  and  they  have  made  regular  reports,  and  these 
reports  have  come  in  in  very  large  numbers. 

The  Ornithological  Union  presented  some  weeks  ago  to  Congress  a 
memorial  fully  setting  forth  the  work  they  were  doing  and  what  they 
desired  the  Government  to  do  in  the  premises. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

This  matter  was  laid  before  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  Professor 
Baird  joined  in  recommending  this  action,  and  of  course  an  appropria- 
tion is  needed.  The  result  has  been  that  authority  to  undertake  this 
investigation  and  the  compilation  of  the  statistics  and  the  data  which 


970  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

can  be  furnished  and  will  be  furnished  by  this  union  has  been  put 
into  this  bill,  but  there  has  been  no  increase  of  the  appropriation  for 
the  expenditures  of  the  entomological  division.  Ten  thousand  dol- 
lars was  asked  for  as  being  the  least  sum  that  can  properly  do  this 
work.  When  the  bill  passed  the  House  and  the  chief  of  this  divi- 
sion, Dr.  Riley,  discovered  it,  he  came  to  see  me,  and  not  finding  me, 
wrote  to  me  a  letter,  portions  of  which  I  will  read,  and  from  which 
the  Senate  will  see  that  it  is  necessary  to  increase  this  appropriation 
somewhat;  otherwise  the  work  can  not  be  done  at  all. 

The  Presiding  Officer  (Mr.  G.  F.  EDMUNDS).  The  question  is  on 
agreeing  to  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  Senator  from  New  York. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  tov 


FORTY-NINTH  CONGRESS,  1885-1887. 

APPOINTMENT    OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Vice- President. 
March  24,  1885— Senate. 

The  Vice-President  (Mr.  THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS)  appointed  Justin 
S.  Morrill  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  occasioned  by  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT  appointed  Shelby  M.  Cullom  to  fill  the  vacancy 
in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  occasioned  by 
the  expiration  of  the  term  of  Nathaniel  P.  Hill. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  the  Speaker. 
January  12,  1886 — House. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JOHN  G.  CARLISLE)  announced  the  appointment 
of  the  following  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution:  Otho  R. 
Singleton,  of  Mississippi,  William  L.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia, 
William  Walter  Phelps,  of  New  Jersey. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   REGENTS 

By  joint  resolution. 
December  8,  1885— Senate. 
Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL  introduced  joint  resolution  (S.  1): 

That  the  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Eegenta  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Congress"  shall  be  filled  by  the  reappointment 
of  John  Maclean,  of  New  Jersey;  Asa  Gray,  of  Massachusetts;  Henry  Coppee,  of 
Pennsylvania;  and  the  appointment  of  Montgomery  C.  Meigs,  of  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, vice  William  T.  Sherman,  whose  term  has  expired,  and  who  is  no  longer  a 
citizen  of  Washington. 


FORTY-NINTH   CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  97 1 

Ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 
December  10,  1885— Senate. 

RoMrri  Ji  R  M°?R7\Ca"ed  UP  the  i™t  resolution  in  relation  to  the 
Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  I  will  merely  state  that  this  joint  resolution  is  for 
the  ^appointment  of  three  of  the  present  Regente,  and  to  supply  the 
vacancy  in  consequence  of  the  removal  of  General  Sherman  from  the 
city,  in  whose  place  the  name  inserted  is  that  of  General  Meigs. 

The  resolution  was  then  read. 

Mr.  JOHN  J.  INGALLS.  Has  the  joint  resolution  been  reported  bv 
any  committee  ? 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  G.  F.  EDMUNDS).  It  has  not  been 
reported. 

Mr.  INGALLS.  It  appears  to  me  that  in  a  matter  of  this  consequence 
we  ought  not  to  be  called  upon  to  act  on  the  joint  resolution  without 
having  the  opinion  of  some  committee  on  the  subject.  I  shall  hear 
with  interest  what  the  Senator  from  Vermont  has  to  say  upon  the 
subject,  but  I  am  very  clear  that  we  should  have  the  opinion  of  a 
committee. 

Mr.  MORRILL.  In  the  first  place,  I  will  say  that  I  am  not  aware  of 
any  appropriate  committee  to  which  this  measure  could  be  referred; 
and,  in  the  next  place,  the  joint  resolution  merely  provides  for  the 
reappointment  of  three  distinguished  citizens,  of  different  States,  who 
have  already  served  their  term,  which  has  expired,  and  the  other 
nomination  made  is  that  of  General  Meigs,  to  supply  the  place  of 
General  Sherman,  who  is  no  longer  eligible  in  consequence  of  having 
removed  from  the  city  of  Washington,  and  the  original  law  requires 
two  to  be  residents  of  the  city  of  Washington. 

I  may  say  that  I  was  unfortunate  in  not  conversing  with  the  Sena- 
tor from  Kansas,  but  I  conversed  with  quite  a  number  of  other 
Senators,  who  agreed  that  the  presentation  of  the  name  of  General 
Meigs  was  an  eminently  proper  one  to  be  made. 

Mr.  DANIEL  W.  VOORHEES.  May  I  inquire  whether  there  is  any 
new  name  suggested  in  that  list  with  the  exception  of  that  of  General 
Meigs  ? 

Mr.  MORRILL.  That  is  the  only  one. 
Mr.  VOORHEES.  So  I  understood. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  Is  the  Chair  to  understand  the  Sena- 
tor from  Kansas  as  moving  to  refer  the  joint  resolution  to  a  commit- 
tee ?  If  not,  the  joint  resolution  is  before  the  Senate  as  in  Committee 
of  the  Whole. 

Mr.  S.  B.  MAXEY.  As  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  I  wish  to 
say  in  reply  to  the  suggestion  of  the  Senator  from  Kansas  that  the 
character  of  General  Meigs  is  too  well  known  to  require  the  report  of 
any  committee  of  this  body,  and  the  reason  which  actuated  me  in  sus- 


972  CONGRESSIONAL    PKOCEEDINGS. 

tain  ing  the  position  taken  by  the  Senator  from  Vermont,  who  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  was  that  there  is  to  be  some  very 
valuable  improvement  soon  made  in  the  Smithsonian  building,  and 
General  Meigs  is  an  architect  of  distinguished  reputation  and  his 
appointment  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  he  living  here  in 
Washington,  would  be  eminently  proper.  I  think  he  ought  to  go  on 
that  board.  His  well-known  character  we  thought  was  ample  to  jus- 
tify the  appointment  without  a  reference  to  a  committee. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment. 

Mr.  J.  T.  MORGAN.  I  hope  that  the  resolution  will  pass,  although  I 
consider  that  it  is  a  little  hasty  for  us  to  act,  as  the  Senator  from 
Kansas  has  suggested,  without  the  advice  of  any  committee,  but  I  do 
not  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  I  vote  for  it  on  the  ground  stated  by 
the  Senator  from  Texas,  that  of  General  Meigs's  architectural  capacity 
or  ability,  for  if  we  take  the  new  Pension  Office  here  as  a  sample  of 
it,  and  we  undertake  in  advance  to  refer  that  to  the  judgment  and 
taste  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  we  shall  make  a  very  wide 
mistake.  I  shall  vote  for  General  Meigs  because  I  think  he  is  a  scien- 
tist, not  because  I  think  he  is  an  architect. 

Passed. 
December  18,  1885 — House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  L.  WILSON,  of  West  Virginia,  called  up  joint  resolu- 
tion (S.  1).     Adopted. 
December  26,  1885. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  existing  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Regents 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of 
Congress"  shall  be  filled  by  the  reappointment  of  John  Maclean,  of 
New  Jersey;  Asa  Gray,  of  Massachusetts;  Henry  Coppee,  of  Penn- 
sylvania; and  the  appointment  of  Montgomery  C.  Meigs,  of  the  city 
of  Washington,  vice  William  T.  Sherman,  whose  term  has  expired 
and  who  is  no  longer  a  citizen  of  Washington. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  339.) 
December  21,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  90)  appoint- 
ing James  B.  Angell  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 
December  21,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  J.  SEWELL,  from  Committee  on  the  Library,  reported 
S.  90  favorably. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Congress"  shall  be  filled  by  the 
appointment  of  James  B.  Angell,  of  the  State  of  Michigan,  in  place  of  John  Maclean, 
deceased. 

Adopted. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  973 

December  22,  1886— House. 

Mr.  OTHO  R.  SINGLETON.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  ask  unanimous  consent  to 
take  up  for  present  consideration  the  joint  resolution  (S.  90)  appoint- 
ing James  B.  Angell  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  in  the  place  of  one  of  the  regents,  deceased. 
The  board  meets  in  a  few  days,  and  it  is  desirable  that  this  appoint- 
ment should  be  made  without  delay  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

The  joint  resolution  was  read. 

Mr.  ROGER  Q.  MILLS.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  desire  to  ask  the  gentleman 
from  Mississippi  [Mr.  Singleton]  why  it  is  necessary  to  name  the 
appointee  in  the  joint  resolution  ? 

Mr.  SINGLETON.  The  appointment  is  made  by  Congress.  I  will  say 
to  the  gentleman,  if  he  wishes  the  information,  that  this  appointment 
is  made  in  place  of  a  Northern  gentleman,  deceased. 

Mr.  JAMES  H.  BLOUNT.  Can  the  gentleman  from  Mississippi  inform 
us  whether  this  is  the  usual  way  of  filling  these  vacancies  ? 

Mr.  SINGLETON.  It  is,  sir. 

Mr.  MILLS.  We  have  had  considerable  discussion  here  at  different 
times  about  this  question  of  appointment,  and  it  has  been  contended 
that  Congress  has  no  power  to  make  appointments — 

Mr.  CLIFTON  R.  BRECKINRIDGE,  of  Arkansas.  The  gentleman  will 
find  that  this  is  the  usual  way  of  making  these  appointments. 

The  Speaker  (Mr.  JOHN  G.  CARLISLE).  Is  there  objection  to  the 
present  consideration  of  this  joint  resolution  ? 

Mr.  MILLS.  I  object,  Mr.  Speaker. 
January  8,  1887— House. 

Mr.  O.  R.  SINGLETON  endeavored  to  call  up  S.  90  appointing  James 
James  B.  Angell  a  Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Mr.  HILARY  A.  HERBERT  insisted  on  the  regular  order. 
January  8,  1887— House. 

Mr.  O.  R.  SINGLETON  reported  S.  90  from  the  Committee  on  the 
Library. 

It  has  already  passed  the  Senate  and  meets  the  indorsement  of  the  Committee  on 
the  Library.  I  will  state  that  they  have  a  meeting  next  Wednesday,  and  it  is 
important  the  vacancy  on  the  Board  should  be  filled  before  that  time. 

Adopted. 

January  19,  1887. 

Resolved,  etc. ,  That  the  existing  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  of  the  class  "other  than  members  of  Congress," 
shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  James  B.  Angell,  of  the  State  of 
Michigan,  in  place  of  John  Maclean,  deceased. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  644.) 


974  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 


INTERNATIONAL   EXCHANGES. 
October  7,  1885. 

October  7, 1885. 

SIR:  On  the  7th  of  March,  1884,  I  had  the  honor  to  address  you  as  follows: 

After  overcoming  many  obstacles,  the  Smithsonian  system  of  exchange  has  now 
been  placed  upon  a  most  satisfactory  basis,  the  only  difficulty  of  any  magnitude  yet 
remaining  being  inability  on  the  part  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  as  the  Govern- 
ment intermediary,  to  secure  the  entire  fruits  of  the  wise  provision  of  Congress  in  the 
way  of  fifty  copies  of  each  and  every  public  document  for  exchange  purposes,  and  to 
this  extent  the  system  is  yet  imperfect.  In  the  absence  of  strict  compliance  with  the 
stipulation  that  all  works  published  by  the  United  States — its  Congress,  Executive 
Departments,  bureaus,  etc.  [be  furnished  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  50  copies 
each  of  the  three  distinct  series,  as  specified  in  the  acts  of  March  2, 1867.  and  July 
25,  1868] — the  Institution  can  hardly  exact  from  foreign  Governments  that  have 
entered  into  an  International  Exchange  Alliance  copies  of  everything  they  respec- 
tively issue. 

I  would  therefore  ask  you,  respectfully,  to  consider  the  several  enactments  upon  the 
subject  of  international  exchange,  and  that  such  supplementary  legislation  be  pro- 
vided as  will  enable  us  to  surmount  the  difficulty  referred  to. 

In  referring  to  the  communication  above  quoted,  I  beg  respectfully  to  state  that  it 
again  becomes  the  duty  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  as  the  agent  for  Government 
exchanges  (under  appointment  of  Congressional  act  of  March  2,  1867),  to  suggest  a 
review  by  the  Library  Committee  of  the  several  enactments  upon  the  subject  of 
international  exchange,  to  the  end  that  such  additional  legislation  may  be  provided 
as  will  render  the  Institution  able  to  enforce  strict  compliance,  on  the  part  of  the 
Public  Printer  and  the  various  Departments  and  bureaus  of  the  Government,  with 
the  order  of  Congress  that  all  works  published  by  the  United  States  of  America, 
whether  by  its  Congress,  its  Executive  Departments,  or  its  bureaus,  and  whether 
printed  at  the  Public  Printing  Office  or  elsewhere,  be  furnished  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  in  50  copies  each  of  the  three  distinct  series,  as  specified  in  the  acts  of 
March  2,  1867,  and  July  25,  1868,  and  without  which  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  through  the  Library  of  Congress,  will  fail  to  reap  the  full  benefit  of  that  com- 
plete exchange  which  was  intended  and  desired  when  the  American  Congress  first 
exhibited  its  enlightened  liberality  in  the  wise  provision  for  an  exchange  of  the 
United  States  official  publications  for  those  of  other  nations. 

I  inclose  some  memoranda  necessary  for  your  information  and  guidance  in  con- 
nection with  any  new  legislation  that  your  committee,  in  its  wisdom,  may  deem 
proper  to  suggest  for  the  consideration  of  Congress. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 

lion.  JOHN  SHERMAN, 

Chairman  Joint  Library  Committee  of  Congress,  United  States  Senate. 

MEMORANDA  TO  ACCOMPANY  LETTER  FROM  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION  OF  OCTOBER 
7,  1885,  TO  HON.  JOHN  SHERMAN,  CHAIRMAN  JOINT  LIBRARY  COMMITTEE  OF  CON- 
GRESS. 

On  the  2d  day  of  March,  1867,  Congress  passed  the  following  resolution  (Stat.,  vol. 
14,  p.  573) : 

"Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in 
Congress  assembled,  That  50  copies  of  all  documents  hereafter  printed  by  order  of 
either  House  of  Congress,  and  50  copies  additional  of  all  documents  printed  in  excess 
of  the  usual  number,  together  with  50  copies  of  each  publication  issued  by  any 
Department  or  bureau  of  the  Government,  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Joint 


FORTY -NINTH    CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  975 

Committee  on  the  Library,  who  shall  exchange  the  same,  through  the  agency  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  for  such  works  published  in  foreign  couLes,  aTelc Luv 
by  foreign  Governments,  as  may  be  deemed  by  said  committee  an  e^uivaS  ^  d 
works  to  be  deposited  in  the  Library  of  Congress  " 

This  resolution  provides,  as  plainly  and  distinctly  expressed,  for  three  times  50 
copies  of  certain  official  publications,  or  rather  for  50  copies  each  of  three  different 
bedtsed  18SU6S  mt°  WhlCh  the  Publications  of  the  United  Stetes  Government  may 

I.  The  Congressional  issue,  consisting  of  series  of  journals,  reporte  of  committees 
miscellaneous  documents,  and  executive  documents. 

II.  The  annual  reports  of  the  Executive  Departments  and  bureaus  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

III.  The  memoirs,  monographs,  and  special  reports  published  by  the  Executive 
Departments  and  bureaus  of  the  Government. 

Of  the  first  issue,  the  Congressional  series,  the  usual  number  printed  is  as  pre- 
scribed in  section  3792,  Revised  Statutes,  "Fifteen  hundred  and  fifty  copies  of  any 
documents  ordered  by  Congress."  *  *  *  (Increased  this  to  1900,  which  includes 
the  instalments  for  distribution  by  the  Congressional  Library  and  for  exchange  in 
foreign  countries.)  Section  3799  provides  that:  "Of  the  documents  printed  by 
order  of  either  House  of  Congress  there  shall  be  printed  and  bound  50  additional 
copies  for  the  pu/pose  of  exchange  in  foreign  countries." 

The  second  issue  is  formed  by  the  ' '  extra  copies ' '  ordered  to  be  printed  by  Congress 
in  addition  to  the  usual  number,  and  represents  the  annual  reports  of  the  Executive 
Departments  and  bureaus  of  the  Government,  reports  of  foreign  affaire,  commerce 
and  navigation,  commercial  relations,  etc.,  and  as  such  form  each  an  independent 
series  of  Government  publications. 

Relative  to  this  issue  section  3796  Revised  Statutes  provides,  "The  Congressional 
Printer  shall,  when  so  directed  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  print  in  addi- 
tion to  the  usual  number  either  50  or  100  copies,  as  he  may  be  directed,  of  all  docu- 
ments printed  by  either  House  of  Congress  or  by  any  Department  or  bureau  of  the 
Government. ' ' 

Resolution  No.  72,  second  session  Fortieth  Congress  (approved  July  25,  1868)— a 
resolution  to  carry  into  effect  the  resolution  approved  March  2,  1867,  providing  for 
the  exchange  of  certain  public  documents — specifies: 

"  That  the  Congressional  Printer,  whenever  he  shall  be  so  directed  by  the  Joint 
Committee  on  the  Library,  be,  and  he  hereby  is,  directed  to  print  50  copies,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  number,  of  all  documents  hereafter  printed  by  order  of  either 
House  of  Congress  or  by  order  of  any  Department  or  bureau  of  the  Government,  and 
whenever  he  shall  be  so  directed  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  100  copies 
additional  of  all  documents  ordered  to  be  printed  in  excess  of  the  usual  number; 
said  50  or  100  copies  to  be  delivered  to  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  to  be  exchanged, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  as  provided  by  joint 
resolution  approved  March  2,  1867." 

The  third  series  (the  memoirs,  monographs  or  special  reports  published  by  the 
Executive  Departments  and  bureaus  of  the  Government)  is  provided  for  by  section 
2  of  the  (above)  joint  resolution  No.  72  (second  session  Fortieth  Congress,  approved 
July  25,  1868) — a  resolution  to  carry  into  effect  the  resolution  approved  March  2, 
1867,  providing  for  the  exchange  of  certain  public  documents — as  follows: 

"And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  50  copies  of  each  publication  printed  under  the 
direction  of  any  Department  or  bureau  of  the  Government,  whether  at  the  ifougres- 
sional  Printing  Office  or  elsewhere,  shall  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee on  the  Library,  to  carry  out  the  provision  of  said  resolution." 
Subsequent  to  this  resolution  becoming  a  law,  the  Hon.  E.  D.  Morgan,  Chairman 


976  CONGEESSIONAL    PKOCEEDLNGS. 

of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  Public 
Printer,  J.  D,  Defrees,  esq. : 

"WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  24,  1868. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  call  your  attention  to  the  provisions  of  the  resolution  of 
Congress  inclosed,  approved  July  25,  1868,  and  to  request  that  the  50  copies  of  all 
documents  now  being  printed  and  hereafter  to  be  printed  at  the  Congressional  Print- 
ing Office,  whether  by  order  of  either  House  of  Congress  or  any  of  the  Departments 
or  bureaus  of  the  Government,  be  furnished  by  you,  as  fast  as  each  edition  is  printed 
and  bound,  to  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  for  the  purpose  specified  in  the  resolution. 

"I  would  also  request  that  of  the  Patent  Office  report  and  Agricultural  report  now 
being  printed  100  copies  additional  (or  150  copies  in  all)  be  delivered  to  the  Libra- 
rian for  the  purpose  indicated. 

"L\   BEHALF   OF   THE   JOINT    COMMITTEE   ON   THE   LIBRARY." 

September  22,  1869,  the  Librarian  of  Congress  addressed  the  Public  Printer  on  the 
subject  of  books  required  by  law  for  the  international  exchange  of  official  docu- 
ments, as  follows: 

' '  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. ,  September  22,  1869, 

"  Your  attention  is  respectfully  called  to  the  provisions  of  the  resolution  of  Con- 
gress, approved  July  25,  1868,  requiring  the  Congressional  Printer  to  furnish  to  the 
Librarian  of  Congress  50  copies  of  all  documents,  printed  under  whatever  authority, 
for  the  purpose  of  exchanging  the  same  for  the  publications  of  forejgn  Governments, 
which  are  to  be  deposited  in  this  Library. 

"  The  official  direction  from  the  chairman  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library 
to  print  and  deliver  these  documents  required  by  the  resolution  was  communicated 
to  your  predecessor,  Mr.  J.  D.  Defrees,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1868.  (See  letter  of 
Hon.  E.  D.  Morgan,  chairman,  of  that  date.)  The  only  reply  received  was  a  verbal 
one  from  Mr.  Defrees  to  the  undersigned  th/it  the  documents  should  be  regularly 
forwarded,  and  that  the  150  copies  (50  regu'ar  and  100  extra)  of  the  Agricultural  and 
Patent  Office  reports  for  1867,  then  on  the  press,  would  also  be  supplied.  Not  having 
received  any  documents  whatever  under  thiil  act  of  Congress,  and  the  purpose  of  the 
same  being  to  enrich  the  Library  with  as  large  a  number  and  variety  of  the  docu- 
ments of  foreign  Governments  as  can  be  procured  in  exchange  for  our  own,  you  are 
requested  to  have  placed  at  my  disposal  50  copies  of  each  book,  pamphlet,  circular, 
army  order,  or  other  publication,  by  whatever  authority  printed,  and  100  copies 
additional  of  all  documents  printed  in  excess  of  the  usual  number,  to  enable  me  to 
carry  out  the  resolution  of  Congress  referred  to. ' ' 

And  again,  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  on  the  part  of  the  Public  Printer,  the  following 
communication  was  addressed  to  that  officer  September  30, 1869: 

"WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  September  30,  1869. 

"In  reference  to  the  documents,  not  of  Congress,  but  of  the  Departments  and 
bureaus  of  the  Government,  of  which  50  copies  are  required  by  resolution  of  Con- 
gress to  be  furnished  to  the  Library  for  international  exchange,  I  have  to  say  that 
all  such  documents  as  are  printed  at  the  public  expense  ( with  the  single  exception  of 
printed  instructions  or  confidential  official  communications)  are  important  and  will 
properly  be  furnished.  The  foreign  Governments  with  which  the  exchanges  are 
made  furnish  us  with  great  fullness  the  specially  printed  documents  they  print  in 
each  department  of  their  public  service,  and  it  is  desired  to  make  a  return  in  kind." 

Owing  to  the  failure  of  the  Public  Printer  to  comply  with  those  portions  of  the 
law  relating  to  the  second  and  third  series  of  the  United  States  official  publications — 
the  anViual  reports  of  the  Executive  Departments  and  bureaus  of  the  Government 
and  the  memoirs,  monographs,  and  special  reports  published  by  the  Executive 
Departments  and  bureaus  of  the  Government  (although  occasionally  some  few  of  the 
works  of  these  classes  have  been  received)— a  circular  letter  was  addressed  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  on  the  15th  of  February,  1884,  to  all  the  Departments  and 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  977 

LTto  °f   h^  t^TS"?  *******  ^P61**'  in  compliance  with  the  existing 
laws,  to  enable  the  Institution,  as  agent  of  the  Government,  to  r^rrv  ™t  « 


to  carry  ou    the  prov 


desirabmty  of  a  -^  pro"ion  for  the 


men- 
as 


Appended  to  the  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of  Febru- 
ary, 1884,  is  a  list  of  the  more  important  documents  not  furnished  to  the  Smithso- 
nian Institution,  although  they  are  embraced  in  the  series  intended  by  Congress  for 
exchange  purposes. 

Among  thedocumente  not  furnisKed  by  the  Public  Printer  may  again  be 
tioned  the  following,  assuming  series  1  (the  Congressional  issue)  to  be  complete 
delivered  —  although  even  therein  are  many  deficiencies: 

Series  II.—  The  annual  reports  of  the  Executive  Departments  and  bureaus  of  the 
Government,  together  with  the  papers  accompanying  such  reports.  (Sec.  3796  Rev 
Stat,  and  resolution  No.  72,  second  session,  Fortieth  Congress.) 

Series  III.—  The  memoirs,  monographs,  or  special  reports  published  by  the  Execu- 
tive Departments  or  bureaus  of  the  Government,  whether  printed  at  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office  or  elsewhere.  (Sec.  2,  resolution  No.  72,  second  session,  Fortieth 
Congress.  ) 

This  last  series  comprises  among  many  others  the  following  valuable  publications: 
Patent  Office— 

Official  Gazette:  Thirty-two  volumes  published. 

Specifications  and  drawings:  Two  hundred  volumes  published  since  1872. 
Growth  of  Industrial  Art:  Two  volumes,  folio.     Of  this  last  named  work  only 
50  copies  were  printed,  although  the  law  (Sec.  2,  resolution  No.  72,  second 
session,  Fortieth  Congress;    Stat.,  vol.  15,  p.  261)   distinctly  provides  that 
"50  copies  of  each  publication    *    *    *    whether  at  the  Congressional  Print- 
ing Office  or  elsewhere,  shall  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Joint  Committee." 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey  — 

Bulletins:  Twenty-four  numbers  issued. 

Monographs:  Eight  volumes  issued;  only  Volume  II  and  atlas  received.  A  let- 
ter was  addressed  to  the  Director  of  the  Survey  February  15,  1884,  claiming  50 
copies  of  all  the  publications  of  that  office  for  exchange  purposes  under  the 
law.  In  reply  the  Director  stated,  February  26,  1884:  "Under  the  law  of 
March  2,  1867,  50  copies  of  everything  published  by  us  should  be  sent  to  the 
Library  of  Congress  and  thence  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  the  Public 
Printer,  and  such  copies  are  reserved  for  that  purpose  and  do  not  come  into 
our  possession.  Under  the  statute  relating  to  the  publication  of  the  mono- 
graphs of  the  Geological  Survey  it  would  be  impossible  to  spare  any  copies 
from  the  3,000  received  by  this  office,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  necessary  for  the 
Survey  to  render  an  account  of  its  publications,  either  as  sold,  exchanged,  or 
on  hand." 

The  law  cited  before,  setting  aside  50  copies  for  exchange  purposes,  would  fully 
justify  the  Director  of  the  Survey  to  furnish  the  50  copies  as  required  by  the 
law  (sec.  2,  resolution  No.  72,  second  session  Fortieth  Congress)  and  charge 
the  same  as  exchanges,  provided  for  by  law. 

Powell's  Survey  — 

Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology:  Only  volumes  1,  3,  and  4  received. 

Pilling5  s  "Proof  Sheets"  of  North  American  Languages:  Of  this  only  100  copies 

were  printed,  and  the  designation  "proof  sheets"  is  evidently  a  misnomer. 

The  work  is  prefaced  by  the  author  as  well  as  by  Major  Powell,  who  calls  the 

work  "a  volume."     Said  volume  (proof  sheets)  is  printed  on  both  sides  of  the 

H.  Doc.  732  -  62 


978  CONGBESSIONAL    PBOCEEDINGS. 

paper,  is  paged  consecutively,  is  indexed,  bound,  and  provided  with  an  appen- 
dix, and  from  these  considerations  constitutes  a  volume,  but  not  "  proof  sheets. ' ' 
It  was  published — to  form,  after  being  revised  and  reprinted,  the  tenth  volume 
of  the  Contributions  to  North  American  Ethnology — at  public  expense,  printed 
at  the  Government  Printing  Office,  hence  it  should  come  under  the  law  [sec. 
2  (resolutions  to  carry  into  effect  the  resolution  approved  March  2,  1867,  for 
the  exchange  of  certain  public  documents)  of  resolution  No.  72,  second  session 
Fortieth  Congress]  which  directs  that  50  copies  should  be  furjiished  for  inter- 
national exchanges. 
Tenth  Cenms  of  the  United  States— 

Monographs:  Not  one  single  volume  of  these  has  been  received  under  Section  III 

of  the  Government  publications,  as  prescribed  by  law. 
Fish  Commission — 

Bulletins:  Volumes  1-4. 
State  Department — 

Consular  reports:  There  are  now  published  more  than  50  of  these  reports,  but 

only  the  first  22  have  been  received  for  international  exchanges. 
Publications  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey — 

Nothing  received. 
American  and  Foreign  Claims  Commission — 

French,  Haiti,  Spain,  Alabama,  etc.,  of  neither  of  which  one  single  work  has 
been  received,  and  in  fact  all  the  publications  of  the  Departments  and  Bureaus 
of  the  Government  as  independent  series,  although  they  may  have  been  fur- 
nished as  Congressional  (miscellaneous)  documents,  which,  however,  consti- 
tute a  distinct  series  in  themselves. 
March  15,  1886. 

Convention  between  the  United  States,  Belgium,  Brazil,  Italy,  Por- 
tugal, Serbia,  Spain,  aiid  Switzerland  for  the  international  exchange 
of  official  documents,  scientific  and  literary  publications,  concluded  at 
Brussels  March  15,  1886. 

(See  Ratification  by  the  President,  July  19,  1888,  and  Proclamation 
of  the  President,  January  15,  1889.) 
(Stat.  XXV,  1465.) 

INTERNATIONAL    EXCHANGES — ESTIMATES. 

December  7,  1885 — House. 

Estimates  for  1887. 

For  expenses  of  the  system  of  international  exchanges  between  the 
United  States  and  foreign  countries,  under  the  direction  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $10,000. 

For  payment  to  Smithsonian  Institution  for  freight  on  Observatory 
publications  sent  to  foreign  countries,  $136. 

December  9,  1886— House. 

Estimates  for  1888. 

For  expenses  of  the  system  of  international  exchanges  between  the 
United  States  and  foreign  countries,  including  salaries  or  compensa- 
tion of  all  necessary  employees,  $15,000. 

NOTE. — The  business  of  exchanges  has  increased  during  the  last  year  fully  33  per 
cent,  and  since  the  appropriation  was  first  established  at  $10,000,  50  per  cent. 


FOKTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  979 

January  10,  1887. 

In  letter  of  S.  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
to  Senate  Committee  on  Appropriations: 

For  expenses  of  the  system  of  international  exchanges  between  the  United  States 
and  foreign  countries,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees, 
from  $10,000  to  $12,500;  original  estimate,  $15,000. 

Deferring  to  the  judgment  of  the  House  Committee  on  Appropriations,  I  have  not 
asked  for  the  full  amount  of  the  estimates,  but  have  reduced  them  to  the  lowest  sum 
that  I  think  can  be  made  to  do  justice  to  the  service  in  question;  nor  have  I  asked 
for  the  renewal  of  items  that  have  been  omitted  entirely. 
April  22,1886—  Senate. 

Mr.  William  J.  Sewell,  from  Committee  on  the  Library,  reported  an 
amendment  to  the  legislative  bill  for  1887: 

For  the  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents  for  the  publications  of  foreign 
Governments,  $2,000. 

(No  final  action  was  taken.) 

INTERNATIONAL  EXCHANGES  —  APPROPRIATIONS. 

July  31,  1886 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1887. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  Governments,  $1,500. 

(Stat.  XXIV,  177.) 

(This  pays  one  clerk  at  $900  and  one  clerk  at  $600.) 

Naval  Observatory:  For  payment  to  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
freight  on  Observatory  publications  sent  to  foreign  countries,  $136. 

(Stat.  XXIV,  198.) 

Patent  Office:  For  purchase  of  books  for  the  scientific  library  and 
expenses  of  transporting  publications  of  patents  issued  by  the  Patent 
Office,  to  foreign  Governments,  $3,000. 

(Stat.  XXIV,  201.) 
August  4,  1886. 


For  expenses  of  the  system  of  international  exchanges  between  the 
United  States  and  foreign  countries,  under  the  direction  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all 
employees,  $10,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  236.) 

War  Department:  For  the  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to 
foreign  countries,  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  249.) 

March  3,  1887. 


For  expenses  of  the  system  of  international  exchanges  between  the 
United  States  and  foreign  countries,  under  the  direction  oi 


980  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

sonian  Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $12,000. 

(Stat,  XXIV,  523.) 

War  Department:  For  the  transportation  of  reports  and  maps  to 
foreign  countries,  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $100. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  535.) 

March  3,  1887. 

Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  act  for  1888. 

Library  of  Congress:  For  expenses,  of  exchanging  public  documents 
for  the  publications  of  foreign  governments,  $1,500. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  600.) 

(This  pays  one  clerk  at  $900  and  one  clerk  at  $600.) 

Naval  Observatory:  For  payment  to  Smithsonian  Institution  for 
freight  on  Observatory  publications  sent  to  foreign  countries,  $136. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  621.) 

SMITHSONIAN    BUILDING — ESTIMATES. 

December  7,  1885— House. 

Estimates  for  1887. 

For  urgent  anoi  necessary  repairs  to  the  central  and  western  portions 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $5,000. 
December  9,  1886— \fouse. 

Estimates  for  1888. 

For  urgent  and  necessary  repairs  to  the  central  and  western  portions 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  building,  $15,000. 
December  11,  1886. 
Hon.  S.  J.  RANDALL, 

Chairman  House  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

SIR:  I  beg  to  explain  in  reference  to  the  estimate  for  fireproofing  a  portion  of  the 
Smithsonian  building  that  this  is  strictly  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  property 
of  the  United  States  which  is  exhibited  therein.  The  alcoholic  collection  of  reptiles, 
fishes,  marine  invertebrates,  etc.,  are  all  in  and  adjacent  to  this  range,  which  is  very 
combustible,  so  that  should  fire  break  out  it  would  not  only  burn  out  the  building, 
but  destroy  a  very  valuable  portion  of  the  National  Museum. 

The  Smithsonian  building  was  originally  erected  at  the  expense  of  the  Smithsonian 
fund  and  completed  about  1856,  after  which  it  was  occupied  almost  exclusively  by 
and  for  the  Museum,  only  the  eastern  range  and  wing  being  devoted  to  other  pur- 
poses. Congress  has  little  by  little  made  the  necessary  appropriations  for  fireproof- 
ing  the  defective  portions  of  the  building,  and  the  appropriation  asked  for  practically 
completes  the  work. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  unfortunately  has  no  funds  for  doing  such  unusual 
and  special  work,  its  income  being  all  required  for  the  established  routine  of  its  active 
operations.     The  balance  on  hand  June,  1885,  was  simply  the  amount  available  for 
carrying  on  the  Institution  for  the  following  six  months. 
Respectfully,  yours, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  981 

SMITHSONIAN   BUILDING— APPROPRIATIONS. 

March  3,  1887. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1888. 

For  urgent  and  necessary  repairs  to  central  and  western  portions  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  building,  $15,000 
(Stat.,  XXIV,  512.) 

BUREAU   OF  ETHNOLOGY— ESTIMATES. 

December  7,  1885— House. 

Estimates  for  1887. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $50,000. 
December  9,  1886— House. 

Estimates  for  1888. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary- 
employees,  $50,000. 

BUREAU   OF   ETHNOLOGY — APPROPRIATIONS. 

August  4,  1886. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1887. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $40,000. 

(Stat,  XXIV,  237.) 

March  3,  1887. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1888. 

For  the  purpose  of  continuing  ethnological  researches  among  the 
American  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $40,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  524.) 

BUREAU   OF   FINE   ARTS. 
December  10,  1885— Senate. 

Mr.  WILKINSON  CALL  introduced  a  bill  (S.  450): 

That  there  be,  and  is  hereby,  created  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  a  bureau 
called  the  Bureau  of  the  Fine  Arts,  the  management  of  which  is  intnuted  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 


982  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  purpose  and  duties  of  this  Bureau  shall  be  to  aid  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fine  arts  in  the  several  States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States,  by  the 
reproduction,  for  the  use  of  art  schools  and  academies,  of  casts  of  statuary  and  other 
objects  used  in  giving  instruction  in  art;  by  preparing  and  distributing  plans  for  the 
construction  of  buildings  and  the  adaption  of  rooms  suitable  for  use' as  art  schools, 
with  printed  plans  for  the  organization  of 'various  grades  of  art;  academies  and 
classes;  by  causing  to  be  held  annually  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  a  pub- 
lic exhibition  of  works  of  art,  open  to  all  desiring  to  exhibit,  in  which  the  fairest 
possible  opportunity  for  exposition  shall  be  afforded  all  contributors;  and  by  the 
publication  of  an  annual  register  containing  an  account  of  new  discoveries,  inven- 
tions, and  methods  of  instruction  useful  to  students  of  art,  together  with  a  report  of 
the  progress  of  the  fine  arts  in  the  United  States. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  reproductions  and  publications  of  the  Bureau  shall  be  distributed 
among  institutions  of  art,  under  such  regulations  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  may  establish. 

SEC.  4.  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  provide  suitable 
quarters  for  the  holding  of  the  annual  art  exhibition. 

SEC.  5.  That  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  operations  of  this  Bureau  there  be, 
and  is  hereby,  appropriated  for  the  fiscal  year  beginning  July  1,  1886,  the  sum  of 
$ ,  to  be  paid  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  Treas- 
ury not  otherwise  appropriated,  and  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 

NELSON'S  REPORT  ON  ALASKA.. 

January  18,  1886 — House. 

Mr.  RICHARD  W.  TOWNSHEND  introduced  a  concurrent  resolution 
to  print  reports  of  E.  W.  Nelson  and  L.  W.  Turner  on  Alaska. 

Referred. 
January  20,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  C.  F.  MANDERSON  introduced  a  concurrent  resolution  to  print 
Nelson's  report  on  Alaska. 

Referred. 
May  25,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  R.  HAWLEY,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  reported 
favorably  a  concurrent  resolution  referred  to  that  committee: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  report  on  Alaska,  by  E.  W.  Nelson,  be  printed,  with  the 
necessary  illustrations,  and  that  4,000  additional  copies  be  printed,  of  which  1,000 
copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  2;OOO  copies  for  the  use  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  1,000  copies  for  distribution  under  the  direction  of  the  Chief 
Signal  Officer  of  the  United  States  Army. 

The  President  pro  tempo  re  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN).  The  question  is 
on  the  adoption  of  the  resolution. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  B.  ALLISON.  I  see  that  the  resolution  includes  an 
appropriation  for  the  necessary  illustrations.  1  should  be  glad  to  be 
informed  on  that  point.  • 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  I  was  about  to  state  (the  inquiry  is  perfectly  proper) 
that  this  is  one  of  the  two  reports  sanctioned  by  the  Smithsonian 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  983 

Institution,  reports  made  by  officers  of  the  Signal  Service  under  .sci- 
entific instruction  from  the  Smithsonian.  Professor  Baird  places  a 
very  high  estimate  upon  them.  One  of  them  has  been  ordered  to  be 
printed  by  the  Senate.  This  one  costs  but  $1,500  for  the  whole 
number,  the  regular  number  and  the  additional  copies.  There  are 
some  illustrations,  but  not  expensive  ones. 

Mr.  P.  B.  PLUMB.  I  should  like  to  ask  the  Senator  from  Connecti- 
cut if  anybody  in  connection  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  writes 
anything  which  is  not  printed  at  public  expense  ? 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  That  is  an  indefinite  question.  I  am  unable  to  answer. 
I  suppose  whatever  they  write  that  is  valuable  gets  printed  either  by 
their  own  funds  or  by  the  vote  of  Congress. 

Mr.  PLUMB.  The  question  as  to  whether  it  is  valuable,  I  think,  if 
submitted  to  the  ordinary  test  applied  to  the  emanations  of  other  peo- 
ple, would  probably  be  decided  against  the  value  of  the  work  thai  is 
published.  I  do  not  know  myself  of  any  person  in  Government 
employ,  except  Senators  and  Members  of  Congress,  who  have  a  right 
to  write  anything  they  please  and  have  it  printed  at  the  Government 
Printing  Office.  I  should  like  to  hear  of  anybody  else.  If  any  per- 
son knows  of  anyone  who  is  authorized  thus  to  inflict  upon  the  taxing 
power  of  the  people  what  he  has  to  say,  I  should  like  to  hear  of  it. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  to  the 
resolution. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 
July  17,  1886— House. 

Passed. 

TURNER'S  REPORT  ON  ALASKA. 

January  20,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  C.  F.  MANDERSON  introduced  a  concurrent  resolution  to  pri 
report  of  L.  M.  Turner  on  Alaska. 

Referred. 
February  10,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  JOSEPH  R.  HAWLEY,  from  Committee  on  Printing,  reports 
concurrent  resolution: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  report  on  Alaska,  by  L.  M.  Turner,  be  printed  with  the 
necessary  illustrations,  and  that  4,000  additional  copies  be  printed,  of  which  1,OOC 
copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  2,000  copies  for  the  use  of  the  House  c 
Representatives,  and  1,000  copies  for  distribution  under  the  direction  of 
Signal  Officer  of  the  United  States  Army. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN).  Is  there  objec- 
tion to  the  present  consideration  of  the  resolution? 

Mr.  PRESTON  B.  PLUMB.  I  object. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  Senator  from  Kansas  objects 
the  present  consideration  of  the  resolution,  and  it  goes  over  under  the 
rules. 


984  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  Will  the  Senator  let  me  state  the  reasons  that  led  the 
committee  to  make  a  favorable  report  and  then  interpose  his  objection? 

Mr.  PLUMB.  Certainly. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  The  reports  which  the  committee  has  recommended 
to  be  printed  were  made  by  two  officers  of  the  Signal  Bureau  who 
were  sent  to  Alaska  upon  that  service,  but  for  certain  scientific  pur- 
poses were  placed  under  the  orders  and  instructions  of  Professor  Baird. 
The  first  prejudice  of  the  committee  was  against  printing  such  things, 
for  it  has  happened  before  that  when  gentlemen,  perhaps  well  qualified, 
were  stationed  in  similar  places  they  busied  themselves  at  odd  hours 
with  scientific  studies  and  made  reports  which  they  considered  very 
valuable  and  interesting,  as  perhaps  they  were,  and  then  were  very 
ambitious  to  have  the  Government  print  them.  We  were  inclined  at 
first  to  put  these  reports  into  that  general  class,  but  I  send  to  the  desk 
to  have  read  a  letter  of  Professor  Baird  concerning  them. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C. ,  January  16,  1886. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  your  letter  of  January  15,  in  reference  to 
the  reports  upon  the  natural  history  and  ethnology  of  northwestern  Alaska,  made 
by  Messrs.  E.  W.  Nelson  and  L.  M.  Turner,  meteorological  observers  in  that  country 
of  the  Signal  Service.  By  the  courtesy  of  the  Signal  Office  the  natural  history  labors 
of  these  gentlemen  were  prosecuted  under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, which  furnished  instructions  and  the  necessary  material  for  the  same,  while  the 
reports  of  these  gentlemen  were  prepared  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  collaborators  of  the  National  Museum. 

I  am,  therefore,  quite  ready  to  say  that  the  results  obtained  are  of  exceptional 
interest  and  value,  as  furnishing  the  only  accurate  and  reliable  information  at  our 
command  upon  the  vegetable,  animal,  and  mineral  resources  of  the  region,  the  pro- 
ductiveness and  character  of  the  soil,  and  other  points  of  great  practical  interest  in 
connection  with  the  future  of  that  country.  Detailed  notes  of  observations  of  their 
habits  and  life  characteristics  were  secured  by  these  gentlemen,  with  collections  of 
specimens  in  such  great  magnitude  and  variety  as  to  have  made  the  National  Museum 
preeminent  by  their  possession. 

The  publication  of  these  reports  is  therefore  extremely  desirable,  as  representing 
the  only  detailed  and  extended  information  at  our  command  of  a  large  region  belong- 
ing to  the  United  States. 
Very  respectfully, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD. 

Gen.  W.  B.  HAZEN,  Chief  Signal  Officer. 
May  U,  1886— Senate. 

Passed. 
May  18,  1886— House. 

Received  and  referred. 
June  23,  1886— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  M.  FARQUHAR,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  submit- 
ted a  report  (H.  3060)  to  accompany  Senate  concurrent  resolution 
of  January  20 : 

The  Committee  on  Printing,  to  whom  was  referred  the  accompany- 
ing Senate  concurrent  resolution,  providing  for  printing  the  report  on 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1£85-1887.  985 

Alaska,  by  L.  M.  Turner,  respectfully  report  the  same  hack  to  the 
House,  and  recommend  its  passage. 

The  value  of  the  report  recommended  to  be  printed  is  evidenced  by 
an  official  communication  from  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

[See  Senate  proceedings,  February  10, 1886.] 

The  estimated  cost  of  printing  the  4,000  copies  and  illustrations  is 
<{y±,556. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
July  17,  1886— House. 

Mr.  JOHN  M.  FARQUHAR  called  up  Senate  concurrent  resolution 
(Report  H.  3060)  providing  for  the  printing  of  the  report  on  Alaska 
by  L.  M.  Turner. 

Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL.  I  would  like  to  know  the  cost  of  printing  this 
report. 

Mr.  FARQUHAR.  I  ask  that  the  report  of  the  committee  be  read. 

The  report  (by  Mr.  Farquhar)  was  read. 

(See  House  proceedings,  June  23,  1886.) 

Mr.  R.  W.  DUNHAM.  I  desire  to  inquire  of  the  gentleman  from  New 
York  [Mr.  Farquhar]  why  it  is  necessary  to  furnish  the  Signal  Office 
with  1,000  copies  of  this  report. 

Mr.  FARQUHAR.  In  cases  of  this  kind  there  is  a  general  distribution, 
independently  of  the  copies  given  to  the  Senate  and  House,  to  all  these 
scientific  departments.  Very  often  Members  and  Senators,  after 
exhausting  their  own  reports,  can  only  obtain  copies  by  sending  to 
one  of  the  Departments  (as,  for  instance,  in  this  case  the  Signal  Office) 
for  any  overplus  copies  that  may  be  at  command.  This  is  the  plan,  I 
understand,  now  adopted,  in  lieu  of  the  old  system  of  laying  by  vol- 
umes for  sale.  The  surplus  copies  are  put  at  the  disposal  of  the 
bureau  that  is  concerned  in  sending  the  report  to  Congress.  I  can  not 
give  any  special  reason  why  there  should  be  a  greater  or  less  number 
given  to  these  bureaus. 

Mr.  ROGER  Q.  MILLS.  They  have  to  furnish  copies  of  their  reports 
to  a  great  many  correspondents  all  over  the  world,  from  whom  they  • 
receive  information  of  the  same  character.  I  have  talked  with  some 
officers  of  the  Government  in  reference  to  this  matter,  and  in  many 
cases  these  documents  are  distributed  all  over  Europe,  and  documents 
of  similar  character  are  received  in  return. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  Has  the  Signal  Office  been  instrumental  in  getting 
up  this  report? 

Mr.  FARQUHAR.  As  the  report  of  the  committee  states,  it  was 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Signal  Office  that  these  two  officers,  Mr. 
Turner  and  Mr.  Nelson,  gathered  all  the  matter  for  these  reports.  It 
is  stated  at  the  Signal  Office,  and  also  by  Professor  Baird,  that  the 
reports  of  these  two  gentlemen  are  the  most  complete  ever  made  on 


986  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Alaska;  and  they  are  made  with  the  sanction  of  the  Signal  Office. 
They  were  made  in  connection  with  the  Signal  Service. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  Within  the  scope  of  the  Signal  Service  duty. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  M.  SPRINGER.  Mr.  Speaker,  in  ordinary  cases  I  would 
object  to  printing  any  report  of  this  kind.  In  the  case  of  Alaska  it 
seems  to  me  almost  any  valuable  information  to  be  had  should  be 
printed  for  circulation  among  the  people.  It  has  come  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  one  of  the  committees  of  the  House  that  the  publications  on 
this  subject  heretofore  have  not  been  reliable;  that  there  were  persons 
in  Alaska  and  elsewhere  in  the  United  States  interested  in  giving  out 
incorrect  information  in  regard  to  that  Territory. 

I  have  been  informed  by  reliable  authority  that  Alaska  is  destined 
to  be  one  of  the  great  empire  States  in  the  Union  in  the  future,  and 
when  the  means  of  securing  accurate  information  is  provided  I  am  in 
favor  of  printing  that  information.  I  met  a  gentleman  who  spent  the 
winter  there,  and  he  told  me  he  never  spent  a  milder  winter  in  his 
life;  that  the  climate  was  almost  tropical  in  its  character;  that,  while 
he  said  nothing  of  bananas  growing  there  or  big  sunflowers  blooming, 
he  did  say  that  the  winter  in  its  mildness  was  extremely  enjoyable. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  Does  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  state  that  the  cli- 
mate in  Alaska  is  tropical  and  that  sunflowers  and  bananas  ripen  there? 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  I  do  not  know  what  the  report  of  the  committee 
states  in  regard  to  this  production,  but  I  do  hope  the  report  contains 
reliable  information  concerning  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  which  has 
beeft  so  much  misrepresented. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  Does  the  gentleman  say  sunflowers  bloom  there  ? 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  It  was  merely  stated  that  while  sunflowers  did  not 
bloom  there  and  bananas  did  not  ripen  there,  nevertheless  the  winter 
was  a  mild  one. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  I  know  that  oats  do  not  ripen  there  at  all. 

Mr.  SPRINGER.  I  am  willing  to  spend  $4,000  for  the  publication  of 
this  report.  The  fish  industry  of  Alaska  is  exceedingly  important.  It 
is  said  that  a  gentleman  wishing  to  cross  the  mouth  of  a  river  in  Alaska 
was  unable  to  do  so  in  his  canoe  because  the  salmon  were  so  thick. 

Mr.  ETHELBERT  BARKSDALE.  After  this  most  voluminous  exposition 
of  the  report,  I  have  no  doubt  the  House  is  willing  to  vote.  I  there- 
fore demand  the  previous  question. 

The  previous  question  was  ordered,  and  the  concurrent  resolution 
was  adopted. 

REPORT   OF   THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION. 

January  21,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  33): 

Resolved  by  the  Senate,  etc.,  That  hereafter  there  be  printed  of  the  annual  reports  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  of  the  National  Museum,  in  two  octavo  volumes, 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  987 

annually,  16,000  extra  copies,  of  which  3,000  copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Sen- 
ate, 6,000  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  7,000  for  the  use  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  10,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  R.  HAWLEY.  From  the  Committee  on  Printing  I  report  the 
joint  resolution  (S.  33)  to  provide  for  printing  the  annual  reports 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  of  the  National  Museum,  with  a 
substitute  in  the  form  of  a  concurrent  resolution,  and  upon  that  being 
read  I  shall  move  the  indefinite  postponement  of  the  original  joint 
resolution. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN).  The  Committee 
on  Printing  reports  a  concurrent  resolution  in  the  nature  of  a  substi- 
tute for  the  joint  resolution.  The  concurrent  resolution  will  be  read. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  there  be  printed  of  the  last  annual  reports  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  and  of  the  National  Museum,  in  two  octavo  volumes,  16,000  extra  copies 
of  each,  of  which  3,000  copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  6,000  copies  for  the 
use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  7,000  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  to  the 
concurrent  resolution. 

Mr.  HAWLEY.  I  should  like  to  put  on  record  a  very  brief  state- 
ment. We  changed  the  resolution  in  another  respect.  It  was  a  joint 
resolution  and  we  made  it  a  concurrent  resolution,  but  the  original 
resolution  provided  that  there  shall  hereafter  be  printed  these  reports 
annually.  The  committee  thinks  it  better  to  adhere  to  the  old  usage 
and  bring  all  these  matters  under  an  annual  revision,  and  we  changed 
it  so  as  to  provide  for  printing  only  the  reports  now  presented. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  Senate  joint  resolution  No.  33  will  be 
indefinitely  postponed,  if  there  be  no  objection. 
March  8,  1886— House. 

Mr.   ETHELBERT  BARKSDALE,  from  the  Committee  on    ] 
reported  favorably  the  Senate  concurrent  resolution  of  February  H». 

1886. 

The  estimated  cost  of  printing  and  binding  the  above-i 
reports  was  $15,917.28. 

July  17,  1886— House. 
Passed. 

January  10,  1887— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORRILL  submitted  a  concurrent  resolution  to  print  16,OO 
extra  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  of  the 
National  Museum  for  1886,  in  two  octavo  volumes,  3,000  for  the  Sen- 
ate, 6,000  for  the  House,  and  7,000  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 


988  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

February  25,  1887— Senate. 

Passed. 

March  2,  1887— House. 
Passed. 

CAPRON  JAPANESE  COLLECTION. 

February  8,  1886 — Senate. 
Mr.  DANIEL  W.  VOORHEES  submitted  a  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Library  be,  and  is  hereby,  instructed  to 
inquire  into  the  propriety  and  expediency  of  purchasing  for  the  Government  the 
collection  of  Japanese  specimens,  works,  and  objects  of  art  made  by  the  late  Gen. 
Horace  Capron  during  a  long  actual  residence  in  Japan,  and  left  by  him,  in  his  life- 
time, on  deposit  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  and  that  said  committee  shall  report 
on  the  subject  by  bill  or  otherwise. 

Agreed  to. 

Mr.  VOORHEES.  I  ask  that  a  descriptive  catalogue  of  the  collection 
may  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN).  If  there  be  no 
objection  it  will  be  so  referred. 
March  4,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  DANIEL  W.  VOORHEES,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library, 
submitted  a  report  (S.  196),  accompanied  by  a  bill  (S.  1772): 

That  the  sum  of  $10,000  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated,  out  of  any 
money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  for  the  purchase  of  ' '  the  Capron 
collection  of  Japanese  works  of  art,"  now  on  temporary  deposit  in  the  National 
Museum  at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

June  18,  1886— Senate. 

The  bill  (S.  1772)  was  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  B.  ALLISON.  Let  the  report  be  read. 

In  the  matter  of  the  purchase  of  "the  Capron  collection  of  Japanese 
works  of  art,"  now  on  temporary  deposit  in  the  National  Museum, 
referred  by  resolution  of  the  Senate  to  the  Committee  on  the  Library, 
that  committee  reports  a  bill  for  the  purchase  of  the  same. 

Your  committee  also  reports  the  letter  of  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  Director  of  the  IT.  S.  National 
Museum,  together  with  the  letter  of  G.  Brown  Goode,  assistant 
director,  on  the  subject  of  said  collection. 

U.  S.  National  Museum,  under  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

WASHINGTON,  February  26,  1886. 

SIR:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  communication  asking  my  opinion  as  to  the  probable 
value  of  the  Capron  collection  of  Japanese  works  of  art,  and  as  to  the  desirability  of 
their  purchase.  I  have  requested  one  of  my  assistants  to  examine  the  collection, 
and  inclose  herewith  his  report. 

The  Capron  collection  is  an  interesting  one,  and  is  constantly  increasing  in  value. 
In  fact,  several  of  the  articles  included  could  probably  not  be  readily  obtained  else- 
where. In  view,  therefore,  of  the  fact  that  Japanese  art  is  undergoing  great  deteri- 


FOETY-NINTH   CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  989 

I  am,  sjr,  yours,  very  respectfully, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution 

Hon.  W.  J.  SEWELL,  **  *****  U'  &  Nati(mal  Mugeum' 

Chairman  Joint  Library  Committee,  United  States  Senate. 

U.  S.  National  Museum,  under  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

WASHINGTON,  February  2S,  1886 

SIR:  Pursuant  to  your  instructions,  I  have  carefully  examined  the  collection '  of 
Japanese  works  of  art  belonging  to  the  estate  of  the  late  Gen.  Horace  Capron   with 
the  view  of  estimating  its  desirability  for  the  use  of  the  National  Museum,  and  of 
forming  an  idea  of  its  commercial  value,  and  have  the  honor  to  report  as  follows- 
Ihe  collection,  in  connection  with  similar  objects  already  the  property  of  the  Mu 
urn,  would  be  extremely  serviceable,  and  I  should  hope  that  it  may  be  possible  to 


The  lacquered  objects  are  the  most  valuable,  particularly  the  four  which  bear  the 
crest  of  one  of  the  families  of  shoguns— the  Tokagawa  family,  if  my  memory  serves 
me  right.  These  I  estimate  at  $3,000.  There  are  also  about  twenty  pieces  of  smaller 
size,  many  of  them  of  great  age  and  fine  quality.  These  are  probably  worth  $1  000 
Total  for  lacquer,  $4,000. 

The  bronzes  are  46  in  number,  5  being  of  large  size.     I  place  their  value  at  $3,500. 

There  are  also  2  pieces  in  silver  bronze  and  1  in  gold  bronze,  representing  birds 
and  flowers,  which  I  place  at  $1,100. 

There  are  37  carvings  of  ivory,  estimated  worth  $700,  and  10  carvings  in  wood,  at 

qpOUO. 

The  porcelains  and  enamels  are  worth,  perhaps,  $1,025.  The  armor,  lance,  and 
sword,  $400.  The  large  pictorial  screens,  albums,  and  scrolls,  $450.  Tils  makes  a 
total  of  $11,675. 

There  is  also  the  collection  of  coins,  containing  63  pieces;  35  of  them  are  of  gold, 
and  weigh  about  600  grams.  I  am  told  that  an  expert  from  New  York  appraised 
this  collection  as  worth  $5,000.  I  think  it  may  safely  be  considered  worth  $3,000, 
although  I  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  value  of  Japanese  coins. 

The  estimates  thus  amount  to  $14,675.  I  may  add  that  there  has  been  an  enor- 
mous increase  in  the  value  of  such  objects  since  the  collection  was  first  deposited  in 
the  Museum,  and  that  the  figures  here  presented  are  nearly  double  what  I  should 
have  thought  it  proper  to  submit  under  similar  circumstances  five  years  ago.  I  have 
not,  of  course,  a  dealer's  familiarity  with  values,  but  am  tolerably  well  acquainted 
with  the  subject  under  consideration,  and  do  not  believe  that  my  estimates  are  too 
high.  That  they  are  not  too  low,  particularly  in  the  case  of  the  lacquers,  I  am  not 
at  all  positive. 

Yours,  very  respectfully,  G.  BROWN  GOODE, 

Assistant  Director. 

Prof.  SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  » 

Director  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


990  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

A  revised  descriptive  catalogue  of  the  foregoing  collection  is  also 
submitted  as  a  part  of  this  report. 

Descriptive  catalogue  (revised)  of  Gen.  Horace  Capron's  collection  of  specimens  of  antique 
Japanese  ivorks  of  art,  temporarily  deposited  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  SmitJisonian 
Institution. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In  Japan,  the  love  of  art  has  penetrated  even  to  the  lowest  classes  of  the  people. 
Their  fancies,  conceits,  poetry,  puns,  legends,  and  mythology  are  all  "expressed  in 
characteristic  forms  of  art,  such  as  are  enumerated  in  the  collection  herein  described. 
Instead  of  ink  and  paper,  or  paint  and  canvas,  the  artists  have  selected,  as  their 
mediums  of  expression,  porcelain,  lacquer  work,  screens,  embroidery,  ivory,  and 
crystal. 

This  rare  and  original  collection  was  made  by  General  Capron  during  a  long  resi- 
dence in  Japan,  which  covered  a  period  of  the  greatest  interest  in  the  history  of  that 
Empire,  embracing  as  it  did  the  closing  scenes  of  a  revolution  which  terminated  in 
the  abolition  of  the  feudal  system,  thereby  forcing  the  Daimios  and  princes  of  the 
Empire  to  offer  for  sale  vast  treasures  in  the  way  of  rare  art  productions  of  the  days 
of  Japan's  greatest  prosperity  and  unrivaled  proficiency,  specimens  of  which  had 
been  sacredly  guarded  for  centuries.  It  was  from  such  sources  that  this  collection 
was  taken. 

The  numerous  legends  herein  recorded  were  gathered  from  the  people  during 
actual  residence  among  them,  and  subsequently  corrected  and  elaborated,  reference 
for  the  purpose  being  had  to  Prof.  W.  E.  Griffis's  works,  The  Mikado's  Empire 
(Harpers,  JNew  York),  Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation  (Scribners,  New  York),  Japanese 
Fairy  World  (J.  H.  Barhyte,  Schenectady,  New  York),  and  to  Audesley  and  Bowe's, 
The  Keramic  Art  of  Japan. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  lacquered  work  of  the  collection  was  taken  from  the 
private  stores  of  the  Tycoons,  which  were  confiscated  at  the  close  of  their  reign  by  the 
Mikado's  Government.  These  pieces  bear  the  armorial  insignia  of  the  princely  fam- 
ilies in  which  they  have  been  treasured  for  centuries.  Other  specimens  in  this 
collection  were  derived  from  imperial  sources  as  presents.  The  peculiar  significance 
of  the  combinations  of  plants  and  birds  in  these  pieces  will  be  found  in  the  notes 
appended  to  this  catalogue. 

All  the  articles  embraced  in  this  collection  were  secured  before  any  attempt  had 
been  made  to  imitate  these  rare  and  unrivaled  works  of  Old  Japan,  and  the  substitu- 
tion of  gamboge,  tinfoil,  and  other  combinations  for  pure  gold  used  in  the  decorations 
of  these  antiques. 

The  time  required  to  produce  a  first-class  lacquered  specimen  was  formerly  from 
four  to  six  years.  The  longer  the  time  given  to  each  coating  the  harder  and  more 
durable  it  becomes.  From  six  to  eight  and  even  twenty  coats  of  lacquer  are  neces- 
sary for  the  best  work,  applied  at  intervals  of  from  four  to  six  months;  hence  the 
worthlessness  of  the  lacquer  productions  of  the  present  period. 

In  their  ceramic  products,  likewise,  especially  the  Satsuma  faience,  time  or  labor 
under  the  old  dynasties  were  not  considered,  and  during  the  existence  of  the  Satsuma 
princes  in  full  power  the  pure  specimens  of  their  potter's  work,  now  so  rare,  were 
made  without  regard  to  cost.  These  were  never  designed  to  be  sold,  but  were  made 
to  serve  as  presents  among  the  princes  and  rulers  of  the  Empire.  No  such  ware  is 
made  at  the  present  time  worthy  the  attention  of  foreign  purchasers.  The  Satsuma 
faience  in  this  collection  was  procured  when  the  lords  of  Satsuma  were  wealthy  and 
and  in  the  height  of  their  power. 

No.  1.  The  cock  on  the  drum  is  often  chosen  by  the  artist  in  cloisonne",  lacquer, 
porcelain,  and  bronze.  It  is  a  symbol  of  good  government  and  a  peaceful  state  of 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  991 


the  great  drum  is  the  result.     By  such  simple  means  ar^reat  eS  remlm^i  an 
ancient  customs  transmitted  for  ages. 

KLABORATELY    CARVED    IVORIES. 

No.  2.  Medicine  chest. 

No.  3.  An  elaborately  carved  ivory  cylinder,  exhibiting  a  religious  procession 
winding  up  a  hill  through  bowers  of  trees  and  flowers. 
No.  4.  Cigar  case. 

No.  5.  Fukuroku  Jm.-Fukuroku  Jin  is  one  of  the  seven  gods  of  happiness  and  the 
patron  of  long  life  and  prosperity.  He  is  represented  with  a  cheerful  countenance 
and  long  flowing  beard,  and  is  usually  accompanied  by  a  crane  or  stork,  which  is  the 
symbol  of  longevity,  and  said  to  live  ten  thousand  years.  Everyone  likes  Fukuroku 
Jin,  and  wants  to  get  his  favor  and  live  long.  Children  are  amused  by  him.  He  is 
mostly  seen  at  weddings,  with  his  long  white  hair  and  pleasant  smile.  (Jap  Fairy 
World,  p.  78. ) 

No.  6.  Akechi.— This  figure,  it  is  believed,  is  intended  to  represent  Akechi,  who 
assassinated  Nobunaga  Kioto  in  1558-1560.  He  was  a  stern,  proud  man.  Not  liking 
the  familiar  manner  in  which  Nobunaga,  in  a  merry  mood,  at  a  feast  at  his  own 
castle,  seized  Akechi  around  the  neck  and  made  a  drum  of  his  head  by  drumming 
on  it  with  a  fan,  he  determined  upon  revenge.  This  he  accomplished  by  surprising 
Nobunaga  in  his  palace  at  Kioto.  (The  Mikado's  Empire,  p.  231.) 

No.  7.  Kiyomori.—  This  tall  figure  of  a  warrior  in  a  passion— in  white  ivory—  ia 
Kiyomori,  who  caused  the  death  by  assassination  of  Yoshitomo.  In  1159  he  con- 
ceived a  plan  for  the  complete  extermination  of  the  Miame  tos,  which  was  centered 
in  the  children  of  Tokiwa,  the  concubine  of  Yoshitomo.  (The  Mikado's  Empire,  p. 
121. )  Tokiwa  is  represented  in  an  ivory  group  of  a  mother  and  her  three  little 
chidren,  fleeing  for  safety  through  the  snow.  For  the  interesting  history  of  her 
escape  from  his  wrath,  and  the  eventual  restoration  of  her  family  to  power,  see 
legend  attached  to  that  group  of  ivory,  No.  24. 

No.  8.  The  ivory  figure  with  goggle  eyes  and  distorted  countenance  is  one  of  the 
thunder  gods.  They  are  seen  standing  on  either  side  of  the  main  entrance  to 
Buddhist  temples.  They  are  of  colossal  size,  and  the  more  hideous  the  better. 

No.  9.  A  beautiful  carved  representation  of  a  brave  man  who  killed  a  serpent  which 
for  a  long  time  had  infested  his  neighborhood. 

No.  11.  Represents  a  citizen  of  the  third  class  in  holiday  dress. 
No.  12.  Represents  a  lady  of  the  third  class  in  holiday  dress. 
No.  13.    Yoritomo. — This  elaborate  carving  hi    ivory  represents  one  of  Japan's 
greatest  heroes.     He  was  of  the  Minamoto  family,  and  lived  in  the  twelfth  century. 
Japanese  history  is  filled  with  his  heroic  exploits.     In  his  younger  life  he  was  a 
"Prince  Hal,"  and  in  his  after  life  he  became  a  "Bluff  King  Harry,"  barring  his 
polygamic  tendencies.     (Chap,  xiv,  The  Mikado's  Empire. ) 

No.  14.  Kai  Riu  0. — (The  god  with  a  black  ball  in  one  hand,  white  in  the  other.) 
This  figure  represents  the  god  of  the  sea,  who  is  in  the  act  of  raising  a  tempest  in  the 
sea  by  rolling  a  black  ball,  or  smoothing  it  down  by  rolling  the  white  ball.  (Japanese 
Fairy  World,  p.  273:  The  Jewels  of  the  Ebbing  and  the  Flowing  Tide.) 


992  CONGKESSIONAL    PEOCEEDINGS,' 

No.  15.  Hideyoshi. — Hideyoshi,  born  of  a  peasant  family  in  1536,  was  represented 
as  a  cunning,  reckless  boy,  at  one  time  a  "betto"  (groom).  He  grew  up  a  man  of 
war  and  a  successful  soldier.  He  first  reduced  the  daimios  to  submission,  and  then 
sent  his  generals  Konishi  and  Kato  Kiyomasa,  to  invade  Korea,  which  he  made 
tributary  to  Japan.  Hideyoshi  was  one  of  Japan's  ablest  rulers.  He  died  in  1598. 
(See  Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation. ) 

No.  17.  Kato  Kiyomasa. — This  figure  is  supposed  to  represent  Kato  Kiyomasa,  who 
commanded  one  wing  of  Hideyoshi' s  army  in  the  Korean  expedition  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  It  was  he  that  instigated  the  cutting  off  of  the  ears  of  the  Koreans 
killed  in  battle.  The  ears  of  10,000  Koreans  killed  in  one  battle  were  cut  off  and 
preserved  in  salt,  or  sake,  and  carried  back  to  Japan.  In  the  city  of  Kioto  stands 
to  this  day  a  barrow — Mimidzuka,  or  Ear  Monument — under  which  are  entombed 
the  ears  of  the  10,000  Korean  warriors.  (The  Mikado's  Empire,  p.  245.) 

No.  18  represents  an  ancient  warrior  in  full  armor.  Japanese  armor  is  made  of 
steel  and  lacquered  paper,  laced  with  silk  cords. 

No.  19.  Lu  Wen,  the  Japanese  Rip  Van  Winkle. — This  woodman  one  day  shouldered 
his  own  ax  and  started  for  the  woods  to  procure  his  winter's  supply  of  fuel,  but  was 
beguiled  by  a  large  fox  a  long  distance  up  the  mountain,  when  suddenly  he  came 
upon  two  beautiful  ladies  seated  upon  the  ground  playing  checkers.  Lu  Wen  stopped 
and  wondered,  but  the  ladies  took  no  notice  of  him,  continuing  their  game,  not  even 
asking  him  to  play  with  them.  At  last  Lu  Wen  bethought  himself  of  his  home  and 
family  and  the  necessity  for  his  preparation  of  his  winter's  wood.  Turning  back  he 
went  off  down  the  mountain,  but  his  cabin  was  gone.  The  venerable  rocks  were 
there,  but  a  strange  people  surrounded  them;  the  children  mocked,  the  dogs  barked 
at  him;  no  one  knew  him  and  he  knew  no  one.  His  long  white  beard  swept  the 
ground  and  his  strange  appearance  excited  wonder.  At  last  he  was  met  by  a  vener- 
able lady,  who,  taking  compassion  upon  him,  informed  him  that  away  back  in  the 
history  of  her  family  there  was  a  man  lived  in  that  neighborhood  by  the  name  of 
Lu  Wen,  but  that  was  six  generations  back,  and  no  one  ever  knew  what  became  of 
him;  so  poor  Lu  Wen  hobbled  up  the  mountain  side  and  was  never  heard  of  after. 
(The  Mikado's  Empire,  p.  503.) 

No.  20.  Hotei,  the  Japanese  Santa  Claus.  — Hotei  is  one  of  the  seven  patrons  of  hap- 
piness. He  is  as  round  as  a  pudding  and  as  fat  as  if  rolled  out  of  dough.  He  is  a 
jolly  vagabond,  but  a  great  friend  of  the  children,  who  romp  over  him,  standing 
upon  his  knees  and  hanging  around  his  shoulders,  pulling  his  hair  and  his  long  ears. 
He  always  has  something  good  for  them,  which  he  carries  in  a  sack,  which  he  par- 
tially opens  that  they  may  see  what  it  contains,  but  suddenly  closes.it  before  they 
have  fairly  ascertained  its  contents.  By  and  by,  if  the  children  are  good,  he  opens  it. 
(Japanese  Fairy  World,  p.  83.) 

No.  21.  Daikoku. — Another  of  the  seven  patrons  is  a  short,  chubby  fellow,  with 
eyes  half  sunk  into  his  fat  face,  but  winking  with  fun.  He  has  a  cap  set  on  his  head, 
a  long  sack  over  his  shoulders,  his  throne  is  two  straw  bags  of  rice,  and  his  badge  a 
small  hammer  or  mallet,  with  which  he  makes  people  rich  when  he  shakes  it  at 
them.  He  has  long,  lopped  ears. 

No.  22.  Raiko  and  the  dragon. — Raiko  was  famous  for  his  prowess  in  arms,  and 
deified  because  of  his  having  killed  the  great  ghoul  with  three  eyes,  and  the  Doji, 
or  giant-boy  demon,  who  ate  up  young  girls.  (Japanese  Fairy  World,  p.  191.) 

No.  23.  This  exquisitely  wrought  ivory  figure  represents  a  Japanese  fisherman, 
returning  from  the  scene  of  his  daily  labor,  bearing  his  little  child  upon  his  shoul- 
ders holding  a  fish.  It  is  a  beautiful  illustration  of  a  Japanese's  love  for  his  chil- 
dren. To  fully  appreciate  the  delicacy  of  the  carving  in  this,  as  in  all  the  other 
pieces  in  this  collection,  it  should  be  examined  under  a  magnifying  glass. 

No.  24.  This  group  represents  Tokiwa.  Tokiwa  was  a  young  peasant  girl  of  supe- 
rior beauty,  whom  Yoshitomo  made  his  concubine,  and  who  bore  him  three  chil- 


FORTY-NINTH   CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  993 

dren.     She  fled  to  escape  the  minions  of  Taira,  after  the  death  of  her  lord  in  1159 
who  was  assassinated  .in  a  bath  by  three  hired  assassins  at  Utsumi in  Owl' 
Tokiwa's  fhght  was  m  winter,  and  snow  lay  upon  the  ground.     She  knew  nehher 
where  to  go  nor  how  to  subsist;  but  clasping  her  babe  £>  her  bosom!  herTwo    Utl 
sons  on  her  right,  one  holding  his  mother's  hand,  the  other  carrying  his  fathers 
sword  they  trudged  on,  nearly  frozen  and  half  starved.    She  was  me?  in  her  fligh 
by  a  Taira  soldier,  who,  paying  her  and  her  children,  gave  her  shelter  and  proS 
tion supplying  her  and  her  children  from  his  own  meager  rations.     Her  hJES 
great  enemy,  Kiyomori,  was  anxious  to  overtake  her,  and,  believing  that  her  filial 
affection  for  her  mother  would  cause  her  to  yield  herself  up,  had  seized  upon  her 
Tokiwa  heard  of  her  mother's  durance  at  Kioto.    Then  came  the  struggle  teUeln 
maternal  and  filial  love.     To  enter  Kioto  she  feared  would  be  the  death  of  her  chil- 
dren; but  for  the  salvation  of  her  mother,  a  sentiment  so  strong  with  the  Japanese 
she  was  influenced  to  take  her  course  into  the  city  and  to  trust  to  her  beauty  and 
accomplishments  to  melt  the  heart  of  Kiyomori.    Thus  she  saved  the  lives  of  her 
mother  and  children.    The  babe  at  her  breast  was  the  future  Yoshitsune,  a  name 
which  at  this  period  awakens  in  the  breast  of  a  Japanese  youth  emotions  that  kindle 
his  enthusiasm  to  emulate  a  character  that  was  the  mirror  of  chivalry  valor  and 
knightly  conduct.     He  was  the  Chevalier  Bayard  of  Japan.    The  oldest  son,  who  is 
represented  in  the  group  carrying  his  father's  sword,  became  a  noted  warrior     (The 
Mikado's  Empire,  p.  124.) 

No.  25.  This  figure,  a  companion  to  No.  23,  is  another  specimen  of  skill  of  the 
highest  order  in  this  art  of  carving  in  ivory,  and  should  be  examined  under  a  high 
magnifying  power. 

No.  26.  A  mail-clad  warrior  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
No.  27.  A  Japanese  water  carrier. 
No.  28.  A  street  juggler,  with  his  boy  acrobat. 
No.  29.  Peasant  girl  and  child. 
No.  30.  The  children's  friend  and  adviser. 
No.  31.  An  exquisite  carving,  representing  three  field  mice. 
No.  32.  One  of  the  gods,  possessing  power  to  control  wild  beaste. 
No.  33.  Fukuroku  Jin,  mounted  on  a  horse.     (See  legend  attached  to  No.  5.) 
No.  34.  Eenton,  Queen  of  the  World  under  the  Sea.— (Legend:)  In  the  sixth  cen- 
tury there  lived  upon  the  coast  of  Tango  a  poor  fisherman  and  his  wife.     Their  only 
means  of  subsistence  was  the  fish  caught  from  the  sea  by  their  only  son,  Taro  by 
name.     One  day  in  autumn  Taro  was  out  as  usual  in  his  boat.     The  sea  was  rough 
and  the  waves  high.     He  uttered  a  prayer  to  the  sea  god  Kai  Riu  0.     Suddenly  there 
appeared  upon  the  crest  of  the  waves  a  divine  being,  robed  in  white,  riding  upon  a 
large  tortoise.     Approaching  the  wearied  fisherman,  he  greeted  him  kindly,  and 
invited  the  poor  fisherman  to  follow  him  and  he  would  make  him  a  happy  man. 
Taro,  mounting  the  tortoise,  sped  away  with  marvelous  celerity.     The  wonderful 
sights  he  witnessed  in  the  realms  below  the  sea  it  would  take  pages  to  describe — 
splendid  palaces;  richly  dressed  ladies,  with  retinues  of  pages,  waiting  to  welcome 
him;  music,  feasts,  flowers,  songs,  and  dances;  rich  jewels  and  precious  gems,  daz- 
zling to  behold.     Amidst  this  splendor  he  spent  most  happily  (what  he  supposed  to 
be)  seven  days,  when  he  bethought  himself  of  his  parents,  whom  he  felt  it  was 
wrong  to  leave  so  long  without  their  usual  supply,  of  food.     He  determined  to  return 
to  them.     The  Queen  allowed  his  request;  he  was  escorted  to  the  white  marble  gate 
of  the  palace  and,  mounting  the  same  tortoise,  soon  reached  the  spot  which  he  had 
left  in  his  boat.     The  mountains  and  rocks  were  familiar  to  him,  but  no  trace  of  his 
parents'  hut  was  to  be  seen.     All  was  changed.     He  made  inquiries  of  an  old  gray- 
headed  fisherman,  who  informed  him  that  centuries  before  the  persons  he  described 
had  lived  the're,  and  had  been  buried  long  years  ago,  pointing  out  the  place  of  their 
interment.     He  thought  their  names  could  be  read  upon  some  of  the  very  old  tomb- 

H.  Doc.  732 63 


.994  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

stones,  if  the  moss  and  lichens,  which  completely  hid  them,  could  be  removed. 
.Thither  Taro  hied,  and,  after  a  long  search,  found  the  tomb  of  his  parents.  A  cold 
shiver  ran  through  him;  his  teeth,  one  by  one,  dropped  from  his  mouth;  his  limbs 
stiffened,  and  his  face  wrinkled.  The  weight  of  four  centuries  was  upon  him— he 
died.  The  fishermen  in  various  parts  of  Japan  worship  the  memory  of  this  good 
boy,  Taro,  who,  even  in  the  palace  of  the  sea  gods,  forgot  not  his  old  parents.  (The 
Mikado's  Empire,  p.  498.)  In  those  days  the  jelly-fish — which  is  now  a  simple 
lump  of  jelly  as  white  and  as  helpless  as  a  pudding — was  a  lordly  fellow,  who  waited 
upon  the  Queen  of  the  World  under  the  Sea,  and  right  proud  he  was  of  his  office. 
He  would  get  his  back  up  and  keep  it  up  high  when  he  wished.  He  was  on  good 
terms  with  the  king's  dragon,  which  often  allowed  him  to  play  with  his  scaly  tail 
and  never  hurt  him  in  the  least.  But,  alas!  by  betraying  the  Queen's  confidence  on 
a  certain  occasion  he  was  condemned  to  lose  his  shell  and  was  afterwards  to  float  help- 
lessly and  ashamed.  Their  children  also  were  ever  to  be  soft  and  defenseless.  Ban- 
ished from  the  Queen's  province,  the  jelly-fish  blushed  in  confusion,  and,  squeezing 
himself  out  of  his  shell,,  he  swam  out  of-  sight.  (Japanese  Fairy  World,  p.  141. ) 

No.  35.  Carpenter  with  his  adze. 

No.  36.  Old  man  and  boy,  sheltered  from  the  storm  by  a  palm. 

No.  37.  Daikoku. — (A  small  ivory  figure  with  a  dragon  on  its  back.)  A  long  while 
ago,  when  the  Japanese  first  became  Buddhists,  they  continued  to  burn  incense  to 
Daikoku,  because  he  was  the  patron  of  wealth.  The  Buddhist  idols  took  exception 
to  this,  and  determined  to  get  rid  of  him.  They  sent  a  dragon  to  destroy  him,  but 
Daikoku  clung  fast  to  his  money  bags,  and  only  laughed  at  the  dragon  and  all  efforts 
to  destroy  him.  At  last  he  shook  him  off,  and  sent  him  away  howling. 

The  dragon. — Chief  among  the  ideal  creatures  of  Japan  is  the  dragon.  It  is  seen 
carved  upon  the  tombs,  on  the  temples,  dwellings,  and  shops.  It  appears  upon  the 
government  documents,  on  their  paper  money,  stamped  upon  their  coins,  carved  in 
bronze,  in  wood,  in  ivory,  and  glares  upon  you  from  their  pictures.  There  are  many 
kinds  of  dragons,  such  as  the  violet,  the  green,  the  red,  the  white,  the  black,  and 
the  flying  dragon.  Some  are  scaly,  some  horned,  all  hideous — the  more  so  the  better. 
When  the  white  dragon  breathes,  the  breath  of  his  lungs  goes  into  the  earth  and 
turns  to  gold.  When  the  violet  dragon  spits,  his  spittle  becomes  balls  of  pure  crystal. 
One  delights  to  kill  human  beings.  One  causes  floods  and  storms.  The  fire  dragon 
is  only  7  feet  long,  but  its  body  is  all  flame.  (The  Mikado's  Empire,  p.  478.) 

No.  38.  Finely  wrought  group,  representing  the  goat  tamer  with  his  little  boy. 

In  case  No.  87  will  also  be  found  a  choice  collection  of  Somali  but  rare  specimens  of 
carving  in  bronze.  They  are  all  antiques.  They  are  numbered  from  39  to  67, 
inclusive. 

These  exquisite  specimens  of  the  carver's  art  are  called  Netsuke.  They  are  all 
drilled  with  two  holes  in  the  back,  through  which  silken  cords  (holding  pipe,  tobacco 
pouch,  and  the  smoker's  outfit)  are  run;  and  the  ivory  button  thrust  through  the 
girdle  holds  the  smoker's  kit  easily.  In  every  sense,  these  ivory  toggles  are  fine  illus- 
trations of  Japanese  decorative  art. 

No.  68.  A  case  containing  a  collection  of  Japanese  coins.  These  were  secured  only 
after  several  years'  persevering  labor.  No  attempts  at  preserving  the  corns  of  the 
country  had  been  made,  and  those  were  found  here  and  there  among  the  old  curio 
hunters,  assisted  by  the  obliging  managers  of  the  Oriental  Bank,  and  Mitsui,  the 
great  Japanese  banker.  Some  date"  from  the  sixteenth  century,  others  from  the  four- 
teenth, and  exhibit  the  early  attempts  of  the  Japanese  to  convert  their  bullion  into 
convenient  forms  for  circulation,  and  show  their  gradual  advancement  to  the  beauti- 
ful milled  coinage  of  the  present  day. 

Nos.  72  and  73  are  two  albums,  bearing  the  Tycoon's  crest.  They  were  taken  from 
his  private  collection.  They  were  originally  intended  for  the  preservation  of  auto- 
graph verses  of  their  most  renowned  poets,  of  which  some  twenty  or  more  specimens 


FORTY-NINTH   CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  995 

are  inserted  in  the  Japanese  Hiragana:  The  reverse  pages  have  been  utilized  by  the 
collector  for  many  excellent  photographs  made  by  Japanese  during  1874  S  photo! 
graphic  art  then  having  been  only  a  few  years  known  there.  They  embrTe  , ario* 
scenes,  such  as  the  most  famous  shrines,  temples,  and  parks 

Case  86.  In  the  western  division  of  this  case  will  be  found  a  variety  of  specimens 
of  Japanese  works  m  bronze  and  in  lacquer,  all  of  which  are  the  production  of  the 
most  renowned  artists  of  Old  Japan,  such  as  GOTO  Saburo,  of  Kioto 

No.  76  is  a  delicately  executed  carving  in  bronze,  representing  an  eagle  upon  a  rock 

surprised  by  a  serpent  crawling  from  under  his  perch.     Nothing  can  excel  this  speci- 

ien,  either  m  the  workmanship  or  the  expression  with  which  the  artist  has  inspired 

No.  77.  A  beautifully  enameled  holder  for  a  Japanese  pencil  or  brush-pen. 
No.  78.  An  oval  vase,  carved  in  a  most  elaborate  manner  to  represent  a  religious 
procession  winding  around  an  eminence.    Pilgrimages  to  famous  sacred  mountains 
are  considered  very  meritorious  acts  among  the  Japanese. 

No.  79.  This  piece  is  wrought  out  of  the  root  of  a  shrub,  and  represents  birds  treed 
by  dogs.  This  is  an  artistic  delineation  of  a  peculiar  tendency  of  the  Japanese  to 
study  nature  in  all  its  forms,  and  to  work  into  a  significant  shape  every  old  stump  or 
root  which,  in  their  imagination,  resembles  a  living  form  of  man  or  beast. 

No.  80.  One  of  the  Seven  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  mounted  upon  a  mythical  animal 
resembling  a  reindeer.     It  is  in  gold  bronze,  and  is  a  most  spirited  piece.     He  is  sup- 
posed to  be  on  an  errand  of  mercy. 
No.  81.  Bamboo  cigar  holder. 

No.  82.  A  beautiful  chow-chow  box.  A  chow-chow  box  is  a  convenient  arrange- 
ment for  serving  up  for  a  guest  a  meal  of  several  courses.  It  is  generally  made  of 
wood  or  papier-mache,  finely  laid  on  lacquer.  It  is  divided  into  sections  (in  this 
case  four),  held  in  place  by  a  conveniently  arranged  handle.  This  serves  not  only  to 
keep  the  contents  warm,  but  to  keep  them  from  slopping  over.  One  of  these  is 
placed  before  each  guest  as  they  are  seated  upon  the  matted  floor,  and  a  pretty  Japa- 
nese maiden  is  always  in  attendance  kneeling,  ready  to  replenish  the  food  when 
required.  One  of  these  sections  may  contain  fish,  another  rice,  another  soup  from 
the  seaweed,  and  a  fourth  the  vegetable  daikon,  or  colossal  silver  radish,  which  com- 
prises the  principal  menu  of  the  Japanese. 

No.  83.  A  large  scarf  box,  of  pure  gold  lacquer,  from  the  Tycoon's  collection. 
No.  84.  Gold-lacquered  tray. 

No.  85.  A  gold-lacquered  hibachi  (thehibachi,  or  fire  brazier).  "The  hibachi,  or 
fire  brazier,"  says  Professor  Griffis,  "is  to  the  Japanese  household  what  the  hearth 
or  fireplace  is  in  an  Occidental  home.  Around  it  friends  meet;  the  family  gathers; 
parents  consult;  children  play;  the  cat  purrs,  and  the  little  folks  listen  to  fairy 
legends  of  household  lore  from  nurse  and  grandma."  The  hibachi  is  always  found 
in  a  Japanese  house  in  some  form — often  in  bronze — carved  into  fantastic  shapes.  It 
is  an  indispensable  requisite,  and  constant  one  to  light  the  pipe;  for  the  Japanese  of 
both  sexes  and  of  all  ages  and  conditions  smoke.  Time  is  allowed  for  every  laborer 
in  the  progress  of  his  daily  employment  to  "take  a  smoke."  The  Japanese  pipe 
which  accompanies  the  hibachi  is  made  with  a  tiny  bowl.  After  long  mechanical 
practice  the  nimble  fingers,  with  automatic  precision,  roll  up  the  small  pellet  of  the 
gossamer-cut  tobacco  in  size  just  to  fit  the  bowl  of  hisjsipe.  This  he  touches  to  the 
glowing  coal  in  the  ubiquitous  hibachi,  and  after  one,  or,  at  most  two,  very  deliber- 
ate puffs,  the  pipe  is  emptied  and  a  fresh  pellet  prepared.  A  native  will  sit  by  the 
hour  mechanically  rolling  up  these-  tobacco  pills,  oblivious,  apparently,  to  all  sur- 
roundings, and  the  exactness  with  which  he  forms  his  pellets  to  fit  his  pipe  is  won- 
derful. A  shrewd  judge  once  discovered  the  thief  who  had  stolen  his  gold-mounted 
pipe  by  noticing  a  suspected  person  engaged  in  preparing  his  pellets  to  fill  his  pipe. 
He  saw  him  draw  from  its  pouch  his  golden  pipe  and  commence  abstractedly  to 


996  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

roll  up  the  globules  of  tobacco,  when,  on  turning  to  the  brazier,  the  mouth  of  the 
bowl  downward,  out  rolled  the  pellet.  It  was  made  too  small  for  the  bowl  of  the 
pipe.  Here,  then,  there  was  conclusive  evidence  that  the  pipe  was  not  his  own. 
(The  Mikado's  Empire,  p.  501.) 

No.  86.  Robe  chest,  formerly  belonging  to  the  Tycoon;  it  bears  his  crest  of  the 
three  mallow  leaves  within  a  circle.  This  is  one  of  the  finest  representative  pieces 
of  the  work  of  old  Japanese  artists  extant. 

No.  87.  A  cabinet,  in  old  gold  lacquer,  from  the  Tycoon's  private  collection. 

Nos.  88  and  89.  Two  gold-lacquered  dispatch  boxes,  also  from  the  Tycoon's  pri- 
vate stores. 

No.  90.  A  pearl-inlaid  scarf  box. 

No.  91.  The  old  Tycoon's  helmet  case,  on  which  is  emblazoned  his  crest. 

No.  92.  A  chow-chow  case  of  less  pretensions. 

On  the  eastern  section  of  case  No.  86  will  be  seen  the  following  rare  pieces: 

Nos.  93  and  94.  Two  hanging  tablets,  originally  intended  for  holding  slips  of 
poetry,  but  now,  through  the  agency  of  Tiffany  &  Co.,  converted  into  beautiful  hold- 
ings for  a  thermometer  and  a  weather  glass.  They  are  very  old  and  of  pure  gold 
lacquer. 

Nos.  95  and  96  are  two  specimens  of  rare  carving  in  wood.  They  are  the  produc- 
tion of  an  unknown  age,  but  believed  to  be  of  the  fifteenth'  century.  These  pieces, 
when  discovered,  were  laid  away  in  a  family  tracing  far  back  its  descent.  They 
were  looked  upon  as  ' '  heirlooms, ' '  but  want  tempted  the  owners  to  part  with  them. 
The  frames  to  these  pieces  were  so  old  as  to  fall  off  in  the  handling,  and  were  newly 
framed  since  they  came  into  the  possession  of  the  present  owner. 

No.  97.  Cloisonne"  vase. — Is  a  splendid  specimen  of  cloisonne"  work.  There  are  few 
superiors. 

No.  98.  Another"  cabinet  from  the  Tycoon's  private  stores.  It  is  one  of  the  finest 
specimens  of  old  gold  lacquer.  It  has  on  it  the  Tycoon's  crest  of  three  leaves  within 
a  circle,  said  to  have  been  derived  from  a  cake  ornamented  with  three  mallow  leaves, 
offered  in  hospitality  to  the  founder  of  the  Tokugawa  family  in  the  fourteenth 
century. 

No.  99.  One  of  the  imperial  presents.  It  is  several  feet  in  height.  The  base  or 
pedestal  is  of  pure  old  gold  lacquer;  nothing  ever  made  of  this  character  of  work  sur- 
passes it.  On  the  pedestal  rests  a  richly  wrought  silver  vase  of  basket  form,  from 
which  springs  two  branches  of  the  Japanese  plum  tree  (mume),  converging  to  form 
anarch;  on  these  branches  are  perched  two  nightingales  wrought  in  silver.  This 
combination  of  the  nightingale  with  the  plum  tree  is  the  poet's  combination.  It  is 
symbolical  of  friendship  and  esteem. 

No.  100.  Another  imperial  present,  equally  exquisite  in  design  and  execution. 
The  base  is  of  pure  gold  lacquer.  On  this  pedestal  rests  a  representative  of  a  rock 
carved  in  bronze,  around  which  are  twining  branches  of  "Paulownia  Imperialis," 
the  imperial  tree  of  Japan.  Upon  the  tpp  of  this  rock  are  perched,  in  graceful  atti- 
tude, two  of  the  mythical  "Ho-ho,"  or,  according  to  Griffis,  Ho-wo.  Both  of  these 
mythical  birds  are  wrought  from  pure  silver,  and  are  of  the  highest  order  of  Japanese 
art.  These  two  pieces— Nos.  99  and  100— were  selected  by  members  of  the  royal 
household  from  a  collection  of  rare  productions  in  the  possession  of  the  ancient 
princes  of  the  Empire,  said  to  be  two  hundred  years  old. 

The  Japanese  idea  of  the  mythical  Ho-ho. — (The  Ho-wo,  or  phoenix,  as  seen  in  piece 
No.  100;  sometimes  written  by  the  English  Ho-ho. )  The  Ho-wo,  as  seen  on  the 
smaller  silver  (imperial  presents)  is  a  fabulous  bird  of  Chinese  mythology,  whose 
visits  upon  the  earth  are  as  rare  as  those  of  the  angels.  It  is  seen  sculptured  upon 
the  tombs  of  the  Shoguns  of  Japan,  stamped  upon  their  paper  currency,  and  pictured 
in  every  way.  It  seems  to  be  a  combination  of  the  pheasant  and  peacock.  According 
to  Professor  Griffis,  it  is  described  by  the  Chinese  as  follows:  "The  phoenix  (Ho-wo, 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  997 

in  Japan)  is  the  essence  of  water.  It  was  born  in  the  Vermilion  cave.  It  roosts  not 
bu  upon  the  most  beautiful  trees;  iteatenot  but  of  seeds  of  the  bamboo;  itdrinksno 
but  of  the  sweetest  springs;  its  body  is  adorned  with  the  five  colors;  its  song  contains 
the  fi™  notes^As  it  walks  it  looks  around;  as  it  flies,  the  hostsof  other  birds  follow 
it  Virtue  obedience,  justice,  fidelity,  and  benevolence  are  symbolized  in  the  deco- 
ration of  its  head,  wings,  body,  and  breast.  Its  appearance  is  waited  with  great 
i,  as  the  annunciation  of  some  great  event  or  the  appearance  of  some  great 


The  Ho-wo  and  the  Paulownia  Imperialis  tree  are  often  blended  as  imperial 
emblems  on  the  Mikado  robes,  curtains,  ete.    This  tree  is  an  emblem  of  rectitude. 
Its  leaves  form  the  imperial  crest.     (The  Mikado's  Empire,  p.  481.) 
No.  101.  The  Tycoon's  sword  rack,  in  gold  lacquer. 
No.  102.  The  sword  of  the  Tycoon. 

No.  103.  A  specimen  of  Japanese  carving  in  wood,  representing  a  fishing  junk 
with  crew,  dog,  and  nets. 

In  the  long  case  resting  against  the  north  wall  are  the  following  pieces: 
Nos.  104  and  106  are  two  Japanese  screens,  decorated  with  paintings  on  silk,  rep- 
resenting street  scenes  in  the  city  of  Tokio  in  the  times  of  the  Shogunate;  and  also 
Japanese  annual  celebrations— as,  for  instance,  the  Feast  of  Flags,  the  annual  display 
of  the  Nobori.     This  last  is  explained  in  the  following  sketch : 

Nobori  (the  paper  fish). —The  fifth  day  of  the  fifth  month— 5th  of  May— is  celebrated 
in  Japan  as  the  Feast  of  Flags,  and  is  the  day  on  which  is  displayed  the  Nobori,  or 
paper  fish.  It  is  suspended  from  a  tall  bamboo  pole  over  every  house  wherein  a 
male  child  has  been  born  during  the  preceding  year.  This  fish  is  generally  of  paper, 
but  sometimes,  among  the  wealthy,  is  made  of  silk,  and  graduated  in  size  to  suit  the 
purse— in  some  instances  30  to  40  feet  in  length,  generally  from  6  to  10.  They  are 
formed  and  painted  to  represent  the  carp,  which  fish  is  selected  because  of  its  ability 
to  swim  swiftly  against  a  rapid  current  and  leap  over  waterfalls,  thus  symbolizing 
great  energy  of  character,  the  ability  to  surmount  great  difficulties  and  eventually  to 
achieve  success.  (Japanese  Fairy  WoAd,  p.  227.)  This  fish  being  hollow  and  sus- 
pended by  the  mouth,  the  wind  expands  the  body  and  it  floats  in  the  air  with  all 
the  grace  of  movement  of  a  fish  in  his  native  element 

Screens  Nos.  106  and  107.     On  these  screens  the  paintings  are  on  silk.     They  rep- 
resent the  three  ruling  classes  in  the  Japanese  Empire,  under  the  dual  form  of 
government.     The  robes  of  state  and  the  details  of  every  article  of  dress  in  each  of 
the  three  ranks,  the  Mikado,  the  Tycoon,  and  the  daimios,  even  to  the  color  and 
quality  of  the  material,  as  well  as  to  form,  was  regulated  by  edict;  so  also  was  the 
style  of  dressing  the  hair.     All  were  different  down  to  the  common  cooly.     The 
double  eyebrow,  as  seen  upon  the  forehead  of  the  Mikado,  his  wife,  as  also  that  of  the 
Tycoon's  consort,  indicate  their  direct  descent  from  the  royal  family.     The  Tycoons 
themselves  were  not  of  royal  descent,  but  as  commanders  in  chief  of  the  armies  had 
usurped  the  whole  power  of  the  throne  for  several  centuries. 
Of  the  bronzes  in  this  case- 
No.  108  is  an  incense  burner  in  octagon  shape. 
No.  108£.  Another  small  incense  burner. 

No.  109.  An  elaborately  carved  falcon,  perched  upon  the  branch  of  a  tree,  which 
may  be  used  as  a  boquet  holder,  although  it  was  not  originally  intended  for  that. 
This  beautiful  specimen  of  Japanese  carving  in  bronze  will  bear  inspection;  but  to 
appreciate  more  clearly  the  wonderful  productions  during  past  ages  of  this  isolated 
and  half-civilized  people  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  this  exquisite  carving 
in  bronze  and  in  ivory  are  the  results  of  patient  hand  labor,  unaided  by  any  mechan- 
ical appliances  whatever.  It  is  not  infrequent  that  the  decoration  of  one  of  these 
pieces  has  required  the  work  of  a  skilled  artisan  for  years. 


998  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

No.  110  is  a  Japanese  .god  upon  a  fish,  representing  the  first  introduction  of  letters 
to  Japan.  (Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation,  pp.  20,51.) 

No.  Ill  is  a  Japanese  god  upon  a  reindeer,  in  repose. 

Nos.  112  and  113.  A  pair  of  richly  carved  vases,  36  inches  in  hgight.  They  are 
the  work  of  centuries  back.  *• 

Nos.  114  and  115.  A  pair  of  bronze  vases  of  the  famous  Zogan  style  of  workman- 
ship; inlaid  with  gold  and  silver;  26  inches  in  height, 

No.  116.  Jiariya  (  Young  Thunder). — A  poor  but  brave  and  ambitious  boy,  expert 
swordsman,  and  ambitious  to  restore  the  shattered  fortunes  of  his  family,  became 
chief  of  a  band  of  robbers,  who  plundered  many  wealthy  merchants,  and  in  a  short 
time  in  this  way  had  accumulated  much  wealth.  Jiariya,  hearing  of  an  old  man 
that  lived  in  a  mountainous  region,  started  out  to  rob  him.  Overtaken  in  a  heavy 
storm,  he  took  refuge  in  an  humble  house.  Entering  he  found  a  very  beautiful 
woman,  who  treated  him  with  kindness.  At  midnight,  when  all  was  still,  he 
unsheathed  his  sword,  and,  going  noiselessly  to  her  room,  was  about  to  strike  off  her 
head,  when  in  a  flash  her  body  changed  into  a  very  old  man,  who  seized  the  heavy 
steel  blade  and  broke  it  in  pieces  as  though  it  was  a  stick.  Jiariya  was  amazed,  but 
not  frightened.  "I  am  Senso  Dojin."  exclaimed  the  old  man,  "and  have  lived  in 
these  mountains  many  hundred  years;  but  my  body  is  a  frog.  I  can  easily  put  you 
to  death,  but  I  have  another  purpose."  Jiariya  was  undaunted,  and  asked  to  be 
received  as  his  pupil.  The  old  man  said  to  him:  " Henceforth  cease  from  robbing 
the  poor.  Take  from  the  wicked  rich  and  those  who  acquire  money  dishonestly  and 
help  the  suffering."  Thus  speaking,  the  old  man  turned  into  a  huge  frog  and  hopped 
away.  From  that  time  forth  the  oppressed  poor  people  rejoiced  as  the  avaricious 
and  extortionate  money  lenders  lost  their  treasures,  while  they  were  protected. 
Jiariya  married  a  beautiful  woman,  and  after  a  very  eventful  life,  and  in  one  of  his 
greatest  battles  he  was  successful  in  killing  the  great  dragon  coil.  During  the  time 
he  remained  with  the  old  man  of  the  mountains  he  had  learned  how  to  govern  the 
frog,  which  at  his  bidding  assumed  great  size,  so  that  on  its  back  he  could  stand  up 
and  cross  rivers.  He  also  learned  how  to  cause  storms,  control  the  mountain 
spirits,  and  direct  the  elements  at  will,  and  throughout  the  country  was  known  as 
"Young  Thunder."  He  was  made  a  daimio  of  Idzu,  and  lived  for  many  years  in 
the  bosom  of  his  family,  engaged  in  the  reading  of  books,  teaching  his  children, 
cultivating  flowers,  and  beautifying  his  yashiki  by  the  introduction  of  rare  and 
beautiful  plants.  (Japanese  Fairy  World,  p.  126. ) 

No.  117.  Senso  Dojin. —  (Legend:)  When  Jiariya,  or  Young  Thunder,  in  his  youth 
became  chief  of  a  band  of  robbers,  he  started  out  on  an  expedition  to  rob  an  old 
man.  This  old  man  was  Senso  Dojin,  who  had  lived  in  the  mountains  many  hun- 
dred years.  His  true  body,  however,  was  that  of  a  frog,  but  retained  the  form  of  a 
very  old  man.  He  determined  to  instruct  Jiariya  in  the  way  of  the  mountain 
spirits — how  to  cause  a  storm  of  wind  or  rain,  to  make  a  deluge,  and  control  the  ele- 
ments; also"  how  to  govern  frogs,  and  at  his  bidding  to  assume  great  size.  Senso 
Dojin  then  bade  Jiariya  depart  and  henceforth  cease  from  robbing  the  poor,  but  to 
take  from  the  rich,  the  wicked,  and  dishonest.  Thus  speaking,  the  old  man  turned 
into  a  frog  and  hopped  away. 

No.  118.  Lacquered  pedestal. 

No.  119.  Japanese  god  upon  a  horse. 

No.  120.  Same  as  119. 

No.  121.  One  of  the  seven  patrons  of  happiness,  Toshitoku,  upon  a  reindeer  in 
repose. 

No.  122.  A  finely  wrought  vase,  12  inches  in  height. 

No.  123.  Japanese  bull,  used  as  a  beast  of  burden. 

No.  124.  Bronze  vase,  square  form,  12  inches  in  height. 

Nos.  125  and  126.  Pair  of  cloisonne*  vases,  25  inches  in  height. 


FORTY-NINTH   CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  999 

No.  127.  A  Satsuma  vase,  26  inches  in  height.  One  of  the  finest  specimen*  of  an 
Old  Satsuma  vase,  both  as  to  form  and  decoration,  to  be  found 

NOB.  128  ana  129.  A  pair  of  Satsuma  vases  of  the  sixteenth 'century  very  unique 
in  form  and  finish;  24  inches  in  height. 

NOB  130  and  131.  A  pair  of  Satsuma  vases,  27  inches  in  height.  The  form  and 
decorate  of  thus  pair  of  vases  are  of  the  highest  order.  In  Audrey  and TwL' * 
work  on  Japanese  Ceramics,  plate  16,  part  2,  and  plate  22,  part  6  will  be  seen 
engravings  of  this  character  of  vase. 

NOB.  132  and  133.  A  pair  of  Old  Sateuma  vases,  25  inchea  in  height,  of  the  ele- 
phant-trunk pattern.  This  particular  form  of  decoration  was  only  in  vogue  during 
the  seventeenth  century,  which  indicates  strictly  the  period  of  their  manufacture 
*or  an  illustration  of  a  pair  exactly  similar  to  these,  see  plate  23,  part  2,  Audesley 
and  Bowes' s  work  on  Japanese  Ceramics. 

Nos.  134  and  135.  A  pair  of  Hizen  vases,  48  inches  in  height.  Decoration  blue 
and  gold  under  a  glaze.  These  vases  are  of.  a  peculiar  construction,  in  two  perfect 
cylinders,  one  within  the  other.  The  outer  cylinder  is  openwork,  a  pattern  rarely 
seen,  and  greatly  admired  by  connoisseurs  in  this  art. 

No.  136.  Incense  burner,  in  Satsuma  faience.     Very  old  and  rare. 

No.  137.  Japanese  coat  of  mail  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Nos.  138  and  139.  Lacquered  pedestals. 

Nos.  140  and  141.  Lacquered  pedestals. 

Nos.  142,  143,  and  144.  Three  extra  fine  Old  Satsuma  vases. 


PORCELAIN. 
SATSUMA  KAlENCB. 


The  manufacture  of  Satsuma  faience  was  commenced  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
"The  earliest  reliable  specimens  of  Satsuma  pottery  are  of  very  rude  manufacture, 
being  of  a  dark-colored  clay,  rudely  modeled,  and  very  different  from  those  beau- 
tiful works  of  a  soft-tinted  faience  of  a  later  period,  decorated  with  flowers,  birds, 
and  other  objects,  a  style  more  delicate  and  artistic  than  can  be  found  throughout 
the  entire  range  of  ceramic  art  outside  the  islands  of  Japan." 

About  the  year  1597,  after  the  Japanese  had  invaded  Korea,  Shimadzu  Yoehihisa, 
Prince  of  Satsuma,  who  accompanied  that  expedition,  brought  with  him  on  his 
return  to  Japan  a  number  of  Korean  potters,  skilled  in  the  fabrication  of  porcelain, 
and  settled  them  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kagoshima,  in  the"  province  of  Satsuma. 
Speedily  setting  to  work,  they  experimented  oh  the  various  materials  obtainable  in 
that  neighborhood,  and  after  repeated  trials  succeeded  in  producing  a  hard  faience 
which  is  now  known  by  the  name  of  Satsuma  ware. 

The  descendants  of  these  Korean  potters  have  ever  since— up  to  the  year  1871— 
been  under  the  authority  and  patronage  of  the  many  generations  of  the  Satsuma 
princes,  whose  immense  wealth  and  influence  were  directed  to  t,he  perfection  of  this 
work. 

Shimadzu  Yoshihisa  had  taken  care  to  secure  the  best  and  most  experienced  work- 
men, which  policy  has  been  continuously  followed  by  all  of  his  successors  up  to  the 
time  of  the  abolishment  of  the  feudal  system  in  1871. 

Since  that  period,  deprived  of  the  protection  and  support  of  the  reigning  princes 
of  Satsuma,  this  work  has  gradually  fallen  away,  until  at  the  present  time  there  is 
none  manufactured  worthy  the  attention  of  the  foreign  collectors.  (See  report  to 
the  Asiatic  Society,  after  a  most  careful  inspection  into  the  condition  of  the  works 
in  Japanese  ceramics.) 

The  production  of  a  fine  crackle,  observable  in  the  pure  Satsuma,  is  due  to  the 
unequal  contraction  which  takes  place  between  the  body  and  the  glaze,  which  n-.-ults 
in  the  minute  network  of  fine  cracks.  "  It  can  be  said  that  in  the  entire  range  of 


1000  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

ceramic  art  there  has  been  no  surface  produced  more  refined  or  more  perfectly 
adapted  to  receive  the  colored  decoration  so  famous  in  the  Satsuma  faience." 

The  specimens  of  the  Satsuma  faience  which  are  sometimes  met  with;  heavily  deco- 
rated with  religious  or  heraldic  designs,  most  probably  received  their  finish  in  the 
Kioto  school.  The  pure  Satsuma  is,  in  most  cases,  finished  in  floral  designs  in  com- 
bination with  birds,  with  occasional  medallions  in  geometrical  figures  emblematical 
of  some  sentiment. 

The  imitation  Satsuma,  manufactured  at  Awrata,  in  Hizen,  and  decorated  in  Tokyo, 
is  easily  detected,  the  pure  Satsuma  being  somewhat  roughly  potted,  and  generally 
of  a  hard  and  rather  grayish-white  body;  while  the  faience  ^f  the  Awata  ware  is 
most  carefully  manipulated,  and  is  of  a  fine,  soft  texture,  of  a  warm  creamy  or  pale- 
yellow  tint,  covered  with  a  thinner,  or  more  minute  crackle  glaze  than  that  applied 
to  the  pure  Satsuma.  It  is  also  more  profusely  decorated,  and  heavily  ornamented 
with  storks,  tortoises,  dragons,  and  birds  of  various  kinds  in  heavy  imitation  of  gold, 
and  enameled  in  gaudy  tints.  Samples  of  this  class  of  work  are  illustrated  in  plates 
38,  39,  40,  and  42  of  Audesley  and  Bowes's  Keramic  Art  of  Japan,  and  are  very  fine 
specimens,  although  not  Satsuma. 

The  pure  Satsuma  is  of  a  very  light  tint,  ranging  between  grayish-white  and  vel- 
lum or  light  cream  color;  the  imitations  are  mostly  in  a  buff  color  or  light  yellow. 
At  a  very  early  period  a  black  ground  was  resorted  to,  but  not  long  followed.  A 
few  specimens  of  this  are  now  in  existence. 


The  ware  known  as  Arita,  Imari,  Nagasaki,  etc.,  are  all  manufactured  in  the 
Province  of  Hizen,  and  mostly  exported  from  Nagasaki,  but  little  or  none  is  manu- 
factured in  that  town.  The  great  Hizen  vases,  such  as  were  exhibited  at  the  expo- 
sition at  Vienna  and  at  Paris  (specimens  may  be  seen  in  the  vestibule  at  the  Corcoran 
Art  Gallery),  are  made  at  Arita,  in  the  Province  of  Hizen,  and  are  known  as  Hizen 
manufacture.  Their  great  fault  is  too  -much  crowding  in  the  decoration  and  great 
want  of  taste.  This  style  still  clings  to  this  class  of  keramic  art. 

Of  the  fine  specimens  of  blue  under  a  glaze,  so  much  admired  by  connoisseurs  in 
the  pure  Hizen  manufacture,  there  are  two  in  vases  in  this  collection — Nos.  130,  131. 

Symbolical  combinations. 
(See  "  The  Mikado's  Empire,"  p.  581.) 

The  combination  of  trees,  flowers,  and  birds  on  the  Japanese  porcelains,  screens, 
etc.,  are  symbolical  of  some  sentiment — as,  for  instance,  the  pine  tree  and  the  stork, 
emblems  of  longevity.  They  are  seen  embroidered  on  silk  robes,  and  presented  to 
newly  born  infants. 

The  willow  and  the  swallow,  the  bamboo  and  the  sparrow  are  indications  of 
gentleness,  and  are  often  seen  on  screens  and  fans. 

The  young  moon  and  the  cuckoo,  the  bird  as  seen  flying  across  the  crescent,  has  a 
poetic  reference  to  a  renowned  archer,  who  shot  a  hideous  beast  having  the  head  of 
a  monkey  and  the  claws  of  a  tiger. 

The  Phrenix  bird  (Ho-wo  or  Ho-ho),  with  the  Paulownia  Imperialis,  as  seen 
embroidered  on  the  Mikado's  robes,  rags,  curtains,  gilded  screens,  etc.,  is  an  emblem 
of  rectitude.  The  leaves  of  this  tree  form  the  imperial  crest. 

The  red  maple  leaves  and  the  stag  are  often  painted  upon  their  screens  with  great 
effect.  It  signifies  change— as,  for  instance,  in  the  fall  of  the  year  the  leaf  changes  to 
a  beautiful  crimson,  sometimes  to  a  brilliant  maroon,  and  when  used  upon  their 
screens  and  presented  to  another  party  may  indicate  a  change  of  feeling  or  sentiment. 
A  lover  to  send  his  once  loved  a  sprig  of  this  autumn  maple  is  equivalent  to  giving 
her  the  mitten. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1001 

The  cherry  blossom  and  pheasant  are  often  combined  in  poetry  and  art  decora- 
tions. The  beautiful  feathered  bird  and  the  bloom  of  the  Sakura  tree,  which  is 
cultivated  solely  for  its  blossoms,  the  national  flower  of  that  beautiful  land.  The 
flowers  are  often  as  large  as  a  rose,  and  the  falling  bloom  whitens  the  ground. 

FLOWERS,   ETC. 

The  plum  (Mume)  tree,  joined  with  the  nightingale,  is  the  poet's  combination. 
It  is  always  admired.  This  beautiful  flowering  tree  is  not  infrequently  seen  in  full 
bloom  and  not  a  leaf  visible.  It  bursts  into  clouds  of  fragrance  and  beauty  in 
February;  sometimes  it  may  be  seen  in  full  bloom  with  the  ground,  in  early  morning, 
covered  with  snow. 

The  combination  of  bamboo  and  the  sparrow  or  the  willow  with  the  sparrow  are 
emblems  of  happiness. 

The  plum  tree  in  Japan  blooms  in  February,  the  cherry  tree  in  April,  the  lotus  in 
July,  the  chrysanthemums  in  August  and  long  into  winter. 

THE  JISHIN  UWO,  OR  EARTHQUAKE. 

The  great  fish,  upon  whose  back  is  supposed  to  rest  the  main  portion  of  the 
Japanese  Empire,  is  the  largest  of  all  their  mythical  creation.  The  head  of  the 
fish,  it  is  believed,  is  under  the  most  northern  portion  of  the  main  island,  and  its 
tail  somewhat  near  Tokio  and  Kioto,  the  two  parts  where  the  greatest  effects  of 
the  earthquake  is  felt.  A  [gentle  quaver  of  the  earth  is  produced  when  he  simply 
bristles  his  spine.  A  severe  shock  indicates  that  the  brute  is  on  a  rampage,  like  a 
wounded  whale.  When  the  great  sea  dragon  thrashes  the  ocean  bottom  in  his 
wrath,  the  ground  trembles  and  rocks  and  houses  tumble  and  destruction  follows. 
When  he  arches  his  back  in  his  wrath,  the  ocean  rolls,  and  the  awful  tidal  wave 
engulfs  the  land  and  cities  and  towns  are  swept  away  in  interminable  ruin. 

Japan  feels  the  gentle  quaver  when  he  breathes;  frequently,  Mr.  Griffis  says,  about 
twice  a  month  on  an  average.  •  I  have  felt  them  twice  in  a  day,  and  one  hundred 
have  occurred  in  one  moon.  The  last  great  upheaval  occurred  in  1856,  when  it  is 
claimed  50,000  people  perished  in  Tokio  alone.  Serious  shocks,  however,  have 
occurred  since  and  are  frequent. 

The  bill  (S.  1772)  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment  and 


June  22,  1886— House. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 
February  8,  1887— House. 

Mr.  O.  R.  SINGLETON,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Library,  sub- 
mitted report  (H.  4000)  on  bill  (S.  1772),  with  a  recommendation  that 
it  pass. 

The  committee  reported  also  a  letter.from  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird, 
.who  then  had  charge  of  said  collection  in  the  National  Museum: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  January  U,  1887. 

DEAR  SIR:  Mrs.  Capron  informs  me  that  you  wish  for  some  expression  of  my 
opinion  respecting  the  importance  and  value  of  the  Capron  collection  of  Japanese 
articles  now  on  deposit  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

In  response  thereto  I  beg  to  say  that  the  collection  embraces  a  very  valuable  series 
of  objects,  illustrating  the  arts  and  industries  of  Japan,  and  of  thte  finest  quality  of 
workmanship,  many  of  them  such  as  were  held  only  by  the  Emperor. 


1002  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

We  should  consider  the  acquisition  of  the  collection  of  great  importance,  and  its 
removal  from  our  cases  would  make  a  noticeable  gap  in  the  Japanese  series. 

The  price  at  which  the  collection  is  offered  is  a  reasonable  one,  as  the  articles,  if 
sold  separately,  would  probably  bring  a  considerably  larger  amount. 
Very  respectfully, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD. 
Hon.  0.  R.  SINGLETON, 

Chairman  of  House  Committee  on  the  Library,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

ETHNOLOGY — BULLETINS. 
February  15,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  H.  M.  TELLER  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S.  41): 
That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  10,000  copies  of  any 
matter  furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  relating  to  researches  and  discoveries 
connected  with  the  study  of  the  North  American  Indians,  the  same  to  be  issued  in 
parts  and  the  whole  to  form  an  annual  volume  of  bulletins;  4,000  copies  of  which 
shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1,500  copies  for  the  use  of  the 
Senate,  and  4,500  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  15,  1886— House. 
Mr.  JAMES  W.  REID  introduced  a  resolution  (H.  120): 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  10,000  cop- 
ies of  any  matter  furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  relating  to  researches  and 
discoveries  connected  with  the  study  of  the  North  American  Indians,  the  same  to  be 
issued  in  parts,  and  the  whole  to  form  an  annual  volume  of  bulletins;  4,000  copies 
of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1,500  copies  for  the 
use  of  the  Senate,  and  4,500  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
March  25,  1886— House. 

Mr.  JAMES  W.  REID,  from  the  Committee  on  Printing,  submitted 
repo'rt  (H.  1330)  on  H.  120,  recommending  its  adoption: 

The  Committee  on  Printing,  to  whom  was  referred  the  joint  resolution  (H.  120) 
to  print  the  annual  bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  have  duly  considered  the 
same,  and  recommend  its  adoption. 

This  printing  will  be  in  addition  to  the  15,000  copies  of  the  annual 
report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  and  will  be  different  in  matter. 

It  will  be  a  report,  in  detail,  of  the  operations  and  researches  of 
the  Bureau,  to  be  published  in  parts  as  bulletins  as  the  said  opera- 
tions and  researches  transpire.  There  will  be  from  three  to.  six  parts 
per  annum,  costing  about  $500  for  each  edition,  or  from  $2,500  to 
$3,000  per  annum,  the  whole  to  form  an  annual  volume  of  bulletins. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 
June  14,  1886— House. 

Mr.  JAMES  W.  REID  introduced  a  resolution  (H.  184)  to  print  annual 
bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 


FORTY-NINTH  CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  1003 

July  17,  1886— House. 

Mr.  JAMES  W.  REID.  I  ask  now  to  call  up  the  joint  resolution  (H. 
120)  to  print  the  annual  bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

The  joint  resolution  was  read. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  I  ask  for  the  reading  of  the  report. 

The  report  (by  Mr.  Reid,  of  North  Carolina)  was  then  read. 

(See  House  proceedings  of  March  25,  1886). 

Mr.  S.  J.  RANDALL.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  would  like  to  inquire  of  the 
gentleman  from  North  Carolina,  who  is  on  the  Printing  Committee, 
what  year  this  report  is  for,  and  hqw  far  the  printing  already  ordered 
in  connection  with  ethnology  has  been  advanced?  In  other  words, 
whether  we  now  need  to  authorize  this  printing  in  advance  of  the 
year  not  yet  completed. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  In  response  to  the  gentleman  from 
Pennsylvania  I  will  say  that  as  I  understand  it  this  is  for  the  current 
year.  It  has  been  issued  in  pamphlets,  and  the  cost,  as  I  have  esti- 
mated it,  and  as  the  estimate  was  furnished  by  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ethnology,  Major  Powell,  is  about  $2,500  to  $3,000  a  year.  As  he 
collects  the  material  he  proposes  to  issue  it  as  a  bulletin.  We  went 
to  the  office  and  made  an  estimate.  He  exhibited  to  the  Committee  on 
Printing  specimens  of  one  of  the  bulletins  and  the  way  he  proposes  to 
issue  it  from  month  to  month.  It  will  cost  from  $2,500  to  $3,000  per 
annum. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  For  which  year? 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  For  the  present  current  year. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  How  far  back  has  the  ethnological  report  been 
printed? 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  If  I  recollect  aright,  not  later  than  1884. 

Mr.  RANSOM  W.  DUNHAM.  Not  later  than  1883. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  I  do  not  think  we  ought  to  authorize  the  printing  of 
reports  for  1885  until  we  know  how  far  advanced  and  what  is  the 
result  of  the  printing  of  the  report  for  1883. 

This  is  one  of  the  abuses,  as  I  think,  in  connection  with  the  scientific 
bureaus  of  the  Government.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  sun- 
dry civil  bill  we  have  endeavored  to  restrict  this  matter.  While  we 
have  given  every  dollar  that  is  essential  to  the  Bureau,  we  ought  to 
restrict  the  printing,  which  has  come,  as  the  commission  showed,  to 
be  an  abuse. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  I  will  withdraw  the  consideration  of 
the  joint  resolution  for  the  present. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  This  is  for  the  data  not  yet  collected.  We  are  pro- 
viding for  the  printing  of  matter  that  has  not  yet  come  from  the  hands 
of  those  people  who  are  being  sent  to  the  field  to  gather  it. 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore  (Mr.  ALEXANDER  M.  DOCKERY).  The 
gentleman  from  North  Carolina  withdraws  the  joint  resolution. 


1004  CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  DUNHAM.  Can  that  be  done  without  unanimous  consent? 

Mr.  NELSON  DINGLEY,  Jr.  Let  me  say  that  the  report  of  the  Bureau 
for  1884  is  now  being  printed. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  And  this  is  to  authorize  the  printing  for  two  or 
three  years  in  advance. 

Mr.  DINGLEY.     Not  the  annual  report. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  This  is  for  printing  bulletins  which  are  the  advanced 
copies  of  the  matter  contained  in  the  reports.  I  hope  the  Committee 
on  Printing  will  not  suppose  for  a  moment  that  I  wish  to  interfere 
with  their  getting  their  business  through. 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore.  The  Chair 'understands  the  gentleman 
from  North  Carolina  proposes  to  withdraw  the  joint  resolution? 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  DUNHAM.  Is  it  the  understanding  that  every  bill  objected  to 
by  any  one  member,  although  the  rest  of  the  House  might  wish  it 
passed,  is  to  be  withdrawn? 

Mr.  RANDALL.  The  gentleman  from  North  Carolina  does  not  lay 
this  aside  on  my  objection,  but  on  an  objection  which  might  attract  the 
attention  of  the  House  and  be  confirmed  by  the  House.  Here  is  a 
proposition  to  print  or  authorize  the  printing  of  a  report  away  in 
advance  of  the  collection  of  the  facts. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  If  the  gentleman  will  allow  me,  I  will 
say  that  I  propose  to  withdraw  the  joint  resolution  beqause  I  thought 
he  would  make  the  point  of  no  quorum  on  it. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  1  will  not  do  that. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  Then  I  will  not  withdraw  it.  I  do 
not  wish  to  postpone  the  consideration  of  it;  but  I  do  not  wish,  by 
pressing  it,  to  defeat  the  object  for  which  we  are  assembled  this  night, 
as  there  are  other  measures  to  be  considered  to  which  I  think  there 
will  be  no  objection. 

I  wish  to  make  this  statement:  There  will  be  from  three  to  six  parts 
of  this  bulletin  issued  each  year.  It  will  be  in  addition  to  the  15,000 
copies  of  the  annual  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  and  will  be 
entirely  different  in  matter.  It  is  a  report  of  the  operations  and 
researches  of  the  Bureau,  and  will  be  more  in  detail  than  the  annual 
report.  The  bulletin  will  consist  of  the  reports  from  the  members 
connected  with  this  department  sent  out  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try to  collect  ethnological  matter,  and  will  be  issued  as  that  is  gathered. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  I  understand  that.  The  joint  commission  in  connec- 
tion with  the  subject  of  the  scientific  bureaus  reported  a  recommenda- 
tion that  the  printing  be  abridged.  I  want  to  show  the  gentleman 
what  has  been  the  cost  of  printing  these  reports.  There  is  work 
charged  for  1881  in  connection  with  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  amount- 
ing to  $9,955.14.  For  1882  the  work  charged  amounts  to  $55,137.12. 
For  1883  the  work  charged  amounted  to  $9,123.27.  In  1884  the  work 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1005 


tol1oTh  2-66'     In  1885  the  Work  <*"**  amounted 

to  $4,110  44  The  whole  aggregated  $119,478.63  charged,  but  not 
yet  completed.  And  yet  we  are  asked  to  go  on  and  make  further 
charges  and  authorize  further  printing  in  this  connection,  when  the 
work  is  not  yet  completed  for  1881,  1882,  1883,  1884,  and  1885 

I  do  not  think  these  facts  could  have  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
Committee  on  Printing,  or  that  the  recommendation  of  the  commission 
appointed  to  examine  into  the  expenditures  of  this  Department  could 
have  been  fully  examined.  They  recommend  not  to  proceed  further 
with  the  printing  until  there  is  a  completion  of  the  prior  work. 

Now,  what  are  these  bulletins?  They  are  scraps  that  are  subse- 
quently to  make  part  of  the  report.  Now,  it  is  asked  that  these  scraps 
shall  be  printed  as  they  come  in.  If  they  are  printed  as  scraps  they 
ought  not  to  be  reprinted  in  the  regular  report,  and  if  they  are  printed 
in  the  regular  report  they  ought  not  to  be  printed  as  scraps.  I  think 
that  they  would  be  of  more  service  to  science  if  they  were  brought 
together,  and  not  printed  separately  in  this  disjointed  way. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  just  this  to  say: 
This  report  was  made  on  March  25,  1886,  when  the  joint  commission 
referred  to  by  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  had  not  yet  made 
their  report,  and  the  Committee  on  Printing  was  in  possession  of  none 
of  the  facts  reported  by  that  commission  as  the  result  of  their  inqui- 
ries concerning  the  printing  done  for  the  Geological  and  Ethnological 
bureaus.  I  will  state,  however,  that  this  printing  is  in  addition  to 
the  regular  annual  bulletin  issued  by  the  Bureau.  As  the  persons  who 
are  sent  out  by  the  Bureau  to  make  researches  make  their  reports  it  is 
proposed  to  issue  these  reports  in  pamphlet  foVm,  thus  giving  the  sci- 
entific world  the  benefit  of  those  researches  as  they  are  made. 
Mr.  DUNHAM.  Something  like  the  Patent  Office  Gazette? 
Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  Something  in  that  order.  These  are 
not  intended  to  be  published  in  the  annual  reports  at  all.  We  went 
over  the  matter  very  carefully  with  the  chief  of  the  Bureau,  and, 
according  to  the  best  estimate  we  could  make,  they  will  be  printed  in 
from  three  to  six  parts  annually,  and  the  cost  will  be  from  $2,500  to 
$3,000  per  annum.  That  would  be  in  addition  to  the  regular  annual 
bulletin  printed  by  the  Bureau. 

Mr.  E.  BAKKSDALE.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  call  the  previous  question  on 
ordering  the  joint  resolution  to  be  engrossed  and  read  the  third  time. 
Mr.  RANDALL.  Mr.  Speaker  — 

Mr.  BAKKSDALE.  I  withdraw  the  demand  for  the  previous  question. 
I  did  not  know  that  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  desired  to  speak 
further  on  this  subject. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  am  glad  to  hear  the  gentleman  from 
North  Carolina  [Mr.  Reid]  say  that  when  this  report  was  made  the 
Committee  on  Printing  were  not  in  possession  of  the  recommendations 


1006  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

of  the  joint  commission  in  relation  to  the  scientific  bureaus  of  the 
Government. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
[Mr.  Randall]  will  remember  that  it  has  been  only  a  few  weeks  since 
that  commission  reported. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  I  know  that,  and  I  desire  to  say  now  that  in  any- 
thing I  have  said  on  this  subject  it  has  not  been  my  wish,  purpose,  or 
intention  to  reflect  in  even  the  slightest  degree  upon  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  Committee  on  Printing.  On  the  contrary,  without  mak- 
ing an  invidious  distinction,  I  might  say  that  the  present  Committee 
on  Printing  of  this  House  has  been  perhaps  more  assiduous  in  its 
efforts  to  save  money  than  any  of  its  predecessors.  At  the  same  time, 
I  think  the  committee  ought  to  stop  right  here  and  not  ask  us  to 
appropriate  for  the  printing  of  these  bulletins,  in  view  of  the  state  of 
facts  I  have  presented. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  I  will  add,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  if  we 
send  out  these  employees  to  make  these  researches  and  to  report  upon 
them,  I  think  the  scientific  world  ought  to  have  the  benefit  of  their 
reports.  As  I  have  already  said,  these  bulletins  are  not  to  be  pub- 
lished in  the  annual  report,  and  therefore  the  only  way  in  which  the 
scientific  world  can  get  the  benefit  of  them  is  by  printing  them  in  the 
form  here  proposed. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  If  they  are  printed  in  this  form  they  ought  not  to  be 
subsequently  republished  at  great  additional  cost  in  the  annual  report. 
Can  the  gentleman  inform  us  when  these  bulletins  will  reach  the  public? 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  Just  as  soon  as  the  order  is  made  to 
print  them. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  I  think  not. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  That  is  my  information  from  the 
Bureau. 

Mr.  DARWIN  W.  JAMES.  Will  the  gentleman  from  North  Carolina 
please  tell  us  how  much  money  the  bill  carries  for  this  purpose  ? 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  Twenty-five  hundred  or  three  thou- 
sand dollars;  the  highest  limit  will  be  $3,000  per  annum. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  Each  of  these  bulletins  cost  about  $2,500  or  $3,000, 
but  when  you  aggregate  the  cost  it  comes  to  a  great  deal  more. 

Mr.  REID,  of  North  Carolina.  No;  that  is  the  aggregate  cost  per 
annum.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  now  call  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  DINGLE Y.  Before  the  gentleman  does  that,  I  wish  to  make  an 
inquiry  with  reference  to  the  issuance  of  the  reports  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology.  I  think  the  report  that  is  now  being  distributed  is  the 
one  for  1882-83;  that  is,  three  years  behind  the  present  date,  and  the 
inquiry  I  wish  to  make  is  (if  the  Committee  on  Printing  have  investi- 
gated the  matter)  why  it  is  that  these  reports  are  so  much  delayed. 

Mr.  RANDALL.  I  can  answer  the  question.     It  is  because  the  men 


FOETY-NINTH   CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  1007 

buHedn  '  N°rth  Car0lina'  THe  genUeman  «P"*«  °{  *»  «— I 


The  previous  question  was  ordered 

ordered  to  be 


r*  °  D0    Ca      °r  a  quorum'  M 

satisfied  with  the  statements  that  have  been  made. 

The  joint  resolution  (H.  120)  passed—  ayes  22,  noes  14. 
July  19,  1886—  Senate. 

H.  120  referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
July  31,  1886—  Senate. 

Mr.  CHARLES  F.  MANDERSON.  I  am  instructed  by  the  Committee  on 
Printing,  to  whom  was  referred  'the  joint  resolution  (H.  120)  to  print 
the  annual  bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  to  report  it  favor- 
ably  with  amendments.  I  ask  for  its  present  consideration. 

By  unanimous  consent,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
proceeded  to  consider  the  joint  resolution. 

The  first  amendment  of  the  Committee  on  Printing  was,  in  line  6, 
after  the  word  "Indians,"  to  insert: 

Provided,  That  the  authorization  shall  apply  only  to  matter  now  on  hand  or  col- 
lected during  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1887. 

So  as  to  read: 

That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  10,000  copies  of  any  mat- 
ter furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  relating  to  researches  and  discoveries 
connected  with  the  study  of  the  North  American  Indians:  Provided,  That  the 
authorization  shall  apply  only  to  matter  now  on  hand  or  collected  during  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1887;  the  same  to  be  issued  in  parts  and  the  whole  to  form 
an  annual  volume  of  bulletins,  4,000  copies  of  which  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the 
House  of  Eepresentatives,  1,500  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  4,500  copies  for 
the  use  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

The  next  amendment  was  to  add  as  a  new  section  the  following: 

SEC.  2.  The  sum  of  $3,000,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  for  the  print- 
ing and  binding  of  the  aforesaid  annual  bulletins,  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any 
money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  as  amended,  and 
the  amendments  were  concurred  in. 

The  amendments  were  ordered  to  be  engrossed  and  the  joint  reso- 
lution to  be  read  u  third  time. 


1008.  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  joint  resolution  was  read  the  third  time  and  passed. 

Mr.  MANDERSON.  I  move  that  the  Senate  insist  on  its  amendments 
and  ask  a  conference  with  the  House  of  Representatives  thereon. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

By  unanimous  consent  the  President  pro  tempore  was  authorized 
to  appoint  the  conferees  on  the  part  of  the  Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN).  The  Chair  appoints 
the  members  of  the  Committee  on  Printing  as  the  conferees  on  the  part 
of  the  Senate  on  the  various  House  resolutions  about  printing  which 
have  been  passed  to-day  with  amendments. 
Augusts,  1886— House. 

Passed  as  amended. 

August  5,  1886. 

Joint  resolution. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing 
Office,  10,000  copies  of  any  matter  furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology relating  to  researches  and  discoveries  connected  with  the  study 
of  the  North  American  Indians:  Provided,  That  the  authorization 
shall  apply  only  to  matter  now  on  hand  or  collected  during  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1887;  the  same  to  be  issued  in  parts  and  the 
whole  to  form  an  annual  volume  of  bulletins;  4,000  copies  of  which 
shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1,500  copies  for 
the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  4,500  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology. 

SEC.  2.  The  sum  of  $3,000  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  printing  and  binding  of  the  aforesaid  annual  bulletins  is  hereby 
appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  349.) 
February  17,  1887— Senate. 
Mr.  T.  M.  BOWEN  submitted  a  concurrent  resolution: 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  there  be  printed  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  6,000 
copies  of  any  matter  furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  relating  to  researches 
and  discoveries  connected  with  the  study  of  the  North  American  Indians:  Pro- 
vided,  That  the  authorization  shall  apply  only  to  matter  now  on  hand  or  collected 
during  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1888;  the  same  to  be  issued  in  parts  and  the 
whole  to  form  an  annual  volume  of  bulletins,  2,500  copies  of  which  shall  be  for  the 
use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1,000  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and 
2,500  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

SEC.  2.  The  sum  of  $3,000,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  for  the  print- 
ing and  binding  of  the  aforesaid  annual  bulletins,  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any 
money  in  the  Treasury  not. otherwise  appropriated. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Printing. 
February  23,  1887— House. 

Mr.  J.  T.  WAIT  offered  a  concurrent  resolution,  the  same  as  sub- 
mitted by  Mr.  T.  M.  Bowen  in  Senate,  February  17,  1887. 


'ORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,  1885-1887.  1009 

GRANT   RELICS.    . 


February  18,  1886—  Senate. 

Mr.  JUSTIN  S.  MOBBILL  introduced  a  joint  resolution  (S  4«)- 

S^MSLiailSS 


to****,*:.,  That  the  United  States  accept,  with  grateful  acknowledgment*  the 
said  property  and  article,  more  fully  described  in  the  schedule  attached  toSdS 
of  trust,  to  be  held  by  the  United  States  and  preserved  and  protected  in  the  dtv  of 
A\  ashmgton  lor  the  use  and  inspection  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 

SEC  2.  That  the  said  property  and  articles  be  placed  under  the  custody  of  the 
Director  of  the  National  Museum;  and  he  is  hereby  directed  to  receive  the  ime  foj 
safe-keeping  therein. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 

There  was  also  referred  to  this  committee  a  letter,  presented  by  Mr 
J.  S.  Morrill: 

February  10,  1886. 

SIR:  There  is  at  present  in  the  custody  of  the  Secretary  of  War  a  collection  of 
objects  which  belonged  to  General  Grant  and  have  become  the  property  of  the 
United  States.  I  would  respectfully  suggest  the  desirability  of  taking  steps  to  secure 
the  transfer  of  these  objects  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  exhibition  in  the 
National  Museum.  It  seems  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  by  the  act  to  establish  the  Smithsonian  Institution  (Rev.  Stat,  Title  LXXIII, 
sections  5579-5594)  it  is  provided  "that  all  objects  of  art  and  curious  and  foreign 
research  *  *  belonging  or  hereafter  to  belong  to  the  United  States  which  may 
be  in  the  city  of  Washington  shall  be  delivered  to  the  Regents  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  together  with  new  specimens  obtained  by  exchange,  donation,  and  other- 
wise, and  *  *  shall  be  so  arranged  and  classified  as  best  to  facilitate  their 

examination  and  study"  (Rev.  Stat.,  section  5586),  and  by  subsequent  enactment 
(Stat,,  Forty-fifth  Congress,  third  session,  chap.  182,  p.  394)  the  National  Museum 
was  designated  the  place  of  deposit. 

This  act  has  therefore  in  the  past  been  always  construed  to  mean  that  the  National 
Museum  is  the  proper  place  for  the  exhibition  of  articles  given  by  foreign  Govern- 
ments to  the  President  or  to  other  officials.  In  1883  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
caused  the  entire  collection  of  Washington  relics,  which  had  for  many  years  been  dis- 
played in  the  Patent  Office,  together  with  the  Lewis  collection  of  Washington  relics, 
which  had  been  bought  by  Congress,  to  be  transferred  to  the  Museum.  President 
Hayes  and  President  Cleveland  have  also  sent  to  the  Museum  objects  presented  to 
them  by  foreign  Governments,  and  the  Toledo  sword,  presented  by  the  Republic  of 
Spain  to  General  Grant,  was  by  him  placed  with  the  objects  which  have  since  been 
transferred  from  the  Patent  Office.  Among  the  other  Presidential  gifts  I  may  men- 
tion objects  given  to  Presidents  Jefferson,  Jackson,  Van  Buren,  and  Taylor.  I  may 
also  speak  of  the  extensive  Japanese  collection  given  by  the  Government  of  Japan  to 
the  United  States,  through  its  representative,  Commodore  Perry,  and  numerous  per- 
sonal souvenirs  of  civil,  military,  and  naval  officers  of  the  United  States. 
The  north  hall  of  the  National  Museum  has  been  assigned  to  the  collection  of  his- 
H.  Doc.  732  -  64 


1010  CONGRESSIONAL    PEOCEEDINGS. 

torical  relics,  and  it  will  be  possible  to  install  the  Grant  relics  in  a  very  attractive 
manner  in  connection  with  objects  of  a  similar  character. 
I  am,  sir,  yours,  very  respectfully, 

G.  BROWN  GOODE, 

Assistant  Director. 
Prof.  SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution  and  Director  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

March  4,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  J.  SEWELL.  1  am  instructed  by  the  Committee  on  the 
Library,  to  whom  was  referred  the  joint  resolution  (S.  46),  accept- 
ing from  William  H.  Vanderbilt  and  Julia  Dent  Grant  objects  of  value 
and  art  presented  by  various  foreign  Governments  to  the  late  Gen. 
Ulysses  S.  Grant,  to  report  it  without  amendment.  I  ask  unanimous 
consent  for  its  present  consideration. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN).  The  joint  resolu- 
tion will  be  read  for  information. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS.  I  do  not  object  at  all,  but  am  very  confi- 
dent (probably  it  did  not  pass  the  House)  that  at  a  former  session  the 
Senate  passed  a  similar  resolution. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  It  was  passed  by  the  Senate  last  year,  but  did  not 
pass  the  House. 

Mr.  EDMUNDS.  The  Senate  had  gladly  taken  the  collection.  Is  this 
the  same  sort  of  resolution  ? 

Mr.  SEWELL.  It  is  changed  a  little  so  as  to  place  the  objects  in  the 
custody  of  the  Director  of  the  National  Museum. 

Mr.  EDMUNDS.  I  have  no  objection  to  it. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  joint  resolution  will  be  read, 
subject  to  objection. 

The  Chief  Clerk  read  the  preamble  and  joint  resolution. 

By  unanimous  consent,  the  Senate,  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
proceeded  to  consider  the  joint  resolution. 

The  joint  resolution  was  reported  to  the  Senate  without  amendment, 
ordered  to  be  engrossed  for  a  third  reading,  and  read  the  third  time. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  question  is,  Shall  the  joint  res- 
olution pass? 

Mr.  EDMUNDS.  We  ought  to  take  notice  of  the  fact  in  regard  to  the 
form  of  the  resolution  that  William  H.  Vanderbilt  since  that  gift  was 
made  so  generously  has  died.  Whether  there  would  be  any  difficulty 
in  that  form  of  stating  it  I  do  not  know. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  I  should  think  not,  because  the  communication  was 
from  William  H.  Vanderbilt.  There  will  be  no  difficulty  about  accept- 
ing the  articles. 

The  joint  resolution  was  passed. 

The  preamble  was  agreed  to. 
April  15,  1886— House. 

Mr.  OTHO  R.  SINGLETON  reported  S.  46.     Referred  to  Calendar. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1QH 

Augusts,  1886— House. 

Passed. 
Augusts,  1886. 

Joint  resolution. 

Whereas  Julia  Dent  Grant  and  William  H.  Vanderbilt,  by  deed  of 
rust  executed  on  the  10th'  day  of  January,  1885,  presented  to  the 
United  States  certain  swords,  medals,  paintings,  bronzes,  portraits 
commissions,  and  addresses,  and  objects  of  value  and  art  printed  W 
various  Governments  in  the  world  to  Gen.  Ulysses  S.  Grant  as  tokens 
of  their  high  appreciation  of  his  illustrious  character  as  a  soldier  and 
a  statesman :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  the  United  States  accept,  with  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments, the  said  property  and  articles,  more  fully  described  in  the 
schedule  attached  to  said  deed  of  trust,  to  be  held  by  the  United  States 
and  preserved  and  protected  in  the  city  of  Washington  for  the  use  and 
inspection  of  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  said  property  and  articles  be  placed  under  the  cus- 
tody of  the  Director  of  the  National  Museum;   and  he  is  hereby 
directed  to  receive  the  same  for  safe-keeping  therein 
(Stat.  XXIV,  348.) 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — GOVERNMENT   COLLECTIONS. 
March  2,  1886. 

March  2,  1886. 
Prof.  S.  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  respectfully  present  the  following  statements,  in  reply 
to  the  letter  of  the  chief  clerk  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  of 
February  26,  in  relation  to  the  National  Museum  and  Government 
collections,  etc. : 

Congress  by  act  of  May  14,  1836  (Stat.  V,  29)  appropriated  $150,000 
for  a  surveying  and  exploring  expedition  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  and 
south  seas.  This  is  known  as  the  Wilkes  Exploring  Expedition. 

May  15,  1840,  the  National  Institution  was  organized  with  Hon. 
J.  R.  Poinsett,  Secretary  of  War,  and  Hon.  James  K.  Paulding,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy,  as  directors. 

By  act  of  March  3,  1844,  $5,000  were  appropriated  to  defray  tne 
expense  of  transporting  to  Washington  and  arranging  and  preserv- 
ing the  collections  made  by  the  exploring  expedition.  (Stat.  V,  420.) 

By  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  these  collections  were 
placed  in  the  care  of  the  National  Institution,  March  15,  1841,  and 
deposited  in  the  Patent  Office,  April,  1841. 

In  June,  1841,  the  collection  of  Indian  portraits  and  curiosities  of 
the  War  Department  was  deposited  in  the  cabinet  of  the  National 
Institution  by  the  Secretary  of  War. 


1012  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

In  July,  1841,  the  minerals,  books,  manuscripts,  and  other  articles 
forming  part  of  the  Smithsonian  bequest  were  deposited  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  1841,  Hon.  Daniel  Webster.  Secretary  of 
State,  transferred,  with  the  approval  of  Mr.  Ellsworth,  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents,  the  exploring  expedition  collections  from  basement 
rooms  in  the  building  to  the  upper  rooms,  or  ''Splendid  Hall,"  in 
the  second  story  of  the  Patent  Office. 

On  the  27th  of  July,  1842  (Stat.,  VI,  845),  the  National  Institute  was 
incorporated  by  Congress  as  the  successor  of  the  National  Institution. 
Its  charter  expired  by  limitation  in  twenty  years,  with  an  extension 
of  three  years  to  wind  up  its  affairs.  This  act  provided  that  all  the 
property  of  said  corporation  at  the  time  of  the  expiration  or  dissolu- 
tion of  its  charter  should  belong  to  and  devolve  upon  the  United 
States. 

By  act  of  August  4,  1842  (Stat.,  V.  501),  $20,000  was  appropriated 
for  the  transportation,  arrangement,  and  preservation  of  these  col- 
lections. 

The  Government  collections  of  natural  history,  etc. ,  were  placed  in 
the  upper  room  of  the  Patent  Office,  under  the  care  of  such  persons 
as  may  be  appointed  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  by  act 
of  August  26.  1842  (Stat.,  V,  584). 

The  act  of  Congress  of  August  10,  1846  (Stat.,  IX,  102),  organizing 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  provided — 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  in  proportion  as  suitable  arrangements  can 
bi>  made  for  their  reception,  all  objects  of  art  and  of  foreign  and  curious  research, 
and  all  objects  of  natural  history,  plants,  and  geological  and  mineralogical  specimens, 
belonging,  or  hereafter  to  belong,  to  the  United  States,  which  may  be  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  in  whosesoever  custody  the  same  may  be,  shall  be  delivered  to  such 
persons  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  Board  of  Regents  to  receive  them,  and  shall  be 
arranged  in  such  order,  and  so  classed,  as  [to]  best  facilitate  the  examination  and 
study  of  them,  in  the  building  so  as  aforesaid  to  be  erected  for  the  Institution;  and 
the  Regents  of  said  Institution  shall  afterwards,  as  new  specimens  in  natural  history, 
geology,-  or  mineralogy,  may  be  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  Institution,  by 
exchanges  of  duplicate  specimens  belonging  to  the  Institution,  (which  they  are  hereby 
authorized  to  make, )  or  by  donation,  which  they  may  receive,  or  otherwise,  cause 
such  new  specimens  to  be  also  appropriately  classed  and  arranged.  And  the  min- 
erals, books,  manuscripts,  and  other  property,  of  James  Smithson,  which  have  been 
received  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  are  now  placed  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  shall  be  removed  to  said  Institution,  and  shall  be  preserved  separate 
and  apart  from  other  property  of  the  Institution. 

The  Regents  were  authorized  to  locate  the  building  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  so  as  "to  form  a  wing  to  the  Patent  Office  building, 
and  may  so  connect  the  same  with  the  present  hall  of  said  Patent 
Office  building  containing  the  national  cabinet  of  curiosities  as  to 
constitute  the  said  hall,  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  deposit  for  the  cabinet 
of  said  Institution,  if  they  deem  it  expedient  to  do  so"  (sec.  5). 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1013 

It  was  decided,  however,  to  construct  the  Smithsonian  building  on 
reservation  No.  2,  where  it  is  now  located. 

By  act  of  August  4,  1854  (Stat,  X,  552),  the  preservation  of  the 
collections  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents, 
who  was  authorized  to  employ  keepers,  etc.,  and  the  appropriation 
was  made  under  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

On  the  completion  of  the  Smithsonian  building,  in  1855,  use  of  its 
halls  was  requested  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  the.  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents,  who  were  exceedingly  anxious  to  remove  the  col- 
lections of  the  exploring  expedition  and  National  Institute  from  the 
Patent  Office. 

The  Regents  of  the  Institution  concluded  to  grant  the  request  on 
the  condition  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  would  provide  for  the 
payment  of  the  expenses  of  the  care  of  the  collections.  This  having 
been  agreed  to,  the  Patent  Office  was  relieved  of  the  custody  of  the 
specimens,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  taking  charge  of  them  under 
the  authority  of  the  law  of  August  10,  1846. 

On  the  3d  of  March,  1857  (Stat.,  XI,  219),  Congress  made  an  appro- 
priation for  the  transfer  of  the  Government  collections  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  and  for  the  construction  of  cases  for  the  same. 

Similar  appropriations  were  made  on  the  2d  of  June,  1858  (Stat., 
XI,  301),  and  have  been  continued  ever  since. 

In  the  estimates  of  appropriations  for  the  Thirty-fifth  Congress, 
second  session  (see  House  Ex.  Doc.  No.  1,  p.  268),  the  following  letter 

appears: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  I).  C.,  October  18,  1858. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  request  that  in  your  estimates  to  be  submitted  to  Con- 
gress you  will  include  the  following  item,  in  accordance  with  the  previous  legislation 
transferring  the  collections  of  the  Government  to  the  Smithsonian  building.  The 
amount  required  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  appropriated  for  the  year  1858-59: 
"  For  the  preservation  and  exhibition  of  the  collections  of  the  exploring  and  survey- 
ing expeditions  of  the  Government,  $4,000." 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc.,  JOSEPH  HENRY, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  JACOB  THOMPSON, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Since  the  date  of  that  letter  annual  estimates  have  been  submitted 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  at  his  request,  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  and  transmitted  by  him  to  Congress. 

In  1872  the  geological  collections  of  the  Land  Office  were  transferr 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Previous  to  1873  all  the  disbursements  on  account  of  the  appropria- 
tions of  Congress  for  the  support  of  the  National  Musnim  were  made 
directly  by  the  Institution  and  afterwards  refunded  by  the  Departmen 
of  the  Interior.     Since  that  time  as  strict  a  division  of  the  accounts  as 
possible  has  been  made,  and  those  relating  to  the  Museum  have  been 


1014  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

paid  directly  by  the  disbursing  agent  of  tho  Department  of  the  Interior. 
(See  Report  of  Exec.  Cora,  of  Regents,  Journal,  p.  569.) 

The  National  Museum  is  mentioned  in  the  acts  of  Congress  of  March 
3,  1875,  July  31,  1876,  and  subsequently,  and  a  building  has  been 
erected  at  the  expense  of  the  Government  expressly  for  its  accommo- 
dation. 

When  the  Government  collections  were  transferred  from  the  Patent 
Office  to. the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  same  officials  and  employees 
were  retained,  the  curator,  John  Varden,  continuing  on  the  pay  roll 
until  his  death,  in  1865,  and  another — a  laborer — still  being  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  Museum. 

Other  officers  have  from  time  to  time  been  appointed  under  the 
seventh  section  of  the  act  organizing  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  which 
directs  that  the  "  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  keeper  of  the  Museum  and  may,  with  the  consent 
of  the  Board  of  Regents,  employ  assistants." 

The  vouchers  and  pay  rolls  are  examined  and  approved  quarterly  by 
the  executive  committee  of  the  Board  of  Regents  and  are  paid  by  the 
disbursing  clerk  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  as  sent  to  him  b^y 
the  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  with  his  indorsement  as 
to  correctness,  etc. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

WM.  J.  RHEES, 
Chief  ClerJf,  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Prof.  S.  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — SUNDAY    OPENING. 

April  12,  1886— House. 

Mr.  ZACHARY  TAYLOR  (by  request)  introduced  a  joint  resolution 
(H.  158): 

That  the  officers  of  the  United  States  in  charge  of  the  national  museums  and  insti- 
tutes of  the  United  States  shall  be  required  to  keep  said  public  buildings  open  on 
Sundays  for  as  many  hours  as  on  week  days;  and  that  the  heads  of  the  Departments 
having  control  of  said  buildings  may  employ  additional  employees  for  that  purpose. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — SECTION    OF   TRANSPORTATION. 
May  24,  1886— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  G.  STAHLNECKER  presented  the  petition  of  Charles 
Schiff,  vice-president  of  the  Alabama  Great  Southern  Railroad,  and 
many  others,  for  an  appropriation  to  carry  out  the  plans  recently 
adopted  for  the  organization  of  the  section  of  steam  transportation  in 
the  United  States  National  Museum. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1015 

Petition  from  railimij  president*,  vice-presidents,  general  managers,  engineers,  superin- 
tendents, etc.,  asking  Congress  to  make  an  appropriation  to  perpetuate  the  history  of  the 
railway  and  steamboat  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

To  the  Congress  of  the  United  States: 

The  undersigned,  desirous  of  perpetuating  the  history  of  the  birth  and  develop- 
ment of  steam  transportation  (by  steamboat  and  railway)  in  America,  respectfully 
petition  your  honorable  body  to  appropriate  such  a  sum  of  money  as  may  be  deemed 
necessary  to  carry  out  the  plans  recently  adopted  for  the  organization  of  the  section 
of  steam  transportation  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  said  sum  to  be  expended 
under  the  supervision  of  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, and  Director  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum: 

Alabama  Great  Southern  Railroad:  Charles  Schiff,  vice-president.  Alle- 
gheny Valley  Railroad:  David  McCargo,  general  superintendent. 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad:  H.  C.  Nutt,  president.  Atlantic  and 
West  Point  and  Western  Alabama  Railroad:  L.  P.  Grant,  president; 
Cecil  Gabbett,  general  manager.  Baltimore  and  Delaware  Bay  Rail- 
road: J.  F.  Bingham,  president;  Fred.  Gerker,  general  manager.  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  Railroad :  Robert  Garrett,  president.  Bangor  and 
Portland  Railroad:  C.  Miller,  president.  Boston,  Hoosac  Tunnel  and 
Western  Railroad:  A.  Kountze,  president.  Boston  and  Providence 
Railroad :  Henry  A.  Whitney,  president.  Burlington,  Cedar  Rapids 
and  Northern  Railroad:  C.  J.  Ives,  president.  Buffalo,  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  Railroad:  G.  Clinton  Gardiner,  president  and  receiver. 
Buffalo,  Rochester  and  Pittsburg  Railroad:  Walston  H.  Brown,  presi- 
dent. Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin  Valley  Railroad:  Julius  A.  Gray,  presi- 
dent. Chicago,  Burlington  and  Northern  Railroad:  George  B.  Harris, 
general  manager.  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad :  Henry 
B.  Stone,  general  manager.  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Rail- 
road: D.  J.  Whitemore,  chief  engineer.  Cincinnati  and  Eastern  Rail- 
road: B.  F.  Coates,  president  and  receiver.  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis, 
St.  Louis  and  Chicago  Railway:  M.  E.  Ingalls,  president.  Cincinnati, 
New  Orleans  and  Texas  Pacific  Railroad:  Frank  S.  Boud,  president. 
Cleveland,  Akron  and  Columbus  Railway:  J.  Monserrat,  president. 
Cleveland,  Columbus,  Cincinnati  and  Indianapolis  Railway:  N.  H. 
Devereux,  president.  Columbus,  Hocking  Valley  and  Toledo  Rail- 
way: M.  M.  Green,  president.  Delaware,  Lacka wanna  and  Western 
Railroad:  Samuel  Sloan,  president.  Detroit,  Grand  Haven  and  Mil- 
waukee Railway  and  Chicago  and  Grand  Trunk  Railway:  W.  J. 
Spicer,  general  manager;  J.  W.  Fortune,  assistant  general  manager; 
George  Masson,  chief  engineer.  Detroit,  Lansing  and  Northern  Rail- 
road: J.  B.  Mulliken,  general  manager;  F.  M.  Fish,  general  superin- 
tendent; J.  J.  McVean,  chief  engineer.  Duluth  and  Iron  Range 
Railroad :  C.  Tower,  president.  East  Tennessee  and  Western  North 
Carolina  Railroad:  A.  Pardee,  jr.,  president.  Elmira,  Cortland  and 
Northern  Railroad:  A.  A.  McLeod,  general  manager.  Florida  South- 
ern Railway:  James  D.  Halston,  superintendent;  Sherman  Conent, 
general  manager.  Houston  and  Texas  Central  Railroad:  A.  H.  Swan- 
son,  general  manager.  Illinois  Central  Railroad:  J.  C.  Clarke,  presi- 
dent; R.  S.  Charles,  treasurer;  C.  M.  Sheafe,  superintendent.  Kansas 
City,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf  Railroad:  G.  H.  Nettleton,  general  manager. 
Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern  Railroad:  Maitland  Porter,  gen- 
eral superintendent;  P.  P.  Wright,  general  superintendent;  G.  W. 
Stevens,  superintendent  motive  power.  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad :  E.  P. 


1016  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Wilbur,  president;  Charles  Hartshorne,  vice-president;  .1.  R.  Fan- 
shawe,  secretary.  Louisville  and  Nashville  Railway:  A.  M.  Quarrier, 
second  vice-president.  Louisville,  New  Orleans  and  Texas  Railway: 
W.  N.  Marshall,  master  of  transportation.  Maryland  Steamboat  Com- 
pany: II.  B.  Ensign,  president.  Mexican  National  Railway:  C.  A. 
Merriam,  general  superintendent.  Minnesota  and  Northwestern  Rail- 
road: J.  C.  Fernstorm,  chief  engineer.  Missouri  Pacific  Railway: 
H.  M.  Hoxie,  vice-president.  New  Orleans  Pacific  Railway:  E.  B. 
Wheelock,  president.  New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Rail- 
road: Chauncey  M.  Depew,  president;  Horace  J.  Hayden,  vice- 
president;  J.  M.  Tancey,  general  superintendent.  New  York,  Ontario 
and  ^Western  Railway:  Thomas  P.  Fowler,  president;  J.  E.  Childs, 
general  manager.  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Norfolk  Railroad: 
William  A.  Patton,  vice-president.  Norfolk  and  AVestern  Railroad: 
F.  J.  Kimball,  president.  Northern  Pacific  Railway:  T.  F.  Oakes, 
vice-president  and  general  manager.  North  Pennsylvania  Railroad: 
F.  A.  Comly,  president.  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Railroad:  W.  W.  Pea- 
body,  president.  Old  Colony  Railroad:  Charles  F.  Schoate,  president; 
C.  L.  Lovering,  R.  W.  Turner,  C.  N.  Bliss,  John  J.  Russell,  G.  A.  Gardi- 
ner, John  S.  Braghn,  Thomas  Dunn,  Thomas  J.  Borden,  directors. 
Oregon  and  California  Railroad:  R.  Woelden,  receiver  and  general 
manager;  J.  Brandt,  general  superintendent;  C.  H.  Andrew,  second 
vice-president.  Pacific  Coast  Railway:  J.  M.  Fillmore,  manager. 
Pennsylvania  Company:  T.  D.  Messier,  vice-president  and  comptroller. 
Pennsylvania  Railroad:  G.  B.  Roberts,  president;  Frank  Thomson, 
second  vice-president;  J.  N.  Du  Barry,  third  vice-president;  John  P. 
Green,  fourth  vice-president;  John  C.  Sims,  jr.,  secretary;  John  I). 
Taylor,  treasurer;  Charles  E.  Pugh,  general  manager;  T.N.Ely,  gen- 
eral superintendent  motive  power;  Alexander  M.  Fox,  Henry  I). 
Welsh,  H.  H.  Houston,  John  P.  Wetherill,  N.  Parker  Shortridge, 
Wistar  Morris,  directors;  J.  T.  Richards,  assistant  chief  engineer;  R.  R. 
Pettit,  general  superintendent;  F.  Wolcott  Jackson,  general  superin- 
tendent; S.  M.  Prevost, general  superintendent  transportation;  J.  R. 
Wood,  general  passenger  agent;  G.  W.  Boyd,  assistant  general  passen- 
ger agent;  R.  W.  Downing,  comptroller;  M.  W.  Thomson,  engineer, 
maintenance  of  way;  E.  F.  Brooks,  engineer,  maintenance  of  way. 
Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad:  H.  K.  Nichols,  chief  engineer; 
J.  Lowrie  Bell,  general  traffic  manager.  Philadelphia,  Wilmington 
and  Baltimore  Railroad:  Isaac  Hinckley,  president.  Providence  and 
Worcester  Railroad:  James  Callery,  president.  Richmond  and  Alle- 
gheny Railroad:  Decatur  Axtell,  receiver  and  manager.  Richmond 
and  Danville  Railroad:  F.  W.  Huidekoper,  vice-president.  Rich- 
mond, Fredericksburg  and  Potomac  Railroad:  Joseph  P.  Brinton, 
president:  E.  T.  D.  Myers,  general  superintendent;  J.  II.  Winston, 
treasurer.  Rome,  Watertown  and  Ogdensburg  Railroad:  H.  W.  Brit- 
ton,  general  manager.  St.  Louis,  Alton  and  Terre  Haute  Railroad: 
W.  Bayard  Cutting,  president;  G.  W.  Parker,  vice-president  and  gen- 
eral manager.  St.  Louis  and' San  Francisco  Railway:  D.W.Nichols, 
general  superintendent;  James  Dunn,  chief  engineer.  Shenango  and 
Allegheny  Railroad :  J.  T.  Blair,  president.  Southern  Pacific  Railroad: 
A.  C.  Hutchinson,  general  manager;  A.  N.  Towne,  general  manager. 
Southern  Florida  Railroad:  J.  E.  Ingraham,  president.  Steam  Packet 
Company,  Seaboard  and  Roanoke  Railroad,  Raleigh  and  Gaston  Rail- 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1017 

road,  Raleigh  and  Augusta  Air  Line,  Carolina  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany: William  M.  Robinson,  president.  Texas  and  Pacific  Railway: 
L.  A.  Shelden,  receiver.  Texas  and  St.  Louis  Railway:  S.  W.  Fordyce, 
receiver.  Ulster  and  North  Carolina  Railroad:  A.  B.  Andrews,  presi- 
dent. Union  Pacific  Railway:  C.F.Adams,  jr.,  president;  J.  Blick- 
ensderfer,  chief  engineer.  Union  Switch  and  Signal  Company:  C.  H. 
Jackson,  president.  Western  Transit  Company :  S.  D.  Caldwell,  gen- 
eral manager.  Westinghouse  Air  Brake  Company:  George  Westing- 
house,  jr.,  president,  West  Shore  Railroad:  J.  D.  Laying,  general 
manager;  C.  W.  Bradley,  general  superintendent.  Wheeling  and  Lake 
Erie  Railroad:  C.  A.  Wilson,  chief  engineer.  Woodruff  Sleeping  Car 
Company:  John  C.  Paul,  general  manager.  Zanesville  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road :  James  Buckingham,  president. 

To  whom  it  may  concern: 

Mr.  J.  E.  Watkins,  of  Camden,  N.  J.,  has  been  appointed  honorary  curator  of  the 
section  of  steam  transportation  (railways  and  steamboats)  in  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum. 

Mr.  Watkins  is  authorized  to  treat  in  the  interest  of  the  National  Museum  with 
any  persons  who  may  be  willing  to  aid  in  the  development  of  this  section,  and  to  add 
to  the  collection  already  in  the  Museum  objects  illustrative  of  the  history  and  growth 
of  this  industry  in  the  United  States.  Specimens  thus  acquired  will  be  exhibited  in 
the  Museum  in  the  name  of  the  donor. 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  Director  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

In  order  that  the  collection  in  connection  with  this  section  may  he  made  as  com- 
plete and  creditable  as  possible,  financial  aid  is  necessary. 

Your  attention  is  called  to  the  inclosed  petition  to  Congress,  and  your  official 
sanction  is  respectfully  requested. 

A  nation  which  contains  within  its  borders  over  120,000  miles  of  railway,  repre- 
senting stock  and  bonded  capital  of  over  $7,000,000,000,  should  be  zealous  to  preserve 
the  history  of  the  efforts  of  the  pioneers  in  railway  construction  and  equipment, 
which,  during  the  last  half  century,  have  had  such  an  immense  influence  upon  our 
growth  and  the  development  of  our  civilization. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  has  already  presented  to  the  Museum  loco- 
motive No.  1  (of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company,  imported  in  1831  and 
in  use  until  1865),  more  familiary  known  as  the  "John  Bull,"  together  with  a  sec- 
tion of  the  original  track,  laid  with  stone  blocks,  etc.,  upon  wrhich  this  the  oldest 
locomotive  on  their  system  ran. 

Engravings  of  the  first  steam  locomotive  that  ever  performed  actual  service  on  a 
railway  (in  WTales,  1804),  the  first  steamboat  which  was  commercially  successful 
(Fulton's  Clermont,  1807),  the  first  steamboat  to  navigate  the  ocean  (John  Stevens' s 
Phoenix,  1807),  the  first  steam  locomotive  built  for  actual  service  that  ever  turned  a 
driving  wheel  in  America  (the  "Stourbridge  Lion"),  and  engravings  of  the  working 
drawings  of  the  first  three  American-built  locomotives  are  already  on  exhibition. 

Many  other  relics,  models,  and  drawings  have  been  promised  by  railroad  and 
steamboat  officials  and  others. 

At  the  annual  convention  of  the  Master  Mechanics'  Association  at  Washington,  in 
July,  1885,  resolutions  indorsing  the  action  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  establish- 
ing the  section  of  steam  transportation  were  paased,  and  when  the  matter  was 
brought  before  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  at  their  Deer  Park  conven- 
tion, in  1885,  much  individual  aid  was  promised. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 


1018  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

May  26,  1886— House. 

Mr.  H.  LIBBKY  presented  a  petition  of  parties  prominent  in  rail- 
road circles,  asking  an  appropriation  for  the  organization  of  the  sec- 
tion of  steam  transportation  in  the  United  States  National  Museum. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

NATIONAL   MUSEUM — ESTIMATES. 

December  7,  1885 — House. 

Estimates  for  1887. 

For  the  erection  of  a  fire-proof  building  for  storing  the  alcoholic 
collections  of  the  National  Museum.  $15.000. 

NOTE.— The  safety  of  the  interior  of  the  National  Museum  and  the  Smithsonian 
building  is  endangered  by  the  large  number  of  alcoholic  specimens  kept  therein,  and 
it  i.s  considered  by  public  museums,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  very  important  to 
have  a  separate  building  for  their  reception  and  preservation.  There  are  at  present 
no  suitable  accommodations  for  these  collections. 

For  the  preservation,  exhibition,  and  increase  of  the  collections 
received  from  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  from  other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation 
of  all  necessary  employees,  $125,000. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  electrical  and  telephonic  service 
for  the  National  Museum,  $15,000. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  and 
safe-keeping  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum,  including 
salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $40,000. 

For  asphalt  pavement  on  the  west  side  of  the  National  Museum 
and  between  the  Museum  and  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $2,500. 

To  refund  the  duty  paid  by  Semon  Bache  &  Co. ,  of  New  York, 
upon  glass,  from  imported  stock,  furnished  to  the  National  Museum 
and  the  New  Orleans,  Louisville,  and  Cincinnati  expositions  for  exhi- 
bition cases,  $3,562.56. 
February  9,  1886— House. 

Deficiency  estimates  for  1886,  etc. 

To  meet  expenses  of  receiving,  packing,  transporting  to  the  National 
Museum  in  Washington,  and  of  installing  or  storing  such  new  speci- 
mens and  collections  as  may  be  presented  to  the  United  States  at  the 
North,  Central,  and  South  American  Exposition  held  in  New  Orleans, 
La.,  in  1885-86,  to  be  available  for  the  fiscal  year.  1886-87,  and  to 
complete  the  installation  of  the  collections  received  in  1885  from  the 
World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  $2,500. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  January  16,  1886. 

SIR:  I  respectfully  ask  that  the  inclosed  estimate  for  an  immediate  deficiency 
appropriation  be  presented  to  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  of  the  House  of 
Representatives. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1019 

At  the  last  session  an  appropriation  was  made  by  Congress  to  enable  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  to  receive  and  transmit  to  Washington  for  installation  in  the 
National  Museum  many  of  the  most  valuable  donations  to  the  United  States  made 
by  various  parties — governments,  firms,  and  individuals — that  took  part  in  the  exhi- 
bition at  New  Orleans.  This  was  expended  to  very  good  advantage,  with  the  result 
of  securing  to  the  United  States  National  Museum  many  interesting  and  important 
exhibits.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  has  been  notified  that  a  large  number  of 
additional  contributions  now  on  exhibition  there  are  at  its  command,  when  the 
exposition  which  is  still  being  continued  at  New  Orleans  closes.  The  sum  referred 
to  in  the  inclosed  memorandum  will  be  needed  to  take  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity, as  there  is  no  appropriation  at  present  available  for  the  purpose. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Hon.  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 
April  17,  1886. 

SIR:  In  the  report  of  deficiency  estimates  before  the  committee  there  is  (p.  24)  an 
item  of  $2,500  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  expenses  of  receiving,  packing,  transporting 
to  the  National  Museum  in  Washington,  and  of  installing  or  storing  sundry  con- 
tributions presented  or  to  be  presented  to  the  United  States  at  the  New  Orleans 
Exposition. 

In  further  explanation  of  this,  I  beg  to  say  that  the  exposition  is  now  closed,  and 
that  immediate  steps  are  desirable  for  taking  possession  of  the  property  in  question, 
a  larger  number  of  contributions  having  been  made  than  wras  originally  expected. 
Notably  among  these  are  the  exhibits  of  Russia  and  of  Samoa. 
Respectfully, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  JAMES  N.  BURNES, 

Chairman  of  Subcommittee  on  Deficiency  Appropriation  Bill. 

June  12,  1886. 

Statement  by  Prof.  S.  F.  Baird. 

As  regards  furniture  and  fixtures  appropriation,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  fund  has 
been  devoted  to  the  construction  of  cases  under  contract  outside  the  building  or  to 
pay  of  carpenters  and  others  employed  in  their  building  inside  the  premises  for  glass 
and  other  necessary  materials  used  in  their  finish  and  for  the  requisite  fittings,  etc. 

The  salaries  paid  out  of  the  appropriation  are  for  assistance  in  the  assignment  and 
care  of  the  furniture  and  fixtures  and  the  engrossing  of  accounts  pertaining  thereto. 

I  might  have  added  also  that  large  numbers  of  bottles,  jars,  trays,  stands,  etc., 
have  been  provided,  as  well  as  other  appointments  for  the  exhibition  room  of  the 
Museum,  and  all  coining  legitimately  within  the  scope  of  the  appropriation. 

June  19,  1886. 

SIR:  I  beg  to  inclose  an  item  for  the  completion  of  the  heating  and  telephonic 
service  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  for  the  fiscal  year  1886,  representing  the  excess 
of  liabilities  over  the  appropriation  made  for  this  purpose. 
Very  respectfully, 

S.  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution  and  Director  U.  S.  National  Museum. 
Hon.  JAMES  N.  BURNES, 

Chairman  Subcommittee  on  Appropriations,  House  of  Representatives. 


1020  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Preservation  of  collections,  National  Museum,  188(5.— For  heating  and  lighting  the 
National  Museum.— For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  telephone  and  electrical 
service,  $500,  being  a  deficiency  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1886. 

June  22,  1886— House. 

Letter  from  the  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  transmitting  an  esti- 
mate from  the  Director  of  the  National  Museum. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  June  21,  1886. 

SIR:  I  beg  to  inclose  herewith,  for  transmission  to  the  Committee  on  Appropria- 
tions of  the  House  of  Representatives,  an  item  for  the  completion  of  the  heating  and 
telephonic  service  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  for  the  fiscal  year  1886,  representing 
the  excess  of  liabilities  over  the  appropriation  made  for  this  purpose. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution  and  Director  U.  S.  Rational  Museum. 
Hen.  C.  S.  FAIRCHILD, 

Acting  Secretary  of  Treasury. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  telephonic  and  electrical  service,  $631.67, 
being  a  deficiency  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1886. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Appropriations. 
June  24,  1886. 

SIR:  In  the  estimate  of  deficiencies  required  for  the  fiscal  year  1886  and  preceding 
years  is  an  item  of  $2,500  to  meet  expenses  of  receiving,  packing,  and  transporting 
to  the  National  Museum  certain  specimens  from  New  Orleans.  As  the  occasion  for 
that  expenditure  has  passed,  I  would  respectfully  ask  the  withdrawal  from  the  bill 
and  cancellation  of  that  item. 

Respectfully,  SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 

Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  JAMES  N.  BURNES, 

Chairman  Subcommittee  on  Appropriations,  House  of  Representatives. 

July  2,  1886. 

MY  DEAR  SENATOR:  I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  inclosed  item  which  failed 
to  receive  attention  at  the  hands  of  the  House  Committee  on  Appropriations  because 
of  delay  in  reaching  that  body,  it  being  impossible  for  us  to  get  the  necessary  infor- 
mation until  recently. 

I  would  add  that  the  items  entering  into  this  deficiency  item  are : 

Rental  of  telephones $380.  00 

Gas,  quarter  ending  June  30,  1886  (estimated) 225.  57 

Electric  supplies 15.  60 

Coal...  10.50 


Total 


Requesting  that  you  will  kindly  have  the  item  put  upon  the  deficiency  bill  now 
before  your  committee, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  truly,  yours, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 
Hon.  W.  B.  ALLISON, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Appropriations,  U.  S.  Senate. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1021 

December  9,  1886 — House. 

Estimates  for  1888. 

For  commencing  the  construction,  in  a  fireproof  manner,  of  an  addi- 
tional museum  building  to  receive  the  collections  and  laboratories  in 
chemistry,  geology,  mineralogy,  metallurgy,  taxidernry,  etc.,  and  for 
offices  and  laboratories  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  to  be 
erected  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Regents  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  on  the  southwest  section  of  the  grounds  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution,  $250,000. 

For  the  preservation,  exhibition,  and  increase  of  the  collections 
from  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government, 
and  from  other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  nec- 
essary employees,  $125,000. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  electrical  and  telephonic  service 
for  the  National  Museum,  $15,000-. 

For  the  preparation  and  installation  of  duplicate  specimens  belong- 
ing to  the  United  States  for  deposit  with  such  State  and  national 
expositions  as  may  be  authorized  by  Congress  to  receive  them,  $5,000. 

For  cases,  furniture,  fixtures,  and  appliances  required  for  the  exhi- 
bition and  safe-keeping  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum, 
including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $40,000. 
January  10,  1887 — Senate. 

Letter  of  S.  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to 
Son.  W.  JB.  Allison,  chairman  Senate  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

SIR:  I  would  respectfully  ask  attention  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Appropriations 
to  the  following  items  as  contained  in  the  House  bill  No.  10072,  with  a  request  that 
the  committee  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  bringing  them  up  more 
nearly  to  the  amounts  asked  for  in  the  estimates  transmitted  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury :  . 

"Preservation  of  collections:  Preservation,  exhibition,  and  increase  of  the  collec- 
tions received  from  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  and 
from  other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensations  of  all  necessary  employees," 
from  $106,500  to  $116,000;  original  estimate,  $125,000. 

"Heating  and  lighting:  Expense  of  heating,  lighting,  electrical  and  telephonic 
service  for  the  National  Museum,"  from  $11,000  to  $13,000;  original  estimate, 
$15,000. 

So  far  as  the  appropriation  for  the  preservation  of  collections  is  concerned,  or  that 
which  constitutes  the  basis  of  support  of  the  National  Museum,  I  would  respectfully 
submit  that  the  great  increase  in  the  amount  and  value  of  the  material  placed  on 
exhibition  renders  larger  expenditures  necessary;  that  it  is  impossible  to  properly 
guard  the  valuable  collections  received  with  the  present  force  of  watchmen,  espe- 
cially since  the  addition  of  the  Grant  relics.  There  are  several  important  divisions 
of  the  Museum  that  have  not  yet  been  organized,  and  for  which  provision  is  needed. 

The  amount  of  $11,000,  previously  allowed,  does  not  meet  the  full  expense  of  heat- 
ing, lighting,  electrical  and  telephonic  service  of  the  building,  especially  when  it  is 
considered  that  there  are  four  distinct  buildings  and  a  greater  part  of  a  fifth  to  be 
covered  by  this  service.  The  offices  of  the  Smithsonian  building  are,  of  course,  pro- 
vided for  out  of  the  Smithsonian  fund,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  edifice  is  occupied 
for  museum  purposes,  and  requires  the  expenditure  of  the  museum  appropriation. 


1022  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  increase  of  the  appropriation  for  international  exchanges  is  asked  on  the 
ground  that  the  actual  excess  of  cost  over  the  $10,000  appropriated  for  the  fiscal  year 
1886  was  $2,000,  and  the  increase  is  so  rapid  that  without  doubt  by  the  beginning  of 
the  fiscal  year  1888  there  will  be  an  addition  of  certainly  50  per  cent.  It  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  this  appropriation  is  made  primarily  for  carrying  out  the  law  of 
Congress,  which  directs  the  exchange  of  50  sets  of  publications  of  the  United  States 
Government  with  foreign  governments  returning  an  equivalent;  and  also  includes 
,cost  of  the  exchange  of  the  publications  of  all  the  technical  and  scientific  institutions 
of  the  United  States  with  those  of  foreign  countries.  This  involves  the  transmission 
and  reception  of  about  1,500  boxes  annually,  the  expense  of  transportation  between 
Washington  and  all  parts  of  the  world,  the  salaries  of  agents,  the  expense  of  boxing, 
paper,  etc.,  and  the  service  necessary  to  carry  on  the  work. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  has  for  several  years  made  good  any  deficit  in  this 
appropriation,  but  it  seems  hardly  right  that  it  should  be  taxed  for  this  Government 
work,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  makes  from  its  own  fund  an  annual  expendi- 
ture of  about  $10,000  for  printing  books  which  are  sent  abroad  in  exchange,  the 
returns  for  which  are  deposited  in  the  Library  of  Congress  and  constitute  a  very 
important  feature  of  that  establishment. 

******** 

NATIONAL    MUSEUM — APPROPRIATIONS. 

June  17,  1886— House. 

Report  (H.  2898)  on  the  sundry  civil  bill  for  1887,  by  Mr.  S.  J. 
Randall,  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations,  included  letters  from 
Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and 
Prof.  J.  W.  Powell,  Director  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  2,  1886. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  beg  to  state  somewhat  more  explicitly  than  I  was  able  to  do  yester- 
day the  facts  in  regard  to  the  printing  of  the  Smithsonian  and  the  Fish  Commission 
reports,  etc. ,  respecting  which  you  made  inquiry  of  me. 

(1)  Smithsonian  Institution. — An  annual  report  on  the  operations  of  the  Institution 
has  been  addressed  to  Congress  year  by  year  since  1846,  and  the  printing  ordered 
in  the  usual  course.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Regents  takes  place  about 
the  middle  of  January,  but  the  report,  itself  has  seldom  been  printed  within  six 
months  of  that  date,  sometimes  two  years  elapsing  before  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
Board  of  Regents  and  of  Congress.  For  the  purpose  of  having  it  more  promptly,  so 
that  the  details  could  be  available  for  consideration  at  the  annual  meeting,  a  law 
was  passed  directing  the  Public  Printer  to  have  the  regular  edition  of  the  report 
printed  year  by  year  as  soon  as  received  from  the  Secretary;  putting  it  on  the  same 
basis  as  the  regular  reports  of  the  Departments  of  the  Government,  The  printing  of 
extra  copies,  however,  is  still  left  to  Congress  to  authorize. 

I  may  remark  here  that  the  report  for  the  fiscal  year  1885  has  not  yet  been  com- 
pleted by  the  printer.  In  addition  to  the  printing  of  the  annual  report,  an  estimate 
has  been  sent  in  for  a  number  of  years  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior  (which 
disburses  the  appropriations  for  the  National  Museum)  of  $10,000,  to  meet  the  inci- 
dental printing  required  for  the  National  Museum.  This  embraces  the  service 
required  for  printing  an  immense  number  of  labels  for  that  Department,  as  also  the 
so-called  Proceedings  and  the  Bulletins  of  the  National  Museum,  which  embrace 
data  connected  with  the  operations  of  the  Museum,  and  the  specimens  contained 
therein.  The  bibliography  of  Mr.  Lea,  of  which  you  showed  me  a  copy  yesterday, 
is  an  enumeration  of  the  publications  of  an  eminent  naturalist  in  Philadelphia, 
nearly  95  years  of  age,  the  oldest  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  science  in 
America.  All  his  collections  have  been  given  by  him  to  the  National  Museum,  and 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887. 


1023 


have  already  oeen  received  in  large  part;  and  the  bibliography  in  question  has 
therefore  a  distinct  and  direct  relationship  to  the  Museum. 

(2)  U.  S.  Fish  Commission. — Under  the  law  the  annual  report  of  the  operations  of 
the  Commission  is  presented;  but,  unfortunately,  there  being  no  general  provision 
by  which  the  regular  edition  can  be  printed  without  a  specific  order,  the  work  is 
dependent  upon  Congressional  order,  action  upon  which,  when  obtained,  is  usually 
deferred  in  the  Government  Printing  Office  in  favor  of  more  urgent  requisitions. 
The  volumes  of  this  report  for  1883,  although  stereotyped  and  ready  to  print  in 
November  last,  still  remain  in  the  printer's  hands.  The  report  for  1884  is  also 
nearly  ready  for  the  press. 

For  the  purpose  of  bringing  promptly  before  the  community  interested  the  work 
and  discoveries  of  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission,  and  valuable  information  in  regard  to 
fish  culture  and  the  fisheries,  Congress  several  years  ago  authorized  the  printing  of 
a  work  not  to  exceed  500  pages  annually,  and  including  the  regular  edition  plus 
5,000  copies  to  be  issued  by  signatures  as  ready,  so  that  the  editors  of  agricultural 
and  statistical  journals,  as  well  as  of  the  leading  dailies,  might  have  the  data  fresh 
as  it  occurred,  instead  of  waiting  a  period  of  one  or  two  years  after  the  expiration  of 
the  year  to  which  the  matter  referred.  In  this  way  much  important  information  is 
disseminated  at  an  early  date.  Of  the  extra  edition  (1,500  copies)  ordered  for  the 
Fish  Commission,  about  250  sets  are  distributed  in  this  way,  the  remainder  being 
held  until  completed  and  furnished  in  cloth.  The  Congressional  edition  is  only 
supplied  in  cloth  in  complete  volumes. 

The  editions  of  the  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  Fish  Commission 
have  all  been  established  by  Congressional  action  without  solicitation  on  the  part  of 
either  the  Smithsonian  Institution  or  the  Fish  Commission,  and  I  respectfully  call 
your  attention  to  the  comparatively  slight  expense  that  they  have  been  _  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. This  is  due  mainly  to  the  fact  that  as  few  illustrations  as  possible  are  intro- 
duced, and  these  are  almost  exclusively  woodcuts  from  relief  blocks  which  are  printed 
with  the  text,  and,  while  usually  costing  not  to  exceed  18  cents  per  square  inch,  are 
printed  at  very  little  more  than  the  expense  of  ordinary  type. 
Very  respectfully, 


SPENCER  F.  BAIRD. 


Hon.  THOMAS  RYAN, 

House  of  Representatives,  City. 


Title  of  document. 

Num-     Num- 
ber of     ber  of 
pages,    copies. 

Cost  of 
illustra- 
tions. 

Total  cost. 

°sr 

Report  Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  1880  
Report  Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  1881  

1,106  ;  11,500 
1,218  j  11,900 
1  194  !  11  425 

8336.00 
150.00 
408  50 

$10,  696.  39 
12,521.20 
12  001  74 

$0.93 
1.04 
1  05 

Bulletin  Fish  Commission,  1883  
Bulletin  Fish  Commission  1884 

508  |    6,900 
500  •     6  900 

3,290.77 
3  190  87 

.47 
.46 

Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1882  
Report  of  Smithsonian  Institution  for  1883 

876  |  17,460 
998  I  17  960 

.     119.00 
230  00 

10,991.81 
12,  120.  52 

.62 
.68 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  June  2,  1886. 

SIR:  In  compliance  with  your  oral  request,  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  the  follow- 
ing statement  of  the  floor  space  occupied  by  the  Geological  Survey  for  its  offices  in 
Washington.     The  space  given  includes  only  interior  room  measurements. 
I  am,  with  respect,  yours,  etc., 

J.  W.  POWELL,  Director. 
Mr.  EDWARD  CLARK, 

Architect  of  the  Capitol,  Washington,  D.  C. 


1024  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Fluor  space  occupied  by  Hie  Geological  Surrey  in,  Washington  office*. 

HOOE    BUILDING. 

Square  feet. 

Basement  (engine  rooms  and  lithological  laboratory) 4,  557 

Street  floor  (document  rooms) 1,  580 

First  floor  (rooms) 5,  687 

Second  floor  (rooms) 5, 539 

Third  floor  (rooms)  , 5,  787 

Fourth  floor  (rooms) 5,  539 

Fifth  floor  (rooms) 5,  687 

Halls  (used  for  map  cases,  file  cases,  etc. } 5,  956 


Total 40,  332 

NATIONAL    MUSEUM. 

Laboratory  rooms  of  National  Museum  used  by  the  Geological  Survey,  but 
urgently  required  for  the  Museum  (about) 1 2,  800 


Grand  total . .  53, 132 


The  report  (H.  2898)  contained  the  following-  items  or  expenditures: 

Statement  of  expenditure  of  the  appropriation,  of  $10,000  for  International  Exchanges  for 
the  fiscal  year  ending  June  SO,  1SS6. 

1  agent  in  England $500.  00 

1  agent  in  Germany  (for  the  Continent) 1,  000.  00 

1  clerk  in  Washington 1,  800.  00 

Do 1,  200.  00 

1  clerk  in  Washington,  6  months  at  $75  and  6  months  at  $100 1, 050.  00 

3  clerks  in  Washington,  at  $60  per  month 2, 160.  00 

2  packers  in  Washington,  at  $50  per  month 1 ,  200.  00 

1  copyist,  at  $40 480.  00 

1  copyist,  at  $40,  for  3  months 120.  00 

1  copyist,  at  $30,  for  1  month 30.  00 

1  packer  and  laborer,  114  days,  at  $1.50 171. 00 

1  copyist,  for  job 30.  96 

Do 51. 06 

1  case  and  cards  for  records 1 .  36.  98 

Postage - 100. 00 

1  laborer,  70  days,  at  $1 70.  00 


10,000.00 

In  addition  to  this,  the  Smithsonian   Institution  expended  from  its  own  funds 
$6,238.60. 

Exchanges. 


Receipts. 


1884-85. . . . 
1885-8G. . . . 


Packages. 
51,448 
84,524 

92,748 


Weight. 
141,465 
164,922 
201,635 


Transmis- 
sions. 


711 


Entries  in  records  in  1885-86,  93,216.    Invoices  and  acknowledgments,  12,686.    Cards  in  use:  Foreign, 
6,116;  domestic,  1,573.    Letters  written,  1,778. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1025 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  June  14,  1886. 

Your  request  for  a  statement  as  to  the  expenditures  on  account  of  furniture  and 
fixtures,  National  Museum,  for  the  fiscal  year  1885-86  was  duly  received,  but,  as 
explained  in  my  note  of  the  12th  instant,  not  until  too  late  for  the  necessary  action 
at  the  time.  I  now,  however,  beg  to  submit  the  information  so  far  as  I  understand 
your  wishes.  It  will,  I  hope,  be  found  to  fully  confirm  my  general  statement  of 
Saturday,  and  is  as  follows: 

Amount  of  appropriation, $40, 000. 00 

Expended  to  June  15  (wages  and  salaries  to  June  1  only): 
Exhibition  cases,  unit  drawers  and  trays  for  same,  exhi- 
bition screens,  pedestals,  bases,  designs  and  drawings, 
lumber,  plate  glass,  locks,  interior  fittings  and  fixtures, 

and  general  hardware $17, 186. 95 

Furniture  for  exhibition  halls  and  offices  and  repairs  to 

same 878. 68 

Glass  jars,  bottles,  vials,  and  rubber  and  cork  stoppers. .       3,  613. 45 

Labeling  cases  and  specimens,  materials  for 202.  84 

Apparatus  and  fixtures  for  laboratories  and  repairs  to 

same. 1,145,01 

Incidental — traveling  expenses 12. 91 

Salaries — property   clerk,    accountant,    and    copyist,    to 

June  1 1, 250. 00 

Wages  of  carpenters,  painters,  and  other  mechanics,  in- 
cluding wages  of  laborers,  to  June  1 9, 613. 08 

Balance  available  June  15  for  materials,  cases,  salaries, 

and  wages,  etc. ,  for  month  of  June 6,  097. 08 

40,000.00 

I  would  repeat  that  the  expenditures  (excepting  as  to  wages  and  salaries)  cover 
everything  paid  for  to  June  14  (or  say  15,  to-morrow),  and  that  the  balance  available 
will  meet  all  liabilities  to  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year,  including  June  salaries  and 
wages. 

With  regard  to  your  inquiries  as  to  amounts  paid  for  salaries,  highest  and  lowest 
salary,  etc.,  I  beg  to  submit  the  following: 

Total  amount  for  salaries  July  1,  1885,  to  June  1,  1886 .' .  $1,  250. 00 

Highest  salary  per  month  (property  clerk) $100.  00 

Lowest  salary  per  month  (copyist) $30.  00 

Average  salary $62.  50 

Total  expenditure  for  wages,  11  months  (to  June  1,  1886) $9, 613. 08 

Highest  number  of  employees  any  one'month 30 

Lowest  number  of  employees  any  one  month 7 

Average  number  of  employees 16^T 

Highest  wages  paid  mechanics  and  laborers per  day. .          $3.  00 

Lowest  wages  paid  mechanics  and  laborers do $1. 50 

Average  wages  paid  mechanics  and  laborers v do $2.  25 

With  reference  to  Report  of  Progress  of  the  Museum,  as  called  for  by  Congressional 
enactment  (sundry  civil  act,  1885),  I  would  respectfully  state  that,  as  you  will  .see 
by  accompanying  printed  title-page  and  table  of  contents,  the  report  for  1884  was 
duly  submitted  and  is  now  in  process  of  publication,  though  the  Public  Printer  has 
not  yet  furnished  us  with  copies.  The  report  for  1885  was  also  placed  before  Con- 
gress at  the  proper  time,  and  is  now  at  the  Government  Printing  Office  awaiting  its 
action  in  the  way  of  publication. 
Very  truly,  yours, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 
J.  C.  COURTS,  Esq., 

Clerk  Committee  on  Appropriatione, 
H.  Doc.  732 65 


1026 


CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 


Expenditures  for  preservation  of  Government  collections  for  year  ending  June,  30,  1886. 

For  salaries  of  106  employees $82,  317.  60 

For  specimens 1, 400. 00 

For  stationery 1, 800.  00 

For  freight 2,  000.  00 

For  supplies,  ice,  alcohol,  poison,  etc 6, 000.  00 

For  books  and  journals 200.  00 

For  traveling  expenses  of  assistants 300.  00 

For  apparatus  and  tools 400. 00 

For  repairs 400.  00 

For  miscellaneous 382.  40 

Amount  of  appropriation : 95,  000.  00 

Respectfully  submitted. 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution  and  Director  National  Museum. 


Amounts  paid  for  salaries  for  preservation  of  collections,  National  Museum. 


Employees. 

Per 
month. 

Total  per 
month. 

Employees. 

Per 
month. 

Total  per 
month. 

8300  00 

8300  00 

875  00 

875  00 

166.66 

833  30 

1  preparator        

45.00 

45  00 

135  00 

135  00 

40  00 

40  00 

1  assistant  superintendent  

75.00 
70.00 

75.00 
70.00 

1  machinist  
1  machinist  

75.00 
50.00 

75.00 
50.00 

125  00 

125  00 

50  00 

50  00 

125  00 

250  00 

50  00 

500  00 

1  assistant 

110  00 

110  00 

65  00 

65  00 

3  assistants  

1  aid 

100.00 
100  00 

300.00 
100  00 

3  doorkeepers  

50.00 
40  00 

150.00 
80  00 

laid  
laid  

CO.  00 
45.00 

60.00 
45.00 

1  attendant.  
1  attendant  

40.00 
35.00 

40.00 
85.00 

clerk  
clerk  

140.00 
130.00 

140.00 
130.00 

1  attendant  
1  messenger  

20.00 
45.00 

20.00 
45.00 

clerk 

110  00 

110  00 

40.00 

40.00 

clerk 

85  00 

85  00 

30  00 

30  00 

clerk 

55  00 

55  00 

24.00 

24.00 

2  clerks 

50  oo 

100  00 

20  00 

40  00 

50  00 

150  00 

15.00 

15.00 

45  00 

90.00 

1  laborer  

48.00 

48.00 

40  00 

240  00 

46  00 

92.00 

35  00 

35  00 

1  laborer  

45.00 

45.00 

30  00 

30  00 

42.00 

84.00 

1  artist                        

110  00 

110  00 

6  laborers  

40.00 

240.00 

125  00 

125  00 

37  50 

37.50 

i       96  00 

96  00 

4  laborers  

36.00 

144.00 

1  taxidermist 

125  00 

125  00 

35.00 

35.00 

110  00 

33  00 

33  00 

1  taxidermist 

80  00 

80  00 

30.00 

90.00 

1  taxidermist  

70  00 

70.00 

2  cleaners  

24.00 

48.00 

50  00 

50  00 

20.00 

20.00 

1  preparator  

100.00 

100.00 

106  

6,859.80 

90.00 

90.00 

Number  of  employees,  106. 

Aggregate  salaries  for  one  month,  86, 859. 80. 

Aggregate  salaries  for  one  year,  882, 317.60. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1027 

.  W.  Powell  reported  the  cost  of  publishing  the  reports  of  the  Bureau  of 

Ethnology. 

Work  charged: 

1881 $9,555.14 

1882 55, 137. 12 

1883 9, 123. 27 

1884 41, 152. 66 

1885...                                                    - 4,110.44 


Total '. 119, 478. 63 

July  17,  1886— House. 

Mr.  WM.  M.  SPRINGER,  from  the  Committee  on  Claims,  submitted 
a  report  (H.  3318)  to  accompany  bill  (H.  9865): 

The  Committee  on  Claims,  to  whom  was  referred,  from  the  Com- 
mittee on  Appropriations,  the  following  resolution — 

That  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  be  discharged  from  the  consideration  of 
the  item  in  the  Book  of  Estimates  for  1887,  page  205,  "to  refund  the  duty  paid  by 
Semon  Bache  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  upon  glass  from  imported  stock  furnished  to  the 
National  Museum,  and  the  New  Orleans,  Louisville,  and  Cincinnati  Expositions,  for 
exhibition  cases,.  $3,562.56,"  and  that  the  same  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Claims — 

having  had  the  same  under  consideration,  report  back  the  same  with 
the  accompanying  bill,  and  recommend  that  the  bill  be  passed.  The 
amount  covered  by  this  bill  i-*  $3,562.56. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  placed  this  sum  in  the  Book  of  Esti- 
mates, on  page  205,  and  recommended  that  the  sum  be  allowed  as  a 
part  of  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  Government;  but  the  Committee 
on  Appropriations  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  properly  a  claim  to 
be  presented  in  the  usual  way.  The  reason  for  the  allowance  of  this 
claim  is  stated  in  the  letter  of  Prof.  Spencer  F.  Baird,  as  follows: 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  June  30,  1886. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  beg  respectfully  to  invite  your  attention  to  an  item  recently  referred 
to  your  committee,  by  order  of  the  House,  discharging  the  Committee  on  Appropria- 
tions from  further  consideration  of  the  subject,  said  item  being  found  in  the  Book  of 
Estimates,  page  205,  a  copy  of  which  I  inclose,  together  with  my  letter  at  that  time  in 
regard  to  it. 

In  this  connection  I  would  state  that  the  item  in  question  has  twice  been  estimated 
for  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  In  the  deficiency  estimates  for  the  fiscal  year 
1885  (p.  9,  letter  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  January  22,  1885,  House  Ex.  Doc. 
No.  115),  it  appears  for  the  first  time,  but  through  inadvertence  my  explanatory 
letter  was  not  printed  with  the  estimates,  and  not  fully  understanding  the  subject,  the 
item  was  left  out  in  making  up  the  deficiency  bill. 

In  view  of  my  printed  explanation  of  this  measure,  it  would  seem  an  unnecessary 
trespass  upon  your  time  to  state  anything  further  with  regard  to  it,  unless  it  be  that 
it  is  just  and  would  not  have  been  rendered  necessary  but  for  the  rule  of  the  Treasury 
Department  operating  retroactively  upon  Messrs.  Bache  &  Co.,  thereby  depriving 
them  of  permit,  to  which  they  were  entitled  for  glass  taken  from  stock  up  to  the  date 
of  the  order,  said  order  being  the  result  of  unsatisfactory  methods  of  doing  business 
on  the  part  of  another  firm  in  New  York,  dealing  extensively  in  glass  importation. 


1028  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Should  your  committee  desire  any  further  information  with  regard  to  this  measure, 
I  shall  be  happy  to  furnish  the  same  in  writing,  or  orally  through  an  assistant  fully 
informed  upon  the  subject. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  truly,  yours, 

S.  F.  BAIRD,  Secretary. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  M.  SPRINGER, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Claims,  House  of  Representatives. 

Refund  of  duty  to  Semon  Bache  &  Co. 

To  refund  the  duty  paid  by  Semon  Bache  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  upon  glass  from 
imported  stock  furnished  to  the  National  Museum,  and  the  New  Orleans,  Louisville, 
and  Cincinnati  Expositions,  for  exhibition  cases  (submitted),  $3,562.56. 

NOTE. — In  explanation  I  would  state  that,  from  time  to  time,  for  several  years 
past,  the  Treasury  Department  has,  at  the  request  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
granted  free  permits  for  importations  of  glass  to  offset  the  duty  paid  on  that  fur- 
nished from  stock  to  the  National  Museum,  and  the  New  Orleans,  Cincinnati,  and 
Louisville  Expositions,  by  the  firm  in  question;  but  in  the  summer  of  1884  an  order 
was  issued  by  the  Treasury  Department  declining  to  grant  further  permits  unless  the 
glass  came  directly  through  the  custom-house  to  this  city,  this,  order  proving  retro- 
active with  regard  to  Messrs.  Bache  &  Co.  The  amount  of  duties  now  asked  to  be 
refunded  we  have  found  to  be  correct,  and  covers  the  entire  liability  of  the  Govern- 
ment on  this  account  to  the  firm  mentioned,  to  the  present  date. 

For  the  reasons  stated  in  this  letter,  and  in  view  of  the  recommen- 
dation of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  its  allowance,  your  com- 
mittee are  of  the  opinion  that  the  accompanying  bill  should  pass. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

July  20,  1886— Senate. 

The  next  amendment  to  the  sundry  civil  bill  for  1887  (H.  9478)  was 
in  line  1672,  after  the  word  "  Museum,"  to  strike  out  the  word 
"building,"  so  as  to  make  the  clause  read: 

Heating  and  lighting  the  National  Museum:  For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and 
electrical  and  telephonic  service  for  the  National  Museum,  $11,000. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  J.  SEWELL.  Is  this  the  appropriate  time  to  «all  for  an 
explanation  in  relation  to  the  expenditures  for  the  National  Museum, 
as  connected  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  ?  I  have  yet  to  know 
under  what  committee  of  the  Senate  these  expenditures  are  arranged. 
I  ask  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  whether  any 
committee  of  the  Senate  has  any  jurisdiction  over  these  expenditures? 
Here  is  a  large  appropriation  of  $106,500: 

For  the  preservation,  exhibition,  and  increase  of  the  collections  received  from  the 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  and  from  other  sources, 
including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  B.  ALLISON.  I  do  not  know  that  any  special  committee 
has  charge  of  these  expenditures,  unless  it  be  the  Committee  on  Appro- 
priations. They  are  very  carefully  estimated  for  in  the  Book  of  Esti- 
mates. 


FORTY-NINTH   CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1029 

Mr.  SEWELL.  The  National  Museum  and  Smithsonian  Institution 
seem  to  report  their  proceedings  directly  to  the  Committee  on  Appro- 
priations, and  their  appropriations  are  granted  as  estimated  for  in  that 
way  without  going  through  any  committee  of  the  Senate,  as  all  other 
expenses  of  the  Government  do. 

Mr.  EUGENE  HALE.  What  committees  do  the  salaries  of  the 
employees  of  the  Departments  come  under  in  any  case  except  the 
Committee  on  Appropriations? 

Mr.  SEWELL.  They  come  regularly  to  the  Committee  on  Appropria- 
tions, but  the  interests  of  the  Treasury  Department  are  in  charge  of 
the  Finance  Committee. 

Mr.  HALE.  The  Finance  Committee  do  not  deal  with  the  salaries  of 
employees. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  But  here  is  a  lump  sum  for  the  preservation,  exhibi- 
tion, and  increase  of  collections  in  the  National  Museum  amounting 
to  $106,500. 

Mr.  HALE.  It  is  the  same  as  the  Fish  Commission. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  I  grant  the  Fish  Commission  is  of  the  same  character. 

Mr.  HALE.  There  are  thirty  other  items  in  the  bill  of  the  same 
kind. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  There  are  very  few  others,  if  any.  There  is  a  Com- 
mittee of  Fisheries  of  the  Senate  to-day  that  has  not  a  particle  of  con- 
trol over  the  expenditures  of  the  Fish  Commission,  as  it  ought  to 
have. 

Mr.  ALLISON.  So  far  as  the  National  Museum  is  concerned,  for  the 
number  of  employees  and  the  character  of  work  done,  the  compensa- 
tion of  the  persons  who  perform  the  work  is  less  than  in  any  other 
department  of  this  Government.  They  are  employed  at  very  small 
compensation  and  are  generally  highly  intelligent  and  educated  men. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  I  do  not  find  any  fault  with  the  compensation  or 
with  the  intelligence  of  the  gentlemen  employed  in  those  bureaus.  I 
merely  criticise  the  mode  of  doing  business.  Take  the  army  matters: 
they  are  referred  to  the  Military  Committee,  and  naval  matters  to  the 
Naval  Committee,  and  finance  matters  to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 
It  seems  that  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Fish  Commission,  and 
the  National  Museum  deal  directly  with  the  Committee  on  Appropria- 
tions, without  supervision  on  the  part  of  any  other  committee. 

Mr.  ALLISON.  The  Smithsonian  Institution  is  not  a  Government 
institution.  It  is  controlled  by  Regents  appointed,  two  [three]  by  the 
President  of  the  Senate  and  two  [three]  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  the  others  are  ex  officio  members;  and  the 
expenditures  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  are  not  even  under  the 
control  of  Congress,  I  think.  The  Smithsonian  fund  is  perpetually  in 
the  Treasury,  drawing  a  fixed  rate  of  interest,  and  the  income  is 
under  the  control  of  the  Regents. 


1030  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  Does  the  chairman  of  the  Appropriations  Committee 
say  that  no  appropriation  is  made  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution? 

Mr.  ALLISON.     I  think  not. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  Are  none  of  the  officers'  salaries  paid  by  Congress? 

Mr.  ALLISON.  Not  that  I  know  of. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  might  be  very  well  at  the 
beginning  of  the  next  session  of  Congress  to  have  a  slight  amendment 
to  the  rules,  by  which  all  questions  relating  to  the  National  Museum 
and  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  perhaps  some  kindred  matters, 
so  far  as  a  change  in  their  work  is  proposed,  should  be  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Library.  But  I  do  not  say  that  that  would  justify 
the  present  criticism,  because  I  suppose  that  committee  would  no 
more  look  into  the  question  of  the  number  of  clerks  to  carry  out  the 
ordinary  work  than  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  would  look  into 
the  same  question  in  regard  to  the  Department  of  Justice. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  I  will  say  to  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  that  I 
did  not  intend  to  make  any  criticism  at  the  present  time;  but  at  some 
future  time  1  shall  ask  that  matters  in  relation  to  the  National  Museum 
and  also  the  Fish  Commission  shall  be  referred  to  or  placed  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  appropriate  committees  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  HOAR.  That  would  require  a  change  of  the  rules. 

Mr.  ALLISON.  If  the  Senator  from  New  Jersey  desires  that  some 
other  committee  shall  overhaul  these  bureaus  in  respect  to  their 
appropriations,  of  course  I  have  no  objection  to  that.  If  the  Com- 
mittee on  Appropriations  have  not  carefully  scrutinized  the  amounts 
of  these  appropriations,  I  trust  the  Senator  will  point  out  where  the 
committee  has  been  negligent. 

Mr.  SEWELL.  I  did  not  intend  to  make  any  reflection  of  that  kind. 
In  the  end  we  all  have  confidence  in  the  Committee  on  Appropriations 
for  running  the  Government;  but  1  did  intend  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  Senate  to  the  fact  that  these  bureaus  were  being  run  without  any 
supervision  by  a  committee  of  Congress.  I  shall  take  occasion  here- 
after to  bring  the  matter  before  the  Senate. 
July  22,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  M.  EVARTS  introduced  a  bill  (S.  2871)  for  the  relief 
of  Semon  Bache  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  the  same  as  reported  by  Mr. 
William  M.  Springer  in  House  of  Representatives,  July  17,  1886. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Claims. 

July  22,  1886. 

Letter  from  Secretary  S.  F.  Bawd  to  Hon.  W.  C.  Whitthome,  Com- 
mittee on  Claims*  United  States  Senate. 

******* 
While  the  Institution  is  in  no  wise  liable  for  the  debt  to  Semon,  Bache  &  Co.  on 
the  part  of  the  Government^  it  can  not  properly  throw  off  the  moral  responsibility 
resting  upon  the  establishment  to  do  everything  in  its  power  to  secure  payment  of 
the  obligation. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1031 

As  you  will  see  from  the  printed  report,  the  item  has  been  twice  estimated  for  by 
the  Treasury  Department.  On  the  first  occasion  it  was  placed  in  the  deficiency  bill, 
but  was  thrown  out  as  not  properly  belonging  there.  On  the  second  occasion  it  was 
placed  in  the  sundry  civil  bill.  The  chairman,  however,  instead  of  striking  it  out 
in  committee,  brought  it  to  the  attention  of  the  House  and  had  it  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Claims  of  that  body,  satisfied  it  would  not  be  allowed  as  an  item  of 
the  bill  because  of  a  certain  rule  operating  against  its  status  therein. 

I  have  reiterated  from  time  to  time  that  the  item  is  just  and  explained  why  the 
amount  was  not  allowed  without  resort  to  Congress;  also  that  the  account  has  been 
examined  and  found  correct.  The  Committee  on  Claims  of  the  House,  as  you  will 
see  in  their  report,  recommended  its  allowance. 

The  gentlemen  for  whom  this  relief  is  intended  know  little  about  methods  of 
legislation,  and  rely  entirely  upon  our  securing  the  passage  of  the  measure.  The 
sum  is  trifling,  but  being  justly  due,  and  the  parties  having  waited  nearly  four  years 
for  its  payment,  they  are  very  desirous  of  securing  favorable  action  at  this  session  of 
Congress,  especially  as  they  receive  no  interest  on  the  amount  which  has  been  paid 
from  their  own  pockets,  and  hence  becomes,  as  it  were,  a  loan  to  the  Government. 
******* 

January  15,  1887— House. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  M.  SPRINGER,  from  the  Committee  on  Claims,  sub- 
mitted a  report  (H.  3612)  to  accompany  bill  (S.  2871): 

The  Committee  on  Claims,  to  whom  was  referred  the  bill  (S.  2871)  for 
the  relief  of  Semon,  Bache  &Co.,  having-  had  the  same  under  considera- 
tion, report  it  back  with  the  recommendation  that  it  do  pass.  The 
committee  reported  House  bill  No.  9865  (Report  No.  3318)  on  the  same 
subject,  in  which  report  the  facts  in  relation  to  this  claim  are  set  forth. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  Whole. 

March  3,  1887. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1888. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  electrical  and  telephonic  serv- 
ice for  the  National  Museum,  $12,000. 

For  the  preservation,  exhibition,  and  increase  of  the  collections  from 
the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Government,  and  from 
other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary 
employees,  $116,000. 

For  cases,  furniture,  fixtures,  and  appliances  required  for  the  exhibi- 
tion and  safe-keeping  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum,  includ- 
ing salaries  or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $40,000. 

(Stat,  XXIV,  529.) 

August  4,  1886. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1887. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  electrical  and  telephonic  serv- 
ice for  the  National  Museum,  $11,000. 

For  the  preservation,  exhibition,  and  increase  of  the  collections 
received  from  the  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  from  other  sources,  including  salaries  or  compensation 
of  all  necessary  employees,  $106.500. 


1032  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

For  cases,  furniture,  and  fixtures  required  for  the  exhibition  and 
safe-keeping  of  the  collections  of  the  National  Museum,  including  sal- 
aries or  compensation  of  all  necessary  employees,  $40,000. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  242.) 

August  4,  1886. 

Deficiency  act  for  1886,  etc. 

For  expense  of  heating,  lighting,  and  electrical  and  telephonic  serv- 
ice, $631.67. 

Preservation  of  collections,  1883  and  prior  years,  $149.16. 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  272.) 

(To  cover  claim  reported  in  House  Ex.  Doc.  No.  255,  Foity-ninth 
Congress,  first  session.) 

MANUSCRIPT   COMMISSION. 
March  11,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  G.  F.  HOAR  introduced  S.  1851: 

That  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  and  their  supcessors  in  office,  are  hereby  constituted  a  com- 
mission whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  report  to  Congress  the  character  and  value  of  the 
historical  and  other  manuscripts  belonging  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
and  what  method  and  policy  should  be  pursued  in  regard  to  editing  and  publishing 
the  same  or  any  of  them. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 
March  25,  1886— Senate. 

Passed. 
April  15,  1886— House. 

Mr.  O.  R.  SINGLETON,  from  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library, 
submitted  a  report  (H.  1633)  on  bill  (S.  1851): 

The  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  to  whom  was  referred  the  bill 
(S.  1851)  establishing  a  commission  to  report  to  Congress  on  manu- 
scripts belonging  to  the  Government,  have  had  the  same  under  con- 
sideration, and  report  the  same  back  with  a  recommendation  that  it 
do  pass. 

The  bill  does  not  provide  for  any  expenditure  of  money,  but  only 
looks  to  the  raising  a  commission  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  inquire 
into  the  character  and  value  of  manuscripts  belonging  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  propose  some  plan  for  editing  and  publishing  the  same. 
We  have  many  valuable  manuscripts,  some  of  which  have  been 
acquired  by  purchase  and  others  by  donation.  Among  them  are  the 
Franklin,  the  Rochambeau  papers,  and  a  copy  of  the  records  of  Vir- 
ginia made  the  first  year  or  two  after  her  settlement.  The  bill  pro- 
vides that  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  and  the 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  shall  constitute  the  commis- 
sion and  report  to  Congress  their  opinion  as  to  the  best  means  of 
giving  publicity  to  these  historical  manuscripts. 

Committed  to  Committee  of  the  Whole. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1033 

February  2,  1887— Senate. 

Mr.  GEORGE  F.  HOAR  moved  to  insert  on  page  101,  after  line  2452, 
in  the  sundry  civil  bill  for  1888  (H.  10072)  the  following: 

That  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  and  their  successors  in  office,  are  hereby  constituted  a  com- 
mission whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  report  to  Congress  the  character  and  value  of  the 
historical  and  other  manuscripts  belonging  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
and  what  method  and  policy  should  be  pursued  in  regard  to  editing  and  publishing 
the  same,  or  any  of  them. 

Agreed  to. 
March  3,  1887. 

The  sundry  civil  act  constituted  a  commission  consisting  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  State,  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  and  their  successors  in  office,  "to  report  to 
Congress  the  character  and  value  of  the  historical  and  other  manu- 
scripts belonging  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  what 
method  and  policy  should  be  pursued  in  regard  to  editing  and  pub- 
lishing the  same,  or  any  of  them." 

(Stat.,  XXIV,  542.) 

EXPOSITIONS. 

Centennial  CelebTation  of  the  Constitution. 

April  21,  1886— Senate. 
Mr.  ARTHUR  P.  GORMAN  submitted  a  resolution : 

That  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  be  instructed  to  consider  the  subject  of 
a  celebration  in  1889,  at  Washington,  of  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  formation 
of  the  Government  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  also  of  theiour 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America  in  1892;  and  to  report  what,  if 
any,  action  by  Congress  is  advisable  in  relation  thereto. 

Amended  to  make  the  reference  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 

Mr.  GORMAN  presented  a  memorial  from  prominent  citizens,  which 
was  ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Record1  and  referred  to  Committee 
on  the  Library. 

[Permanent  Exposition  of  the  Three  Americas:  To  be  located  at  the  capital  of  the  United  States.— 
Constitutional  Centennial  Celebration  in  1889:  By  the  sixteen  American  Republics  in  honor  of  the 
one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Constitution  of  the  parent  Republic,  the  United  States.— World's 
Exposition  in  1892:  In  honor  of  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America  by 
Columbus.] 

OFFICE  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  PROMOTION, 
Wttard's  Hotel,  Washington,  D.  €.,  April  21,  1886. 
To  Congress: 

In  three  years  from  the  4th  of  last  March  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
will  have  completed  the  first  century  of  its  existence. 

Six  years  from  the  12th  of  next  October  will  be  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus. 

'Printed  in  Congressional  Record,  April  21,  1886. 


1034  CONGRESSIONAL  PROCEEDINGS. 

These  are  great  historical  events  of  national,  hemispherical,  and  world-wide  im- 
portance, which  should  be  celebrated  in  a  manner  becoming  the  dignity,  wealth, 
and  grandeur  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  three  Americas.  Pride,  as  well  as 
self-interest,  in  the  success  and  advancement  of  republican  and  American  institu- 
tions require  that  all  Americans  unite  in  paying  tribute  to  these  anniversaries. 

Your  attention  is  therefore  respectfully  invited  to  some  suggestions  in  regard  to 
the  ceremonies  which  it  seems  to  us  would  be  appropriate  and  to  a  proposed  per- 
manent exposition  which  should  remain  as  a  lasting  monument  in  honor  of  these 
events.  They  are  simply  suggestions  thrown  out  to  attract  other  suggestions  and  to 
stimulate  discussion  of  a  subject  which  is  of  transcendent  political  and  practical 
importance  to  the  whole  Western  Hemisphere. 

To  prevent  any  possible  misunderstanding  it  may  be  well  to  state  at  the  outset 
that  we  who  are  advocating  the  proposed  celebrations  and  exposition  at  the  national' 
capital,  desire  that  they  be  entirely  under  the  auspices  and  control  of  the  Gen- 
eral Government.  Both  the  magnitude  and  dignity  of  the  project  forbid  its  man- 
agement by  a  private  corporation. 

The  subject  of  an  exposition  in  1892  has  already  been  carefully  considered  in 
several  American  cities  besides  Washington. 

More  than  a  year  ago  a  committee  of  representative  and  progressive  citizens  was 
appointed  in  St.  Louis  to  take  steps  toward  its  acquisition  for  that  metropolis  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  They  secured  the  indorsement  of  a  national  convention  of 
fair  and  exposition  managers,  and  have  since  then  kept  the  subject  prominently 
before  the  press  and  public. 

During  the  past  four  or  five  months  Chicago,  with  its  usual  enterprise,  has  held 
several  meetings  to  arrange  for  an  exposition  there  in  1892,  which  movement  is  cor- 
dially indorsed  by  the  press  and  public  of  that  city. 

During  the  past  four  months  a  promoting  organization  has  been  perfected  in  the 
City  of  Mexico,  composed  chiefly  of  members  of  the  press,  to  capture  the  same  expo- 
sition. They  have  already  appealed  to  the  general  government  of  their  Republic, 
and  an  early  and  favorable  response  is  expected. 

A  year  ago  a  meeting  of  some  200  or  300  Spaniards  and  Spanish- Americans  was 
held  at  Tammany  Hall,  New  York  City,  to  take  preliminary  steps  toward  a  celebra- 
tion in  1892  in  honor  of  Columbus. 

Recently  the  subject  of  a  world's  fair  in  New  York,  in  honor  of  the  centennial  of 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  has  teen  discussed  in  that 
city. 

Recently,  also,  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  United  States  Senate  providing  for  a 
constitutional  centennial  celebration  at  Washington  in  1889  by  the  sixteen  American 
Republics  in  honor  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
parent  Republic — the  United  States. 

In  brief,  two  points  are  already  settled  by  public  opinion:  First,  that  these  great 
historic  events  must  be  duly  celebrated  in  some  American  city;  and,  second,  that 
the  exposition  proposed  in  their  honor  should  be  the  greatest  the  world  ever 
witnessed. 

Now,  it  is  evident  that  great  world's  fairs  can  not  be  successfully  held  in  four 
American  cities  at  the  same  time.  In  this  connection  the  mind  naturally  turns 
toward  Washington,  the  capital  of  the  United  States— the  capital  of  the  leading 
nation  of  the  three  Americas — the  Paris  of  America  in  attractions  and  beauty,  and  a 
city  destined  to  be  the  Berlin  of  America  in  educational  advantages.  It  is,  therefore, 
a  city  upon  which  all  others  can  unite— the  truly  representative  city  of  the  western 
hemisphere. 

Let  us  briefly  consider  a  few  of  its  many  advantages: 

It  is  near  the  great  centers  of  population,  and  easily  accessible  both  by  rail  and 
water,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  accompanying  diagram. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1035 

Within  a  radius  of  200  miles  then-  are  10,000,000  people  who  could,  if  ample 
transportation  facilities  were  provided,  reach  Washington  within  one  night. 

Washington  is  also  a  favorite  resort  for  the  tourist.  It  is  a  halfway  house  for  the 
annual  exodus  of  Americans  to  Europe,  and  a  stopping  place  on  their  return. 

Its  climate  is  mild  in  winter,  and  in  summer  it  is  within  easy  reach  of  the  many 
surrounding  and  attractive  summer  resorts. 

It  is  the  center  of  scenes  of  great  historic  interest,  such  as  Mount  Vernon,  Arling- 
ton Heights,  Yorktown,  and  other  places.  These  attractions  and  advantages  may 
also  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  diagram. 

But  more  important  than  all  these  is  its  park,  or  governmental  reservation,  extend- 
ing from  the  Capitol  to  the  National  Observatory,  and  including  the  Potomac  Flats — 
soon  to  be  reclaimed  and  beautified — containing  in  all  about  1,000  acres.  Situated, 
as  it  is,  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  within  a  few  steps  of  Pennsylvania  avenue  and 
the  principal  hotels,  it  has  a  great  advantage  for  exposition  purposes  over  the  parks 
of  other  cities,  as  they  frequently  are  5  or  6  miles  out  in  the  suburbs. 

This  park,  its  contents  and  immediate  surroundings,  such  as  Washington  Monu- 
ment, the  National  Museum,  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Botanic  Garden,  the  Capitol 
buildings  facing  it  on  the  east,  the  Treasury  Department,  Executive  Mansion,  Depart- 
ment of  Justice,  State,  War,  and  Navy  Departments,  and  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery, 
facing  it.  on  the  north,  are  an  exposition  in  themselves — a  plant  which  has  already 
cost  $50,000,000— a  magnificent  nucleus  for  the  still  grander  exposition  of  1889  and 
1892. 

Upon  this  park  is  ample  room  for  a  permanent  exposition  of  all  the  nations  of  the 
three  Americas. 

In  the  center  of  the  Smithsonian  grounds  could  be  located  a  grand  American 
museum,  a  building  which  will,  in  1889  and  1892,  be  greatly  needed  when  Mexico, 
Chile,  Peru,  Brazil,  and  the  other  States  of  Central  and  South  America  join  with  the 
United  States  in  exhibits  of  their  antiquities,  civilization,  and  progress. 

On  the  White  Lot  could  be  located  a  State  and  Territorial  building,  with  equal 
space  for  each  of  the  forty-six  States  and  Territories  to  display  their  respective 
resources.  The  expense  of  this  building  could,  if  desired,  be  borne  by  the  several 
States  and  Territories. 

On  the  grounds  of  the  Agricultural  Department  could  be  located  an  American 
hall,  a  building  greatly  needed  for  national  and  scientific  conventions,  inauguration 
balls,  international  congresses,  etc. 

Also,  on  the  same  grounds  an  American  art  gallery,  as  the  nucleus  for  rare  works 
of  art,  the  portraits  of  the  Presidents  and  leading  statesmen  of  the  sixteen  American 
republics,  and  other  paintings  of  historic  value  which  those  governments  would 
doubtless  contribute;  also  the  nucleus  for  rare  collections  which  wealthy  private 
citizens  may  desire  to  bequeath. 

On  the  Smithsonian  grounds  could  be  located  a  patent  building  for  working 
models,  something  greatly  needed  for  the  use  of  inventors  and  others. 

On  the  reclaimed  flats  is  ample  room  for  an  American  zoological  garden. 

On  the  reservation  surrounding  the  Washington  Monument  could  be  assigned 
space  for  each  of  the  fifteen  sister  republics  of  Spanish  America  and  the  Empire  of 
Brazil  to  erect  a  permanent  building  for  a  display  of  its  resources  and  attractions. 
Each  being  small  and  highly  artistic,  like  the  beautiful  Mexican  mineral  building  of 
iron  and  glass  at  the  World's  Exposition  at  New  Orleans,  they  would  together  form 
an  appropriate  surrounding  for  the  Monument  without  obstructing  its  view  from  the 
Capitol  and  Executive  Mansion. 

Or,  if  preferred,  these  foreign  buildings  could  be  located  on  the  north,  east,  and 
west  sides  of  the  Smithsonian  grounds,  or  on  the  space  extending  from  tin-  White 
Lot  to  the  National  Observatory. 

On  the  reclaimed  flats  could  be  located  the  various  temporary  buildiiurs  which 
will  be  needed  for  private  exhibits  at  tin-  World's  Fair  in  lSV»i>. 


1036  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

The  adaptability  and  advantages  of  this  national  park  for  the  various  purposes 
mentioned  may  readily  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  diagram  prepared  to  illustrate 
the  suggested  location  of  the  exposition  buildings. 

But  a  few  of  the  buildings  need  be  erected  by  the  United  States,  and  the  expense 
of  those  few  would  be  a  safe  investment,  for  such  buildings  as  an  American  museum, 
American  hall,  and  American  art  gallery  are  absolutely  needed  by  the  Government 
and  would  remain  permanently  as  its  own  property. 

Looking  down  from  Capitol  Hill  upon  the  park  thus  improved  one  would  witness 
a  panorama  of  nations,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  American  sister  nations  there 
encamped  could  look  up  to  the  Washington  Monument,  the  Capitol,  the  Executive 
Mansion,  and  the  various  other  surrounding  edifices  of  the  Federal  Government,  and 
see  the  capital  of  the  United  States  in  all  its  grandeur  and  glory. 

It  would,  in  effect,  be  a  permanent  congress  of  the  three  Americas,  something  in 
harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  numerous  bills  recently 
introduced  in  the  Senate  and  House  providing  for  a  temporary  convention  of  Amer- 
ican nations. 

##•**#•*•* 

It  will  require  one  year  for  the  necessary  legislation  by  Congress,  at  least  another 
for  legislation  by  'the  forty-six  States  and  Territories  and  the  various  nations  of  the 
other  Americas,  leaving  but  one  year  before  the  centennial  of  the  Constitution,  and 
four  years  before  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America,  for 
the  erection  of  permanent  buildings,  the  collection  of  exhibits,  and  other  necessary 
work. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  we  can  do  but  little  more  than  inaugurate  the  enterprise 
in  1889,  leaving  the  grand  consummation  for  1892. 

No  occasion  could  be  more  appropriate  for  such  an  inauguration  than  the  4th  of 
March,  1889,  the  one  hundredth  birthday  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  date  of  the 
inauguration  of  the  next  President  of  the  United  States,  in  which  celebration  the 
presidents  of  the  fifteen  American  sister  republics,  whose  organic  laws  are,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  copied  from  our  Constitution,  should  be  invited  to  participate. 
'  When  the  exposition  is  complete,  in  1892,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
presidents  of  the  fifteen  American  sister  republics,  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  the 
Governor-General  of  Canada,  the  King  of  Italy,  where  Columbus  was  born,  and  the 
Queen  of  Spain,  from  which  country  he  sailed,  should  unite  in  unveiling  a  colossal 
statue  of  the  illustrious  discoverer  of  America,  which  statue  should  be  located  in 
the  center  of  the  permanent  exposition  grounds  at  Washington. 

The  first  century  of  the  Republic  has  been  mainly  devoted  to  home  affairs,  the 
formation  and  perfection  of  constitutional  government,  the  material  development  of 
the  great  interior,  the  adjustment  of  sectional  disputes,  and  the  construction  of 
transportation  routes  to  the  seaboard. 

The  time  has  now  arrived  when  the  United  States  is  entering  upon  what  may  be 
termed  the  international  era  of  its  existence  and  a  broader  field  of  action. 

We  therefore  respectfully  submit  that  the  proposed  permanent  exposition  of  the 
three  Americas  is  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  that  it  will  exert  an 
educational,  industrial,  commercial,  and  political  influence  of  great  practical  impor- 
tance and  value. 

Very  respectfully,  WM.  B.  WEBB,  Chairman. 

ALEX.  D.  ANDERSON,  Secretary. 
December  17,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  A.  P.  GORMAN.  I  present  the  memorial  of  a  large  number  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States  in  relation  to  the  centennial  celebration 
of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  and  the  world's  exposition 
to  celebrate  the  discovery  of  the  continent  of  America  by  Columbus. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1037 

This  memorial  is  signed  by  a  very  large  number  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  contains  also  the  proceedings  of  a  convention 
recently  held  in  the  city  of  Washington  on  that  subject.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting matter,  and  I  ask  unanimous  consent  that  the  memorial  may  be 
printed  in  the  Record  and  referred  to  the  special  committee  on  that 
subject. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN).  The  Senator 
from  Maiyland  asks  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Senate  that  the 
memorial  and  proceedings  presented  by  him  be  printed  in  the  Record. 
Is  there  objection  ? 

Mr.  W.  B.  ALLISON.  What  is  the  nature  of  the  memorial? 

Mr.  GORMAN.  It  is  a  memorial,  with  the  proceedings  of  a  conven- 
tion held  in  this  city,  in  relation  to  the  proposed  exposition  to  com- 
memorate the  centennial  of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution 
and  of  the  discovery  of  the  American  Continent. 

The  memorial  with  the  accompanying  proceedings  was  referred  to 
the  Select  Committee  on  the  Centennial  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Record,  as  follows: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  13,  1886. 
To  the  Congress  of  the  United  States: 

The  undersigned,  a  committee  appointed  by  a  convention  assembled  at  Washing- 
ton on  Tuesday,  December  7,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  subject  of  a  centen- 
nial celebration  of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  of  a  world's  expo- 
sition in  celebration  of  the  discovery  of  the  continent  of  America  by  Columbus, 
respectfully  submit  to  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled 
the  proceedings  of  the  body  they  represent  and  the  accompanying  memorial. 

The  convention,  which  was  composed  of  delegates  from  twenty-four  States  and 
Territories,  was  organized  by  the  choice  of  the  Hon.  William  Claflin,  of  Massachusetts, 
as  president;  Hon.  A.  A.  Ames,  of  Minnesota,  Hon.  E.  John  Ellis,  of  Louisiana,  Hon. 
Amor  Smith,  jr.,  of  Ohio,  Charles  D.  Fisher,  esq.,  of  Maryland,  A.  K.  Little,  esq.,  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  Hon.  A.P.Williams,  of  California,  as  vice-presidents;  and  Alex. 
D.Anderson,  esq.,  as  secretary,  and  adopted  the  following  resolutions: 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee,  to  consist  of  fifteen  members,  five  of  whom  shall  be  a 
quorum,  be  appointed  by  the  chair,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  prepare  and  present  to 
Congress  a  memorial  of  this  convention,  with  the  signatures  of  its  members  appended, 
urging  upon  that  body : 

"1.  To  take  action  for  such  a  celebration  in  1889,  at  Washington,  of  the  one  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  establishment  of  constitutional  republican  government  in 
America,  as  may  be  deemed  appropriate  to  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion  and  worthy 
the  dignity  of  the  nation,  and  that  the  republics  of  the  world  be  invited  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  participate  therein,  and  that  all  other  nations  be 
invited  to  be  present  as  guests.  It  is  suggested  that  the  celebration  should  extend  over 
several  days,  and  include  addresses  by  some  of  the  foremost  men  of  each  republic. 

"2.  Necessary  appropriations  for  the  proposed  extension  of  the  National  Museum 
and  such  other  buildings  as  may  be  required  to  enable  the  officers  of  that  institution 
to  carry  more  fully  into  effect,  on  a  comprehensive  scale,  all  the  objects  for  which  it 
was  founded. 

"3.  Necessary  appropriation  for  a  suitable  building  or  buildings  on  some  public 
reservation  in  Washington,  to  constitute  a  part  of  the  Patent  Office,  in  which  to 
exhibit  working  models  in  actual  operation  of  such  useful  inventions  by  American 


1038  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

inventors  in  general  use,  patented  by  the  United  States,  as  may  be  selected  by  the 
Commissioner  of  Patents. 

"4.  To  allot  the  requisite  space  on  some  public  reservation  in  Washington  for  the 
erection  of,  and  suitable  surroundings  for,  a  building  or  buildings  of  sufficient  capac- 
ity for  a  national  and  international  exposition  of  the  arts  and  industries,  products 
and  manufactures,  of  the  several  States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States  and  of 
all  the  nations  of  the  world,  to  be  held  in  1892  in  commemoration  of  the  four  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  by  Columbus. 

"5.  To  provide  for  the  appointment  of  a  board  of  Government  directors^  who  shall 
have  authority  to  cause  or  permit  the  erection  of  such  exposition  buildings  upon 
plans  to  be  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  whenever  sufficient  funds 
therefor  shall  be  provided  for  the  purposes,  and  not  before. 

"6.  To  provide  that  the  Government  directors  appoint  a  secretary  and  treasurer,  the 
secretary  to  give  to  each  subscriber  to  the  exposition  fund  a  receipt  for  the  amount 
subscribed  and  paid  by  him,  which  shall  entitle  the  holder  to  a  pro  rata  amount  of 
any  net  proceeds  accruing  from  said  exposition,  not  to  exceed  the  amount  contrib- 
uted by  him.  If  any  surplus  remains  after  the  reimbursement  of  subscribers,  the 
same  to  remain  subject  to  disposition  by  Congress.  The  treasurer  to  receive  into  the 
treasury  all  contributions  and  all  proceeds  of  the  exposition,  and  to  pay  out  the 
same  only  on  drafts  authorized  by  the  said  Government  directors. 

"7.  To  make  all  neceesary  provision  for  the  operations  of  said  exposition. 

"8.  •  To  cause  the  erection  of  a  statue  to  Columbus  on  the  exposition  grounds." 

The  committee  appointed  to  prepare  and  present'  this  memorial  respectfully  ask, 
therefore,  that,  in  addition  to  the  things  generally  set  forth  in  said  resolutions,  spe- 
cific provision  be  made  by  Congress  for  the  following: 

First.  The  appointment  of  a  board  of  location,  to  consist  of  five  members,  who 
shall  have  the  authority  and  whose  duty  it  shall  be,  subject  to  the  subsequent 
approval  by  Congress  within  three  months  from  the  passage  of  such  act,  to  select 
the  requisite  space  on  the  public  reservations  within  the  city  of  Washington  for  the 
purpose  named  in  the  fourth  of  said  resolutions;  and  this  committee  suggests  as 
proper  officers  to  compose  such  board :  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the  president 
of  the  board  of  District  Commissioners,  the  engineer  in  charge  of  public  buildings 
and  grounds,  and  one  member  of  each  House  of  Congress,  to  be  named  by  the  pre- 
siding officer  thereof,  respectively. 

Second.  The  appointment  of  a  board  of  twenty-one  Government  directors  to  per- 
form the  duties  named  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  of  said  resolutions;  and  this  committee 
suggests  that  in  the  construction  of  this  board  seven  be  appointed  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  seven  by  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  seven  by  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Third.  The  appointment  of  an  advisory  commission  of  one  from  each  State  and 
Territory,  to  be  named  by  the  governor  thereof. 

Your  memorialists  further  say  that  the  object  of  asking  the  appointment  of  direct- 
ors by  the  Government  to  receive  and  disburse  all  moneys  in  connection  with  the 
proposed  exposition  is  to  guarantee  to  the  nations,  States,  and  individuals,  whose 
liberality  is  relied  on  to  insure  the  success  of  the  undertaking,  that  the  financial  part 
of  it  will  be  under  the  control  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

J.  W.  THOMPSON,  N.  G.  ORDWAY, 

W.  B.  WEBB,  JEFF  CHANDLER, 

GEORGE  B.  LORINQ,  THOMAS  J.  LUTTRELL, 

STILSON  HUTCHINS,  MYRON  M.  PARKER, 

GEORGE  C.  GORHAM,  THOMAS  E.  WAGGAMAN, 

HALLET  KILBOURN,  JOHN  R.  BLAND, 

ALEX.  D.  ANDERSON,  OWEN  A.  GILL, 

E.  W.  Fox,  Committee  of  Memorialists. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1039 

The  following  were  members  of  the  convention:  Hon.  Robert  A.Howard,  repre- 
senting the  governor  of  Arkansas;  Hon.  A.  P.  Williams,  representing  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Chamber  of  Commerce;  M.  Hayes,  esq.,  secretary  Delaware  board  of  agriculture; 
Hon.  J.  J.  Finley,  of  Florida;  Hon.  Judson  C.  Clements,  representing  the  governor 
of  Georgia;  Hon.  George  Hillyer,  mayor  of  Atlanta,  Georgia;  Hon.  Charles  F.  Muhler, 
mayor  of  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana ;  Silas  T.  Bowen,  esq. ,  president  of  Indianapolis  Board 
of  Trade;  Hon.  E.  H.  Conger,  representing  the  city  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa;  Hon.  Samuel 
J.  Crawford,  representing  the  governor  of  Kansas;  Gen.  John  Marshall  Brown, 
representing  the  governor  of  Maine;  Hon.  Frank  Brown,  president  of  Maryland 
Agricultural  Association;  Charles  D.  Fisher,  esq.,  president  Baltimore  Board  of  Trade; 
C.  T.  Crane,  esq.,  secretary  Baltimore  Board  of  Trade;  E.  M.  Shryver,  esq.,  president 
Baltimore  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange;  John  R.  Bland,  esq.,  secretary  Merchants  and 
Manufacturers'  Exchange  of  Baltimore;  J.  Frank  Supplee,  esq.,  Baltimore,  Maryland; 
Frank  Frick,  esq.,  Baltimore,  Maryland;  Thomas  W.  Johnson,  esq.,  Baltimore, 
Maryland;  William  T.  Biedler,  esq.,  Baltimore,  Maryland;  E.  Levering,  esq.,  Balti- 
more, Maryland;  O.  A.  Gill,  esq.,  Baltimore,  Maryland;  George  R.  Skillman,  esq., 
Baltimore,  Maryland;  Hon.  J.  B.  Wakefield,  representing  the  governor  of  Minnesota; 
Hon.  A.  A.  Ames,  representing  the  city  of  Minneapolis;  Hon.  Charles  W.  Johnson, 
representing  the  board  of  trade  of  the  city  of  Minneapolis;  Hon.  Charles  H.  Dewey, 
representing  the  Omaha  Board  of  Trade;  H.  M.  Baker,  esq.,  representing  the 
governor  of  New  Hampshire;  Hon.  Nicholas  T.  Kane,  representing  the  mayor 
of  Albany;  Henry  S.  Thayer,  esq.,  representing  the  mayor  of  Buffalo,  New  York; 
William  Thurstone,  esq.,  representing  Merchants'  Exchange  and  Board  of  Trade, 
Buffalo,  New  York;  Hon.  W.  R.  Cox,  representing  the  governor  of  North 
Carolina;  Hon.  Amor  Smith,  jr.,  mayor  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  Hon.  James  P. 
Goodwin,  mayor  of  Springfield,  Ohio;  S.  J.  Ritchie,  esq.,  of  Akron,  Ohio;  C.  D.  Fire- 
stone, esq.,  president  Board  of  Trade,  Columbus,  Ohio;  Hon.  Samuel  F.  Forbes, 
mayor  of  Toledo,  Ohio;  X.  X.  Cram,  esq.,  representing  the  Cleveland  (Ohio)  Board 
of  Trade;  Amos  R.  Little,  esq.,  representing  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania;  W.  R. 
Johns,  esq.,  representing  Oil  City  Board  of  Trade;  Hon.  A.  J.  Caldwell,  representing 
the  governor  of  Tennessee;  Hon.  Zachary  Taylor,  representing  the  Merchants' 
Exchange  of  Memphis,  Tennessee;  Hon.  W.  H.  Crain,  representing  the  mayor  of  Gal- 
veston,  Texas;  Hon.  John  T.  Caine, representing  the  mayor  of  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah; 
X.  X.  Chartters,  representing  the  National  Grange  and  Virginia  State  Grange;  John 
Trimble,  esq.,  representing  the  National  Grange;  John  T.  Edwards,  esq.,  president 
Tobacco  Association  of  Lynchtmrg,  Virginia;  Hon.  Philip  Pendleton,  representing  the 
governor  of  West  Virginia;  Noyes  S.  Burlew,  esq.,  president  Board  of  Trade,  Charles- 
ton, West  Virginia;  Joseph  Ruffner,  esq.,  secretary  Board  of  Trade,  Charleston, 
West  Virginia. 

Minneapolis  Exposition. 
March  3,  1887. 

(An  act,  etc.) 

Whereas  ample  means  have  been  provided  for  the  holding  in  the 
city  of  Minneapolis,  State  of  Minnesota,  of  an  exposition  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  the  fine  arts;  and 

Whereas  the  objects  of  such  an  exposition  should  commend  them- 
selves to  Congress,  and  its  success  should  be  promoted  by  all  reasona- 
ble encouragement,  provided  it  can  be  done  without  expense  to  the 
general  public:  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted,  etc,,  That  all  articles  which  shall  be  imported  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  exhibition  at  the  Minneapolis  Industrial  Exposition, 


1040  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

at  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  the  first  exhibition  of  which  is  to  be  held 
in  the  year  1886,  shall  be  admitted  without  the  payment  of  duty  or  of 
customs  fees  or  charges,  under  such  regulations  as  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  shall  prescribe:  Provided,  That  all  such  articles  as  shall  be 
sold  in  the  United  States,  or  withdrawn  for  consumption  therein,  at 
any  time  after  such  importation,  shall  be  subject  to  the  duties,  if  any, 
imposed  on  like  articles  by  the  revenue  laws  in  force  at  the  date  of 
importation:  And  provided  further,  That  in  case  any  articles  imported 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  withdrawn  for  consumption, 
or  shall  be  sold  without  payment  of  duty  as  required  by  law,  all  penal- 
ties prescribed  by  the  revenue  laws  shall  be  applied  and  enforced 
against  such  articles  and  against  the  persons  who  may  be  guilty  of 
such  withdrawal  or  sale. 

(Stat.  XXIV,  560.) 
March  3,  1887. 

Joint  resolution. 

Resolved,  etc.,  That  it  is  desirable,  in  any  way  consistent  with  exist- 
ing laws  and  without  risk  to  Government  property  or  expense  to  the 
National  Treasury,  to  encourage  the  effort  being  made  for  the  opening 
and  holding  of  a  grand  industrial  and  educational  exposition  of  the 
Northwest,  at  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  in  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and 
the  interests  of  the  whole  northwestern  section  of  our  country  demand 
it  be  made  unqualified  success;  and  it  be,  and  is  hereb}^,  approved  that 
the  heads  of  the  several  Executive  Departments  shall,  in  whatever 
respects  they  may  in  their  judgment  see  convenient  and  proper,  loan 
any  articles  or  material  suitable  to  such  purpose:  Provided,  That  such 
loan  be  made  entirely  on  the  responsibility  of  said  Minneapolis  Indus- 
trial Exposition,  and  shall  not  be  of  material  needed  for  use  in  either 
department,  and  shall  not  in  any  way  interrupt  the  daily  routine  of 
duty  or  order  in  any  branch  of  the  Government,  and  shall  be  returned 
to  the  proper  department,  in  good  order,  within  one  month  after  the 
close  of  the  exposition:  And  provided  further,  That  before  any  such 
loan  shall  be  made  the  proper  head  of  the  Department  shall  require 
and  receive  a  good  and  sufficient  bond,  by  or  in  behalf  of  such  expo- 
sition, for  the  safe  return  thereof  as  aforesaid,  and  to  indemnify  and 
save  harmless  the  Government  of  the  United  States^  or  any  Depart- 
ment thereof,  from  any  liability  or  expense  on  account  thereof,  or  on 
account  of  this  resolution. 

(Stat.  XXIV,  648.) 

ROCK   CREEK   PARK. 

June  2,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  J.  INGALLS  introduced  a  bill  (S.  2584)  to  establish  Rock 
Creek  Park. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  District  of  Columbia. 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.  1041 

June  25,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  J.  INGALLS  reported  S.  2584  with  amendment. 
July  22,  1886— Senate. 

Passed. 

July  23,  1886— House. 

Senate  bill  for  establishment  of  Rock  Creek  Park  referred  to  Com- 
mittee on  District  of  Columbia. 
January  31,  1887— House. 

Mr.  JONATHAN  H.  ROWELL  reported  S.  2584  favorably. 

Referred  to  Calendar. 

NEUMANN'S  SILK  FLAG. 

June  18,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  J.  N.  DOLPH  presented  petition  of  Joseph  Neumann,  of  Califor- 
nia, praying  that  means  be  provided  to  enable  him  to  cause  to  have 
made  a  show  case  for  the  preservation  of  the  first  flag  made  of  Ameri- 
can silk,  presented  by  him  to  and  accepted  by  Congress,  and  deposited 
in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  together  with  the  full  history  of  its 
creation. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Contingent  Expenses  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  DOLPH  also  submitted  resolutions: 

That  Joseph  Neumann  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  allowed  the  sum  of  $ to  furnish 

and  cause  to  be  placed  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  a  suitable  glass  case  for  the 
exhibition  and  preservation  of  the  American  silk  flag  heretofore  presented  by  said 
Joseph  Neumann  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  accepted  by  a  resolution  of 
that  body  July  12, 1870,  together  with  a  complete  history  pertaining  to  said  flag. 

That  the  officers  and  superintendent  of  said  Institute  are  hereby  requested  to  fur- 
nish such  assistance  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  above  object.  Said  above-named 

sum  of  $ to  be  paid  to  said  Joseph  Neumann  out  of  the  contingent  fund  of  the 

Senate  not  otherwise  appropriated,  and  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  is  hereby  authorized 
to  draw  his  warrant  on  said  fund  for  said  sum  of  money. 

Referred  to  Committee    to   Audit    and    Control    the    Contingent 
Expenses  of  the  Senate. 
July  6,  1886— Senate. 

Mr.  JOHN  P.  JONES,  of  Nevada,  reported  back  petition  of  Joseph 
Neumann  and  resolution  by  Mr.  Dolph  with  the  statement  that  the 
committee  think  that  this  appropriation  can  not  come  out  of  the  con- 
tingent fund  of  the  Senate,  and  they  wish  that  the  resolution,  with 
the  accompanying  papers,  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Appropri- 
ations. Referred. 
February  2,  1887— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN)  presented  a  peti- 
tion of  Joseph  Neumann  for  an  appropriation  for  a  case  for  the  preser- 
vation and  exhibition  of  the  first  American  flag  made  of  native  silk, 
now  in  the  National  Museum. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  the  Library. 
H.  Doc.  732 66 


1042  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

February  23,  1887—  Senate. 

Same  petition   presented   and   referred   to  Committee  on  Appro- 
priations. 

SMITHSONIAN    FUND. 
June  22,  1886—  House. 

Letter  from  the  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  G.  S.  Fair- 
child,  in  regard  to  trust  funds  held  by  the  United  States: 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

June  19,  1886. 


SMITHSONIAN   FUND. 

Under  section  6,  act  July  7,  1838,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  invested  $515,169 
belonging  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  Arkansas  State  bonds,  which  amount, 
with  $187,831  covered  into  the  Treasury  to  the  credit  of  said  Institution  since  then, 
constitutes  what  is  called  the  "Smithsonian  fund,"  held  in  trust  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  and  on  the  total  amount  of  the  fund,  $703,000,  interest  is  paid  semi- 
annually  to  said  Institution  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent  per  annum. 

PUBLIC   PRINTING    AND   BINDING. 

August  4,  1886. 

Sundry  civil  act  for  1887. 
*     *      * 

And  the  heads  of  the  Executive  Departments,  before  transmitting 
their  annual  reports  to  Congress  the  printing  of  which  is  chargeable 
to  this  appropriation,  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  carefully  examined 
and  shall  exclude  therefrom  all  matter,  including  engravings,  maps, 
drawings,  and  illustrations  except  such  as  they  shall  certify  in  their 
letters  transmitting  such  reports  to  be  necessary  and  to  relate  entirely 
to  the  transaction  of  public  business.  *  *  And  hereafter  the 
scientific  reports  known  as  the  monographs  and  bulletins  of  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  shall  not  be  published  until  specific  and  detailed  esti- 
mates are  made  therefor,  and  specific  appropriations  made  in  pursuance 
of  such  estimates;  and  no  engraving  for  the  annual  reports  or  for  such 
monographs  and  bulletins,  or  of  illustrations,  sections,  and  maps,  shall 
be  done  until  specific  estimates  are  submitted  therefor  and  specific 
appropriations  made  based  on  such  estimates:  Provided,  That  these 
limitations  shall  not  apply  to  the  current  fiscal  year,  nor  to  any  of  the 
reports,  mineral  resources,  monographs,  or  bulletins  that  may  have 
been  transmitted  for  publication  -to  the  Public  Printer  prior  to  the 
passage  of  this  act:  Provided  further,  That  all  printing  and  engraving 
for  the  Geological  Survey,  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  the  Hydro- 
graphic  Office  of  the  Navy  Department,  and  the  Signal  Service  shall 
hereafter  be  estimated  for  separately  and  in  detail,  and  appropriated 
for  separately  for  each  of  said  Bureaus.  And  no  more  than  an  allot- 
ment of  one-half  of  the  sum  hereby  appropriated  shall  be  expended  in 
the  two  first  quarters  of  the  fiscal  year,  and  no  more  than  one-fourth 


FORTY-NINTH    CONGRESS,   1885-1887.        .  1043 

thereof  may  be  expended  in  either  of  the  two  last  quarters  of  the  fiscal 
year,  except  that,  in  addition  thereto,  in  either  of  said  last  quarters, 
the  unexpended  balances  of  allotments  for  preceding  quarters  may  be 
expended. 

(Stat.  XXIV,  255.) 

SMITHSONIAN   GROUNDS. 

December  9,  1886— House, 

Estimates  for  1888. 

For  the  improvement,  care,  and  maintenance  of  the  Smithsonian  reservation, 
including  the  construction  of  5,000  square  yards  of  asphalt  pavement,  $15,000.  This 
reservation,  covering  an  area  of  over  58  acres,  is  the  largest  and  one  of  the  handsomest 
in  the  city,  and  has  within  its  limits  the  Smithsonian  building,  the  National  Museum, 
and  the  new  Medical  Museum.  Without  permission  of  the  Chief  of  Engineers,  a 
large  frame  building  and  several  workshops  have  been  constructed  upon  the  grounds 
under  his  charge,  just  east  of  the  Museum  building,  which  are  far  from  ornamental, 
and  should  be  removed  at  once.  The  employees  of  the  Museum  used  the  grounds 
adjacent  for  purposes  connected  with  taxidermy,  and  frequently  during  the  summer 
of  1885  the  stench  from  decaying  entrails  of  fish  was  very  great,  while  several  hand- 
some trees  were  entirely  destroyed  by  the  fire  used  in  the  work  of  preparing 
specimens. 

It  is  proposed  to  continue  the  construction  of  a  first-class  asphalt  road  in  front  of 
the  Smithsonian  building,  running  from  Seventh  to  Twelfth  streets,  a  distance  of 
about  1,700  feet,  varying  in  width  from  25  to  50  feet,  and  covering  an  area  of  about 
7,500  square  yards.  The  cost  will  be  about  $2  per  yard.  It  is  hoped  to  lay  about 
2,000  yards  of  this  pavement  during  the  present  fiscal  year. 

Such  portion  of  the  $15,000  requested  as  will  be  available  after  providing  for  the 
asphalt  roads,  probably  $5,000,  will  be  devoted  to  the  improvement  of  drainage,  the 
care  and  maintenance  of  lawns,  roads,  paths,  trees,  shrubs,  etc.,  of  this  handsome 
park. 

I  am,  General,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN.  M  WILSON, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  Engineers,  Colonel,  United  Stales  Army. 

The  CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS,  UNITED  STATES  ARMY. 

SCHOOL  OF  RESEARCH   AND  MEDICINE. 
December  20,  1886— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN)  presented  resolu- 
tions adopted  by  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  in  favor  of 
the  establishment  of  a  school  of  original  research  in  all  that  pertains 
to  materia  medica,  therapeutics,  etc.,  to  be  connected  with  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor. 

ARMY   MEDICAL   MUSEUM   AND   LIBRARY. 

January  17,  1887— House. 

Deficiency  estimates  for  1887,  etc.        . 

To  reimburse  the  appropriation  for  the  erection  of  a  building  for 
the  Army  Medical  Museum  and  Library  by  the  amount  expended  in 


1044  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS. 

moving  a  large  wooden  building  belonging  to  the  National  Museum, 
so  as  to  clear  the  site  selected  for  the  building  in  question,  $245. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  January  6 ',  1887. 

SIR:  I  respectfully  ask  that  the  following  item  be  inserted  in  the  deficiency  bill 
which  you  are  about  transmitting  to  Congress: 

To  reimburse  the  appropriation  for  the  erection  of  a  building  for  the  Army  Med- 
ical Museum  and  Library  .by  the  amount  expended  in  moving  a  large  wooden  build- 
ing belonging  to  the  National  Museum,  so  as  to  clear  the  site  selected  for  the  building 
in  question,  $245. 

The  annexed  building  in  question  was  erected  several  years  ago,  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  out  a  provision  of  Congress  for  the  participation  by  the  National  Museum, 
U.  S.  Fish  Commission,  and  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  in  the  New  Orleans  National 
Exhibition,  and  had  been  placed  where  it  was  most  convenient  at  the  time.  Subse- 
quently, when  a  site  was  selected  for  the  new  building  of  the  Army  Medical  Museum, 
this  construction  was  found  to  encroach  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  it  necessary  to 
move  it  some  50  or  more  feet,  and  as  there  was  no  appropriation  available  for  the 
purpose,  it  was  done  at  the  expense  of  the  appropriation  for  the  construction  of  the 
Army  Medical  Museum  building,  the  demands  upon  which  have  been  very  great,  so 
as  to  naturally  induce  the  desire  for  reimbursal.  Unfortunately  the  National 
Museum  has  no  funds  applicable  to  this  purpose,  and  the  subject  is  respectfully  trans- 
mitted to  Congress  for  its  action. 
Very  respectfully, 

SPENCER  F.  BAIRD, 
Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Hon.  DANIEL  MANNING, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington,  D.  C. 

REID'S  SWOKD. 
January  21,  1887— Senate. 

The  President  pro  tempore  (Mr.  JOHN  SHERMAN)  laid  before  the 
Senate  the  following  message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States 
(Ex.  Doc.  45),  which  was  read  and,  with  the  accompanying  papers, 
ordered  to  lie  on  the  table  and  be  printed: 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 

I  herewith  transmit  a  communication  addressed  to  me  by  Mr.  Samuel  C.  Reid, 
who  offers  to  the  United  States  the  battle  sword  (now  in  my  custody)  of  his  father, 
Capt.  Samuel  Chester  Reid,  who  commanded  the  United  States  private-armed  brig 
General  Armstrong  at  the  battle  of  Fayal,  in  September,  1814. 

I  respectfully  recommend  that  appropriate  action  be  taken  by  Congress  for  the 
acceptance  of  this  gift. 

GROVEB  CLEVELAND. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 

Washington,  January  20,  1887. 
February  15,  1887— House. 

Resolution  accepting  the  sword  of  Capt.  Samuel  Chester  Reid,  ten- 
dered as  a  gift  by  his  son,  Samuel  C.  Reid,  referred  to  Committee 
on  Naval  Affairs. 
February  19,  1887— House. 

Reported  by  Mr.  JOHN  A.  THOMAS,  from  the  Committee  on  Naval 
Affairs. 
Referred  to  Committee  of  Whole. 


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